A little legal stuff....

This newsletter is a free publication for the Marlow Canoe Club.

Whilst every care is taken, the newsletter and the Marlow Canoe Club do not accept respons-ibility for the opinions expressed or the goods and services mentioned in this publication.

© 2011.

INSIDE YOUR SUMMER 2011 ISSUE

3 The thrill of speedEver fancied trying one of those racing boats? Andy Maxted reveals how.

5 The Great CanoeTry getting this out of the clubhouse by yourself.

6 Hayling flingAnother attempt to cross the Channel goes pear-shaped.

7 Olympic tripOoooh someone's been on the 2012 whitewater course. But we're not jealous.

8 Devon way back in FebruaryWashing machine on the loop? What are they on about?

10The talent poolWhy not come along to one of our pool sessions. We promise not to drown you.

11Brightly coloured foldersBedtime reading for insomniacs.

12Wye tripAnd why not? Happy campers, paddlers and alcoholics get attacked by killer swans but survive to tell the tale.

15Committee newsWe work tirelessly for you lot, the least you can do is read this bit appreciatively.

15Contact detailsBored and fancy a chat. Well just give your committee a call, we love chatting into the early hours especially Mel.

16CalendarHigh time you worked out how to synchronise your iPhone. Here's what's coming up at the club.

COVER PHOTOGRAPH

This month's cover photograph was kindly supplied by Ness (lilredwazz@yahoo.com) and is entitled "Paddling on the channel into Round Lake, Adirondacks (NY), on a recent summer day".

A NEW EDITORAt the Annual General Meet-

ing of the Marlow Canoe Club back in February 2011 the alco-hol flowed freely and a total novice somehow became editor of the newsletter.

Well a novice on the water at any rate. I had better introduce myself be-cause the vast majority of you will be wondering, "who the heck is this guy?".

OK, well my name is Rodney Casbierd and until 2010 I had never sat inside either a canoe or kayak. Not even one of those trendy dragon boats, which seem to be the latest management team-bonding fad. But I joined the club as a 1-star kayak newbie in Summer last year.

I am a Chartered Engineer by profes-sion but I write a wee bit too, albeit just for fun.

It is quite daunting for a complete novice to take on this role for the club and I am relying upon all you experi-enced guys and gals to help me out as I learn the ropes, and get to know you all. But I also bring a bit of the novice's out-look and that can only be positive for at-tracting new members to the club.

I must thank John Norris for his sup-port with taking on my new role. It is a tough act to follow but here goes!

2

3TOURING

The thrill of speedby Andy Maxted

Newer members will have noticed that we have the occasional paddler turn up at the club house and take one of the long fibreglass boats out from the far end of the racking and disappear – usually rather quickly – upstream or downstream. These paddlers often keep themselves very much to themselves but they’re not quite as strange as they might first seem, just keen to be on the water for some personal fitness training and to enjoy the thrill of speed.

Having indulged in paddling these boats myself I have to confess I can see the attraction. First experiences on the water in plastic general purpose kayaks are great fun, however these early sessions can be frustrating. General purpose boats always seem to want to turn (but then, as most of these have evolved from slalom kayak designs, that is what they are designed to do!) and even when you’ve mastered the knack of keeping them going in a straight line they are slow. These long boats are designed to travel fast, and in a straight line, and there is a real buzz to be had once you’ve got one going, cutting through the water at speed.

The club owns a number of racing boats which members are free to use. Many people wanting to explore the delights of speed will start out in one of the club’s white Kirton Tercels.

The Tercel offers a great introduction to straight line kayaking; it is stable and much faster than a general purpose boat. At first it may seem strange to be sitting in such a large cockpit with nothing to put your knees under, but that’s the point. You probably heard it said on your introductory course, but it’s the feet (not the paddles) that drive a kayak through the water. In a racing boat you sit with your knees together so they are in a straight line from your hips to push on the footrest and help you transfer the power from your arm and back muscles, through your legs into the hull. Your knees should be bent and you’ll probably find yourself automatically pushing with one foot and then with the other in a cycling action as the paddle bites into the water on each side of the boat - this is good paddling technique!

John Norris makes another failed attempt on the water speed record

The Tercels are also excellent boats for touring, particularly on rivers such as the Thames. If you find yourself tiring (or always at the back of the group) when paddling up to the tea room at Temple try a Tercel next time you are out. The Tercel is an ideal boat to paddle if you’re interested in taking the BCU Three Star Touring Kayak Award.

The Tercel has a relatively flat hull and carries its width over much of its length, this makes it very stable but not as fast as a slimmer design. On a stability scale of 1 to 10, the Tercel is rated 10 (if you can stand up in your plastic boat, you’ll have no trouble standing up in this!). If you want to travel faster then you can go for a slightly less stable option in one of the club’s Kirton Talismans (also in white). These are rated 8 for stability and also have a fairly flat hull, but just looking at the lines compared with the Tercel, you can see how the design looks sharper and promises that extra speed.

Once you have the hang of the Talisman, you may feel ready to go for that extra buzz. This is where the club’s X-Lancers (also from Kirton, this time in blue) come into their own. The X is for extra speed. The X-Lancer was designed by Danish paddler Jørgen Samson and first went into production back in 1983 (28 years ago!) when it was built in wood by Struer Kajak (that’s the Danish spelling). I don’t know when Kirton started making these boats in glass reinforced plastics but I suspect it wasn’t very long after suggesting that all the club boats referred to above could be as much as 25 years old.

The X-Lancer is fast, but still only rated 3 on the stability scale. If you want to go even faster, look out for boats like Nelo’s Lynx and Sabre (both 2) or Kirton’s Teknik and Tactic designs, both rated 1.

Even without entering races, paddling these elegant looking boats is great fun. These are the Formula 1 motors of the kayaking world. Next time you’re down at the club house, take a look at the Tercel or the Talisman and give one (or both) of them go. Who knows, you might even be tempted to take out one of the X-Lancers and show everyone just how quickly you can paddle up to Temple.

4TOURING

So now you've read about them why not come and try them out for yourself

On Tuesday 14 June the club plans a special evening session where all members can give the fast boats a run for their money.

We look forward to lots of informal racing and, of course, unplanned demonstrations of your swimming abilities.

When I first joined the club I thought that club treasurer Kelvin's open canoe was a bit of an unwieldy beast. But take a look at this monster?

This incredible dugout canoe was made in about 1878 by the native people of Heiltsuk on the Pacific coast of British Columbia, Canada. At 63 feet in length, it is the largest canoe of its type still surviving. It was carved from the trunk of a single large cedar tree.

Although the trunk was a piffling eight feet in diameter, the carpenters softened it with boiling water and widened it to make the canoe eight and a half feet wide. The front of the canoe is decorated with a carving of a wolf and a painting of a killer whale. The carved decoration is more typical of the Bella Bella people than the Haida, and implies that the canoe was sold to a Bella Bella chief, who added his own embellishments.

Canoes were an essential part of life for the native people of this area, and were used for travelling to ceremonies, for trade, and for war. Large canoes were particularly useful for raiding parties.

The canoe was sea-worthy and canoes of this type were often fitted with sails. In the absence of a rudder a steering paddle was used to make the canoe manoeuvre when paddled or sailed.

It you want a closer look then John Norris will have to organise the mother of all sea kayak trips, across the Atlantic, to New York where it is a centrepiece exhibit in the Natural History Museum.

5CANOEPEDIA

The Great Canoeby Rodney Casbierd

6SEA KAYAK

Doing a Hayling flingby Michael Day

Jane Oxley and I meet John Norris at 7 am at the club to load the boats onto John’s car. By just after half past we were off. The run down to Hayling Island east goes well and we are at the put-in on the east end of Hayling Is-land just after 9:30. We change and get the boats down to the beach.

Steve Earl, of the PDCC , our leader for the day takes us through the plan for the paddle. He selects someone to lead and someone to take the outside point to make sure we do not spread out to much and another to keep the back door. Now we all get on the water and we are off.

We paddle east along the beach to the mouth of the harbour, where we have to hold as there are yachts coming out, and Steve tells us to cross behind the first boat. The crossing of the mouth of the harbour is a bit bouncy for me but nothing for the rest of the group and we push on to the east side of the harbour at West Witering.

From here we paddle north up the harbour towards Bosham. I think the tide has turned and as the novice of the party I am starting to struggle a bit to keep up. I am given some pointers to improve my technique and think I am doing a bit better. However, I need a rest , so we stop and get out. I think most of the party take the op-portunity to have a snack or as sticky bun and a drink.

Back on the water the lunch stop is identified as Itchenor as the harbour is drying out and that I am told will be about another 40 minutes paddling. Pulling the boats up onto the beach in front of the Harbour Masters there are lots of benches for us to sit on. As a surprise for Steve, a cake has appeared for his Birthday com-plete with a candle. There is also a bottle of sparkling wine and or-ange juice. I am sure we cannot expect a treat like this ever again but many thanks.

Lunch and a comfort-break over we get back in and push off. The tide is going out and we are being pulled out quite fast. It is amazing how much water has already gone and our return to the mouth of the harbour is swift. We cross as we get closer to the entrance and have to make a right turn to go back along the beach. However first I have to get past the buoy marking the channel but the tide going out it taking me onto the buoy and a shingle bank if I do not make it. It is a ferry glide that I have to get right and I do but it was close.

This trip has been a confidence builder as I am sure I was put off sea trips by the ill fatted ‘disaster at Mudeford’ trip some time ago. With all of us safely back on the beach it was just a matter of getting the boats back to the cars and the run back to the club. My thanks to John Norris for posting this trip for us and for driving us down and back. It has been a great day out and I have enjoyed it very much also the confid-ence to go on more sea trips in the future.

7WHITEWATER

Dream day for a whitewater kayaker

by Tim WardAbout two weeks ago I received a surprise e-mail. Matt Chadder, one of the organisers of the Youth Freestyle Series, was offering a day not to be missed. As part of the press day to launch the opening to the public of the Olympic Whitewater Stadium he had received an invite to run a one off special YFS competition for an invitation-only group of youngsters who regularly compete in the existing series.

The rider was "as Chairman of BCU Freestyle it may be a good idea for you to be there". Well, it did not take more than a few moments to fire back a message and, being self-employed, a day of unemployment beckoned!

As a whitewater boater I have often paddled a new river or feature but this was a new experience. To the best of my knwledge no-one had paddled it. There were no reviews, no friends to consult and no guide on the UKRGB forum. My son, Alan, and another coach, Tom, shared the drive so there was much excited speculation on the drive round the M25 to Lee Valley. It did not disappoint and neither did the weather. The set-up centres around an impressive building, housing all the usual facilities, but the bit we went for was the artificial course. Both of them!

We were confined to the "Legacy loop" (which has the potential to offer a near-equivalent to Holme Pierpont) for the day as the Olympic course was being used by rafters and slalomists. The Legacy Loop was plenty for our needs. In its current set up it contains around four reasonable drops creating usable features and we ran training for the 30 under-18s followed by a competition.

Our day was rounded off with an absolute treat - half an hour for all the kayaking helpers on the Olympic course. It is truly awesome - 5.5m drop overall and a massive volume of water pumped to the top. It was on a par with some of the hairier sections I've done in the French Alps but in a playboat rather than a decent sized creekboat, so just a little bit testing. It all seems pretty safe though, as one would expect, but running it for the first time with no inspection was a huge thrill. The drops are closely spaced so any slight error and you are off down the next one without time to think or plan a line. I paddled back into all bar one without any problems and even the many secondary waves are well worth playing on.

We left with memories of a wonderful day, absolutely whacked. There are no long trudges from the bottom back to the top; just glide onto the rubber conveyor belt and you are carried serenely up to the pump pool for another ride down the super clean filtered and chlorinated water.

It will only be open for a few months before being handed back to LOCOG for the Olympics so go now!

8WHITEWATER

Rogues gallery ofIt's time to send for the men

On the Tavy in February, Jonathon Garner gives Alex Millard and Rob Norris some extreme swimming tips

Jonathon Garner resurfaces with a drinking problem

Alex Millard tames the Tavy

9WHITEWATER

insane members(and women) in white kayaks

Getting the cane seems to please Andy Maxted

Rob Norris prepares to missile launch into orbit

Jonathon Garner is about to get very wet indeed on the Dart Loop. Shame the "washing machine" doesn't include a tumble drier, eh?

FACILITIES

Pool sessionsby Dave Goddard

Marlow canoe club has booked a series of swimming pool sessions for club members at Chalfont Leisure Centre, a 25m four lane swimming pool about 25 minutes from Marlow.

These sessions are open to all members and provide a warm indoor environment for you to practice wet skills such as support strokes, capsize drills and the much sought after skill of Rolling or to introduce younger members of your family to paddle sport. They are unstructured session in as much as there is no specific courses or coaching rota, however you will always find experienced members willing to help and can seek specific support through the clubs Yahoo Group email system if required.

The sessions run from 7.15pm to 8.15pm on the Saturdays listed below, it is recommended you arrive and are ready to get in the pool at about 7pm as this is when the pool is cleared of swimmers and an opportunity to sneak an extra few minutes of water time. We need to leave the pool promptly at 8.15pm so we can change and they can close the centre at 8.30pm.

The entrance to the swimming pool is down a small service road to the left of the main entrance, we usually pile boats and paddles outside the door before and after the session before getting changed in the swimming pool changing rooms (20p for a locker or take a bag pool side). The pool has ladies and gentleman’s changing facilities with warm showers and toilets.

Chalfont Leisure CentreNicol RoadChalfont St. PeterBucksSL9 9LR

http://tinyurl.com/y5fndsa

These sessions costs £5 for adults and £3 for juniors.

Individuals are responsible for collecting and returning equipment to and from the club (Use the Yahoo group to request lifts/shares/access etc)

All equipment must be inspected for cleanliness and rinsed off prior to use in the pool.

See the back cover calendar for pool session dates. Hope to see you there!

10

11INFORMATION

Brightly coloured foldersby John Norris

You may have noted, in the changing rooms, a bright orange folder. You may even have been curious enough to have had a peek inside. For those that have not please read on. And for those that have – well it is probably worth a read anyway.

Before I stood down from the committee at the recent AGM I had volunteered to sort something out regarding the D.O. situation, particularly as we had had to cancel a session due to lack of cover the previous summer.

As is often the case with clubs run entirely by volunteers, some things tend to slide a little, whilst others get taken for granted by those in the know – something I have been guilty of myself in the past. During preparation for the D.O. course I found we had several Health, Safety, Environmental and Operations policies and not everybody on the committee knew of them all! I wanted an easily read, clearly laid out document that the less experienced D.O.s could refer to quickly if necessary.

Each folder contains;• An updated HSE & OPS manual, in a larger text and spacing format which will

hopefully find favour with those that might need to refer to it. • Risk assessments for the club frontage and for club based trips.• MCC code of conduct.• Day Visitors form – 4 copies.• Parent / Carer consent forms for the under 18s – 4 copies.

Everything has been laminated. Even the Day Visitor forms and Parent / Carer consent forms. Dry wipe pens have been provided, should these need to be filled in, and hopefully this will avoid the damp paper and failing ball points problem often encountered when these forms are needed.

Why not take a few minutes to leaf through? Some of the detail may come as a surprise to some. Do you know where the Accident book is, or for that matter, the First Aid kit? Just what do you do if the proverbial fits the fan? You will hopefully find the answer inside but if you have not enough time to browse through at the club you can find it on the website to read at home. Remember, if the D.O. has chosen to paddle they might be the victim of an incident, then who you gonna call?

Must dash – got more time for the sea now!

12TOURING

Wye tripby Simon Knowles

The scene; the beautiful countryside surrounding Ross-on-Wye, the goal; a two day trip to include a 10 mile walk, an 8 mile kayak and some fun along the way.

After loading up the boats from the club on Friday evening, the plan was to set off early Saturday morning and arrive at the campsite for 9 - 10 am, set the tents up and get ready for the day’s fun trek. The campsite was Elmsdale in Marstow, nestled in a dip, beside a wind-ing stream with ample facilities and great views.

After a short while and a brief tent flying contest aided by the strong winds, most were set to go. All excluding the two lost souls who managed to pass the campsite several times, their boats visible just above the hedge bordering the site, as they passed one way, then the other and sometimes on the correct side of the road! Eventually we were all present and set off for Symonds Yat east where we started the walk.

The walk, kindly organised by Jon Garner, was planned to be 10 miles starting with a very steep and long trek to Symonds Yat rock and a viewpoint. Personally, I was glad to hear the news that this was the only hill climb and, after catching my breath and with my vision returned back to normal, the views were really quite stunning. From the viewpoint you could see nesting Peregrine Falcons and the river Wye wind-ing through the valley for miles.

After losing Adrian a couple of times, due to his unstoppable urge for refresh-ments, we decided to appoint a chaper-one and head off downhill for the rest of the walk. Some would argue we ven-tured in an uncertain direction, however I would say that Jon knew the exact path to take and was in fact trying to create an "adventure" type atmosphere! Whatever the case we made it down to the river and followed the Wye path.

The lunch stop followed quickly, as most of us had not eaten since 6 am, so we settled down by the river’s edge and tucked in. We must have needed it, because the next few minutes there was not a sound from anyone, apart from the noises of packages and lunch boxes opening. The spot we stopped at was a good 2 - 3 metres

13TOURING

above the river, so there was a great view and gave the paddle critics amongst us a chance to spot the newbies passing by. A few thought it would be a giggle to tell them they were going in the wrong direction, but we were not that cruel, so packed up and headed off.

About 7 miles later we left the riverside and headed back along the path on an ever changing route, arriving at the our destination (the pub) where we had a well earn drink and compared blister sizes and stories of who has had the biggest before!! Un-fortunately the winner has subsequently taken out a high court supper injunction, so tweet me for the rest!

Once back at camp, we had half an hour to change and get to the town of Ross-on-Wye where we had booked a table at the Yaks N Yetis Nepalese restaurant, recommen-ded by Chris P and Hazel. The food was lovely and for those who have not had the chance to sample Nepalese cuisine, I would strongly recommend it. However the chil-lies can be very hot as Jon G found out, eating six full ones in quick succession, leav-ing him looking a little flushed. At this point I was beginning to worry about the tent sharing option!

The rest of the evening we ventured in to a few local pubs, taking part in competitions in pool, table football, darts and the age-old sport of beer-mat stacking. It is fair to say that some were more competitive than others!

We ended the evening in a night-club, finally arriving back at the campsite at 2 am for a well earned sleep. Sadly due to one too many beverages and a slight draw string issue with my sleeping bag, I only finally managed to get my legs in the sleeping bag by 2.30, my waist by 2.45 and that is were I gave up!

We woke at about 8 am, started our variations of breakfast and, once all was packed up, set off for the shuttle run and start point of the paddle at Kerne Bridge. From the launch point, the journey started with the river looping at a gentle pace around Coppit Hill, passing Bishops Wood Holiday Park on the left. It is fair to say that, after the walk the previous day and the night time activities, we were all pleased that the river had a nice flow to it, pushing us down stream at a steady rate.

We changed our plan to stop for lunch en-route, opting to have something when we got to the destination point of Symonds Yat. However we could not resist a pit stop where, in true fashion, Adrian deployed his stove and cooked up some pancakes! After a short rest and a stone skimming competition we set back off down the river.

En-route you could see numerous types of wild life, including nesting swans on the banks with their mates standing guard close by. This proved to be an issue for Richard and led to an event we now know as “the attack of the killer swan”. Not only did it at-tack, but subsequently decided to leave the nest well behind and chase Richard down river for several hundred yards, flying at him on a number of occasions. According to

14TOURING

TOP TIPSWhen you go out for a nights dancing, for the best performance and effect would you wear inappropriate and ill fitting clothing? Well, there's a similarity here with your paddling:

• Make sure your boat and equipment is appropriate for the activity you are undertaking.

• Make sure you have purchased the correct size and shape of boat and equipment for you.

• Make sure you have adjusted the fit of the boat to optimise your connectivity.

Strutting your funky stuff on the dance floor in the wrong, ill fitting shoes and trousers is not going to allow you to perform at your best - the same goes for your boat. (tip courtesy of club member Gary Fletcher).

LOCAL RETAILERSRiverside, Oxford. 01865 248673. http://www.riversideoxford.co.uk

Marsport, Reading. 01189 665912. http://www.marsport.co.uk

Berkshire Canoes, Reading. 01189 425640. http://www.berkshire-canoes.co.uk

WWC, Shepperton. 01932 247978. http://www.whitewaterthecanoecentre.co.uk

Paddlesport, Warwick. 01926 640573. http://www.paddlesport.co.uk

Yahoo Answers more people have been killed by swans in the last 50 years than by sharks! Whether this is true or not I do not know, however, I would strongly recom-mend avoiding a boat/cag colour combination of purple and green just in case.

After a long paddle we ar-rived at our destination of Symonds Yat, some opting to travel a little further down river to play in the rapids, the rest deciding to call it a day and go for that well earned pub meal!!

Many thanks to all for coming on the trip and making it so much fun! Here is to the next time!

KEY CONTACTSPresidentTim Ward01494 482959dianne.ward@tesco.net

SecretaryJonathon Garner07765 226790joncgarner@googlemail.com

MembershipRod Edmonds01753 671389r.edmonds@etoncollege.org.uk

EquipmentChris Porteous01628 485049chrisps@gmail.com

Women's RepresentativeMelinda Livettmelinda.livett@yahoo.com

Social SecretaryMelinda Livettmelinda.livett@yahoo.com

ChairmanAdrian Cooper01844 344580adriancooper@googlemail.com

TreasurerKelvin Abbott01753 654923kelvin.abbott@btinternet.com

CoachingGary Fletcher07881 815280marlowcoachingofficer@gmail.com

Newsletter EditorRodney Casbierd07960 900980rbcasbierd@yahoo.co.uk

Youth RepresentativeVacant

WhitewaterChris Porteous01628 485049chrisps@gmail.com

1* Course Co-ordinatorSimon Knowles07786 836012s-knowles@tiscali.co.uk

Pool sessions organiserDave Goddard01494 863862dcgodd@googlemail.com

15COMMITTEEDay to day operation of the Marlow Canoe Club is governed by the club committee. The committee usually meets every two months to discuss issues of concern, drink Old Speckled Hen and make those oh so vital decisions.

Recently the main focus of the committee has been spending your cash. Some new boats have already been procured but decisions remain to be made regarding replacement of the fast boats. It largely boils down to cost, how many do we buy and do we buy new or nearly-new. We also need a better stock of boats to cover the 1-star courses.

Feel free to give us your views.

SeaJohn Norris01494 483833j.k.norris@btinternet.com

TouringLee Niven07824 828024leeandsue@talktalk.net

Saturday 4 JunePool session,7.15 pm - 8.15 pm.

Tuesday 14 JuneFast boats evening club session.

Tuesday 21 JuneNene whitewater trip,6.30 pm – 9.30 pm.

Weekend 18-19 JuneNovice course 3,10 am – 4 pm.

16CALENDAR

EVERY SUNDAY

Club session

Doors open at 9.30 am.On the water for 10 am.

EVERY TUESDAY

Evening session

Doors open at 6.30 pm.On the water for 7 pm.

Saturday 2 JulyPool session,7.15 pm - 8.15 pm.

Sat 2 – Sun 10 JulyAlps trip.

Monday 4 JulyCommittee meeting,6.30 pm – 9.30 pm Marlow Donkey PH.

Tuesday 19 JulyNene whitewater trip,6.30 pm – 9.30 pm.

Saturday 13 AugustPool session,7.15 pm - 8.15 pm.

Sunday 21 AugustWhitewater canoeing day trip.

Tuesday 23 AugustNene whitewater trip,6.30 pm – 9.30 pm.

Weekend 27-28 AugustNovice course 4,10 am – 4 pm.

Saturday 3 SeptemberPool session,7.15 pm - 8.15 pm.

Monday 5 SeptemberCommittee meeting,6.30 pm – 9.30 pm Marlow Donkey PH.

Its no joke

Q: Why did the paddler cross the Atlantic?A: To get to the other tide.

Boat attendant: Come in kayak number 9, your time is up.I repeat, come in kayak number 9, your time is up.Kayak number 9 your time is up. Please come in!For the last time, kayak number 9 will you ... ah ... kayak number 6, do you need assistance?