When first trying to edge or roll my sea kayak, I thought it may be helpful if my lower knee had something to push against.  I soon knocked up a pair of foam supports and glued them in place using water-based Evo-stick which lasted all of five minutes at Kingsway.  I later refitted the same prototype blocks using River Bond and they’ve never budged since. Foam blocks below the knee/thigh also provide general support while paddling.  Maybe I’m just lazy, but I now feel uneasy in any boat without them.  Having recently purchased a new sea kayak, fitting thigh supports was a must. Closed-cell foam is available from AS Watersports at £10 per block.  http://www.aswatersports.co.uk/shop/product_info.php?products_id=752  With care, a single 32cm square block would probably suffice, but having a second one will allow for cutting errors.   River Bond adhesive is available from Endless River at £16 per 250ml tin. http://www.endlessriver.co.uk/river-bond-250ml-p-774.html The above closed-cell blocks are 3” thick which may not be deep enough for some situations.  For my plastic Easky, I fitted single foam pieces on an angle to bridge the curve of the hull and thereby gain more height.  An alternative approach, which I now prefer, is to construct each side in two sections: a simple lower section which fits to the base of the hull, and a more intricately shaped upper section which rests on the lower one and can be easily removed and replaced during the fitting process. Pieces of insulating tape on the base of the cockpit area will allow each lower section to be quickly relocated.  The corresponding upper piece can then be slid into place along the lower one.   The first stage is to determine the precise location of each section of foam and to fashion their outer faces to match the shape of the […]

Great weekend away at Tyn Rhos campsite in Treaddur Bay. Messing at Four Mile Bridge, surfing at Rhosneigr and the sun even came out! Looking forward to the next one!  Paul Harwood   A Puffing Good Day at Puffin Island. Thank you all xxx More Photos……..

Hello everyone, I thought you might like to know that one of the LCC polo teams has had some excellent success today… Welsh Warriors have officially won the NW&C Div 2 league. Given the league has been going all year, after we drew one and won three games today, we found ourselves competing with FOA C for the title with one game to go. The closely fought league came down to the “winner takes all” final game of the day. We convincingly won 3-0 and collected our gold medals this afternoon!  

Job title: Full Time Sales Assistant Location: Manchester Canoes (Warrington, 2 minutes off M6 Junction 21) Job description This is a hands on face to face job for a pleasant and practical person interested in and participating in paddlesport.

Great day out yesterday and some vast improvement well done all and Garry and Caz for Serpents Tail. Leveel 0.45m for the record Serpent tail good not sticky at end. Looking at Saturday 17th – same location. – Contact John for details if interested…….. Thanks John Allerton  

After a sudden 3pm change of venue from Whitesands Bay to Newgale on Friday afternoon we arrived to enjoy the evening sun. Saturday morning the sea kayakers launched from the campsite over the gravel barrier and paddled off to Porth Clais, stopping for lunch in Solva. The little boats also popped over the barrier to spend a few hours in the surf. Sarah didn’t quite catch a tube, but she pulled off a very cool pirouette, while Brian was ripping it up out back. As the tide fell the waves turned to a windy mess, so it was back to camp for lunch. A few hours later half the sea kayakers appeared by car – a strong headwind on the return journey had made for some challenging paddling. The others appeared soon after landing a little further down the beach than camp. With everyone back and the sun coming out the decision was made to have a BBQ that night. Sunday morning the sea kayakers set off to do a trip through Ramsey Sound, playing on the Bitches and seal spotting as they went. The little boats spent the morning in the glassy surf and sun; kicking off the session by seal launching over the gravel barrier as the waves began to build and the tide started to drop back from the barrier. As the waves dropped at mid tide it was time for an ice cream in St David’s, where the sea kayakers were spotted driving through heading for camp. Monday morning people drifted off home at their own pace. Some stayed to see if there would be a little wave at noon, while others slowly went north stopping at places to walk or in the little villages to sample ice cream on the way home. This year we […]

Everyday the Isle of Man Steam Packet Catamaran leaves Liverpool travelling at around 45 mph. It produces a huge wake, and when the weather conditions are right it can create waves of up to 7 feet in height.

https://view.joomag.com/mag/0951203001494275201/p1

The story starts in the year 2009, when two friends from diving days, (who had now taken up kayaking) decided to paddle The Great Glen. Their trip was done in two halves due to one of them  suffering a wrist  injury. The first section, from Banavie, ended at Fort Augustus. It was restarted in October that year at Loch Ness, with Sue and I then providing mobile B&B in a “Cruiser”.  At this point neither Sue nor I had any interest in kayaks, but the trip inspired me to get involved and three years later in October 2012 I bought a kayak for me and somehow convinced Sue that it was something she wanted to get involved with, NOT!!  Another kayak was duly purchased and the rest is history. Irene’s paddling partner sold his kayak and now it became Sue, Irene and Bob that looked for places to get on the water. We are very familiar with Orkney, having dived the waters for many years and it seemed a logical thing to paddle them. A couple of dual activity holidays followed in June 2013 and August 2015 with diving in the morning and paddling in the afternoon. The Isle of Skye also saw us paddling there for two holidays in September 2013 and June 2014.  Around the end of 2013 we felt that it would be good to join with others and sought a club.  Our first club outing was the Christmas paddle and again, the rest is history. Our little group convinced some Liverpool Canoe Club members that a joint venture to the Arisaig area would be a good idea.  A week was duly arranged in 2016 and proved to be a major success. From that Irene convinced the group, but not me, that it would be a good […]

Recent open boat course (3 dock sessions and a trip) went really well. A mix of new and more experienced paddlers met for the first session in conditions that can only be described as diabolical. It was lashing down with rain and blowing an absoloute hoollie (opens dont like wind unless we have the sail up), but everyone got stuck in and just did it. Session two was glorious sunshine as the group worked on trimming the boat, tandem and solo paddling, hunting, and balance. Everyone did great. Session three focused on the ability to rescue these very large craft in a safe way, ie how to empty a boat whilst not using any muscle power, and how to get back in without using any effort. This was followed by some poling, and prying and generally progressing to such an extent that everyone is safe to join a session / trip. Session four was the trip, Farndon to Chester (12 miles), glorious sunshine, but headwind (ouch). Everyone did really well. WELL done to all! Unfortunatley there are not too many photos, but for some great 1970’s instructional videos then I strongly recomment the link below to the Path of the Paddle series. Excuse the 1970’s music, fashion and non uk health and safety, but the skills are just as valid now as then. Top tip for tandem boaters, listen out for how much communication there is!!!!!!!! Enjoy – but remember a felt hat is not as good as a crash hat in protecting your head from rocks, and PFD’s should not be quite so faded. https://www.nfb.ca/search/#?queryString=paddle&index=0&language=en

On bank holiday Monday, a sea trip was planned from Abersoch out to the St Tudwals islands on the Llŷn Peninsula at the western end of Tremadog Bay, west Wales. Most of us met at Queensferry so we could car share across to Abersoch and after a scenic drive we unloaded the boats at Abersoch beach. Andy Garland briefed us on the planned route, the expected weather and tides and the 9 of us launched about midday. Weather was cloudy with a slight breeze, a nd the water quite still as we paddled out to the St Tudwals Islands. We paddled first to the east island, and around the far edge where we met a couple of seals perched on a rock. We then paddled across to the east island around which I completed my first circumnavigation! This island is owned by Bear Grylls as a holiday home and we could see where he had complied to take down the slide he had built before Gwynedd Council spotted it. As the Islands are privately owned we couldn’t land on them so, as we were all getting peckish, we headed to a beach a little south to where we had launched. The surf was a too strong to get all 9 of us on and off safely, especially with a few of us who had never tried a surf landing, but Pete Thomas beautifully demonstrated before we started back around the headland. We were now paddling against the tide, working up an appetite, and the swell was great fun; there was even a bit of surfing. We stopped at a little beach for lunch and sat and watched the clouds clear as the afternoon sun came out. A family, also on the beach, said they had seen dolphins at a similar time […]

Click here for more Open Day and Come and Try it photos…….

Friday 14th April – River Orchy On the first day of our Scottish Easter break we were to paddle the river Orchy, a 9km stretch from the Bridge of Orchy to the Falls of Orchy. A small group had an early start to paddle the Upper Etive first at 6am, and the rest of us set off at 9am, to meet with the Etive crew at the get in. As a new white water paddler, this was my third river trip and I was a little nervous, but very excited to be paddling (described by the UK rivers guidebook) ‘one of the best trips at this grade [3-5] in the UK!’ Our get-in was by the Bridge of Orchy hotel, about a half hour drive from the hostel. We changed whilst the drivers ran the shuttle and then divided up into groups of 5 or 6, each with a combination of abilities and an instructor. We played in the waves under the bridge until everyone was ready to set off. The trip began gently, getting used to being back on the water and being in a new boat (I had borrowed a small burn, a perfect fit), until we reached the first rapid. There are a great variety of rapids on this river, nicely spread out, with the opportunity to portage any of them on paths river left. I’m glad that at the time that I didn’t know their names, as I might have been rather more apprehensive! The first rapid, ‘Big Rock’, was what is says on the tin with lines either side, a great start to the paddle and a rapid that I think everyone did. The next, ‘Chicken Chute’, a fair few of us portaged, but it was great to watch our fellow paddlers. Next came ‘Sheep […]