newsletter 114 winter 2006 04

8/14/2019 Newsletter 114 Winter 2006 04

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Newsletter114

Winter 2006 / 04Web: www.marlowcanoeclub.org.uk

Email: [email protected]

Marlow Canoe Club New sletter Page 1 Winter 2006 / 04

EDITORS P IECE

One moment you're struggling to geteight pages together, and before youknow it you've got a paperback on yourhands. That's what happened thisissue anyway. Still, if we are going tohave a big issue what better time of theyear than Winter. Throw a few logs onthe fire, pour yourself a decent malt,and settle down with your favouritepublication, courtesy of all ourcontributors. It's a shame I've read italready - but I'll have the malt anyway.We have a nice mix of items to whetyour appetite from those first tentativesteps onto whitewater, right through toa Canadian wilderness adventure. Newmembers have written about newexperiences and there's some retakeson favourite journeys. Don't forget toread the item on clubhouse keys .It's been repeated in this issue as notmany people acted upon thecommittee's request to advise AM of their desire to access the club after thelock has been changed. That includes

those who undertook AM's D.O. courseearlier this year.It only remains to wish you all a merryChristmas and a happy new year. Oh!and also to remind you that I'm nowtaking copy for the next issue.

WHATS IN THIS ISSUE

Editors Piece 1

Estuary English 2

Symonds Yat - Intro to WW 3There's not much for free 4

A pleasant paddle 5

Letter to the Editor 7

Canada 2006 7

So that's it then! 9

A first night at the Nene 11

News from 'The land of the free' 11Teifi Tour 2006 day 1 12

Melinda's first Social event 13

In the days before plastic boats 13

CLUBHOUSE KEYS 15

TYNE TOUR - 2006 16

David Lydiatt 17

AGM Notification 18

Events / Diary. 19

Contacts etc. 20

The mark of a successful man is one that has spent an entire day on the bank of a river without feeling guilty about it.

From an ancient Chinese Philosopher


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There's quite a few of us done this before (and some yet to start) but if you have got to drive the family taxi more than a few miles you might as well see if there is anything for you to do at the destination. Which is what the Chairman did. Read on.

ESTUARY ENGLI SH

George was on a course inSouthampton so I took him and lookedaround for somewhere to paddle. I gotsome good advice from various sourceson the internet. In the end, no-onevolunteered to join me so I had to gosolo. Whilst we always say fewer thanthree there should never be,sometimes, you just have to moderateyour ambitions and get on and paddlesomewhere.First off I tried the Hamble Estuary. Iwas given a good starting point whichwas supposed to be a public slipwaybut which was in fact a row of twistedsteel piles and a stretch of mud.

Fortunately the owner of the nearbymarina kindly let me use his pontoon.It was a little daunting out on the openwater, all alone but there waswonderful wildlife to keep me companytogether with just a few other boatersand a kind fisherman who gave medirections.

At the top of the estuary, the river forksand a narrow creek runs up to a

delightful pub. This was a bit of astruggle with not enough water to floatthe boat so I had frequently to just sitand wait for the tide to creep in. Thepub was eventually reached with acharming landlord and a garden besidethe river for me to wait for the tide tofill and start to ebb.The return journey was quite different.The river was full and the mud bankswere all covered. Of course the tides

were particularly high due to the springtides coupled with a full moon.For the nature lovers amongst you, Isaw gulls (common as muck), lapwings,curlew, sandpipers, little egrets, onekingfisher and a budgie (yes, blue andyellow), and the river banks were amaze of sea lavender, sea purslane andglasswort.The next day, I had a go at theBeaulieu River. I had received adviceto launch off the beach at Lepe but withnorth westerly (off shore) winds atforce 6, gusting at force 7, I thoughtthis might be a bit risky!I launched from the marina at Bucklers

Hard. It was a hard paddle into thewind on a winding river being blow ontothe shore each time I took a turn.Whilst I am generally quite good atkeeping the boat into the wind, at leasttwice I was forced to stop on the mudbank for the wind to die a little beforeheaving off again using a form of windferry-glide.The stop for lunch at Beaulieu was very

picturesque. Clipped lawn at theslipway and a charming tea shop,although I was pestered by swans,gulls, ducks and jackdaws whilst I atemy sandwiches.I was expecting the trip back to beeasier with the tide and the wind in mydirection. The actuality was that thecombination was quite intimidating withthe strong wind and not large wavespushing me forward at quite a rushtowards boats and trees and over theshallowly submerged banks. Needlessto say the trip back was a deal quickerand the sun came out on the way.Two good trips. Not long, but worthdoing again if the tides are right andthe wind a little less testing.

Adrian Cooper Sept. 2006


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SYMONDS YAT AN IN TRODUCTION TO WW

For all those who have just recentlypassed their 2 star course the Symonds

Yat trip was the next step. Of coursemost of us were slightly wary of movingonto white water; however with thewonderful teaching provided for us onthe 2 star course we were wellprepared. It was great to see lots of people on the trip and to be blessedwith good weather on the day.When we were on the water we split upinto two groups, one led by JP and oneby Paul. Both groups put the skills theyhad been practicing in the 2 star courseto the test. To begin with we did thesimple task of going down the rapid inone go. After this we took our boatsback to the starting place and had thepleasure of being able to seal launch(while avoiding the stinging nettles)down a steep and slippy bank.On our second trip down the rapids weall got to see what an eddy line looks

like and how to eddy hop. Mainly wepracticed breaking out and breaking intechniques. Whilst breaking out wewere taught to position the boat at thetop of the eddy at 45 degrees, leanupstream before starting to turn theboat and to hold that lean and not levelthe boat until achieving the turn andfinish facing upstream. We all seemedto pick up this particular technique

quite well. Next we moved on to thebreaking in technique. We were told topaddle up to the top of the eddy lineand to initiate the turn with a sweepstroke, then to lean downstream whilstmaking the turn. We all achieved thiswith the occasional wobble occurring.Paul suggested that we lean forward toavoid this wobble so as to stop the back of the boat being caught under thewater. We found that low brace is a

useful stroke to use whilst breaking inand out.On our third trip down the rapids wepracticed the Ferry Glide. This is usefulif you want to paddle across a currentwithout turning downstream. However Ithink the groups learnt that you have topaddle really fast if you want to avoidbeing swept away. We were taught toleave the eddy and to point as farupstream as possible. Then we wouldlift the upstream edge (eddy side) of the boat as you cross the eddy-line intothe main current. Then we put to usesome super speedy paddling until wemade it safely to the other side.

Personally I found the Ferry Glide thehardest skill and ended up going in. Itwas all good until I came across somerocks. But then again I was not the onlyone to experience this.We were all pretty tired after all of thisso we took a break for lunch. A few of us felt the strain on our arms butnevertheless we headed back out ontothe water. We made good use of the

slides they had built down the banksand all watched in anticipation as JP puton his nose plug and went down one of them backwards.The afternoon was spent practicing ourskills. Shelley and I focused on the ferryglide with some good advice from John,some practiced their eddying skills andmany attempted to get as far upstreamas they could.Overall it was a fantastic trip and welearnt lots from it. Well done to all of usand thank you to the organizers andgroup leaders. Unfortunately the dayhad the come to an end so we allpopped our boats on the top of our carsand headed home for some welldeserved rest.

Tor Edwards August 2006


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Big Dave is looking at the possibility of getting an Alps trip together next year.Here's a little taster of what might be in store - but then if you are good enough to go you probably already know.

THE SECOND IN STALLMENT

This years big trip was back to theFrench Massif Central to do a couple of the rivers from last time and to try afew further south, hoping for somewarmer weather.We had a good team of four for the twoweeks plus two further comrades forthe first week. I was really pleasedwith the group who are all soundpaddlers, good to be on the river with.We started on the river Allier since weknew this would provide both a usefulwarm-up and good sport on theplanned second section. It had themost difficult section of the trip andwas the scene of our two incidents.Kieron twisted his boat dropping over aledge drop. None of us could quite

work out how it happened but bothgunwales had kinks in them and wouldneed replacement. The other moremajor accident was Johns boat welland truly wrapped around a rock in themiddle of the river. This was moreeasily explained but much more difficultto deal with. Once we had recoveredthe boat it seemed to just pop back intoshape and served John well for the rest

of the trip (this was day three). Theboat is badly creased and will needreplacement!We headed south to the Tarn Gorge,another excellent river with interestconstantly along its length. Here wehad to mend the other Johns thwart.But that was the end of boat damage.We headed further south to the riverOrb, well towards the Mediterraneanand then across to the Herault andthence to the Ardeche Gorge.

Actually, we also seemed to haveproblems with all the other equipment.John Bs van broke down and yourstruly had to call a garage and explain inmy broken French what was wrong andwhere we were. John O lost his tentpoles. Kieron got a flat battery and hadto call the RAC and I lost a paddle.One minute it was there, the next itwas gone!Just so that we could say we were notalways in the valleys, I managed to finda small mountain to climb, up and back and in time for tea. Guess what, Ifound an orchid at the top.Notwithstanding the gear issues, it was

great fortnight and I would recommendthe area to anyone for mid grade whitewater. But where to next year?

Adrian Cooper Sept. 2006

THERE'S NOT MUCH FOR FREE!

That much is true, but whilst I was

looking for inspirational idea's for thenewsletter (in case our ownmembership fails to come up with thegoods - as does happen occasionally) Icame across a canoeing e-magazine.WAVELENGTH magazine has beenaround since 1991 and is available fromthe newsstands and other paddlingvenues around BC (Canada) and theUS.

It can also be downloaded from thewebsite courtesy of the advertisers whosponsor the e-version. Go tohttp://www.wavelengthmagazine.comand have a little look.I'm looking at the Aug. / Sept. editionwhich at 64 pages (11+mb) you couldreally use a broadband connection todownload, it's about 30mins if you arestill on wind up net access. True, thereare a lot of adverts - but there's somegood features in there as well.


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Amongst those I looked at in this issuewere a thorough piece on the low brace- most of us know it, most of us use it,but as I said in the last newsletterexplaining the strokes can be harderthan demonstrating them. It's worth aread, if only to get a new slant on anold friend. There are features onsailing and polo, equipment tests andbook reviews, as well as some goodtouring tales.With the colder shorter Winter dayscoming this could be a pleasant read.

And guess what - by the time you readthis the next issue will be out and itpromises to review some Christmas

goodies.Now I'm aware that a good read is notnecessarily what our younger readersmight have in mind when dabbling onthe PC. So why not try this:-http://www.loungekayaker.com.au - It'smostly Australian / New Zealand stuff,the site is full of videos, waterfalls & rapids - serious ones. Mostly around30secs. long, these should not trouble

the concentration cells too much, but if you're up for some cranial exercise tryone of the minute+ ones. If you reallylike what you see you can get highdefinition DVD's of most. And there'sphoto's too - might make some goodscreensavers.

John Norris Sept 2006

Just 2 weeks after the 'Intro to WW' event we were back on the Wye. Just 2hrs. drive away for the more placid sections of this most scenic of rivers; I'm up for it every time. And I'd recommend it to everyone so long as it's not to fast. If you didn't go this year, look out for next year. In addition to club trips members sometimes organise a 'peer group' paddle to the Yat.

A P LEASANT PADDLE

I've got the trip to Lydbrook down to afine art, I could almost do it blindfold.So just 1 hours after leaving sunnyStokenchurch we (I had offered Lewis

Young a lift) arrived in sunny Lydbrook. And it was warm. Not so many turnedup for this years trip, possibly due tomany having done the WW intro JPorganised a few weeks previously.Car shuttling completed we were on thewater by 11:00 and headed upstreamto a point opposite the Curry House.Regular readers will know that this waswhere my paddling journey started and

finished (for 20 years) having beenclose to drowning at this very point.Despite low water levels a reasonableflow was trickling through on the insideof the bend. I felt confidently able todeal with the conditions but when Iferried across the ripples a sense of dj vu persisted. Some things aresimple and some things have to bedone. This was simple and had to be

done. Perhaps I've put the ghost of Lydbrook behind me forever.

Lydbrook photo; Andy Maxted.

The rest of the group arrived and someof the newer members dabbled in thefaster flow to be had around this point.I must remember to go to the bookieson a Saturday. The odds will be prettyshort but whatever you put on Reza


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coming out first is going to makemoney, but not for much longer. Thisis the man who learned to roll in thepool last week and his enthusiasm issuch that he can now smile underwaterwhilst on his way up. It's just a matterof time before he does it in the river.Off downstream for a near 2 hr. paddletaking opportunities on the way topractise breaking in and out of eddies,bow rudders and all of that.The river was a lot busier this year thanlast, partly because of the earlier datebut mainly due to the good weather.Hire canoes abounded but all seemedto be in knowledgeable hands. I

normally like to strike out for home assoon as we have left, but mostunusually for me I spent a lot of time atthe back. A long way back. It startedwith an attempt at a mile sternrudder and ended about 400m later butby then I was drifting in solitude withthe sound of silence broken only by thecrescendo of chirping birds. This is theother side of me. I'm not really

bothered what birds they were but justto be there, just me and nature andnothing else. Magic.Lunch arrived around 12:50 on one of the few beaches not occupied by thehire canoeists. Midway through theeats entertainment was provided by

just such a boat grounding on theshallowest part of a river 40m wide.Off to Symonds Yat a few milesdownstream and my other personasurfaced.I hit the front and was away. Graemeand Richard stayed close for a while butI saw them off. With a loose helmetproviding a bit of drag in the watersome much needed cardiovascularexercise was had. The Yat was reachedin just under 40mins.Here I met with PC, HK, IH and Andywho had spent much of the weekendon the 'rapids'. Ian Hodges got himself

talked into going down the chute;turned turtle almost rolled but not quiteand had to be rescued. I made thesame mistake, with the sameconclusion, and then left for the'rapids'.I like the rapids, there's enough to dohere for the not so confident WWpaddler and at the same time morethrills than a 'White Knuckle ride'. On aday like today with the level fairly lowyou could drop over the top wave andbow rudder into the eddy, just as JPshowed earlier in the day. Or you canline yourself up and blast right through.I never made it back to the top though.

I ferry glided a few 'drops' and muscledit up some others, but never enough of either on the same run to get back tothe top. Most of us could be seentrying something new, except for thecoaches, who once again providedmore than adequate cover for us lessermortals. From time to time thechairman could be seen moving hislegend from side to side with envious

ease and that was about it for the nextcouple of hours. Apart from the'sideshow'.

A group of paddlers were being taughthow to get down the 'rapids' after theyhad exited their boats. There's an artto this and they hadn't got it yet.

All approached the first drop with sometrepidation, as would I, and all smiledgratefully once over the drop. Bigmistake. About 10m on, just under thesurface lurks a rock I'll callTchaikovsky's (The Nutcracker) fromnow on as thats what it did, blokes andladies alike, it showed no distinction.

And as all were queuing up behind theyall did the same. I think it was thesudden elation / deflation thing that didit for the audience of which we were

just a small part. But good luck tothem. If they use what they learnt justonce it will have been worthwhile.


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Just time for one last blast and thenback to change. I'd heard Ian Hodgeshad succeeded on the chute. So I hadto have another go. And this time Iwas a success, but I don't know why. Ifelt like I had lost it and then I waswhere I should be - I can only surmisethat a high support stroke came intoplay at some point and it must havebeen instinctive. There's hope for meyet. Time for a pint and home to rest.

A very tiring, but enjoyable day.

John Norris Sept 2006

Just how wrong can you be? I felt sure

that the Chairman's 'Technical swim' might have bought forth some replies from the upper echelons of the club.But no; just one reply. Looks like Eddie gets a pint, if he ever hangs around long enough to see me in the pub!

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (1)

In reply to the contest (newsletter 112

p3), my dictionary's definition of theword 'swim' states: - "Move on or belowthe surface of the water by using armsand legs".

Although this is correct from aswimmers point of view, from acanoeist's point of view I wouldsuggest: - "A situation, requiringminimal effort and time, that converts acanoeist to a swimmer - that requiresconsiderable more effort and time toreverse the situation".

Eddie Thorne. July 2006

This looks interesting - Kelvin doing his bit to dust of the 'boring accountant' label many in his profession enjoy. I once thought of being an accountant and then maybe I'd be enjoying

holidays like this right now. The game was up (memorably) when I failed to

grasp how a garden shed purchased over a no. of years (with interest payable) could actually cost less than paying cash up front and getting a discount- and I s t i l l don ' t . Perhaps that why I'm not an accountant and why I'm not paddling in Canada this year. PV of AC - bah!

CANADA 2006

How was it that I found myself goingbackwards in what appeared to be a bigbanana on a fast flowing riversurrounded by boulders and standing

waves heading towards a rock which bysome divine inspiration had beenplaced, together with its twin, in themiddle of the river and whats morebeen endowed with a strange power toattract plastic and Royalex especiallywhen shaped like a canoe?This was day four on a nine day whitewater and wilderness camping trip andI was on Thread-the-Needle, a rapid onthe Dumont River in Quebec, paddling aMad River Outrage which was somanoeuvrable in this type of water that

just one sweep stroke on the right andthe boat spun around and I was goingthe right way, a quick draw and therock was missed, I had indeed threadedthe needle.

The plane leaves and we're on our own.


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That day we had already run sevenrapids, done one portage and hadanother two rapids and a short portageto go before we could set up camp.

A typical campsite

We, a mixture of British, American, andGermans, with a Canadian guide, ten intotal, had flown in by float plane 3days, 20k and 17 rapids ago to anisolated lake and were paddling the 75k back to the Ottawa River and thetakeout. This was to be the most rapidswe would run in a day and tomorrowwas a lay over day to recover.With one canoe strapped to a float, andthree passengers at a time the planehad followed the course of the river tothe put-in. Although we were delayedby a day due to the weather this wassoon made up, and we were now onschedule.That first day we had set up camp on asandy beach and all mucked in with thechores. Perhaps the worst job on a

wilderness camping trip is latrine duty.Its not so much digging the hole, apaddle blade long by a paddle bladedeep, nor filling it in the followingmorning, although that is not for theweak stomached. The worst part iscollecting the used toilet paper thefollowing morning and burning this onthe camp fire. It is surprising how thosecongregated around the fire having the

last sip of coffee disappear when

someone approaches with the plasticbag of TP.The second day, after a few rapids themain feature had been a 1k portage,

Grunt portage. This took most of theafternoon but then we were back onthe water and preparing for BridgeRapids, a class II followed by 4 class1s all paddled as one continuous rapida total distance of about 0.5 k. Viewingthese rapids from the bridge, or shouldI say through the bridge as there werebig gaps in the cross beams, we noticedat the end of the class II a canoewrapped around a rock, It had beenthere for about a week, the current

being too strong to recover it. This wasmy first big wave rapid and keeping tothe middle, slowing the canoe and

Kelvin in the Outrage

riding the waves was exhilarating and Iwas really looking forward to the lastrapid of the day Little Steel. A 1k rapid starting as class I on river left, thewater divided around an island, then


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across to river right for a class IIfollowed by further class I water. Highwaves and lots of back paddling. Greatfun.

Campsite playspot

After the lay-over day when we relaxedand played in the rapid that ran alongthe camp-site, the grand finale of thenext day was a series of class IIs andIIIs followed by few class Is into asmall lake.

A small rapid

It started well, the waves were big butfew obstacles, but whereas on previousrapids the waves followed the flowdown river and were predictable thesewere erratic and coming from alldirections, needless to say one camefrom a direction I was not anticipatingand despite my efforts over I went,swimming the rest of the class II.Having recovered the boat, I ran thesecond part of the rapid, which as itentered the lake, became a rock garden. I caught a submerged rock andbegan to go over, I was determinedthat I was not going to swim again. Asthe canoe began to go over I found my

hand resting on the riverbed, a hardpush and I was upright and continuedinto the lake. What luck!

Nearing the end!

The following days were not soeventful, there were still some goodrapids to run but these were separatedby long stretches of flat water, which

were great for relaxing in the warmsunshine. All too soon we werepaddling the last stretch across theOttawa River to the take-out. It was allover and I was heading toNewfoundland.The rain was torrential and I neverthought I would be able to combat thewind and get around the headlandagainst the tide. Luckily we were well

prepared (there is no such thing as badweather only inappropriate clothing)


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and the rain gear was holding up well.We had set out about three hoursprevious to paddle the estuary of theGrundies, near Burgeo a village on thesouth coast of Newfoundland, to reacha waterfall where we intended to havelunch. On the way the wind becamestronger and we battled to makeheadway. On reaching the falls theheavens had opened and we turnedaround and headed back. Eventuallythe headland was rounded and we werein the sheltered bay; although the windeased the rain continued. All this efforthad its compensations; we had seentwo Bald Eagles enjoying the wind that

we were battling.Burgeo is a small fishing village, whichuntil the 1980s was only accessible byboat. The town is very sheltered beingsurrounded by small islands, 365 intotal. The shore has many coves andinlets, each opening up to yet moreinlets, and it was our intention, despitethe weather, to paddle and explorethese coves over the next three days.

On one exploration we came across a rapid in the sea. This was caused bythe water rushing through a narrowchannel leading to one of the inlets. Weran the rapid and, after exploring theinlet, ran it again on the way out as thetide had changed and the current wasonce again with us. They shouldarrange this on some of our rivers; itwould save all that shuttling!Burgeo marked the end of the paddlingpart of the holiday except for a shortpaddle on the Humber River, 130 milesto the north. We now travelled to GrosMorne National Park to view thespectacular scenery and some of theoldest rocks in the world; this is where,geologically speaking, Scotland andCanada meet. We explore these hills,mountains, lakes and shore for a fewmore days, enjoying some excellentrestaurants and attending a local

theatre groups play about the areabefore returning home.

Although the holiday was strenuous itwas very exhilarating and lots of newfriends were made and experiencegained. I would definitely do it again,especially the Dumoine.

Kelvin Abbott 15/10/06

SO THAT'S IT THENSo that's it then. Summer is officiallyover. And what better way tocommiserate than with a trip to the

Bounty? Fourteen intrepid paddlers leftthe club at 7pm sharp on September19th, the last Tuesday club night of theyear. Spurred on by the 8pm last foodorders deadline, the gang raceddownstream in pursuit of Adrian, whomust have been hungry because hehad selected a marathon boat.Darkness fell just as we arrived at thepub, and we were greeted by what

looked to my inexperienced eye like asix foot high wall at which to exit.Tired arms confirmed this assessment,but we all scrambled out with nohumiliations.It was agreed by the ladies thatbuoyancy aids are probably not a goodlook when among dry regulars, so onceappropriately de-vested we hit the bar.The full range of the Bounty's food anddrinks were tested, from hot chocolatewith whipped cream and marshmallowsto chips with stilton. And a few beerstoo. Thus cheered, conversation turnto such diverse topics as techniques forfrightening small children in graveyards,Skippy the bush kangaroo's genderconfusion and Felicity Kendall's stuntdouble. And of course, tales of canoe-daring-do (ask Ian about his Symonds

Yat seal entry).Getting cold, and in the pitch black, it


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was time to go. It was at this pointthat the six foot wall came back tohaunt us. Suitably spooked, I asked foradvice from a more experiencedpaddler, and was advised to put theboat in and 'dangle' into it. Hmm. Onenew (but very experienced) member letgo of her boat and it took a solo tripinto the middle of the river, causingmuch amusement. They were soonreunited by a gallant colleague. Most'dangled' in and a few made like seals.We were soon away.My first night paddle. And it was reallyvery dark! I teamed up with otherswho, more wisely than me, had brought

head torches with them. As wepaddled in silence the bright moonlightwas reflected on the ripples movingacross the river, creating a slightlydisorientating effect. Two fantasticshooting stars and mist swirling aroundus made it a very memorable trip. Aswe rested by the Island in the mist,Daubentons bats whizzed around us(thank you for the identification, Phil!).

What a great way to welcome the Autumn.

Katy Greene Oct 2006

A FIR ST NIGH T AT THE NENEOn September 26 th, the club took a tripto the Nene Whitewater Centre, a 300metre course generated by 3 waterpumps that determine the skill leveldepending how many are switched on.Its an excellent place to go if you wantan introduction to white water.When I got to the centre, I was feelingquite nervous because it was to be myfirst time. I unloaded my kayak bookedin and got changed.We took the boats to the top of thecourse and Johnny P walked us aroundthe riverbank explaining to us about

the movement of the water at each of the weirs, so we knew what to expect. Iwas raring to go. There was only 2 of the 3 pumps switched on so it was idealfor us beginners to learn, as I was toldit was around grade 2 level.We spent about an hour and 20minutes on the water, learning,practising and having a great time and Iaccomplished my first unexpected roll,which was a real achievement for me.When we were given the 5 minutewarning, we paddled to the end, pulledout the boats and walked over to thebeginning for another run brilliant!

All in all the evening was a great laugh

and I cannot wait for the next. I wouldlike to say thanks to JP for organisingthe trip and all the instructors whohelped out. Im sure we all benefitedfrom it.

Andrew McMaster Oct 2006

NOT SO FREE IN THE

'LAND OF THE FREE'

In a rather bizarre ruling that hasmarine industry officials worried, JudgeRobert G. James of the United StatesDistrict Court, Western Division of Louisiana, has said that it is criminaltrespass for the American boatingpublic to boat, fish, or hunt on theMississippi River and other navigable

waters in the US.In the case of Normal Parm v. Sheriff Mark Shumate, James ruled that federallaw grants exclusive and private controlover the waters of the river, outside themain shipping channel, to riparianlandowners. The shallows of thenavigable waters are no longer open tothe public. That, in effect, makesboating illegal across most of thecountry.


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"Even though this action seems like ahorrible pre-April fools joke, it is veryserious," said Phil Keeter, MRAApresident, in a statement. "Becauseessentially all the waters andwaterways of our country areconsidered navigable in the US law, thisruling declares recreational boating,water skiing, fishing, waterfowl hunting,and fishing tournaments to be illegaland the public subject to jail sentencesfor recreating with their families."

You might have thought it hard for things to be worse than the paddling

situation here, but unfortunately not.There's not many in the U.S. that'll take on the Gun Lobby but that seems to be what the Judge is doing, maybe inadvertently. Perhaps their power is to be welcomed for once - I don't think the waterfowl will be smiling for long.

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As I said last issue, it's good to see the YAHOO group service benefiting the membership. Here's another example.No sooner than PC mentioned the possibility of doing the Teifi tour than it snowballed into a (peer) group event.Here's an account of Day 1 as seen by prospective L3 coach, Big Dave.

TEIFI TOUR 20 06 DAY 1

So a drive to South West Wales on aFriday afternoon had Henry and I atLlandysul before dark to get ourbearings, and buy our river tickets. Wewere quite early so off we went to thecampsite after a little look at the river.We returned in the morning to tryagain. We chucked our tents up andshortly after Tor, Andy and Lewisturned up to join us for a curry in

Newcastle Emyln. We returned to thecampsite as the rest of the group,

including those not camping arrived.We proceeded to watch smugly as thelate arrivals with new tents struggled inthe glow of car headlights to settle forthe evening.Early the next morning we followed thetour instructions and eventually endedup at a field somewhere upstream of Llandysul wearing a pink tourwristband. A short briefing and a gameof throw bag miming then we wereaway in two groups. This first section,down to Llandysul was used to practiceall the core white water skills and forthe coaches to practice group controland leadership. Taking twice as long as

expected, Rezza practiced his rollingincluding the highly sought after skill of celebration swimming that follows amuch-admired combat roll celebration.We arrived at Llandysul for a quick biteof lunch, and then deciding time wasrunning short continued to run thebigger Landysul section in a free formstyle with the trip leaders providingcover and advice but allowing the white

water novices to find their own routethrough the town. Rezza and Lewiswere neck and neck on the swimmingcompetition at this point.We were concerned about time so weupped the paddle rate to get to the firstegress point and those who did notwish to continue got the shuttle busback while the rest continued on theslog to the falls of Henllan.

At the falls a brief inspection wascompleted and we set off like lemmingsall in a line, with me as tail end Charlie.My own recollection is hanging to thegorge rock face below the falls in myboat trying to work it along as thecurrent pushed me into the rock andthe cushion wave pushed me away. AllI could hear was the crowd chant andcheer as if I were a gladiator in thecoliseum, not caring what the outcomewas, waiting for the river god to decide


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my fate. All I could see ahead was thecarnage of Marlow Canoe Club in front.Final Count at the coliseum;

RIVER GODS 5 - MCC 4The Gods w on!

And in the swimming competition itfinished Lewis 5 - Rezza 6

There will be more about this trip in the next issue, to include an account from the cockpit of 'Lil Joe' on Debs' daring do.

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The Social Secretary post is a bit of a misnomer, as in the past some holders have done little, if anything to warrant holding the post. All that's about to change now that we have a new person in the seat. Here's Melinda's account of her first event.

FIRST SOCIAL OVER (PHEW !)

We went, we saw, we conquered. Theclimb at Amersham is an artificialclimbing wall offering tuition,bouldering, and ascents of varyingdifficulties.This was to be my first event as 'SocialOfficer' a position described to me as'organising a few events outside of thesummer season to help keep the clubtogether over the winter months,particularly those whose skills wereinsufficient to allow them to paddle incolder rougher climes'. I had booked12 places with a couple of instructorsfor a 1hr. session. Places soon went.

Arriving at the climb we saw peoplemore adept at this sport climbing upthings that shouldn't really be climbed.Our instructors had everythingprepared and demonstrated the bestway to put our harnesses on. Then it

was off to the bouldering wall for some'loosening up'. Once loosened, we triedthe easy wall which gave us a chanceto abseil down without testing ourbottle too much. Paul N. gives us ademo.Lean back, I've got you - trust me,were repeated a few times. Us girlswere more verbal with our fear, unlikethe men. The only noise they madewas their knees knocking together,those that hadn't climbed beforeanyway. Finally we graduated to thebig walls. A proper roped ascent, withan instructor controlled descent. Somemade it to the top, some didn't, all were

happy they had given it a go.Time for home - or the pub. A few of us went down into Amersham old townfor a celebratory drink and a chance tomeet some who were unable to climb.Everything had gone smoothly - thatwasn't so bad was it.

Melinda Livett Nov. 2006

IN THE DAYS BEFOREPLASTIC B OATS

Two items caught my eye in newsletterno.112. In the editors piece referringto 'some of those grey haired typesseen around the club from time to time'and 'these people started theircanoeing before plastic was invented'.

I fit both quotes having started mypaddling in 1952, aged 12. John goeson to ask 'anyone up for Hell Hole in a4m wood and canvas boat, not me'.This was the only type of boat availableapart from Canadians, so as there waslittle choice one used what wasavailable and made the most of it,pretty much as one does today.Let's go back to those dark and distant

days of the 1950's. The boats availablewere rigid, canvas covered with a wood


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frame, collapsible or folding versions of the same and wooden Canadians,known as opens today. Few people adcars which made folding boats apopular option as they could easily betaken on public transport. Most peoplehad the one boat which they used foreverything from slalom to WW to sea.Paddling skills were developed as wewent along as there was little or nocoaching available. Buoyancy aids wererarely used, normally only for WW orslalom, and consisted of two aircushions, one on the chest, the otheron the back, with straps to hold them inplace.

The 2nd item was Andy Maxted's 'Usk revisited'. There he mentions 'the nextmajor feature was the curiously namedSPUHLERS FOLLY'. I have tried to findout from my archives how this cameabout but to date do not have anyanswers'.However, I thought the two items couldgo together as Jack Spulher was aleading slalom and WW paddler of the

1950 -60's. The 1950's was a periodwhen a great deal of new ideas in boatdesign and use of new materialsemerged especially foe slalom and WW.It must be remembered that the recentwar had played it's part making use of new ideas and materials. Many of thewartime inventions and the newmaterials started to be available forcivilian use.

As such, many paddlers experimentedwith new designs and materials, withonly one or just a few boats beingproduced. Jack was one of the moresuccessful designers and his mk.VIdesign was put into commercialproduction by Tyne folding boats as the'J.S. mkVI' who manufactured it for ano. of years from 1959. The boat wasalso adopted as the standard canoe forthe BCU corps of Lifeguards.

(Roger submitted a photocopy of theTyne catalogue but a low res. image,scanning and small format newslettermake it impractical to reproduce. Ihave placed his original submission onthe noticeboard for those that areinterested. This illustrates new ideassuch as longitudinal central stiffenerand cross frames made of Tufnol allcovered with a 7 ply rubberised fabricskin similar to that used in wartimesurvival dinghies).Roger finishes; - I have, and still paddlea 'sports single' with original framefrom 1950 and replacement skin.

Roger French Nov. 200 6

Well, now we know who it's named after, but the question remains, WHY.Was Jack the first to negotiate this feature safely, or did he become a cropper on the folly. Those in the know might care to elucidate and inform those that don't. 50+ years for a wood and canvas boat, thats pretty good going. I'm loathe to say is that a record, because someone always trumps it. I've just had a close look at my Inazone. I reckon it's going to be around for at least 10,000 years, and probably longer than the Thames as we know (knew) it.

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From newsletter 113 -published September 2006;

CLUBHOUSE KEYS

We've got a functionalpadlock, a slightly lessreliable version of the same,and keys for both dotted allover the place. Variousmembers have tried to keeptrack of keys over the yearsbut our m ost recent list of keyholders contains names of

people who have not beenseen or heard of for manyyears. September'scommittee meeting decidedto replace the lock (andkeys). The process w ill besomewhat arduous but AndyMaxted has agreed tocoordinate the issue of new

keys. If you have an existingkey and will need areplacement, please get incontact with Andy so that areplacement can be issuedand a proper register drawnup. If you do not have a keybut would like one, theexisting procedures are thatan application needs to bemade to the committee inwri t ing for approval . You wil lneed to be over 18, three starstandard and deemed by thecommittee to be sufficientlyresponsible. If you are nolonger a user of the club butstill have a key it can bereturned for your initial

deposit . We w il l announce adate in a couple of monthswhen the padlock will bechanged and when the oldkeys w ill be of no further use.

It seems very few people havebothered to let AM know theywould like a key. Last night'scommittee meeting revealedthat just 7 people had advisedAndy that they would require anew key. Get yourselvessorted or you won't be getting

in!I'll hold my hands up - I've notdone it either - YET.

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TYNE TOUR

Well, despite my invitation, no-one wasinterested in joining me for the TyneTour this year. Right at the lastmoment, my accommodation wascancelled so it looked like I was goingto be left camping with 2,000 studentson Tyne Green in Hexham! Anyway, mymate Keiron came to the rescue andoffered me a room for the night inNottingham so we could drive up onSaturday morning. In fact we were onthe water by 10.30am ahead of most of the crowds.We got on at Barrasford above the

grade 2/3 rapid for a paddle back toHexham with a medium water levelwhich meant mainly grade 2 water withone big weir and the famous WardenGorge, which, despite its notoriety, isreally only a grade 3 run but a bit of achallenge in an open canoe.We stopped for lunch under the treeson a grassy bank beside a group of surf waves which gave us the opportunity to

show the kayakers how it should bedone.Warden Gorge did not disappoint. Atthis level you can select a line andpretty much guarantee to stay on it. Soprovided you have planed well youshould come to no harm. Kieron wasonly paddling the one day so I saidcheerio to him and, despite looking allround the campsite, I couldnt findanyone else I knew although I knowthere were at least a couple staying.However, I was lucky for Saturdayevening with friends Jenny and Davecoming up trumps, giving me a bedsettee for the night and taking me outto dinner. Friends are great, arentthey?So for Sunday, I persuaded thesefriends to paddle with me from a bitfurther up at Wark. This made thepaddle some 12 miles which would

have been fine if we didnt have to copewith the headwind!We had a lovely days paddle throughsome great scenery crossing HadriansWall on the way. We went through thegorge again and Jenny makingsuggestions for getting more out of therapid than I had done the day before.The gorge is in a Site of SpecialScientific Interest so there is nocarrying back up for another run whichis a shame. I think if it was not a tourday, this might be a possibility. Still,another time.Whilst the Tour is a great venue for themore inexperienced paddlers with

similar safety cover to that provided onthe Teifi Tour, what we really go therefor is the possibility of there beingsufficient water to paddle some of theother local rivers. The wholecatchment is available for the weekendwith the River Allen being probably themost inviting. Anyone else for nextyear?

Adrian Cooper Nov 2006


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DAVID LYDIATT

The coming AGM will see the retirementfrom the committee of one of ourstalwarts (no that's not a medicalcondition)David Lyddiatt has decided to stepdown as organiser of the MarlowMarathon.David has been a member of the clubfor more years than my archive records ,however a trawl through the minutes of past committee meetings that I havestashed away tells more than I hadremembered.First mention of David as the marathonrep was in the AGM minutes of 1990when I believe he took over from GerryKnight (the mystery man whodisappears up the river every Sunday ina dark blue K1) and he continuedwithout a break until after the race in1997 when he changed jobs (daytimepost that is!). This led to a two yearbreak covered by Dave Goddard, butDavid's life was apparently unfulfilled

and he returned in 2000 to carry onuntil this year. He threatened to retirethree years ago but we beat him intosubmission.The race ran pretty much like clockwork under David's supervision apart fromone or two minor glitches. The year heleft the prizes on his kitchen tablecomes to mind! The weather couldalways be guaranteed to be somewhere

between warm and blazing hot but therecord had to fall when this year therains came to coincide with a later datethan normal and his swan song racehad to be cancelled, but not until all of his preparation work had alreadybeen done. Race day when many turnout to help is only the climax of the jobof organiser. This is preceded by ayearly application for approval of ourdate, circulation of the details to theclubs, obtaining all the permissions,

licences and prizes and annualpleadings for help. Race day ispreceded by a paddle along the wholecourse to check for hazards and chatswith the lock keepers along the way.The job doesn't finish when we all gohome tired, as results have to bechecked, Hasler points allocated andreturns sent to the BCU MarathonCommittee. Finally an account has to beprepared for our treasurer and a reportwritten for our AGM.The last few years saw David ablyassisted by his wife Barbara who, seenby few, sat in the background feverishlyentering the results onto a laptop for

which we are very grateful.This does not tell the whole storyhowever, as in 1995 and 96 David wasour representative at the River UsersGroup meetings and to top it off hetook the additional post of HonSecretary in 1996 and 97 so filling a hattrick of committee posts in one year.Our thanks go to you David for afantastic contribution to the running of

our club. Hopefully we will see you atthe AGM in January for a last reporton a race that would probably havebeen our biggest entry ever. If we canhelp out with something to while awaythose long evenings in front of the TVyou know where we are...........

Tim Ward 9.11.06

As he paddles off into the sunset, I'm sure we would all like to join the President in wishing David a happy 'retirement'.


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2007 AGMTHE 'KIN GS HEAD' - LITTLE MAR LOW.

M onday 29th January; start 8:00pm

The Mundane bit, when all the official stuff is sorted out. Who's onnext year's committee, election of new officers and recognition of

achievement by various peoples throughout the year andpresentation of awards.

The 'Kings Head' not only has a superb range of beers, butoffers some excellent food as w ell. Arrive around 7.00pm toenjoy a bar meal and a drink and to be sure of a parkingplace. See you there.

HIGH WYCOMBE

BOURNEEN D

MAIDENHEAD

THE KINGS HEAD


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W HAT'S ON, WHEN AND W HERE

The complete and authoritive guide to all that the club hopes to do in theforthcoming months. Please note that at the time of going to press dates cannotbe guaranteed and that the programme is subject to changes.

25-26/11/06 WYE & USK WHITEWATER SPECTACULAR - YOUR FIRST SERIOUS WW JP28/11/06 KAYAK TIAWAN;LECTURE & SLIDESHOW - WOKINGHAM W.C. EXT.03/12/06 SUNDAY SESSION04/12/06 COMMITTEE MEETING (ALL WELCOME) AMTBA CHRISTMAS 'DO' (SEE NOTICEBOARD FOR DETAILS) ML09-10/12/06 DART WHITEWATER SPECTACULAR + YOUR SECOND SERIOUS WW JP17/12/06 CLUB SESSION24/12/06 CHRISTMAS EVE PADDLE - FRESH AIR FOR THE ALL SHOPPED OUT

31/12/06 NEW YEARS EVE PADDLE & EDITORS BIRTHDAY (BUY ME A DRINK!)07/01/07 CLUB SESSION08/01/07 COMMITTEE MEETING AM14/01/07 CLUB SESSION21/01/07 CLUB SESSION27-28/01/07 YET ANOTHER WHITEWATER SPECTACULAR - RIVERS DART & BARLE JP29/01/07 AGM - SEE POSTER INSIDE. AM04/02/07 CLUB SESSION11/02/07 CLUB SESSION18/02/07 CLUB SESSION25/02/07 CLUB SESSION.

EVERYTHURSDAY

EVENING9.00 - 10.30

SWIMMING POOL SESSIONS AT GURNELL POOL, WEST LONDON.GET TUITION IN ROLLING, OR PRACTISE 3* SKILLS, OR

ANYTHING YOU'VE GOT A BIT RUSTY ON. SEE WEBSITE FOR MAPAND DETAILS OR CONTACT JOHN PARKIN or JOHN NORRIS.

JP

ORGANISER / MCC CONTACT CODE FOR ABOVE EVENTS

AC ADRIAN COOPER 01844 344580 [email protected] AM ANDY MAXTED 07730 852760 [email protected] DL DAVID LYDIATT 01753 887773 [email protected] JOHN NORRIS 01494 483833 [email protected] JOHN PARKIN 07973 820515 [email protected] MARTIN PLAIN 01628 483252 [email protected] TB TERRY BELCHER 01628 851001 [email protected]


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THE COMM ITTEE AND OTHER USEFUL NUM BERS

A list of those members who serve on the club's committee, their role and acontact no. should you need to contact them.

POSITION NAME CONTACTNO. E-MAIL

PRESIDENT TIM WARD 01494482959

CHAIRMAN ADRIANCOOPER 01844344580 [email protected]

SECRETARY ANDY MAXTED07730852760 [email protected]

TREASURER PAULCRICHTON08708806962

COACHINGTIMTWITCHEN

07833995289 [email protected]

NEWSLETTER JOHN NORRIS 01494483833 [email protected]

MEMBERSHIP RODEDMONDS01753671389

EQUIPMENT DON MOORE 01628773555

MARATHON DAVIDLYDIATT01753887773 [email protected]

LONGRIDGE MARTIN PLAIN01628483252 [email protected]

WOMENS REP. DEBS HARDY 07812749555 [email protected]

YOUTH REP VACANT PERSONABLE YOOF REQUIRED!

SOCIAL MELINDALIVETT

WHITEWATER JOHN PARKIN 01628476384 [email protected]

INLANDTOURS

GUY MADDIESON

01844275418 [email protected]

SEA TBA

OUR NEAREST RETAILERS / SUPPLIERSRIVERSIDE OXFORD 01865248673 http://www.riversideoxford.co.uk/

MARSPORT READING 01189665912 http://www.marsport.co.uk/

WWC SHEPPERTON 01932247978 http://www.whitewaterthecanoecentre.co.uk/

PADDLESPORT COMPTON VERNEY 01926640573 http://www.paddlesport.co.uk/

Please advise the editor if any contact details are wrong or if you w ishto add an alternative no. / e-mail address to the list.

newsletter 114 winter 2006 04

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