River_Dart_–_Introduction_to_white_water,_October_2009

Another_myth_buried,_dudes

South_Devon_Steve_Sambell_Memorial_Paddle_July_2009

Exploring_Gokova

Julian_Butler_Race_2009

Portland_Bill_3rd_May_2009

Long_Boat_on_Long_Island

A_Top_Day_on_the_Dart

Torridge_January_2009

Numb_Fingers_on_the_East_Lyn

A_Seal_in_Christchurch_Harbour

Training Step 09B completed satisfactorily (Gene17 Steep Creeking 12-13 Dec)

As you will all know I like my training courses and have continued to go on a course or do some form of training each year. I completed the 5* training last October with Leo Hoare http://www.getafix.com/ with Tim B, Pete A and Rich H. This year I decided to do all the prerequisites for the BCU White Water Kayak 5* assessment. These include 2 days Advanced WWSR, 2 days skills training and at least 16 hours First Aid.

I completed the Advanced WWSR course with Tom Parker http://www.tomparkercoaching.co.uk/ in November which was a good fun weekend which actually included paddling a kayak as well as training in the river and spending some time in some woods working on rope work. This was a great course and a real step up form the previous course (old BCU WWSR course) I did a few years back where some members of the club joined me for a course in Devon.

For the skills element I signed up for the Gene17 http://gene17.com/kayaking/index.html Steep Creeking and FreeRide course in North Wales to improve my skills and run some different rivers, although 2 1/2 hours away from home, Dartmoor is my local WW area and I wanted to paddle some more rivers in the UK. An email was sent out by Simon Westgarth on the Wednesday informing us to meet at the Alpine Café Betws Y Coed. There I met the other two candidates and Matt Tidy, this was not the first course I have done with Matt and I knew he would ask each of us what we wanted to get out of the weekend.

It will come to no surprise to those that know me that I have already thought about this and had four things I wanted to work on. These were to improve my technique in paddling my new Jefe Grande, to sharpen up my turns, to make better use of rock and to improve my steep river paddling. The other both had similar things they would like to work on. Matt had seen me paddle on the Upper Dart the weekend before at the Gene17 Adventure Paddler's Weekend and the other two had been paddling on the Tryweryn the day before.

With this info Matt decided that Swallow Falls would be our first destination. After paying our £1 to access the falls through the visitor turn-style Matt introduced some concepts by getting us to sit on the ground and jumping down the stairs. After all of this we were suitably warm and headed to the bottom of the falls and put on the water. Matt ably demonstrated the technique then we had multiple runs down. Alex had a camera and the video mode was used to great effect in giving immediate feedback. All of us had things to work on and mine was the timely application of Key Strokes at the top and bottom of the drop which I finally go the hang of on my the fourth attempt as you can see from the video clip.

One of the main objectives was to get us used to the gradient which we certainly did as when we left, the falls certainly looked smaller! After a quick lunch we headed to Pont Cyfyng falls and ran a short section of the river. I had a clean line down both the drops which was very satisfying and helped re-enforce the concepts of Body Tension and Key Strokes in the steeper environment introduced at the beginning of the day.

Due to a noticeable drop in temperature the rivers in the area had dropped, despite this we still went to the Arddu to see if it had enough water. After a couple of test runs by Matt, it was decided that the best place for us to work on some skills was the Tryweryn. Initially I found this news a little disappointing for a Steep Creeking course, however, it did enable us to do some distinct skills in using rocks to create lines down the river and for tightening up on our turning and accuracy and was the right decision. We spent some time on a number of different skills, following Matt's imaginative lines down the river and setting challenges of hitting specific eddies by using rocks. I have spent many years developing a technique to avoid rocks and it will take me a little time to get fully comfortable with this technique but at least now I know the concepts and will have to do some more practising every time I am on a river. After running the Graveyard section a couple of times and doing a run all the way down to the footbridge Matt enquired if we wanted to do another run down. The other two decided to call it a day and after arranging how we would all get a copy of the video

Matt and I headed to the top for one last run. I was given the option of what we did on this run and declined the suggestion of a race to the bottom in favour of following Matt down as he linked together his favourite moves on the river. This run was great fun and a fantastic way to finish off a great weekend.

During the long drive home I reflected on my objectives from the beginning of the weekend and realised that they had all been addressed and with so much more. I feel this is down to the skill of the instructor rather than me and I would like to thank Matt for all the great coaching that was delivered in a relaxed and fun way.

Some videos are here

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Ross Macildowie

Teign Day November 2009

After a day of high winds and extreme heavy rainfall the rivers of Dartmoor had dropped to a nice level by Sunday morning. Five of us met at Kilmington (Graham, Elliott, Ross, Mark and Rich) for breakfast and caffeine and discussed the day ahead deciding on the Teign for our days paddling.

As we arrived at the A382 Bridge we noticed a tree across the river just after the put in so launched a little further down expecting a day with many portages after the strong winds and high water levels of Saturday.

A bit of a warm up breaking in and out and we were on our way down the Teign until we reached the first weir where we all portaged except Graham who, as always, made things look easy - even after almost being put off line by all the calls that Ross's boat had somehow drifted off down stream without its pilot, I thought he was in for a good walk but miraculously it ended up finding its own way into an eddy.

Shortly after we were back on the water I managed to find myself the wrong way up after ducking a low branch and quickly ejected when I realised I was getting sucked under another branch. I lost nothing but my pride and was not long back on the river before I took my second swim in a boulder garden.

When sorted out again I decided to walk the rest of these rapids and check for any snags further down stream. Loud cheers were heard back up stream as Mark had followed my example but managed to roll back up saving himself a swim.

All was going to plan from there until Mark decided to have some fun on a wave while Ross set up for a photo, with edge snatched Mark was once again in with the fish and after three attempts unfortunately missed his roll.

Further on was all good, fast flowing water, small rapids and a couple more weirs to the get out at Steps Bridge.

The weather was good to us most of the day and fun was had on this lovely stretch of the Teign.

Many thanks to everyone for another great trip.

Rich Jennings

Graham Bland adds:

It was a strange day. I had learnt the previous evening of the tragic loss of a friend (Chris Wheeler) on the Upper Dart. We were all in a numb state, perhaps that’s what tripped Rich up a few times. My thoughts were rarely away from Chris’s family and friends all day – but the mellow paddle along a beautiful valley in good company proved a perfect restorative tonic.

For those that didn’t know Chris, he was an inspirational paddler and a real gent. Perhaps some consolation is that Chris was paddling his favourite 'home run', at levels he enjoyed, with some of his closest friends – he will be sorely missed by many. Rest in peace Chris

There were 18 people booked on to this trip. However, on Saturday afternoon Dartmoor was huge. While only a little more rain was forecast overnight, met check is often wrong and I made the decision to disappoint a large number of people with a round of phone calls on Saturday evening – just retaining a small and balanced group. (It was just after this that I had a phone call from someone in Dartmoor giving me the sad news).

I am sorry that I disappointed so many. The river had, in fact, fallen to a manageable level on Sunday (although we couldn’t have coped with many more) but the risk of trees and fast flows following a week of high wind and rain was more than I was prepared to accept for the large group that were hoping to paddle.

The Weekend Barry Swam.

Lucy and I met at Martins house, loaded up and were on the road by four o’clock . It was the beginning of Lucy’s first white water trip and my first for four years - the last being this very trip four years ago. There were a few nervous intakes of breathe from Lucy as we related our experiences of the river especially the infamous Mill Falls. A text from Richie saying the river was stonking made Lucy a little twitchier. We arrived at the Black Bear Pub Crickhowell at 7.30pm having only had a temporary hold up at Malborough.

A crowd of RCC members appeared to have taken over one of the seating areas The Deakins, Paul K, Mike W, Richie, Simon, Dot, Mike, Trish, Annie and Jo. We sat down and tucked into some fine food, Elliot and Nick arrived, and much to Paul Ks amusement Elliot and tim (nick name for Elliots belly) had a couple of faggots, another main course and a starter.

Back at the farm house it was an evening of hilarity and some pretty tall stories. Tim and Ross arrived and some time later Paul and Vicky. Adrian and Catherine were due to arrive in the morning Kevin and Nicky popped in, so everybody was accounted for All through the weekend there was banter surrounding the clubs famous swims and at this stage only Bev and I could claim to have seen the clubs maestro Barry swim, myself was many years ago when he was honing his rolling skills in a stopper on the lower Dart, but Mike W and Elliot had a lot to cajole each other about.

Also there was a lot of shuffling of rooms and beds because of the much talked about wind and snoring episodes.

The next morning found me the first one up, even having shared a room with Nick I had got a fairly good nights sleep and my ear drums were intact. Barry did a great job of breakfast and, once that was clear, decisions were made about who was doing what. We ended up with three groups, hill walkers, canal paddlers and river runners.

Two of the groups met at the access point just above Sennybridge. Boats were made ready and kit donned. Jake was on the water like a flash soon to be joined by Mike W and Simon. I was trying to suppress memories of the time I swam in snowy conditions at the second drop on this run. Soon I was on the water and took time to acclimatize and after a few break-ins and break-outs felt a bit more at home. Lee joined us, a smile on his face that stayed there all day, he was entertaining us by displaying a severed ducks head on his paddle when I spotted Laura was without a buoyancy aid, and unfortunately it was left in the car. Kevin also came off the water so we were two down. Soon everybody was on the water and we split into two groups open boaters and kayaks, Ross led the kayaks and Barry the open boaters. We had a little practice at break-ins and break-outs under Ross’s supervision, there was a good mixture of experience in the group and Paul Deakin was nominated to lead.

About five minutes into the paddle I hit shallows and became stuck. It took about eight minutes of hip swinging, arm pushing and body shuffling to shift the boat. A cheer went up from the other group. I was pretty knakered before the real work began. Moving on we came to the first drop. I chose to walk it along with Lee and Lucy and others I think. The next drop had a few casualties mainly open boaters Mike and Paul who entertained us with their antics and had Elliot hooting with laughter. Soon after leaving the drop Lucy took her first swim blaming me, all I did was get stuck and she lent the wrong way to go round me it was the first of three ending up with a ride home in Paul’s Canadian. Well done Lucy on your first white water!!

All was going well until I lined up to go over Horseshoe Falls. I was about to crash into Richie so moved into the faster flow and then ran into a rock which caused me to tip over, I thought I would roll, attempted it, then thought ‘hell the drops coming up’ and bailed out pretty sharpish. I came to the surface and heard Tim shouting “let go of the boat” as I grabbed his bow it was “grab the rope, put your feet out!!” I was about to go over the falls when I caught the rope and Mike F pulled me ashore. Then I saw Paul Ts boat in the stopper where it remained for about an hour going around and round. Everything was tried. Several attempts to reach it by Barry, Jake was placed in the bows of Barry’s boat with orders to clip on a karabiner - he was unable to as the boat was thrashing around , ropes were thrown people stood on rocks but still the bugger wouldn’t move until Ross walked to it and clipped somewhat heroically a karabiner to it. Finally it came out and I was back on the water, after a sterling effort by the lads I thought a bottle of salvage red was in order.

We continued down the river at times the rain blurred visibility and open boaters got mixed with kayakers the rest of the day was pretty uneventful some good play areas were found. We made it to Brecon at dusk, dried off and warmed up and back to the farm house for an incredible curry thanks to Nick. I only paddled the one day and unfortunately missed the events of the Sunday but of course heard about Barry’s swim long before he got back.......

A great weekend thanks Nick and every body who had a hand in the food etc.

Mike Scott

The editor adds: Interestingly enough visits to the clubs website increased exponentially following Barry’s upset on the Usk. On 8^th November. There are normally 15 to 20 visits to the website each day – but this leapt to between 60 and 70 immediately following the incident. I wonder why?

Strictly Gone Dancing

Barry provided the following account of the rescue sequence of Mikes Dancer:-

Retrieval of Mike’s boat was an epic of faffing around that we shouldn’t be too proud of. We were there for about 45 minutes and held up two other big groups because we had a line across the river. I took the photo when the boat first got there but it settled lower in the water and a little further to the right in the picture.

After an initial attempt by Ross it was clear that a kayaker wouldn’t pull it out, but I thought I could get my boat close enough for someone in the bow to get a line on it.

I tried with Mike W but we were too heavy in the bow. I tried with Jake, against his protests of “You want me to go in THERE? NO WAY!”, but I didn’t have enough paddling power, I tried with Jake and Tim, and once we almost had it, but when the water in my boat was half way to my bum I pulled out. It was just too difficult for me to hold the boat close enough because to the left was a fast jet flowing from the drop and to the right was the stopper pulling the boat in. If my boat was decked it might have been ok but it filled up too fast when under the fall, and the bloody kayak wouldn’t stay still long enough for Jake, with his head under water, to get the line on. It was very appropriate that it was a “Dancer” bouncing around in there.

I was knackered after several attempts at getting my boat into position, either by manoeuvring it through the strong eddy on river left, or paddling up the fast jet downstream of the fall, then trying to hold position on the boil. We tried using a second line attached to the one across the river to help pull my boat in, with Jake and Paul K as crew, but it kept pulling me towards the stopper and I didn’t have enough control. Obviously I wasn’t too keen on putting two or three of us, an open boat and a few ropes into the mixer with the kayak.

During this time Mike F tried to reach it from above with various branches, but he couldn’t see the toggle or reach it easily. Eventually Ross went in on a line from above and got a line on, without too much trouble at all it seemed, and Paul & I pulled it out easily from below. In hindsight we should have started there.

Early on I called out that this would be a good time for lunch, but the whole event was so entertaining that most of those not taking part were too absorbed to eat or portage the fall, so there was a further short delay to getting going, then a lunch stop for those spectators and the faffing party.

Barry D

River Dart – Introduction to white water, October 2009

This was a weekend of high numbers. We had the biggest turnout ever for the trip, with a total of 25 paddlers, six of them under 18, although not all of them paddled both days. The group contained a good proportion of novice white water paddlers too, which is always the intention of this trip, traditionally the first of the season, but not always the case. Another satisfying aspect was the number of open boaters; some of them seem to be converting from kayaking, or at least experimenting with the bigger boats. The number of swims was relatively high too and, although this reflected the level of experience, it included several by the more experienced paddlers. At least the weather was great for a swim!

Friday night and Saturday morning saw a lot of rain fall on Dartmoor and my fears of a dry river were put to rest when I saw its brown colouring on Saturday morning. The colour deepened throughout the day and I think the river level rose about half a metre while we paddled it from Buckfast to Totnes. It surprised everyone at lunch time, floating off most of the boats that had been slipped out of the water onto a small beach. At Staverton weir was the level was the highest we’ve run it, with water pouring over the full length of it.

Guy shows the way down Staverton weir.

Adrian takes Cathy down an alternative route; a surprisingly successful one this time.

Totnes weir was a fantastic slide ride, with a wave at the bottom that caught out a couple of people who chose a line somewhere off the optimum. Some of them should have known better shouldn’t they Nick?

Mike Worth couldn’t resist a second run on Totnes weir.

Some seemed intent on taking the suicide line down most of the features, and while others thought it was Adrian’s wish to dunk his partner as often as possible, I think people who wear a lot of kit just need to cool off at intervals. It was great to watch anyway, as they crashed through the wave, then rolled slowly from side to side, taking on another load of water each time until they sank, still upright and looking hopeful, to take a swim in company with a seal that was fishing in the tidal weir pool.

Toby, oblivious to the drama behind.

The youngest, and one of the newest members, 10 year old Harris, put in a great first day of white water paddling, without a capsize and looking very confident in his own boat. His dad, Guy was one of those who took a swim at Totnes weir, but he was testing his skills in the race, after a successful run down it perhaps had boosted his confidence. Toby and Laura James also put in great performances and showed their parents that you don’t have to swim to have fun. Lee did well too, having shown a distinct lack of interest in white water until now, and found a safe line down everything, as both his brothers have done at his age.

The overnight rains stopped just as we launched and I managed to paddle all weekend without a waterproof top, much to Mike Worth’s annoyance because he feels I’m long overdue for a swim, and should show more respect for the sport by wearing a lot more (and more expensive) kit. Sorry Mike, perhaps the Usk will get me. The sun shone and the autumn colours were amazing. Apart from the seal, it wasn’t a great wildlife trip, but I did spot three kingfishers among dozens of dippers and grey wagtails.

The “Washing Machine”, not a hazard in low levels.

On Sunday we paddled from Newbridge to Buckfast so, unusually, we covered the full stretch of river from Newbridge to Totnes over the weekend. The river had dropped overnight, but the steeper gradient made up for the lower water level so we still had plenty of swims. Poor Nicky took more than her share, one of them not entirely her fault, and lost confidence as a result. What a pity you didn’t paddle on Saturday Nicky. The lower sections of the river are easier to handle and perfect for those who need to keep their confidence growing slowly with their skills, rather than plunge headlong down anything for a thrill.

Bev and Lee, being of the former type, chose to join us after the trickier “Loop” section. We met them for lunch at the Country Park, right beside the copper beach tree that we planted a few years ago in memory of one of our founders, Steve Sambell. It looked great. Unfortunately I got in the way of a kayak that escaped James’s clutches and fell from the vertical onto my knee. It hurt! Mikes Farnden and Worth displayed wonderful sympathy, concern and first aid, while Bev looked for the best place for lunch, assured them that I was always a wimp when hurt, often feinted, but would be fine once the blood got back to full circulation.

Simon Burke demonstrated good control of his open boat on Saturday, well, apart from a surprise swim on spectacularly flat water early in the day. He took to his kayak on Sunday and proved he was in command of that too, with a great roll half way down “Corner rapid” in some very turbulent water. Elliott tried open boating on white water on Saturday too, and confessed to enjoying it, but, like Simon, he was in his kayak on Sunday. Perhaps the prospect of the Loop was too much. I can sympathise with that because I hadn’t paddled it in an open boat before, so was a little apprehensive until I saw the river level. It was a very easy open boat run, although Holne weir and Abbey weir still need respect and are ready to catch out the unwary, those on the suicide line, or those who partners chose to abandon ship. Sorry Cathy, if my partner shouted at me that much I’d jump out too.

Swimmer of the weekend award must go to new member Glyn, with several dunks each day. Full marks for perseverance and keeping the smile going Glyn. Disappointment of the weekend was Richard Jennings whose relentless hours of practice, striving for the perfect roll, let him down and he took a couple of swims to prove that it might need more than just practice. One of them, like Simon’s open boat capsize, was in flat water, but it gave a host of spectators something to watch from Totnes bridge. I think the best performance was by another new novice member, James Collins, who found good lines and improved really well over the weekend, despite a good taste of the Dart on Saturday.

As it was half-term my family was able to stay in Devon for a few days and, after two, Jake and I were missing the river so on Wednesday we went again from Newbridge to Buckfast, having the river completely to ourselves. It was a little lower than on Sunday, but a really nice, relaxing and peaceful paddle; well, for me it was. I did take on a bucketful of water at Holne weir when my hand slipped off the paddle in mid support, but Mike wasn’t there to see it and I only got my knees damp so it wasn’t serious. Jake spent some time standing his boat on end and splashing about. He didn’t disturb all the wildlife though, and we added three Goosanders to the bird list.

Jake enjoys the luxury of being the only play boater on the Loop.

Article and Images by Barry Deakin

Another myth buried, dudes

It has long been held true by many RCC members that the club’s annual Devon Surf Weekend never features any surf. Canoeing of some sort, almost certainly; walking, quite possibly; and drinking, most definitely. But never, ever, under any circumstances, surf.

As you will read below, sadly cameras did not survive the conditions and photo records are absent. This is, however, a fair(ish) representation of DSW09

Of course, year-on-year, there were rumours that members had surfed from sunrise to sunset on gnarly mega waves that never spilled, broke or dumped. Stories were legion about how Hawaii had better look to its laurels, lest it be overtaken in popularity by Putsborough or Saunton. But we never had sufficient [Editor’s note: yeah, right, like any] photographic evidence to support these tales from our bruddahs about the bitchin’ tubes and lips.

Until now. The law of total probability dictated that if we kept going long enough, one year our DSW would come up trumps. As it turned out, 2009 was that year. OK, maybe not the stuff of Pacific dreams or epic tales of wipe-out survival, but sufficient to keep people happy for two days. And enough to persuade Graham and Paul that it was worth driving to Woolacombe on Saturday morning.

Mike W, Martin, Rich, Dot, Ross and Sarah arrived in Ilfracombe on the Friday evening in time to grab food in the George & Dragon. Elliott, Nick and Nichola didn’t; all three arrived at the same time (in Elliott and Nick’s case this wasn’t altogether surprising, since they were in the same car), but were too late for pub food and had to console themselves with chips on the harbour wall. Helen and Steve made it in time for a drink. Glyn and Gilly barely made it in time to get into Maplewood Backpackers hostel, where we were all staying. All, that is, except Rich, who preferred the comfort of his van and the dubious delights of Ilfracombe’s street nightlife. Oh, and also except for Helen and Steve, who were staying somewhere completely different because ……… well, let’s just leave it at that.

Saturday dawned bright and early. Too early for Nic’s boyfriend to have sent her a text message confirming undying love and devotion, so she promptly went back to sleep. And far too early for Gilly, who should have got up hours earlier, or possibly shouldn’t have bothered going to bed at all, in order to fit in her somewhat protracted ablutions and makeup routine; as a consequence she missed breakfast with the RCC wolves.

A quick check on the webcams – yes, Maplewood has an internet room – revealed that Woolacombe appeared to have the best surf, and breaking every club time rule, we were there and on the water by about 10.00. Sarah erected a tent on the beach so that she could watch the fun out of the wind, and Gilly set off on a brisk cliff-top walk to Morte Point and back.

The rest of us headed seawards, where there was something for everyone. Beginners and the more cautious practiced mini surfing and bongo sliding on the inshore breaks, while the pros and fools ventured further out to where the big green tops rolled in. Rich paddled way beyond everyone and bravely adopted the role of Tsunami Watch, or so he said, to protect the beach fledglings. Which is why, apparently, he was never in a position to help any of them when they capsized.

A few of us hedged our bets and lurked halfway between the two groups, peering anxiously over our shoulders in case one of our more active members actually caught a ride and stayed upright for more than a few seconds. Not that there was much fear of that happening. In the ‘Pro’ category, Ross took first prize for swimming – three times on the same day – and also picked up a special award for being parted from his boat the longest, a feat involving special deep sea capsize skills and lengthy walks back to the beach. Glyn and Nic both won commendations for their sheer tenacity and stamina, and took joint first prize for best overall improved surfing technique.

Paul and Graham joined us in the early afternoon, and everyone enjoyed a few more happy hours of surfing. It goes without saying that by arriving later in the day, they missed the monster waves the rest of us had experienced all morning – but luckily we had photographic evidence stored away safely in Nic’s camera (she’s a photographer by profession, so we knew we were in safe hands). By mid afternoon we’d all had enough physical exercise for the day, so most of us retired to the Rock Inn at Georgeham for a recuperative pint. Not so lucky Glyn, who got dragged round the shops in Ilfracombe – rumour had it that Gilly had run out of some vital item of makeup. Most of the pub conversation however, revolved around UK river access, or rather, the lack of it. Dual hat wearer Martin put up a vigorous defence of fishermens’ interests, countered by Graham, during an increasingly heated debate. A question mark still hangs over who, if anyone, won the argument, but for those missing Question Time it made for a most enjoyable end to the afternoon.

The evening saw everyone reunited back at the George & Dragon, this time in time to eat. Mike, Nick and Elliott had formed a half-hearted breakaway group with the intention of eating curry at the Gurkha Buffet Restaurant, but abandoned the plan when Mike pointed out that one of the worst buffet curries he’d eaten was in a restaurant with a similar name. It was a very convivial evening; the food was good, and when the last of us left shortly after midnight, the landlady was still offering us more drinks.

Sunday was much a repeat of Saturday. Gilly got up extra early to accommodate her makeup routine, this time only missing breakfast by a narrow margin, and Paul was delighted to discover that her cosmetics paraphernalia included a magnifying bedside mirror, which allowed him to apply his eyeliner with great precision. Rich, sleeping in his van again, had been woken by police chasing a drunk (he assures us it wasn’t him) in the early morning, and because we now had Graham and Paul with us, the rest of us were also up before sunrise (or so it seemed), had bolted breakfast and were back on the water – this time at Saunton – by about 9.30. Yes, 9.30!

Paul prepares for a day on the beach

The surf on Sunday was also good – opinions varied on whether it was slightly better or slightly worse than Saturday’s, which meant that it was probably much the same. Nic spent a considerable amount of time out of her (upside down) boat, but again showed far more stamina than most. First prize for a vertical ender was won hands (and head) down by Mike W, who was trying out a variety of boats to find out which one was the most stable. Probably not the one you were paddling when we took the photo, Mike! By midday, the surf had declined significantly, so most people decided to call it a day.

One of the last people out of the water was our chief photographer, Nic. Upon taking her drybag out of her kayak, she discovered that ‘dry’ was something of a misnomer. After pouring out several pints of seawater, we turned our attention to her camera. Our record of DSW09 and its unprecedented surf waves. Wet. Waterlogged. Possibly even buggered. Now our very credibility with our surf dude bruddahs rides on the, as yet unproven, ability of an XD card to survive everything that Nic threw at it. Oh such calamity, consternation and woe!

On the other hand, we could simply do it all again next year….

Nick Leatherdale

South Devon Steve Sambell Memorial Paddle July 2009

An RCC trip with no faff! – the up side of only four (Barry & Bev, Rich J and I) signing on to this trip. Hopefully, this (or variations of it) will become an annual event and others will have the opportunity to paddle this beautiful stretch of coast in the future.

We were all able to leave at around 2’ish on the Friday afternoon (for me, this was a direct result and advantage of the Credit Crunch!). This meant that, after the shuttle and loading, we were away from Totnes by 7pm. An hour later we were pulled up at Sandridge for a pleasant moon light camp.

The intention for the weekend was to paddle 70kms from Totnes, down the Dart Estuary, around Start and Prawle point to Bantham and up the Avon Estuary to Aveton Gifford. The forecast was doubtful, but then it was only a forecast

Saturday saw us away by 8am, a short stop at Dartmouth, and an enjoyable stretch along Slapton Sands. Light headwinds, smooth seas and sun shine – we were 22K along, at Hallsands in time for lunch. Start point has a reputation, and the wind was picking up, but the beast was quiet when we rounded the light house.

Unfortunately the same couldn’t be said for Prawle point. By the time we arrived the sea had woken up in a very confused state and it remained so for the ‘battle’ towards the shelter of Salcombe. We finally pulled in to ‘Sunny Cove’ at 4pm. We had paddled 38k and it felt like it – we collapsed on the sand (after having wolfed down great chunks of Bev’s Apple cake) and watched the dumping surf over some chilled beers.

Sunny Cove proved a great camp spot. Once the few others on the beach left in the early evening we had the bay to ourselves and Rich was particularly enamoured with the public toilets that were a short stroll away in the adjacent bay.

We had hoped that the wind and swell would have abated over night. We were away before 7am on the Sunday and headed for Bolt Head to check the conditions. There’s an 8km stretch cliffs running from Bolt Head to Bolt Tail that is exposed to the Atlantic swell and weather.

We poked our noses out and looked along the coast. Thank god for democracy. I think Barry would have liked to press on, but the rest of us (memories of the uncomfortable paddle the previous afternoon still vivid in heads and backs) didn’t give him the chance to pull rank. We about turned and surfed away as fast as possible – the shipping forecast blurting out of our VHFs “force 5 SW, 6 later, sea state moderate to rough”. We made Kingsbridge by 9am, only 10 minutes to spare before the falling tide would have made a landing difficult and muddy (if not impossible). We walked the 4 miles to Averton Gifford to retrieve the Landrover and were home for tea and cake!

We ended up having replicated a trip that Steve Sambell had enjoyed – in an old glass fibre general purpose kayak with wet sleeping bags wrapped up in bin bags. Good on Steve

Thanks for organising the trip Barry – an excellent weekend. (Any more Apple cake left Bev?)

Graham B

More photos here: http://ringwoodcanoe.co.uk/Gallery/thumbnails.php?album=26

Exploring Gokova

We were on the flight home when Frances turned to me and asked “can we do this again next May?” – yippee - just the result I was after. I have found a formula for sharing a paddlesport with my other half - sun, gentle paddling, deserted beaches and chilled days in foreign waters.

There were a few moments during the week when I thought the plan might have crashed. The time when she called out to me "there's a bloke up there with a gun waving at us" (we had wandered into a military zone) and the afternoon when a force 5 had picked up a 2 metre swell (but we were camped on a sheltered island). But, exploring the Gulf of Gokova, in South West Turkey, with a couple of rented sea kayaks proved an excellent week

The planning was all so easy. Turkeys South West Coast where the Aegean Sea meets the Mediterranean Sea is often referred to as the Turquoise Coast on account of its azure seas - tempting. A browse of the atlas had revealed a rugged coastline with lots of inlets, bays and islands that all looked appealing. I knew Turkey would be warm in May. I found an outfit called “Alternatif Outdoor” that, in addition to running guided tours, will rent sea kayaks and gear out to ‘independents’ – it was a ‘go’.

On advice from Alternatif, and after a few hours on Google Earth we chose to explore the Gulf of Gokova. While only 40 minutes from Marmaris and a couple of hours drive from Dalaman Airport, the area promised (and proved) a comparatively wild and remote coastline with many small beaches in sheltered bays - with little or no road access or settlement within the expanse of a pine forest

We flew out to Dalaman late on a Friday evening, arriving at Marmaris at dawn on the Saturday. We spent that day shopping for provisions – pasta, tuna, bread, fruit and vegetables all readily available. We also had to carry sufficient water for 5 days 30 litres (6 x 5 litre drums) proved just right

Ahmet, who was driving us and our boats to the get in early on Sunday, laughed at our smiles as we left Marmaris in the rear view mirror. He remembered, just 20 or so years ago, when Marmaris was a sleepy fishing harbor. Now, there’s only a tiny scrap of the original character remaining, the rest has been swallowed up by the ever growing tourist resort development. Restaurants and clubs vie for your custom, a ‘Full English’ breakfast available at every corner to aid your recovery after a night of Karaoke and foam parties.

We enjoyed cloudless skies and temperatures in the low 30’s. The prevailing winds are North West and normally pick up in the afternoons. We were on holiday and not on ‘an expedition’ and enjoyed a leisurely paddling routine. Up with the dawn, packed up and away between 07:00 and 08:00, paddling (with stops) through to 13:00 and then lounging around the chosen beach camp for the rest of the day

The region is very quiet – no one around except the odd fisherman and passing yachts and Gulets (the latter, are beautiful yachts carrying tourists from the Turkish resorts on day or week excursions)

There was no shortage of beaches suitable for camping. All were of similar character, narrow and pebbly, often with some shade afforded by scattered pine trees and vegetation. The nature of the thick scrub behind the beach made it difficult to explore beyond the fringe.

Unexpectedly we found rubbish a big issue. Almost all beaches are cluttered with washed up debris. Vast quantities of plastic line the shore. At first we found this disturbing, but quickly became accustomed to executing a quick tidy-up and ‘litter pick’ before establishing each camp. A word of warning, however, the debris may include a fair share of fishing tackle and a barbed hook in a foot on this remote coastline would (and almost did, in our case) bring your holiday to a swift end.

The pine tree forests of this region are plagued by fires throughout the summer. While, for this reason, I believe fires are forbidden in the area, we built small contained fires on the pebbles each night – but well away from any vegetation

This area of South West turkey is reputed to be teeming with birdlife, but the particular stretch of coast that we explored had surprisingly little (gulls and cormorants) The insect life proved much more interesting with many species of arachnids (some beautiful some looking decidedly mean). There were a few mosquitoes and horse flies about but too few to cause a problem. Snorkelling proved a pleasant way of passing the hot afternoons. Lots of urchins and fish but no colourful reefs

If you want to hire kayaks (or go on a guided sea kayak tour in this region) talk to these guys http://www.alternatifoutdoor.com

More Photos are given here

Graham B

Julian Butler Race 2009

An evening of calm water, little tidal flow and warm sunshine set the perfect scene for a wonderful paddle up the harbour and round the Avon loop. Certainly the best Tuesday evening we’ve had for canoeing this year. Plenty of other people were making the best use of the evening too, with rowers, kayakers, dinghy sailors and anglers everywhere. I’ll never understand those members who, determined to demonstrate their non-competitive nature, turn up at Mudeford on such an evening without a boat. Our secretary, on the other hand, turned up with a boat, but paddled off into the sea to boycott the event.

I think all who took part enjoyed the fun of the race, and I know they all enjoyed the tour of the harbour. Once again I set the handicaps, but based them on the times for last year, when there was a force 3 blowing. This affects some craft more than others of course, and I didn’t allow for the wind as I should have. This is not to take anything away from Mike Worth, who paddled a fast race in his open canoe, knocking 10 minutes of his time for last year, and coming home a clear victor with the second boat 3 minutes behind him. He still paddled and sweated for longer than the rest of though, so deserves to have the Julian Butler memorial trophy over his fireplace for another year.

The field was unusual this year, with most paddlers in sea kayaks, only one short white water kayak and one other open boat.

I paddled my sea kayak in the race for the first time, and my personal target was to catch my son Jake in his mum’s sea kayak. I had given him 5 minutes advantage on me but I knew that I had about 50 minutes to catch him. I first caught a clear sight of him as we neared Christchurch at the top of the harbour, and gained steadily on him as we paddled up the Eastern arm of the Avon and down the Western arm. By the time we were in the open water of the harbour and within sight of the finish at Mudeford Quay, I was just 300 metres behind him. I made sure that I matched his stroke rate, knowing that my extra strength must be converted into more power and hopefully a bit more speed. By then though, he knew I was there. He gritted his teeth and his determination won the day. He finished perhaps 100 metres ahead of me. I’m getting older and he’s getting stronger. I must remember that if I set the handicaps next time.

The times (in minutes) and positions are listed below. On looking at the results and those of previous years I was pleased to see that I managed to break the course record, previously held by Ros White who went round in her sea kayak in 51 minutes, on a similarly calm evening in 2005.

Our chairman, Ross, honourably took on the role of sweeper, making sure nobody was left behind or in need of assistance at the back of the field. He came home last, looking fresh and relaxed anyway, so I assume that was what was on his mind.

Paul Toynton, who has been paddling the harbour for at least 20 years to my knowledge, followed me away from the start muttering that he couldn’t go too fast as had to follow someone or he would get lost. He came to the finish triumphant as the top bird spotter though, reporting three green sandpipers, two cetti’s warblers, one reed bunting, and a partridge in a pear tree; or something like that.

Once again it was a fine display of determined non-competitve spirit, with just a few racers in the group for the other paddlers and spectators to feel pity for.

		Start time	Finish time	Lapsed time	Position
Mike Worth	Solo open canoe	0.0	68.0	68.0	1
Dot & Mike	Tandem open canoe	10.0	71.0	61.0	2
Jake Deakin	Sea kayak	20.0	74.0	54.0	3
Martin Pollok	White water kayak	9.0	74.1	65.1	4
Barry Deakin	Sea kayak	25.0	74.5	49.5	5
Paul Toynton	Sea kayak	25.0	79.0	54.0	6
Simon Burke	Sea kayak	25.0	83.0	58.0	7
Graham Mussett	Sea kayak	20.0	83.0	63.0	8
Ross Macildowie	Sea kayak	25.0	84.0	59.0	9

Barry Deakin

More photos from Nick L here

Portland Bill 3rd May 2009

Eleven paddlers met at Chesil Cove in bright sunshine but a very cold NW wind. All early to take advantage of the breakfast at the café - which was very good. The launch off the beach was into a choppy sea, but was fairly easy. I can remember a previous trip (not with Ringwood) when someone capsized at this point. I thought the sea conditions were ideal with just enough chop to make it interesting, but I am not sure that everyone will agree with this. As we paddled south we encountered a lot of sea birds, Fulmars soaring along the cliffs and then masses of Guillemots zooming out from their nest sites. There were lots of razorbills on the water, more than I can remember seeing before, but unfortunately no Puffins (I saw two off the Bill only two days earlier).

With the tide running behind us we were very quickly at and round the Bill and then stopped for a coffee break. I had with me the tidal streams from “Inshore Along the Dorset Coast” and Graham had another set from “The Almanac” and they did not agree about the stream east of the Bill, in fact mine showed a northerly one and Graham's a southerly one! Very confusing and Graham's was right. I will have to look more closely at the comparison for any future trips.

As we paddled along the eastern cliffs there was not much wildlife, a few Rock Pipits, two or three Shags and bright patches of Birdsfoot Trefoil on the slopes above, and lots of climbers. The group had kept well together until we reached the point when we could see the entrance to the harbour hereupon the Ringwood Canoe Club Syndrome kicked in. We were now heading just about due north and the wind was quite strong in our faces as paddlers spurted on toward the “finishing line”, presumably in an effort to get the paddle over and done with as soon as possible! However, strange as it may seem, there are some people who enjoy a rather more leisurely paddle and also appreciate some company during it and by the time the first paddlers reached the harbour they were almost out of sight from the last ones. Not really a good way to paddle on the sea, especially as a club. Apart from the social aspect there is also the safety to be considered and I was a bit cross about this when we all joined up at the harbour mouth. As I pointed out, if one of the back markers had had a problem this could have been serious. With the wind from the north, anyone not paddling would have been blown back down to the Bill and the rest of the group was much too far away to have even seen that they were in trouble.

We then entered the harbour and were told off by the Harbour Master for entering a restricted zone (something to do with the prison ship I believe) and also told that we ought to be paying harbour dues. We landed about 2.30 for a late lunch. Thanks Graham for organising a really nice paddle and what precision on timing!

I would like to take this opportunity to ask everyone to consider paddling behaviour especially on the sea. I do not think that it is the event organiser's job to supervise the group, I would just like everyone to remember that as a club we all have a responsibility to think about the rest of the group. The speed should depend on the slowest paddlers. During a paddle, I continually count boats to ensure that everyone is there and I believe that everyone should do the same. Try looking back occasionally, it very easily becomes automatic. If you want a bit more exercise, why not paddle back and then catch up?

Paul T

A video by Richard Jennings captures our paddle around the Bill 3rd May 2009

http://b.static.ak.fbcdn.net/swf/mvp.swf?8%3A152716%3A1&v=1139373011376&ev=0

And some Photos from Nigel are here

Long Boat on Long Island

Strange as it seems, there is a long boat beached at Long Island, Poole Harbour.

Long Island, owned by the Rempstone Estate, was put on the market back in 2007 and big forbidding ‘PRIVATE KEEP OFF’ signs have since adorned its shores. Before this we had often landed to enjoy a picnic and short stretch here when paddling in the harbour. The occupant of the barge didn’t want to be drawn into a conversation (it was still early in the morning) but it would seem that the long boat is being used to accommodate security guards charged with preventing anyone landing on the island.

As I understand it, someone has submitted a ‘rights-of-way’ application and over 100 people have given evidence that the island has been visited and used as a public right of way for 30 to 50 years. I believe the sale of the island has been put on hold until the outcome of this application is known.

Security guards on an island in Poole harbour!

Still, it didn’t seem to phase the Round Island seal we spied swimming close to its shores and we still enjoyed our short ‘Breakfast on Brownsea’ paddle. Stage 1 of Frances training for Turkey