2010 05 newsletter

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Volume 34 Issue 5 ~ May 2010

Frome Canoe Club is affiliated to the British Canoe Union and is a Registered Charity (Number 1104728)

Jack, on the Allt Kinglass, does it in style!

What happens next? See page 18. Read about this and the rest of the Scotland trip in the report starting on Page 14

Jonathan gains the 300m interval swimming badge!

Read Jonathan’s report on Page 20.

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FCC ‘THROWLINE ’ CLUB MAGAZINE

COPY DATE FOR THE NEXT ISSUE

27th May Please send items for next Newsletter by email to [email protected]

THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

President

Graham Warnecke

Vice Presidents

Richard and Jane Arney

Jim and Catharine Croft

Chairman

Andy Bell

Vice Chairman

Rich Carter

Treasurer

John Kent

Secretary

Pam Dixon

16 Blagdon Walk, Frome, BA11 2YH

Committee Members

Andy Avery

Howard Charlesworth

Hazel Cottle

Alun Jones

Gareth McGiveron

Julie Middleton

Alex Nicol

Martin Spurling

Sara Withall

CONTENTS

Page

Committee details/Contents 2

Calendar in brief 3

Local Trip details 4

Winchester Slalom details 4

Slalom Courses 4

Biblins in detail 5

Langham Farm prep details 6

Courses 6

Langham Farm Slalom details 7

Wednesday Sessions 8/9

Friday Sessions 9

Mini Slaloms 10

Kit Amnesty Update 11

Frome Trip Report 12

Tryweryn Report (surfing!) 13

Scotland Trip Report 14

Scotland Photos 16/17

A Guinea Pig’s Tale 20

Four Star River Leaders 21/22

Spotlight on Members 23

Bits and Pieces 24/25

Youth Reps 25

Coppernose Clips 26

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Calendar 2010


Date Event Standard Contact

May

2/3 Loddon Slalom All John K

8/9 Two Star (Day 1 and Day 2) Participants Pam D

9 Local Trip 1 Star/Passport Kohn K

12 ‘Intermediate Slalom’ * starts All Andy A

15/16 WWSR course Participants Pam D

22 Winchester Slalom All John K

23 Two Star (Day 3) Participants Pam D

29/30 Biblins Weekend All Pam D

June

2 ‘Intro to Slalom’ (2)* starts Beginners Andy A

9 Discover course starts Passport paddlers Pam D

11 Mini Slalom at Langham Farm All Andy A

13 Set up Langham Farm Slalom All Andy B

16 2nd Passport Course starts Participants Pam D

19/20 LANGHAM FARM SLALOM All John K

27 Local Trip All John K

July

3/4 One Star Course Participants Pam D

3/4 Cardington Slalom Div 2/3 paddlers John K

9 Mini Slalom All Andy A

10/11 FSRT and Three Star weekend Participants Pam D

* These are new-this-year courses, running on Wednesdays - see P4 for more information

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Calendar in detail


Winchester Slalom Saturday 22nd May Meet at Market Yard Transport cost £10 approx Race costs £6.50 adults, £4.25 juniors

This slalom is called North Walls and takes place on the flat, easy water right next to the sports centre in Winchester. It is a Division 4/Open event.

It is absolutely ideal for Passport paddlers, One Star paddlers and an-yone who has done the ‘Intro’ course with Andy A. Old hands can also have a good time there and are often beaten by the up-and-coming young-uns in the club (shame!)

Sign up if you’re interested and we will sort out exact details nearer the time.

Local River Trip 9th May Meet at Market Yard: 9am Cost £3

A chance to paddle a river and get home in the afternoon! We will do either a section of the Frome or a section of the Avon and this can be decided on the morning depending on what people’s preferences are. So another one of our mysteries!

Get changed in the clubhouse, sort out the kit you need to borrow and then off to the get on.

Both the Avon and the Frome have flat bits and weirs which are good fun.

Remember to take a packed lunch and some warm clothes in case the weather is not brilliant!

Slalom Courses - sign up for these on the sheets at the clubhouse

Introduction A three week course, designed to give you everything you

need to know to enter your first slalom. Aimed at One Star/Passport paddlers. Wednesdays 7-8pm. Start dates 2nd June and 30th June.

Intermediate A six week course for paddlers who have entered an event

before and want to know how to go faster! Wednesdays 7.30-8.30pm. Start date 12th May.

Advanced A six week course deigned to shave off those fractions of a second

from your time, whilst keeping it clean. Aimed at ranked paddlers. Wednesdays 7.30 - 8.30pm. Start date 28th July.

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Calendar in detail - BIBLINS


then do the clearing up afterwards.

We have a campfire on Saturday night and tell

ghost stories to each other in the spooky

gloom of the forest.

This trip is ideal for youth mem-bers. The cost of the weekend is £31 which includes food, transport, campsite fees and paddling on two days.

A weekend in the wonderful Forest Of Dean. We camp over Saturday night and we paddle the River Wye on two days. It’s a good trip to join.

This trip is ideal for open boaters and kayakers. We do a longish paddle on Sat-urday fitting in the seal launch rock with slides and jumps and other mad frolics. And then we spend all Sunday playing on the easy rapids at the Yat, not to men-tion swimming with ‘bums-up’ technique, lazing, and generally messing about.

The camp site, in the mid-dle of the Forest of Dean, is called Biblins. It has the river Wye on one side and a wooded hill on the other side.

You need to bring a tent or share one with a friend (single sex tents only), sleeping bag, and overnight things. There are toilets and show-ers close by. We pitch the big club marquee so that we can all eat to-gether and if it is raining at least we have shelter together. Pam sorts out all the food and everyone mucks in together to prepare it and

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Calendar in detail

Preparation for Langham Farm Slalom 13th June Langham Farm 9am till 4pm (or what ever time you

can spare that day)

We need lots of help to set up the slalom today, as we convert a field into a fully functioning slalom site with PA system, timing devices, a five star ca-tering establishment complete with tables and chairs all set on beautifully cut grass for us (with Tim’s help).

We set up the actual slalom course under the direction of Andy Bell. The two big marquees are set up with Rich telling us how it all joins together. The kitchen goes in under the watchful eye of Pam and everyone helps with all of this and all the other jobs like signs/bins/control tent etc etc.

However we do keep you supplied with tea, juice and cake all day and what’s more, you can try out the slalom course at the end of the day, before anyone else, and get really good at it!

Courses 2010

Full details are now available in the new leaflet. Also on the website. In brief:

Passport £30 An introductory 6 week course for under 14s. Wednesdays 7-8pm. Start date 16 June.

Discover £45 This follows on from the Passport course. 15 weeks and designed for under-14s. Wednesdays 7– 8pm. Start date 9 June

One Star £35 An introductory course in a weekend, for over 14s. 3/4 July 21/22 August

Two Star £50 A course over three days. 8/9 May and 23 May 4/5 Sept and 12 Sept

Three Star White Water £60 A course over three days. 10/11 July and 24 October

Canoe Safety (FSRT) £30 10/11 July

Aquatic First Aid £25 An 8 hour course: 25 July

WE NEED LOADS OF HELP

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Calendar in detail - Langham Farm Slalom

CANOE SLALOM

Frome Canoe Club presents

LANGHAM FARM SLALOM 3/4 19/20

thJune Langham Farm, nr Frome

First Race on Saturday. Second Race on Sunday Refreshments: hot/cold drinks, cakes etc, plus the Langham Farm specialty - all day breakfasts. Parking £2 per car per day Camping: £3 per person per night.

For more information and race entries contact: Andy Bell, 129 The Butts, Frome, BA11 4AQ. 01373 468030 Email: [email protected]

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Calendar in detail - Wednesday River Sessions


Wednesday sessions

At the Clubhouse in Market Yard, Frome. Cost £2

Sessions provide opportunities for training and for having fun!

How are the sessions are organised?

7pm till 8pm - for younger members and less experienced paddlers 8pm till 9pm - for more experienced paddlers and adults. See next page for the choices of activities you have!

What do I do?

On the door, when you pay, you sign up for the group you are going to join. See next page for all the groups.

You get a coloured bib. Get changed in the changing rooms and then go and collect all the kit

you need. Someone will help you if you are not sure what to choose.. Put the bib on top of your buoyancy aid. This helps the instructor for

your group find you. When your instructor is ready, carry your boat carefully down to the

jetty and get in. Remember the steps are steep and sometimes slippery so take great care. Get someone to help with your boat so that you share the load.

What do I need to bring?

£2 entry fee. A change of clothes for the water. You will need warm clothes for the

first few weeks. Some trainers or wetsuit boots. A towel to dry yourself after your shower. If you have a wet suit, bring that. Bring any other canoeing kit that you may have.

Remember you can borrow paddles, spray decks, buoyancy aids etc, etc from the club.

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Wednesday and Friday River Sessions


Wednesday sessions continued

Passport (7-8pm)

Same as last year

Passport is a course for young beginners to learn the skills of canoeing. One course has just started the next one starts on 16th June. Cost £30

Yellow Group (7-8pm)

Same as last year

This is for young paddlers who are just starting or those who want to play games. It’s onlevery week and runs all through the season. Limited to 10 paddlers in the group.

Discover (7-8pm)

NEW THIS YEAR

This is for our young paddlers who have achieved Passport and wish to progress to a level of paddling, equivalent to the BCU Two Star. Starting on June 9th, it is a 15 week course and runs for the rest of the season. Cost £45.

Slalom Same Slalom training: groups for young paddlers at 7-8pm and for adults and experienced paddlers at 8-9pm.

Slalom Courses (7-8pm)

NEW THIS YEAR

In addition to the normal groups (above) we are introducing some discrete coaching courses for beginners, intermediate and advanced paddlers. For more information see P4

Fun (8-9pm)

Change

This session replaces the Polo session of last year. It s a fun session for the older paddlers. Lots of games, some chilling and maybe some polo!

Adults (8-9pm)

Same A group for adults to learn skills or improve them, without any young people getting in the way.

Taster 7.30-8.30

Same For first-timers to the sport and those wanting to play games.

Friday sessions: Langham Farm, 7pm till 9pm. Cost £2

Starting 30th April, these sessions are for adults, but young people can take part as long as there is an instructor on site to take responsibility on the water.

We do not carry great stocks of spare kit there, so if you do want to paddle, and need to borrow club kit ask John in advance (by the Wednesday before) and he will arrange for some kit to be there if possible.

On Fridays, people usually ‘do their own thing’ either slalom training or a gen-tle paddle down to just take it easy!

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New! Fun Summer-Mini-Slalom-Series at Langham Farm


If you enter, you can have at least two timed runs down a full "short course" slalom course of 12 gates, from the weir to just above the bridge.

These events will be REALLY low key and relaxed slaloms. The event will be scored simply on your time to go through all the 12 gates we will ig-nore any gates that you touch! So no excuses, anyone can take part.

Dates, put them in your diary!

Friday 11th June

Friday 9th July

Friday 6th August

Times:

From 6pm: Course open for unsuper-vised practice, and event entries.

From 7pm: Fun slalom starts. Entries close. We'll have a quick chat to an-swer any questions .

Aim: to allow everyone two runs and be finished before 9pm. If we're ear-ly, and anyone's keen, no objection to 3rd or more timed runs.

Over the summer we'll be running a series of mini slaloms, alongside the usual Friday Club night at Langham Farm. The emphasis is firmly on FUN and joining in. The mini Slaloms will be open to any club member, paddling any boat. No special knowledge, skills or equipment is needed.

Cost: £2 ie the usual club night charge for members. Non members can take part for £4. So if you pad-dle on these Fridays, there is no ex-tra cost to enter the fun Slalom

We will run Mens and Womens events, and just write your name up on a whiteboard. That's the start order, first come first served. A se-lection of the club and slalom boats will be available.

There will be a couple of "timers" on the bank who will call you to the start line in order, shout "GO", then time you down the course. At the end of your run, you can talk to the timer and instantly get your time and some feedback. There will be no waiting around for results! Only your best run will count.

Shortly after each event the results will be on the website. We'll give points for each position at each event, then tally them up for a se-ries prize-giving, in age ranges, at the last event in August, with special edible prizes!

Come along and join in and have some fun. It’s simple, quick and easy!

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Firstly, thank you to all club mem-

bers who returned borrowed kit in

time for the ‘stock take’ and a

special mention to the willing volun-

teers who helped us check through

the kit at the Clubhouse work party

23rd March.

We’ve been pleased to find that

people have been using the Kit Loan

List on the notice board to book kit

out and back in so we can keep

track. Some pointers to help the

system run as smoothly as possible:

Get authorisation to borrow

the item(s) from Kit Officer

or any committee member.

Please make sure you put the

item number on the list - this

is usually written in marker

pen somewhere obvious, but

on some items you may have

to look on the clothing label.

Remember to sign the items

back in when you return

them. Otherwise, we will

chase you!

Please make Kit Officer or

other committee member

aware of any faults with the

item you may find.

HOWEVER.......

It is not all good news. Sadly,

there were MANY items miss-

ing from the audit; paddles,

spray decks, cags, buoyancy aids,

helmets etc etc.

These absences are already

having an impact on Wednesday

sessions with us running out of

certain sizes of paddles and hel-

mets on the last two sessions.

If the club was to try to replace

all these items, it would cost

more than

£1560

Obviously, the club can’t carry

this cost so please please, check

again. You may not realise you

still have borrowed kit in your

possession and . .

WE NEED IT BACK!! Hazel Cottle

KIT AMNESTY UPDATE

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Reports - River Frome


Frome Trip 11th April

By Kate Johnson

The second Sunday in April saw an elite band of 15 intrepid paddlers, with ages ranging from 11 to 72, gathering at the club house to take on the third Frome trip of the year. The weather was certainly warmer than for the New Year trip, even though the river was slightly lower. Isi looked less than keen to get on the water, and Stuart decided Vicky should take an open out on her own, which she did!

John announced we would be going from Woolverton Bridge down to Iford, which included the “Zoom Flume”. This was then described by a number of people as a narrow concrete gorge with a standing wave at the bottom. As the trip pro-gressed Troodie announced that 7 days earlier the standing waver had been more than 5 foot high but “there had been a lot more water in the river then, so it should be small-er today!”

The trip started uneventfully with everyone managing to get their boats on the water without getting wet, and so we set off for the first weir, which wasn’t exactly flowing

well. Ellie and James got stuck and had to be freed by John, gaining two points each as a result. One or two others bounced their way down, while the sensible minority took one look at it and decided to stretch their legs.

Almost everyone shot the weir at Rode and then we arrived at Lang-ham Farm where, even though the water was a couple of inches from the top of the weir, there was a good flow under the bridge. All those who took on the bridge managed it suc-cessfully and then it was time to play. Ben, Stuart (in an open) and Andrew L all tried to paddle upstream through the bridge, but only Andrew succeeded.

After Langham Farm the water level

power scheme. Tellisford, the next weir had only a trickle over it so everyone was forced to portage. From here on we all suffered from scraping our bottoms (along the river bed), and there was a lot of arm work required. Thankfully things improved but we did have to contend with a number of trees which had fallen almost all the way across the river, meaning we were paddling through the branches, which was an inter-esting challenge for us novices.

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Reports - Frome continued and Tryweryn


Continued over page

Tryweryn Turns Wavy! 27/28th March

By Jack Smiles, with a little input from Hazel and Tim!

Tryweryn wasn’t releasing this week-end so our weekend trip was called off at the last minute. We opted for a surfing trip instead and Saturday saw four hardy paddlers heading for the sea. It was a cold and dull day with a forecast of 2-3 ft surf: it should be all

right. Saunton here we come!

Eager to try out my new deck, I was off out to sea, keen to get going. The waves were not 2-3 ft. They were a good 5-6 ft and clean. Every-thing went fine till my deck popped and my boat got swamped. It didn’t look good as I surfed in on six foot high waves sinking further and fur-ther into the water. I tell you, it was-n’t a pretty sight.

The next obstacle was the highlight of the trip; the Zoom flume. Troodie and myself decided to take a walk to look at it, after hearing some of the horror stories, but then decided it looked too much fun to miss out on. Everyone managed it successfully (much to Ben’s dismay) including Isi and Vicky, now together in an open.

The following weir was about 5 foot, and again fairly dry but most people shot it, including Andrew who decided to bounce down and take out his foot-rests on the way.

Absolutely everyone shot the last weir at Iford with very few problems, ex-cept Vicky and Isi, who got stuck, and Vicky was heard to utter “We’re going to die” as the two of them were perched waiting for gravity to help, which eventually it did. We then

covered the short distance to the end, still with no swims!

Special mentions should go to Vicky and Isi for managing really well in their open boat, despite the efforts of some kayakers to put them off, and also to Dennis for completing the trip, at the grand age of 72 years.

Participants and Points Girls: Ellie Howell (2), Isi Miles,

Vicky Bennett Boys: Ben Miles Ladies: Troodie Bloodworth, Kate

Johnson Men : John Kent, Andrew Lyall,

Richard Heal, James Munn (2), Chris Harvey, Jonathan Howell, Pete and Dennis Bloodworth, Stuart Miles.

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Reports - Surfing continued / Scotland 2010


SCOTLAND 2010

This trip could be renamed how we gradually destroyed everyone!

Well, Day 1 saw a dislocated shoulder on the first drop on the Etive so no more paddling for a little while for Neil. The second river, the Allt a’ Chaouruinn, also on Day 1 saw the second dislocation, more serious this time. Needless to say, Simon thought that having had two dislocations be-fore, he would be all right. Wrong! This dislocation was serious.

He needed proper evacuation from the river with Danny and Jack rafting him back to the bank, pulled gently and carefully on a throwline by Neil to avoid all the danger of the whole raft slipping down the next big drop only metres away. A trip to the hospital was in order but not before Neil helped him out of the dry suit! Putting the

Alex on the Etive at the drop called Ski Jump

At lunch we left our boats on the sand halfway up the beach and when we

Pyrrhana amongst ours. Hazel pulled it up with ours because the tide was coming in. Later Hazel saw the bloke who had been paddling that boat. He was sitting with his family, so she went up to ask if he had left his boat on the sand. At this point the whole family burst out laughing – it seems that he

had no idea that he had left it with our boats.

As surfing trips go it was a pretty standard one with lots of good

off a wave straight at me. Hello! Some quick thinking was needed so I tipped over and Tim surfed right over me. No harm done!

Participants: Sam, Jack, Tim, Hazel.

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Reports - Scotland 2010


shoulder back in proved to be bit of a mission. Generous amounts of seda-tive and morphine along with a good hour of manipulation didn’t do the trick. So it was a general anaesthetic and muscle relaxant with some serious pulling and pushing. Simon’s stay in hospital gave him an excuse to compare Scottish and Welsh food and the verdict is “Scottish hospital break-fasts are better than Welsh, but even so it was a disappointing meal”.

We were lucky with rainfall this year and Day 3 saw flooded riv-ers which put the Up-per Roy into the frame, but the gorge would be out. After the Upper Roy a little diversion was called for to find a small tributary which Danny had read about in the guide book.

Finding it involved a good deal of climbing, with boats on backs and when it did come into sight, it was huge. Thankfully Jonny had the good sense to say “I’m walking this one” which allowed the other two, Stu and Danny to do the same! James’ subse-quent comment was “Besides being life threatening the river was not a

problem”.

Mornings tended to see the same discussions ‘What river shall we do today?’ and the morning after this escapade on the Scottish hillside looking for the tributary, Danny re-plied “Well, I don’t want to look at any more burns today....”. C’mon Danny. Where’s your sense of adven-ture? So it was the Grade 3/4 Pattack

today. Which turned out to be a bit of an epic because Hannah took an early swim and her boat needed a 1 mile walk to retrieve it.

Day 5 saw another two broken paddlers: Jack and Johnny. Jack hurt his arm on the Allt Kinglass but wasn’t hurt so bad that he couldn’t paddle! Jonny’s was not a paddling injury – he hurt his neck in bed somehow but it did pre-

vent him rolling on the Orchy the next day, which meant a spectacular swim, with a long underwater bit, a pinning on a rock, a ride in a stopper, a huge collision with a rock and the paddle pulled out of his hands. Rich came to the rescue.

Hazel’s epic was rather more gentle.

James on Triple 2, the second drop on the Etive

Continued on page 18

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Scotland photos


Big Mans Fall on the Etive. Tim gets a good line ....

.... but then it all goes wrong! Meanwhile on the same drop Jack does not get a good line....

And his ending is interesting too.

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Scotland photos


Rich on the Orchy at Witches Step - a roll does follow!

Danny at Easan Dubha on the middle section of the Orchy

Have you also seen the dvd

which Alex compiled from

the miles of video footage we

took? Take a look on the

website!

Fred on the Etive, at the drop called Crack of Dawn

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A small party decided to run the low-er Roy on Friday while others did the Etive and its tribs. It’s a long winding walk down from the road with a very steep last little bit. With Hazel’s boat down safely and balanced neatly on the rocks, Hazel turned to help Pam with the next boat and whoops, they both watched in horror as an orange boat slid off the stones. Thankfully it eddied out on the other side and waited patiently for Pam to get there.

We had lots of rescue practice, some more colourful than others. Crack of Doom on the Etive was a classic. Jack, under Stu’s direction was instructed to jump (live bait) onto anyone who capsized and swam in the hole. Dan-ny came through nice and clean, per-fect breakout afterwards. Then came James who capsized right in front of Jack. An over zealous Jack didn’t wait to see if James could roll up but leapt onto James’ upside down boat with a chorus from the on-lookers of “No Jack! He’s still in his boat. He will roll up.” James did, after we had hauled Jack off .

Spectating and filming form a big part of the trip and provided hours of fun in the evening as the events of each day unfolded on a big screen and everyone gave advice about wrong lines and other errors, all of course, from the point of view of many back-

seat-drivers, some of whom have no idea about Grade 4/5 water! Howev-er the result of all this footage has gone to good use, thanks to Alex who had the privilege of

bits of everyone and putting them into a DVD.

Some of the footage did reveal just how lucky some paddlers were (Jack). Perhaps he has a god looking after him! Jack’s trip down a fall on the Allt Kinglass, possibly unrepeatable, in-volved a wrong line, a collision with a rock right at the top, which made him into a sky rocket. A spin, and a back-wards manoeuvre down a vertical rock into a massive hole led to some

serious down time. He survived.

The next day on the Etive, Jack went over Letterbox and subbed out. He

Jack finishes off the sky rocket. backwards into a big hole ...

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put up a good fight against the mon-ster stopper, but was pulled back to the left. Danny found him hanging onto a big rock and executed a per-fect technical rescue. It’s possible that Jack is top of the leader board on points now!

There were plenty of swims during the week, but sadly Danny did not clock up any points at all. He did swim once though, for which Pam nearly gave him 3 points till it emerged that the swim in the Etive was simply to get to the other side. Shame! There were, however, two paddlers who managed to keep their 3 points and 6 points a secret to the end of the trip and no one spotted it!

It was a brilliant trip and some advice from Simon when he left early was

“Keep your elbows tucked in and don’t brace on rocks”. Rivers paddled: Etive, Allt a’ Chaouruinn (Sunday) Spean, Loy, Arkaig (Monday) Roy (Tuesday) Pattack (Wednesday) Allt Kinglass, Orchy (Thursday) Etive, Allt Mheuran and Lower Roy (Friday)

Participants and Points: Alex Nicol (9), Jack Smiles(26), Fred Hobbs (13), Tim (11) and Hazel (3), Jonny (19) and Nicky Bevan, Neil and Gemma, Pam (6), Danny O’Gorman, Rich (10), James Spurl-ing (5), Simon Neenan (1), Stuart Haywood (5) and Hannah (15).

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A GUINEA PIG’S TALE - FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE TRYWERYN

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Four Star River Leaders: The first

thing that needs to be said is a big thank you to the people who gave up a week-end to paddle as guinea persons for our Aspirant River Leaders (ARLs). So thank you to Ben Miles, Ben Nicol, George McGiveron, Jonathan Howell, Rowan Avery, Sam Charlesworth and William

Jones. You made the assessment a really genuine situation for our Leaders with absolutely authentic episodes: lost paddles, swims, excursions into trees, paddlers out of control and careering into each other, and so on!

Our would-be river leaders includ-ed: Alun Jones, Andy Avery, Andy Bell, Danny O’Gorman, Carl Gilder and Tim Cottle. They had worked hard in the run up to the assess-ment, chasing split paddles, lami-nated maps of the river, first aid kits, throw-lines, spare clothing in fact everything bar the kitchen sink. Anxiety was high as they presented themselves to the Assessors on that Saturday. There was a lot riding on the weekend for them. So how did they do?

Day 1 saw the assessment of Personal Skills. This was run on the upper section of the Tryweryn, and allowed them to demonstrate how to paddle with a boat full of heavy gear while staying upright in some pretty big water. They survived that bit.

Day 1 also saw the Leadership part of the assessment and we were lucky to be able to run down to Bala on what may be described as


Continued over page

Reports - River Leaders. How did they do?

Hey you! What you doin’? You paddling or fishin’? You taking a ride, Or are you bankside? I am down in a hole At one with my sole, Waiting to save a beginner. I look at the river And play in its water. I show the right line, Or sit at the side, Leading you down the river. At one in the flow Every move so slow, Braving the waves And the hollows, I am the river leader.

Anon

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Reports: Four Star River Leaders continued

the most beautiful river you could imagine: warm sunshine, stunning scenery, white anemones lining the river banks and two Red Kites hover-ing above us. Working in three small groups we let the ARLs take respon-sibility for our safety and we did have a wonderful trip. The water was grade 2 with lovely big bouncy waves and some exciting rapids. Some of these rapids needed skilful paddling, but the guinea persons were in good hands under the expert supervision of the ARLs and there were no insoluble mishaps. Even lost paddles weren’t a problem today!

The portage round Bala Mill Falls was unusual to say the least. No one got out of their boats! We took a small mill leat which had been re-stored, and using hands we worked our way along this narrow channel, through a small tunnel and on to the end where we could get out to rejoin the river below the falls. Jona-than said he felt like being a giant in a tiny world. It was weird!

Day 2 saw the groups on a different river – the Dee. Sadly Ben M wasn’t feeling too good so he and Pam watched from the side. The order of the day was rescue practice, as two of the groups had not been given

opportunities on the previous day, while the other group had taken advantage of frequent swims, all courtesy of Jonathan.

Then the nail-biting wait while the assessors took each ARL, one at a time, to tell them the good/bad news. Ah you have guessed! They all passed. And what else would you expect with the quality of river lead-ing in our club as shown by Rich and Arthur? We have six more, qualified to lead us down rivers – how good is that? Congratulations to all 6 of you.

And finally, you may well be asking how Rich got on? He went ostensi-bly as a guinea person, but was he any good? To put it bluntly: No! He failed. Because he went off and paddled at a distance from the groups, watching but not interfer-ing, and playing in every stopper he could find and surfing every wave he could. As William said on the way home, “Rich is too wise to be a guin-ea person.”

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A new section: Spotlight on Members!

Hazel, seen every Wednesday in the

boat store, dishing out kit for everyone. Thank you Hazel!

What do you like about Frome Canoe Club? Is there anything you would change? I like the members – always chatty, helpful, wel-coming. The clubhouse is also excellent. I

can’t think of anything I would change, I think the club is a good example that other clubs could learn from.

Which river would you describe as your most favourite? The Usk (though I only paddled it once!)

What is the happiest moment you have had on the water? Passing my 2 Star award after a really tiring weekend (2007). Felt I’d achieved a lot that weekend as I’d only been paddling a few months.

What is the most embarrassing moment on the water? Every time I swim! Which is A LOT! Or when I dropped my boat on the lower Roy and it floated to the other side of the river, Pam gets the credit for rescuing it without a fuss.

Tell us about the boats you have owned. Only my current boat Dagger RPM. I will get a bigger volume boat one day when I take the plunge to tackle bigger rivers.

Your favourite piece of kit is? My Carlisle paddles – they were a birthday present from all my family.

Tell us some of the highlights in your paddling career. My paddling ‘career’ is very much in its infancy.

Who is your sporting hero? Not sure about my all-time fav, but recently I was blown away by Helen Skelton the Blue Peter presenter who paddled the Am-azon. She had a mammoth task with relatively minimal experience and train-ing and even when she was ill, just kept going. Inspirational attitude.

Have you got a top tip you can offer to fellow paddlers? When starting out and thinking of buying kit, try out as many different types as poss before you make a decision. Don’t be afraid to ask other members what they think of their own kit, there are always pro’s and con’s you may not have thought of.

24

Bits and Pieces


The picture is of John on the Severn bore taken in 1979 from Maisemore bridge. John had come from Hempsted all the way to Maisemore weir, a distance of 4 miles. That year he did it in a surf kayak and the year after he did it on a surf ski. Both times in Sep-tember - high springs with low river water. It’s a major achievement - one to be proud of as many people don’t do the whole distance. There's a fine line between staying on the wave when it starts to back off and not getting tangled up in the trees.

The photo was taken at a prize giving at the fourth non-ranking Langham Farm slalom on the 10th Oc-tober 1978. I was still young, free and single at the grand old age of 28. The prize was for the 1st open slalom team event, the team being Frome Flippers. Our members were Mark Joyce, Mark Knapton and myself. It was a start of a three year blast when, as a team, we cleaned up the prizes at a lot of national ranking slaloms. Those were the days!

Ed: Just in case you are not aware, Graham is one of the founder mem-bers of FCC (19)76 and is still with us. For this and all his other sins, the committee in its wisdom, elected him as President in 1998.

Heavy ME ? Just put

the plug back in, I

want to move on.

When I was young all

this was a tropical

forest where dinosaurs

roamed.

More Captions from members You lot, answer me NOW!

Does my bum look big in

this ?

25

Bits and Pieces


Attention everyone!

Get collecting!

Hand in vouchers at any club session -

we have a box by the front door.

Missing! Vanished into thin air?

Julie has lost a Palm wetsuit and pair of walking boots. Someone has just walked off with them.... Anyone knowing of their whereabouts , please step forward.

CALLING ALL YOUTH MEMBERS Two important people in the club are Julie and Alex.

They are our Youth Reps for 2010.

If you need any help, or have any comments (good or bad) and you want to talk to someone, please feel free to contact them. You can find them at the clubhouse most club nights and they will be happy to help you. Alternative-ly email them or phone (see back page for contact details).

2010 Slalom Race Costs

Single event Double event

Div 4 Adult £6.25 £10.00

Div 4 Junior £4.25 £7.00

Div 3 Adult £10.50 £16.25

Div 3 Junior £7.00 £11.25

Congratulations Jonny and Nicky

A new baby boy, Bodie Jack, born on 25th April.

Mum and baby are doing well. Jonny is still recovering!

Did you enjoy the two April Fools in last month’s edition? I hope you weren’t taken in by the ’new’ slalom boat Alex described in the ‘What’s New in Kit’ section!

26

www.frome-canoe-club.org.uk

CONTACTS Chairman: Andy Bell 01373 468030 Vice Chair: Rich Carter 01373 864623 Treasurer: John Kent 01225 765168 [email protected] Secretary: Pam Dixon 01373 473836 [email protected] Youth Reps: Julie Middleton 07793 251341 Alex Nicol alexjamesnicol@google mail.com

Jack Smiles 26 Jonny Bevan 19 Alex Nicol 18 Jonathan Howell 15 Gareth McGiveron 15

Fred Hobbs 13

Amanda Reeves 12 Tim Cottle 12 Hazel Cottle 12 Rich Carter 11 James Hannan 11 Kate Johnson 9 Bill Fryer 9 Pam Dixon 9 Dave Bloodworth 7 Arthur Belbin 7 Andy Bell 7 Ellie Howell 6 Joe Gregory 6 Stuart Miles 5 Lily Charlesworth 5 Michael Topp 5 James Spurling 5

George McGiveron 4 Louise Bastable 3 Richard Norman 3 Karl Waldeck 3 Vicky Bennett 3 Sam Charlesworth 3 Ben Nicol 3 Jack Hobbs 3 Steve Scammell 3 Peter Nicol 3 Julie Middleton 3 Emma Spurling 3 James Munn 2 Darren Oram 2 Andy Lyall 2 Mark Baines 1 Alun Jones 1

COPPERNOSE CLIP POINTS

Canoeing and kayaking are “Assumed risk” – “Water contact sports” that may carry attendant risks. Participants should be aware of and accept these risks, and be responsible for their own action and involvement.

Get all your canoeing

things from the Family

Adventure Store at

Hilperton. BA14 7PJ

Check out the photos of club events or put a comment on the message board!

Alex sorts out our CCTV It takes an enthusiastic young

person to give the committee a

kick up the proverbial, does it not?

We’ve had the CCTV kit in the

boxes for a good year and a half now. . .

Rich drilled and fixed the cameras outside and

Alex did what none of the committee could

do - join all the wires up to the right places

and make it work! Thank you Alex.

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Documents

2010 05 newsletter