River Conwy Estuary Christmas Paddle 11th December 2022 by John Cooke
Sunday 11th December and as my alarm went off, I jumped out of bed to check the weather, snow and ice and -2 degrees in the tiny hamlet town of Widnes.
On the drive down to Conway, I wondered how many layers were going to be needed to stay warm. As I pulled into the car park there was already a few hardy souls getting changed but the temperature had risen to a balmy +1.
As we waited around for everyone to get ready it became apparent that paddle boarders take Faff to the next level, I thought sea kayakers were bad!
Once on the water a lot of people started to actually take stuff off as it was not that cold, I ditched my bob hat and pogies. It was a proper winter’s day paddle, chilly with mist on the water in places and plenty of snow up on the mountains.
We stopped for a lunch break and a chat, plenty of mince pies were handed around and the world’s problems were sorted. Back on the water and we made good time on the return leg with the incoming tide shoving us along nicely.
Back at the car park and people got changed, some went off for the Christmas meal but I was in work so headed home and as I crossed the border back into England the snow and ice returned and the temperature dropped.
It was a great paddle and thanks to Brian for organising, hope you all had a nice meal. I’m off to hibernate now until February so see you all then.
Happy Christmas to you all
Dave Brown from DB Xclusive joined us on the paddle in his hand-crafted Ocean Glide sea kayak, a short fast sea kayak that really is a thing of beauty. I have put 2 of my kids up for sale on Ebay so maybe one day!
The next major club trip on the calendar is Scotland 2023 at Easter, so book today, don’t delay! Go to our bookwhen site….. for more information and to book a place.
