Chair and Training Officer Reports 2018         

The year began with another fine Club Dinner at the Thatch, thanks to Mike and family for organising.  However, the hard winter discouraged all but the obsessed from doing much paddling in those dark months. The Beast from the East weather event caused the cancellation of our Dulverton Slalom event, after much work on course creation. Thanks to Doug Smith and a band of coffee and cake-loving assistants.

River and sea trips continued as conditions allowed. Pat’s efforts were much appreciated, as always, in creating accessible and enjoyable river trips. On the sea, Darren Sherwood joined the Club and gave great support to those preparing for sea leader qualifications. Rolling in icy conditions was a grim but necessary drill. Happily, it all paid off with Simon Morrissey, Dave May and Greenie all passing Sea Leader and myself Advanced Sea Leader. We now have six qualified Sea Leaders to plan for our challenging coastline. Paul Clark passed his Advanced Canoe Leader and Emily Harding her Canoe Leader so the prospects are good for the development of open boating in the Club. Nathan Mower passed his WW Kayak Leader and this is an area where we need more qualified leaders.

In May Emily organized a group trip, flying to Malta and on to Gozo for a week sea kayaking in sunny conditions with crystal clear water. Then the programme really got going. Kevin Ballard took a group to the French Alps to some adrenalin boating in hot weather on icy water. Tommo headed up another Team France trip to the Lyons area for warmer rapids and pain au chocolat. In July, five set off from Appledore to Anglesey over thirteen days of sea kayaking in blissful summer weather. The trip raised £2500 for RNLI. Many thanks to all our supporters.

During the summer, Greenie led the 2 Star course over ten sessions, giving a varied and mildly challenging experience to novice paddlers, who soon became much more competent. The course included a weekend open boating and a session in sea kayaks. As the summer gave way to autumn the 3 Star sea training group pushed their boundaries and skills with evening and weekend paddles. Well done Maria for passing a tough assessment in December.

During the year the Club has provided safety cover for Triathlons and open water swims, resulting in some very early mornings and some useful contributions to Club funds. Pat’s summer programme included some popular coastal explorations in river boats, surf sessions and a river clean up on the Torridge.

Our commitment to the Youth Centre was fully realised over the summer with six sessions of introductory and fun canoeing provided by Pat’s volunteers. The young people really do like and appreciate it. It secures our premises arrangement and long may it continue.

The Club has enjoyed a strong year for new members, having 135 total membership. Finances improved too, helped by a grant from Bideford Town Council. Thanks to Olivia for the application and to Tommo for keeping our finances in good order.

In September, Club sea kayakers gathered in Falmouth for the annual sea week. Conditions were reasonable and some fine trips were completed, including round Lands End.

The autumn and winter so far have been pretty good for river flows though autumn gales knocked too many trees into rivers. Small working groups from the Club have been doing community service work to make the rivers safer. Some excellent river trips have been enjoyed, accessible to new members and enhancing the Club’s reputation as friendly and inclusive. The Club remains well-equipped and thanks go to Mario for doing repairs and managing the stock system.

At the year end many members are sporting Club Tees and hoodies. The process has raised the Club’s profile and some useful money for Club funds. Thanks to Paula for driving this through.

Finally, my heartfelt thanks to all the Club’s officers who quietly make everything work so well

Pete Thorn ………Chair

Training officer’s report for the 2018 season.

We had a good attendance on last year’s 2 star course with 10 people regularly attending the 10 sessions.  With a good mix of ages and abilities the group gelled well! It was great to see some of our more mature ladies getting fully involved (Rescue practice does that!!!)

It was also very pleasing to see members from the 2 star course helping out with the youth sessions and giving some of their time back to the club.

During the summer and autumn months we regularly ran the Thursday night sea kayak training sessions for the 3 & 4 star candidates which were also well attended.  As a result of this training, assessments were taken in late November and Maria passed her 3 Star Sea Award – Well Done Maria.  The other two candidates were very close.

Our thanks go to Darren at Channel Training for providing the assessment.

We plan to continue the Thursday evenings this year, for any 3 & 4 star candidates, working through the course syllabus with both practical and theory sessions. This would not be possible without the support of the usual crew!! Many thanks guys.

Nathan consolidated on his previous 4 star river leader training by taking and passing his 4 star river leader assessment.  Well done Nathan.

We ran an informal “Swift Water Rescue” training day on the Lyn which was well attended and it was great to see some youngsters getting stuck in on a chilly day.  Thanks go to Pete Thorn for taking the lead.

We also ran two dedicated “Sea kayak” pool rolling and rescue sessions which were well attended and popular. More can be arranged if there is the demand.

New for 2018 was an “intro to white water” evening specifically targeted at new members starting their first white water season of river trips and this was well received.

We have a First Aid course in the pipeline, and we are working with the other local canoe clubs to provide this.

Due to the recent increase in interest in Sea kayaking and particularly Greenland paddling and Greenland stick rolling I am currently investigating a Greenland paddling workshop focussing on forward paddling as well as rolling at a local venue.  Reed Chillcheater have some good contacts in this area and are assisting in arranging this. Details to follow shortly.

And finally, a BIG THANK YOU to all the volunteers who help out at the pool sessions, not only coaching but ferrying the boats to and fro, and collecting subs and cleaning up after everybody and to all the club members who help out with the 2 and 3 star training programmes, taster sessions and generally take the lead on river trips.

Thank you for your time. I know it is appreciated by the membership; both  new and old members tell me this and it is what makes this club unique !

I am looking forward to the 2019 season and embracing the new British Canoeing Personal Performance Awards.

Thank you

Greenie   (Paul Greenway) Training Officer

TEAM FRANCE 2018

Author……Tommo

It was a super early start this year for the five members of the Bideford Canoe Club….I picked a surprisingly chirpy Sue up at 03.30 to meet up with the others at 4 am to head off to the Channel Tunnel terminal at Folkestone. We arrived in good time but unfortunately weren’t able to catch an earlier train so a sit down coffee it was. Foil wrapped pasties were placed on the van engine to warm ready for the train journey.

Sunshine greeted us as we arrived in France and we headed off to the man-made slalom / white water course at Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf, just south of Lyon. We arrived early evening to pick up the entrance barrier access card left for us so we could drive straight to our pitches. The tents were erected and we settled down for a well-deserved drink before bed.The morning greeted us with delightful sunshine and a clear blue sky as we headed off to the local bakery for the morning ritual of flutes and pain au chocolate. After breakfast we booked in and kitted up for the first run down the course. This year we had one creek(ish) boat and four play boats. St Pierre offers some lovely warm up areas and parts of the river were perfect for practising and improving all of those basic skills that are essential for when you move up to the faster flowing water along with a few play waves.

We were all soon bashing down the best of what the course had to offer from grade 3 drops to a gentle paddle along the lake at the bottom. The best feature of this place was the travellator which took you from the lake back up to the top of the course.The prize awarded to the first swimmer was a run down the course on an inflatable unicorn and it was duly awarded on the first day. Sue looked to have so much fun we all decided to have a go! As we were camped on the side of the course this year time out was made very easy. Walks to explore the local town and wildlife resulted in finding the local beaver and many birds. The opening times of the town’s pizzeria were found so the last evening’s dinner was sorted!

After 3 excellent paddling days and plenty of evening wine, cider and merriment we moved camp 1.5 hours away to our second destination, Sault Brenaz.This course offered a twistier route with some slightly more challenging features and drops. The weather was holding at 35 degrees with the water temperature tipping just over the 20 mark so no worries if you took a swim. Skills had improved and we soon found our favourite set of play waves, Playtime for everyone! We even managed to introduce Sue to the wonders of the Pyranha Rev playboat!!3 more days of fun and merriment followed with

Tom continuing to be either upside down or tail-squirting.Chris nailing his combat rolls,Sue going for the “Man-line” on every drop….no photo!Me sorting my flat spin on a wave…and Nathan just continued being Nathan….Another fabulous Team France expedition !! 

ROLL ON NEXT YEAR

Now watch the video   😀

Pete Thorn’s account of an epic adventure.

After 262 nautical miles (288 statute miles), four sea kayakers from Bideford Canoe Club landed on Holy Island in Anglesey. This was after thirteen days paddling, a day ahead of schedule. Our passage from Appledore in North Devon had been made in ideal conditions with sunny days and light winds. A day later, heavy weather arrived, so the timing was excellent, if entirely outside our control.

Five paddlers had set out but one had to withdraw, a result of a shoulder injury in a tide race in Pembrokeshire. The adventure began on Friday 13^th July, when unphased by superstition, the group paddled away from family and friends, towards Bideford Bar and the open sea. In our heavily laden kayaks were all the things needed to live for two weeks, including tents, camping equipment, food and enough water for that day. Leaving Hele Bay on the second day, we crossed 24 nautical miles of the Bristol Channel to Port Eynon on the Gower. This took 6.5 hours of careful navigation, crossing strong tidal flows and was an early crux. We wild camped in the sand dunes, which was to become the daily norm for the next two weeks. On landing, it took four people, (and Henry) to carry the heavy kayaks clear of the water. Then all equipment was unloaded and carried up the beach in big bags. So, several trips were needed to get all the kit above the high-water mark. Wet clothes could be exchanged for dry and a meal prepared. Time to relax, though on a few days the group did not land until well into the evening. Small tents were erected and sleeping mats blown up before sinking into an exhausted sleep. In the morning all this was reversed, finally pulling on wet paddling clothes and doing it all again. It took at least an hour and a half from waking to paddling away into a new vista of coastline. During the trip, the group only found one accessible commercial camp site so used stony storm beaches or scrubby grass sites as well as the unpopular sand, which got into everything including our food.

On departure, litter was picked to leave the beach cleaner than we found it. It was remarkable how unpopulated the Welsh coast was, with long stretches of wild and beautiful scenery and few accessible shops. We crossed the expanse of Carmarthen Bay, helped along by an ebb tide and southerly wind, landing in the pretty Manobier. The next day proved to be our worst. Heavy rain that morning soon cleared up and we approached the MOD firing range at St Govan’s Head. The recorded message had predicted no firing but this proved out of date and we were stopped by a range boat. Firing was planned till 3.30 so we had to wait on a beach till this ended. By then the tide had turned against us and it was a slog to inch round the main headlands against turbulent tide races. Using back eddies in the bays we made slow progress, finally pulling clear of this seven mile stretch at 7.30 to camp in the sands of Freshwater West after four hours paddling non-stop. If we had failed to clear this big range area we would have been stuck for days as both day and night firing was  planned.

The next day we crossed the busy shipping channels of Milford Haven and were properly in Pembrokeshire. Bird life was abundant, with puffins unafraid as we slid past within touching distance. Almost every day we saw pods of dolphins, sometimes surfacing very close to the boats. They were curious and apparently friendly, though efficient hunters of fish. Most striking was the plethora of jellyfish, seen in great variety all the time. The warm summer seemed to have allowed an explosion of numbers. Does anything eat them apart from turtles? At St David’s we found a camp site after a steep climb and were able to get a shower before walking into this tiny city for coffee, ice cream and much needed shopping. On the following day we crossed the strait to Ramsey Island, upstream of the notorious Bitches tidal rapids. To go around the island seemed essential, as it is an iconic kayaking destination. We shot through the Midland Gap into a welter of confused white water as the incoming tide compressed and accelerated. Some good skills were needed to stay upright. After another tide race we passed through a sea cave and then used the helpful tide to get around St David’s Head. The wide expanse of Cardigan Bay started to open up before us. 

We spent many hours paddling, having long conversations with friends or day dreaming while paddling your own course a little distance away. Every hour we would have a brief break for drink and a snack to keep up energy levels. Pee relief was very basic so boats and shorts needed swilling out at the end of the day. In choppy conditions and with long stretches of cliffs there were few alternatives to just letting go!

Part of the trip challenge was to raise some money for the RNLI. We called in at seven stations on the way and were made very welcome with tea and biscuits. In Aberystwyth we landed on the day of their annual barbecue so were fed until we could hardly walk back to our stony campsite. We used their showers so were less smelly than usual. The crews have strong community groundings, with members as young as seventeen working with veterans of thirty years service. They need our support and our giving page is still open at https:/mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/a2a

As the changing coastline passed by we saw abandoned quarries and stunning rock formations, ranging from strangely eroded glacial moraine to volcanic columns and twisted layers. Arches, caves and sea stacks were dramatic, usually unseen except by local fishermen.

The slog into Barmouth seemed never ending. Were those distant blocks of colour beach huts? They turned out to be four storey houses which never seemed to get bigger.

The following day we were due to complete the last open crossing to the Lleyn Peninsula. Two options were considered, a direct crossing, or a more scenic route along the coast followed by a shorter crossing. In view of the benign weather forecast, an amicable split was made, with our very experienced solo paddler opting for the scenic route. The  remainder of the group, who had less time available,  took the direct crossing which proved to be  particularly tedious on an oily swell. A distant speck gradually became a lobster boat which in all that sea sounded his horn to get us out of his way. He then asked us if we were lost. As the Tidwal Islands took shape we discussed Bear Grylls who owns one of them. His large floating pontoon was too attractive so we lay flat on the black plastic to soak up some warmth in the sun. Thanks Bear!

Holy island……the finish line in the distance!

With a helpful tide we completed the distance up to the Menai Straits and camped on a stony storm beach.  This was to be our last wild camp as only 16 nautical miles remained to Porth Dafarch on Holy Island. The tide would be against us till late in the day, but a helpful southerly wind sprang up. We put up our sails and made rapid progress, landing after four hours paddling among holiday makers and many jellyfish. A friend ferried us to Anglesey Outdoors, a campsite just one kilometre from the beach. We were able to access a washing machine and drying room, so we quickly became nicer to know. A good meal in Treaddur Bay rounded off a fine last day.

To  our great surprise our solo paddler arrived in the gathering gloom, just seven hours behind the main group, having tailored his efforts more to use the tide more effectively. The reunion was jubilant with congratulations all round. It was a tortoise and hare story.

Medal presentation 

There was more sunshine the following day so we played in the tide race at Penrhyn Mawr before paddling round into Holyhead Harbour to visit the RNLI station. The staff were particularly friendly and told tales of dramatic rescues. We reflected on the storm force 12 conditions in February which had destroyed the marina at Holyhead and sunk almost every boat there, apart from the lifeboat which they had moved into the dock area. A sobering thought that July is a better time than February to visit Anglesey.

Back home in North Devon the summer continues as we plan to take young people from Bideford Youth Centre out on the estuary to start their own adventures.

Author Pete Thorn.

On Friday 13th five local sea kayakers from Bideford Canoe Club set out on a 300 mile adventure. Ignoring superstition regarding the date, it was chosen to suit tide times rather than as an antidote to the arrival of a certain president. The trip title has been shortened to ‘A to A’ by the team, meaning our own Appledore to Anglesey in North Wales.

Leaving from the RNLI station in Appledore, the team aim to visit other such stations along the way, raising money for this, their favourite charity, while being determined not to be rescued by them. The trip will be self supporting, carrying all their equipment in their kayaks, camping on the way and cooking for themselves, unless a convenient fish and chip shop is discovered.

The team has massive experience of ‘living out of the boat’, some having travelled in Greenland, the USA and the wilds of Scotland. For Emily Harding it will be a wrench to leave son two year old Henry but as a cross channel swimmer she is used to endurance events. John Rowe quipped that future trips could have the same ring to them, such as Croyde to Corunna, or Bideford to Budapest, but for now A to A is challenge enough. Ian Dring is something of an ‘ultra paddler’, having previously set out from his south Devon home to solo up to 50 miles along the coast. Kevin Sumners has done much of his sea paddling in the Americas, on both east and west coasts, gaining some of the US highest awards in sea kayaking. Pete Thorn has been paddling since he was 12 years old and now, at seventy sees the trip as ‘adventure before dementia’.

The big challenge of the trip will be the Bristol Channel crossing, from Ilfracombe to the Mumbles area, an exposed passage involving nearly thirty miles of effort across a busy shipping lane. All the team have mini sails on their kayaks which may help, depending on wind direction. As they follow the Welsh coastline they will experience all sorts of weather on the exposed west coast, while searching out the best ice-cream shops.

Their destination is Holyhead on Holy Island, part of the big island of Anglesey. This is the area of monstrous tide races, where spring tides flow at up to eight knots and can create huge standing waves. Anglesey is a Mecca for experienced sea kayakers and other club members will meet them there to explore its big waves and strong currents, before giving them all a lift home. The trip should take no more than 13 days before arrival, but this is weather dependent. Pete was last there in February during ‘Beast from the East’, experiencing 20 knot winds and snow, so the July conditions have to be an improvement.

The trip can be followed on the internet through the A to A Facebook Page and their live tracking page.  Your donations to the RNLI would also be warmly welcomed.

Bideford CC has a large group of sea kayakers as well as enjoying year round surf kayaking and winter river paddling. Two groups have recently returned from France, one visiting white water slalom courses near Lyons and the other paddling the icy Alpine rivers near the Italian border. The club offers all standards of experience and welcomes beginners through its indoor pool pool sessions.