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Frome Canoe Club is affiliated to the British Canoe Union and is a Registered Charity (Number 1104728)
Volume 38 Issue 1 January 2014
See bottom of p6 for details
See p8 for details
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In this issue
3 Calendar in brief
4 River Frome trip
4 River Exe Trip
5 Sunday morning paddles
6 Club Social
6 Kayak Machine Challenge
7 Tryweryn Weekend
8 Pool Sessions
10 Club History: kayak in the Mendips
12 Waiting for Rain by Rich Carter
13 The Loop by Kate Johnson
14 The Lower Dart `
5 Cartoon Time
9 New Years Quiz
16 Copper Noseclip Points
17 Other events
18 Bits and Pieces
20 Spot the Difference
CALENDAR: details
REPORTS
SPECIALS
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Send articles for the next issue to [email protected] by 27th January
THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
President
Graham Warnecke
Vice Presidents
Richard and Jane Arney
Jim and Catharine Croft
Chairman
Alun Jones
Vice Chairman
Gareth McGiveron
Treasurer
John Kent
Secretary
Pam Dixon
16 Blagdon Walk, Frome, BA11 2YH
Committee Members
Arthur Belbin
Rich Carter
Jonathan Howell
Stuart Miles
Sally Smiles
Kit Officers
Tim and Sally Smiles
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Calendar 2014
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Date Event Standard Contact
January
3 NO POOL SESSION All Pam D
8 Kayak-machine Challenge All Pam D
10 POOL SESSIONS START All Pam D
10 Polo at the pool - non contact game All Jack S
12 River Exe One Star + tba
15 Kayak-machine Challenge All Pam D
17 Polo at the pool - experienced Experienced Jack S
22 Kayak-machine Challenge All Pam D
26 Sunday morning at Market Yard All Rich C
29 Kayak-machine Challenge All Pam D
February
7 Polo at the pool - non contact game All Jack S
9 River Frome Trip One Star/Passport Rich C
14 Polo at the pool - experienced All Jack S
15/16 Level One Coach course Pam D
23 Sunday morning at Market Yard All Rich C
26 Annual General Meeting All Pam D
March
14 NO POOL SESSION All Pam D
15/16 Tryweryn weekend Two Star + cttee
Strict adherence to the Club’s code of conduct is expected at all times on club events .
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Calendar in detail
River Frome 9th February Meet 9am at the Clubhouse Cost £3 Organiser - Rich Carter
This trip will be a good trip for you if you are at Passport or One Star stan-dard (or above) But you will need to remember that at this time of the year the water will be cold and the weather will be cold, so you will need to come prepared with warm clothes and energy food.
Our local trips are always good fun as we get to do the weirs and play in some stoppers, all on our very own door step.
The section we will paddle will be decided on the day and will of course depend on water levels. We did the stretch from Creamery to Langham Farm last time but there are many other sections we could do. We could for example explore the new fish/canoe pass constructed at Iford Weir or take in the Zoom Flume like we did last September.
Be prepared for whatever we choose on the day.
River Exe 12th January Meet 8am at the Clubhouse Cost £12 Organiser tba
The River Exe is the one we paddled at the Tiverton weekend. Generally a Grade 2 but the weirs make it more interesting.
Bolham is the first and when water levels are right, it makes a good play spot.
Then Salmon Ponds Weir with hole below and onto the Town Weir where, if you are not careful the wall grabs you! Not far till Walronds - good for surfing.
We leave the town and paddle out into the country for two or three miles to Broken Weir and finally Bickleigh Weir.
A beautiful river with its stunning wild life, but it can be freezing in January so bring plenty of food, thermals and warm drinks.
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Calendar in detail
Carl, Kurt and Neil on the Allta Chourinn, a steep rockslide in Glen Etive.
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MONTHLY SUNDAY MORNING PADDLES
On the last Sunday of each month through the winter Market Yard, 10am till noon, Cost £2
All through the winter we meet on the last Sunday of the month and paddle at Market Yard.
Sessions are more relaxed that the normal club nights and so you get to paddle around and do your own thing. Or come for a chat and catch up on the club news!
26th January and 23rd February
River B
ed U DART
Ed if you have alternatives to the caption or speech bubbles, send them in and we’ll print them next month!
Andy can’t help himself! Pandora’s Box every time!
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Non paddling things
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We haven't forgotten our Grand Social event!
Normally it is in January, but the upstairs room
won’t be ready by then!
So the date will slip from January to February.
Look out on the website and next newsletter for
more news!
Every Wednesday
At the Clubhouse, 7-8pm
How fast can you go over a 200m stretch?
Rich C is at the top of the leader board,
currently, at 43 seconds.
YOUNG PEOPLE - come and take part. Come for just 6 Sessions in January and February. And you will help the club raise money for kit! Easy, or what? GO ON. HELP US RAISE MONEY AND GET FIT TOO
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Calendar in detail
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TRYWERYN WEEKEND - 15/16th MARCH 2014
We’re going to North Wales for a weekend to paddle that wonderful river, the Tryweryn.
We leave on Friday as early as possible after work and travel to the bunk-house in the heart of North Wales, Bala Bunk House, LL23 7HD. The bunkhouse is booked for two nights, Friday and Saturday. It has beds (but you need to bring a sleeping bag), central heating and self catering facilities. Not sure about drying facilities, so two sets of thermal are ad-vised. The bunkhouse is a 10 minute drive from the CT.
The river we paddle has got a hard upper section (big volume and continu-ous grade 3) and a very pretty lower section (grade 2+) which ends in a grade 4 drop at Bala Mill Falls. (This drop is easily avoided for those who are a bit wary by paddling your boat down a narrow and mysterious mill leat which is a very enjoyable experience in itself!) Alun is organising this weekend and is planning to have the flexibility for people to be able to paddle the section(s) they want.
Catering will be yours to arrange. We know there are lots of good (cheap) places in Bala and there are pubs local to the bunkhouse. Or you can cook for yourself in the bunkhouse kitchen. We usually go to one of the pubs in a big group but you can do your own thing! Transport will also be yours to arrange. But we expect people to share cars and nearer the time we will get lists of drivers and help match people up. Accommodation: sign up and pay a deposit of £30 to guarantee your place in the bunkhouse.
Staying Friday night 14th March and Saturday night 15th March at the bunkhouse
Paddling on the Tryweryn, Sat and Sun (water permitting)
The sign-up list is in a folder, which is available every session. Standard needed: 2 Star + for the lower section, 3 Star + for the top site.
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POOL SESSIONS START JANUARY 10th
Frome Leisure Centre Fridays, 8-9pm
Cost £2.80 (young people), £3.30 (adults)
Having fun!
Paddling about
Learning to roll
Practising capsizes
Playing canoe polo
Meeting other club members
You will need to bring swimming
costume and towel. (T-shirt is
optional.)
We provide the boats, paddles and
spraydecks.
There are pool boats, playboats
and a Sit-on-Top for you to use.
And when you are not paddling
you can mess about in the small
pool.
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New Year Quiz
THE RULES: Each correct answer earns you one point. That’s it! Send answers to [email protected]
1) If a river gets narrower what will happen? a) Nothing b) The water will speed up c) The water will slow down
2) Which of the following is true? a) Weirs are more dangerous
than rapids b) Rapids are more dangerous
than weirs c) Weirs are man made d) Rapids are man made
4) Which of the following can be found on a river?
a) Siphon b) Siren c) Undercut d) Uppercut e) Left hook
5) If you are told to ‘break-in’, what does someone expect you to do?
a) Enter a stopper b) Re-enter the flow c) Rob a house d) Enter an eddy
6) You have airbags in your boat because?
a) They make good pillows b) They hold your kit in
c) They stop your boat filling with water
7) Are rapids in gorges more dangerous than rapids not in gorges?
a) They’re not b) Gorges tend to have steep sides
making scouting and resue harder
c) You find bigger rapids in gorges d) You get more rocks in gorges
8) When someone says “Follow my line” to you, what do they mean?
a) They are going to say something and they want you to back them up
b) They want you to watch where they go, then take a different route
c) They want you to follow directly behind them so the front of your boat is touching the back of theirs
d) They want you to watch the line they take and follow at a safe distance
9) What is a strainer? a) A hazard caused by a rock in the
river b) Something to catch tea leaves c) A hazard caused by an tree or
bush in the river d) An injury caused by stretching
And the last question is on p 17.
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A Bit of Club History
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An Epic – a world record? asks Bob Hinton as Frome Canoe Club and Frome Caving Club had transported and paddled a kayak 400ft under the Mendip Hills.
Under the guidance of Bob and Mark Joyce, nine members of the two Clubs started off from Priddy Green, with the objective of transporting their kayak to the second sump in Swildons Hole.
Bob takes up the story, “It was with some trepidation and a mixture of pessimistic optimism (or is it the other way round?), that we started down the cave. Which feature of Swildons Hole would become the bête noir of our task? Would it be Jacobs Ladder, the lavatory pan, the narrow entrance, would a flooded canoe negotiate sump one? Which obstacles would prove most difficult to pass?
The first obstacle was thought to be Binney’s link, but the canoe slid through as though it was designed to fit, and Jacob’s Ladder was also designed to fit the canoe! The corner at the entrance to the 40ft pot was almost too much – in fact, the unbendable boat bent just a tiny bit! The inclined rift below Barnes
loop proved to be tedious, but not too difficult, having already found that the ladder practice has done the canoe a world of good for the 20ft pitch.
The canoeists now appeared to have joined the motorway, and down to the first sump where the passage was flooded to the roof for 5ft.
“Would we have to excavate the sump – it is now half the depth since I first negotiated it many years ago? No – yet again a perfect fit, and after emptying our flooded boat, we almost ran the 900ft to the second sump.” Bob Hinton went on.
“Quickly, before the fog of human breath became too thick, we readied our camera and took our photographs to record the event. We had achieved our objective by paddling our kayak 400ft below ground. Kevin then decided to ‘do’ sump two, 25ft of underwater passage requiring confidence and cour-age, together with lead weights around the waist.
“A sigh of relief and congratulatory handshakes greeted him on his return. A feeling of anticlimax took over the group - we had to return and we quickly
This from Graham, who said “After reading Kath’s story about caving, I just had to dig out a piece of Club history for the Newsletter. Been there. Done that, so they say!” An article from December 1982. Transcribed below.
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A Bit of Club History continued
Back from left: Graham Warnecke, Kevin Rogers, Mark Knapton, Martin Harvey, Malcolm Arnald. Front : Mark Joyce in the kayak (a MK 1 Bat).
made our way back to the blockhouse at the entrance, but had just missed the pub for refreshments!
Four hundred feet below the Mendip Hills together with almost 3,000 ft of some-times tortuous cave passage negotiated by a kayak is a fantastic achievement by both clubs.
Ed: Thank you Graham - you certainly pushed the boundaries in the good old days!
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The Dart
Paddlers and Points (all sections) Girls: Chloe C and Summer V Boys: George M (2), Keiran C (1), Kieran F (3) and Tierney O Ladies: Kate J (6), Pam D ad Su F Men: Alun J, Andy V, Ben T (6), Bob B, Dave P(3), Gareth M, Jack S (2), John K, Jonathan H, Mark B, Rich C, Terry O, and Yousaf M.
Waiting For Rain By Rich Carter
After 4 weeks of the no rain, the questions came thick and fast “Would the Dart trip be on?”
All I was thinking was “I do not know”, but I replied every time “The weather forecast looks good for us and rain is coming”. However that is not really what I was thinking! I didn’t think we would have enough rain to let it go ahead, but was I proved wrong!
The rain did come and it picked up the levels. The Dart gauge went up by 400mm, which meant it was running at the top of the ledge at the get-in point.
So after a will it-won’t it week, it was at a perfect level.
I am not going to say too much about the day’s paddle, but I need to inform people about the two great swims at Lovers Leap, or in other words: find the stopper, but not in a let’s stay up right way of finding it.
Triple falls was flowing well today and after the fun on Lovers Leap, I was expecting there to be some dunking!
We had a great day. Also a very well done to Summer for getting Andy down safely in the Topo Duo.
Ed: I was really hoping you’d give us the full details of Kate and Jonathan’s boxers! Anyone interested can see a brief version of this in Kate’s article next page!
We did three sections today and with 22 paddlers altogether, it was a brilliant day!
Look out for Yousaf’s Upper write-up in the next issue!
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The Dart continued
The Loop by Kate Johnson
We had spent all week wondering whether there would be enough water for a paddle, and then when the time came we were wondering if the water would be too high. The wonders of the British weather!
When we arrived at the car park the water had dropped to a reasonable level making for the prospect of a good day on the water. We all set off to-gether down a very busy river, and made it under the bridge safely, al-though Summer's face as she went through the first wave was a picture! Some played on the first wave while the rest tried to keep out of the way of far superior paddlers who had completed the upper and were trying to get off the river.
We all made it safely through the first few break-ins, break-outs and wobbly bits and the first excitement came as I attempted what should have been a straight forward break in through a sharp eddy line. I'd just watched Andy and Summer, in the Topo duo, breaking in with impressive speed and power, however at the last minute I changed my mind but it was too late. I was com-
mitted to going forward but with insuf-ficient speed and so stopped on the eddy line and gracefully fell over! I con-sidered attempting my first white water roll but lost confidence (something to do with cold water and rocks!) and swam! About 5 seconds later I felt a cold trickle down my legs and I realised that the lower zip on my dry suit wasn't quite done up. After a bit of shouting at Mark who was rescuing me to empha-size the urgency of the situation I was safely removed from the water and re-united with my boat.
We all got through Washing Machine unscathed and moved onto Lovers Leap. Ben T not wanting me to be the only one with points, decided to go for a little swim after successfully complet-ing the hard parts of the rapid, and cap-sized near the end! I was determined to have more points than him and took the right hand line past the rock, which turned out not to be the best idea and swam down the rapid. Hooray I was in the lead with points again!
Triple Falls was fairly uneventful, al-though Ben had a substantial wobble going over Triple 3 but managed to hold his own and we all made it down in one piece. Spin dryer was equally unevent-ful although Summer got quite wet! She seemed to be thoroughly enjoying be-ing in the front of the Duo, so by this
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The Dart continued
FCC ‘THROWLINE ’ CLUB MAGAZINE
point Andy had stopped avoiding the big waves! Keiran C managed a really good roll when he went over in the white water at Triple, and came up impressively quickly.
At the bottom of Triple the group from the Upper caught up with us and we then headed for the finish, but suddenly realised Rich and Ben were missing. Apparently Ben had decided he didn't want a girl finishing in the lead and so had been for a quick swim when no-one was looking!
We dropped over Holne weir with no problems, and the Anvil was looking good until Kieran F decided that "tight right" meant "somewhere right of the
middle" and dropped straight into the stopper and went for a swim.
After that we managed the flat bit to the end with no further problems and got out at the Country Park.
All things considered it wasn't the best of days paddling for me (or Ben) but I learnt a lot about zips and we all had a good day.
PS: The rumours about me having to borrow dry underwear are true, and as I was the only woman on the trip I had to explain the random mens pants in the washing basket to Mike. Thanks Jonathan, they're clean now so you can have them back!!!
The Lower Section
John’s target every time he leads the paddlers on the Lower is: have a good paddle and get to the end with ‘nil points’. How would we fare?
It was a small group today, all kayakers and no canoes for a change. Su joined us on the Lower section because she was trying out a different boat, and preferred the idea of getting to know the boat without the fear of the dreaded swim, especially
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The Dart continued
since she had let Chloe borrow her dry top too! All she could say for the first half hour was how high she was in the water, how tippy she felt. (Su is of course an ex-Div 2 paddler and slalom boats sit you very low in comparison to ww boats!). But she coped.
Then there was Dave (seen below), his first time on moving water since he was a lad. And he has some
stories to tell about those early days. We’ll get them from him another time!
A wobbly start indeed with John and Pam holding their breaths as they watched the first few hesitant break-ins. But Dave’s confidence grew quickly and the wob-bles subsided. Then, to our surprise, at the first rapid he decided to go fish spotting! To be fair he was trying out some ferry gliding over a vicious eddy line.
Chloe (top picture) and Tierney (on p14) fared much better Well done you two!
The boulder garden was washed out to-day, but the other rapids were exciting and at the end of the paddle - guess what? Su decided that her new boat was just fine!
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Copper noseclip points
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Points are gained on club trips when things don’t go quite according to plan. 1 point for a roll 2 points for a technical rescue 3 points for a swim
Ben Nicol 15
Bex Tanti 15
Jack Smiles 14
Keiran Clark 13
Mary Harbeth 12
Arthur Belbin 11
Bill Fryer 9
Ian Jones 9
Magor Juhasz 9
Ben Miles 9
Jane Thomas 9
Rich Norman 8
Alex Hulin 8
Carl Gilder 7
Kieran Fewell 7
Kath Norton 6
Alun Jones 6
James Bennett 6
Ashli Heal 6
Jamie Easton 6
Summer Vowell 5
Zoe Boyle 4
Rich Heal 3
Hazel Cottle 3
Ellie Howell 3
Jonathan Howell 3
Chris Bartlett 3
Alex Nicol 3
Bob Barr 3
Ivor Bennett 3
Chris Churchouse 3
Pam Dixon 3
Will Jones 3
Philippa Thomas 3
Harry Beer 3
Jude Garrett 3
Dave Pilbeam 3
2 Gine MBL
John Kent 2
Linz Kimber 1
The top 10 are missing - you’ll have to wait till the Social to find out!
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Non-Club events/courses
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Weymouth Outdoor Education Centre Spring 2014
BCU / UKCC Awards
2 Star Training & Assessment 3 & 4 April £134
Foundation Rescue & Safety Training 28 April £69
3 Star Training Sea 27 April £69
UKCC Level 1 Coach Award 29 April to 2 May £242
UKCC Level 2 Coach Award 22 April to 25 April £242
UKCC Level 2 Transfer 12 Feb £120
Coaching the mind foundation module Jan 13 or 12 Mar £30
First Aid (2 Day) 13 & 14 Feb £115
Recreational events
River Dart loop trip 24 Jan £55
Kayak Skills Coaching 3 April £67
Canoe Skills Coaching 4 April £67
Sea Kayak Skills Coaching 27 April £69
For full details of these courses and a booking form please contact the centre.
Address: WOEC, Knightsdale Rd, Weymouth, Dorset DT4 0HS
Tel: 01305 784927. Email [email protected]
From John Wheeler
Aquatic Leisure has places available on the following courses in January 2014
Aquatic First Aid level 1
One Day 8-hour First Aid Course - Sat 18th January. Cost £50. In the Bournemouth Area
It is recommended that level 1 Coaches hold a first aid certificate and a require-
ment for level 2 coaches to hold a one day first aid certificate.
3 Star White Water Kayak Training - Mon 20th & Tue 21st January, Cost £120.
Southwest Dartmoor Area.
Please message me for details or email [email protected] Wishing you all a Prosperous New Year
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Canoe Focus is
the magazine produced by
the BCU for paddlers throughout the UK.
December's issue contained the article we
wrote about our Women and Girls event - the
one we put on for the SW Region way back in
May 2013.
John planned the day and we started with a
DVD showing an extract from the 2012 K1
Women’s Slalom. Then onto some training
where Su headed up the coaching side of
things - perfect to have a female coach for a
W and G event! Several other club members
helped out too. We ended it all with a Team
event.
It was a successful day with paddlers coming
from Devon and Cornwall to take part.
Bits and Pieces
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Ed: Any sharp eyed reader should spot that the photo printed with the article was not actually from the event! Pam chose a nice one of three of our young female paddlers. Well Why not?
Get all your canoeing things from
the Family Adventure Store at
Hilperton. BA14 7PJ
QUIZ continued from p9 10) You end up swimming, what should you
do? a) The front crawl b) Nothing c) Lie on your back, feet facing down-
stream d) Aim for the nearest bank
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Bits and Pieces
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Claim to fame Campbell Walsh, seen here with Neil, was recently guest speaker at the D of E presentation at Neil’s school. Campbell Walsh achieved the silver medal (K1 Mens Slalom) in the Athens Olympic Games. His talk was inspirational accord-ing to Neil and included details of just how hard it was for him to achieve success. He described for example how sick and ill he felt
after bouts of hard training - so sick he just couldn’t get out of his boat. Some-thing for us all to think about when we train perhaps?
Our new remote terminal makes
payments easy!
And you can now pay for sessions
in advance using the new Up-front
Payments Card.
Ask at a club session for details.
Hi All, from Andy My 2014 European Alpine trips are now advertised. Corsica 5th - 13th April Italy Val sesia 24th - 31st May French Alps Classics 21st - 29th June (grade 3/4+) French Alps Improver 13th - 20th July (grade 2/3+) Austria 26th July - 3rd Aug and the 9th - 17th Aug All trips include FREE Travel over from the UK in minibus and trailer so you can take your own boat. Excellent chalet self catering accommodation and all guiding and coaching. See website or contact me for more details and a b booking form. www.escapetoadventure.com
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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.
www.frome-canoe-club.org.uk
Check out the photos of club events on the website. And refer to the calendar for all the club activities.
Follow us on
CONTACTS
Chairman Alun Jones 01373 823513
Vice Chair: Gareth McGiveron
Treasurer: John Kent 01225 765168 [email protected]
Secretary: Pam Dixon 07740 472982 [email protected]
Head Coach: Rich Carter 01373 864623
Youth Rep: Stu Miles
Volunteer Reps: Jonathan Howell and Sally Smiles Kit Officers: Sally and Tim Smiles
WIN A FREE POOL SESSION! Find and mark the 8 differences. Hand in or send to Pam Dixon. Entries will go in a hat and winner will be drawn on January 9th.
