Editorial

Mary Wood

At least some us have managed to stay busy, in spite of access restrictions and low water levels. Geoff Pelham and Jim Krawiecki have both "organised" Anglesey weekends. Angus Lord and Melvin Samuel met unexpectedly at sea off the Great Orme. Others have travelled even further afield, as you'll see.

A few weeks ago I was invited to crew a friend's racing yacht in a regatta off Anglesey. At the barbeque laid on by the host yacht club on the Saturday evening, various of their members commented to me that, although the club had a large and active "cruising" (touring) section, its committee and centrally organised activities were dominated by the competition section. Sound familiar?

The evening light is starting to draw in, it will soon be time for floodlights on Tuesdays and curries on Wednesdays. See you there?

MCC website:

www.manchestercanoeclub.org.uk

Chairman's Chat

Peter King

All of us have been affected by Foot and Mouth. We have been lucky to keep the site open with the full agreement of the farmers on both banks, although we have been asked not to land on the far bank except in an emergency, to keep dogs away and to restrict its use to members. So far like most election forecasts there doesn't seem much sign of it going away, with outbreaks still steady.

The BCU once again asks everyone to stop paddling in the long term interests of access. Haven't we heard that before. MAFF said early on that it saw no problem with paddling provided access could be gained over open footpaths (most of them now), but suggested that boats should be disinfected before and after paddling past farmland. So "authority" which we so often think of as restrictive seems more on our side than those who represent our interests.

The September Mini slalom will go ahead unless there is a very local outbreak. When I last spoke to Paul he was about to talk to Mr. Blackhurst about far bank access but running a ranking event looks doubtful. Try reading the rest of the newsletter for the latest news!

Talking of news I hear a rumour of a French tour next year. French rivers vary from the wide and very flat (Loire, Dordogne) to the rather more exiting. Typically in the past we have paddled everything from Grade 2 to hard Grade 4. For those who haven't paddled Alpine rivers, the advantage is that the warmer the weather the more snow melts and the more the rivers rise so you don't need to pray for rain. Also if you do fall out, after 2 minutes on the bank the steam visibly rises and you are soon not only dry but warm. If grade 4 sounds a bit daunting you can usually find an easier river (repeat yesterday's trip) or walk round the hardest rapids. This used to be an annual trip, as did the Scottish tour, and it would be good to see it happening again. Incidentally Janet and I spent 2 weeks walking in the Pyrenees earlier and there is a great variety of rivers there ranging from real downhill torrents to those no more challenging than the Goyt 6 inches up. And there are miles of them with virtually no access problems.

Last bits of news, you will see that after much debate we have decided not to buy sea kayaks for the club but for an experimental period to subsidise their hire from Brookbank. 1 would also remind you that BCU NW has a fleet of 8 that can be hired for the princely sum of £2.50 a day (per boat).

Dave Higson, at present cycling in Holland, reports that very few commented on the clubhouse plans, but that most comments/ criticisms were common. As time goes by it will be harder (and more expensive) to change anything. If you don't comment please don't turn round afterwards and make the suggestions that would have been welcome now.

Good news- Tom is getting active as Youth Officer see Guides visit - do you want one arranged for a group you know?

Bad news Paul Newman is fleeing to the deep south (yes past Watford Gap). (See "Comings and Goings" later in this issue - ed.)

Future events

Marple Mini Slalom

1- 2 September

A good local event. If you've been dabbling in slalom, this is the ideal time for your first run; if not, come and see what it's all about, or indeed help - there are plenty of small (and large) ways to support our paddlers and our guests. Contact Paul Newman, 0161-626 4505, email paul.k1@fsmail.net.

Serpents Tail Slalom

20 - 21 October

Advance notice: this is one of MCC's major slalom events, and a great excuse to spend a day or a weekend on a fine stretch of river. More details in the next issue. Contact Dave Bradshaw, 0161- 477 5509, email dave@thebradshaws.org.uk.

Brookbank

Brookbank are between course schedules: I hope to have their autumn / winter dates in the next issue (ed.)

Summer Changes To Indoor Kayak Training

Carole Dean

The Wednesday evening indoor Broughton pool venue Kayak training session has moved to:

Debdale Outdoor Centre in Denton, 5 - 8.30pm

Training (both skills and polo) is open only to confident paddlers. Persons attending must be at least 16yrs old with skills of 2* +.

There are at present only 9 club boats available for use which will be issued on a first come first served basis. If you can only attend for part of the session, you may be able to make arrangements to 'share' a boat, or if you have your own, please bring it along.

A change of £3 is made to everyone paddling

(regardless of the time on the water)

Broughton indoor pool session will restart on Wednesday 3d October (9 - 1Opm) unless we can negotiate an earlier slot - Please contact either Tracey Cropper or Carole Dean for further details.

Scottish Trip

November 15th - 18th

Dave Bradshaw

The plan is to get sufficient people to Scotland so that everyone can do whatever they want. There will be hard core grade 4/5 paddling, easier (but still interesting) grade 3/4 paddling, and even some walking for those who find that too exciting. We have timed the trip to coincide with the big tides needed for the Falls of Lora, which some people consider the best play spot in the UK.

We will be stopping as usual at Inchree, which offer fairly basic accommodation, but are in some ways ideal for the kind of trip we organise. Loads of food will be cooked, much beer and wine consumed, while dodging the drips from the wet gear slung in every available position. There is also an excellent bar on site, serving fantastic beer and fine whisky.

We would like to start making arrangements for the accommodation by early October, so could everyone who is interested in coming please contact me ASAP on 0161- 477 5509.

Slalom in the NorthWest

Peter King

As reported in the last newsletter, Len Hartley has been appointed as the BCU NW Development officer. He has already visited the site twice which shows that he really is interested.

One of the things that Len and myself agree about is that Slalom is an excellent, perhaps the best way forward for the younger teenager who has learnt to canoe and has some competence on moving water. The biggest problem that Len sees is the shortage of people to introduce youngsters to slalom, a problem that hasn't hit MCC too hard.

Len has organised a course aimed at those already (qualified) instructors who would like to introduce slalom to their clubs, centres or whatever. He is doing this at Marple on October 18th. There will be space left on the water for anyone who goes down for a paddle but slalomists in search of serious training may find it a bit cramped.

We intend to encourage this initiative by inviting all the instructors who attend to come to our Mini on September 1st/2nd.

I don't think this course is really suitable for MCC members as they can pick up the slalom rules from anyone on a Tuesday evening and very soon learn from our crop of unqualified coaches. If anyone would like to get a formal qualification in slalom coaching, I can offer some advice. While you are coaching within the club (at any venue) you have got insurance cover. If you teach anyone not in the club, having a qualification carries with it an insurance cover. In practice we have broken few bones over the years.

Reports

Teesside 1/2

Tees June 23/24th

By Kay Bradshaw

Saturday (am)

I woke up a 6:00am me and my dad went to go and pick Paul Web and Tim Aldridge up to go to Tees. Finally we had got there Tim had his practise run and fell in but he got back in. When it finally started I was running up and down like a LOON chasing after every one. When it came to Paul's 1st run he fell in and you'll never guess what he fell in again! On his 2nd run!

Saturday (pm)

Me My dad and Tim and Paul put up the tent. Rob Watson, Ashlee Dack and Tom Carlisle also helped to put up the tent, then Tom said, " I think that we all could sleep in this tent."

So guess what 1 Girl (me) and 6 BOYS (Tim, Paul, Tom, Dave (my dad L), Rob, Ashlee) in ONE tent. We went for tea about 7:00pm then bowling and after that we went back to the tent. I got my PJ'S on then went to the Pub to meet there Paul, Tom, Ashlee, Rob, and My Dad. Rob went to bed and then it was Tim to got to bed. Then about 10:00pm I went back to the tent and by this time Tim and Rob were asleep. I started to play cards with people from other canoe clubs and Sally Eland was there from Kingston K.C. At 11:00pm we all stated to play STRIP PONTOON Sally was the first one to be in her underwear. We took a picture of her. I got to bed at 12:00am and was the last to get to bed from Manchester.

Results on Saturday Division 1

Official's results on Saturday Division 1

Sunday (am)

Tim woke up about 6:30 and went for a walk and came back for breakfast. I was the last to wake up (as usual) then we had some Breakfast then I saw sally and the person who took the picture (on a digital camera). Then packed the tent up and went down to the river and guess what I was running up and down like a LOON again. On Paul's 1st +2nd run guess what he did not fall in because on Saturday my dad drilled holes in his boat and put his straps in RIGHT!!!!!

Sunday (pm)

Dad, Paul and me packed up the car then we to prize giving my dad got 2nd C1 in Division everyone did very well.

Then we all got in the car and went home listing to radio 1 and I was singing along to the songs that I knew. Paul and my dad were teasing me about my singing then I started to sing very loud and they were saying SHUT UP!!!!!!!!! After that we dropped Paul off and went to

July Mini

Peter King

Again we were reduced to putting up a course using practice gates as access to the far bank is still restricted. Despite the problems caused by this Paul was able to design an interesting and, looking at some of the penalties, challenging course in very low water. Using practice gates certainly reduces the labour of getting courses up, and getting them down is a snip. The rather narrow gates make life hard for C2's.

The sun shone rather fitfully through Sunday. All we need to make these events better is a few more paddlers. Perhaps the negative publicity of F&M restrictions kept some people away. At the moment we still don't know if they will be lifted to allow the September ranking event to go ahead. The Mini will definitely happen so come and enjoy it.

Thank you Catherine for organising it, complete with Paul on Saturday, those who judged and controlled and fed us.

Bingley 16/17th July

Peter King

What was the club doing here? Well we couldn't run the club series event at Marple so Paul talked to Bradford and Bingley who with no hesitation said that we could run it on their site. They also made us free of their equipment and buildings so that we could run control inside rather than in a tent. Altogether they treated us very well including getting us access to the Social Club.

Friday was wet. We were also short of course erectors which meant that when the organiser arrived he found that the course erectors present had retired to eat/ rest with a few gates still to go.

By Saturday morning spirits were restored and we had a course less gates 3 and 5 which had proved impossible to get up (the wire for 3 just couldn't be got at and the one for 5 could only support a practice gate and it wasn't possible to get it any higher. Due to Friday's rain the river was in good fettle and Team runs went well.

By Sunday the river was much lower but B&Bs advice on where to put gates held good and apart from the usual height adjustments we didn't have to move anything. The club managed a clean sweep in Div 3, Tom and Nathan winning C2 with Paul W and Tim 2nd, Nathan won C1, Ruth Ladies and Pete K1. In Div 2 Tim and Paul N were 3rd and 4th, Tom won C1 so things looked good. In Div 4 we only had Josh at his first Slalom, about the third time on a river, we hadn't a lady, but Tim was 2d C1 and Ruth and Kay were 2nd C2. Overall the club won the event. We really need to find some more novices and a Div 2 Lady would also have helped. Can we do it again at Stone?

I saw little of course destruction, being engaged in a mixture of tasks like disposing of the Loo contents and taking the canteen where Ann and Chris had worked steadily through the weekend, to bits. A tiring weekend to all involved in the organisation especially Paul himself.

Greece: The Return 2001

Chris Davison

(edited highlights - ed.)

So that time of year again, cold wet England in the middle of Foot and Mouth crisis, warm Greece with water in rivers and unlimited access. Eemm difficult choice.

Easter Saturday … about 11 p.m. we were finally heading to the Peleponnese. The journey was interesting ranging from heavy rain, thick fog, fireworks and thunder, and took us till 5.00 am to reach the campsite in Olympia were the white van team were waiting for us. Our tent was up so we crashed out. Angus and Viv had to sleep in the van because their tent had been flooded, fun rivers tomorrow.

Sunday 15th April started overcast but at least the rain had stopped. Angus had mentioned the night before that they had had an epic the day before, time to get more details. Apparently Angus and Jason has gone to paddle the Erymanthos which was pumping, Mark doing the shuttle. The first section was run ok but time was cracking on and with it the light. They carried on paddling in the pitch black on grade II water. Jason got pinned in a tree, but got out unscathed losing boat and paddle, good start. The pair then had a horrendous walk out. All the rivers paddled after that had head torches as part of the emergency kit.

So the mission for today was to paddle the same section and look for equipment, this time with loads of time to spare. We got to the start after a typical Greek trip, to find the river even higher than the day before and a lovely chocolate colour. It was decided that only Mark, Angus and Alan were suitably skilled to even consider getting on. Off they went and we took a trip to the bottom to have a land based search. With no luck we went and looked around the ruins of Ancient Olympia (which was shut) and then to a bar in Olympia, leaving Jason to wait for the others.

We all caught up later at the campsite, apparently the river was full on but good fun and incredibly they had found the boat and recovered it. So only one set of paddles missing not bad! That night we ate in the café that we had spent the afternoon in and then drunk beers in the tarpaulin until the last party arrived at about 2AM (Dave, Roz, Lorna, Rachel, and Ian).

Monday 16th April, Water levels were still high but this was a paddling day. … We eventually got on at 5.00 PM complete with head torches after some concerns e.g. the river was grade I to II but with that amount of water flowing down it, no real eddies and tree lined, mistakes could be costly. As it turned out we had no epics and no long swims (rescues would have to be performed mid river) although the water was very quick, with plenty of logjams. The chocolate coloured water was so quick that the 15 km were done in no time. We met the rest at the get out; they had not been waiting long and had the beers ready.

Tuesday 17th April, Up at 7.00am to pack up and leave for the north. Last hot shower for a while, not that we knew it at the time. Drove through Patra to the river Fidakia that we planned to paddle but we got there at 3.00pm which was a bit late to sort the paddle. So we had lunch by the river in the sunshine, and hence the river became the Lunch River. The travelling meant we could set up a camp near Karitsa from which we could paddle three rivers. On the way to this field/campsite we had a snowball fight as you do in Greece. Obviously the journey passed through the mountains and we saw some impressive rock falls, which had nearly taken out houses, and many terraces for farming. While Mark and Alan went looking for a camping spot we drank at the local fish restaurant and booked the meal for later on. The waiter was very off hand and jumpy, he later said he thought we where Germans, he obviously does not like Germans. We ate early for us, at the fish restaurant, (9.00pm) which allowed us to stay up drinking beer, the conversation was not too intellectual though.

Wednesday started very cold and misty and the drive to the Lunch River was a wet journey. As we passed over the other side of the mountain the weather changed to become lovely and sunny. At the Fidakia we split into three, one group went to sort out the shuttle and meet us half way and the rest split into two paddling groups as the river was a more tight low flow technical river. The river was a lovely green colour much to our relief, a change from brown anyway. I paddled down with Angus, Jason, Rach. and Dave and met up with the rest (Mark, Alan, Ian, Ian, and Steve) half way down to have some lunch. Ruth then joined us to do the second section. Rachel showed Ruth the best line and the river was paddled with no problems, well not in our group. Lorna in the other group broke her paddle while swimming a section of rapid bring the total to 2. After eating at the same fish restaurant we all went back to our field campsite which we found had a pole across the entrance. We would find out why later.

To be continued…

Scouts

Meanwhile, much closer to home, our intrepid new Youth Officer, Tom Carlisle, has apparently taken a bunch of sprouts - sorry, Scouts - out paddling. I'm told a good time was had by all although I haven't been able to speak to Tom himself yet to confirm his view of this! I hope to have a full account for the next issue.

Seriously, though, this is exactly the sort of activity which can get more young people involved in paddling, and help the future of the club and the sport. A worthwhile effort: if you'd be willing to help in any way, please contact Peter King. (ed.)

General

SEA CANOES

Notice from the Committee

In response to members' requests for the club to consider the provision of sea kayaks for members use, the following proposal has been approved by the committee.

The club will, for a limited period, reimburse to members 50% of the hire cost of sea kayaks.

Members should make their own arrangements with the hirer, notify the treasurer of the cost and present a receipt to obtain reimbursement.

Members will need to satisfy themselves and the hirer of their ability to undertake the proposed trip. The club accepts no responsibility in this regard.

Sea canoes may be hired from Brookbank: tel 0161 474 1499

email mark@brookbankdemon.co.uk

Interested in sea paddling?

Mary Wood

We'd like to know how many of you are interested in sea paddling - either are already involved, or would like a chance to try.

• How actively do you think the club should be supporting it?
• Would you come on an organised weekend with qualified coaching provided for novices?
• Would you come on trips with another club, again fairly supportive but less formal?

Please let me know what you'd like: if there is enough interest in some more structured outings, I'll try to arrange them.

NW Development

Peter King

As reported earlier in the newsletter, Len Hartley has been appointed as the BCU NW Development officer. I attended a meeting on 10th July at which he outlined his plans.

The major project at the moment is the organisation of a paddlefest to take place at Salford Quays at the same time as the Commonwealth Games in 2002. This will be youth oriented and we are invited to enter either as individuals or as a club Polo team.

There are a number of other areas but the BCU has apparently woken up to the fact that 750,000 people every year have a go at canoeing. This may be in youth groups (even schools) in local centres or on activity holidays (like PGL). The sessions may be half a dozen visits to the swimming baths or be on lakes or rivers for a week. The important thing is that only a couple of hundred of these join the BCU. Figures joining clubs are not available but the conversion rate (straight from the salesman's book) is less than 1%, I make it about 0.02%.

The clubs present, including me, agreed that we may have problems absorbing these numbers if the rate went up to 1%, that we were essentially clubs receiving little if any support from local councils (unlike the centres), that we would welcome new members with little experience and no boats but that we would expect them to get their own equipment (including boats) fairly soon and that the youngest must be actively supported by parents in terms of transport etc. and that we in no way want to run anything resembling welfare organisations or playschools. Having said which we would welcome Len's assistance in moving some of those having a go to at least visiting the clubs with a view to joining.

Len is anxious to know how he can help the clubs. For instance he could arrange the loan of boats and equipment for open days. If you have any thoughts about how Len can help us, let me know and ideas will be passed on.

Pool Lifeguards

The Hazel Grove Pool sessions will be starting up again at the end of September, and the club should like to be self-sufficient for pool lifeguards by that time. The pool offers to train members to a competent standard (i.e. not a full lifeguard). If any members are interested please contact Dave Bradshaw on 0161-477 5509. Hopefully if enough members volunteer, it should mean we can share the commitment.

Comings and Goings

Andy King and Louise have had a second child, Kara, at the beginning of June.

Tim, "our" farmer has left and emigrated to Canada. For many years the farmers were our landlords until we bought the site in 1991. Since then Tim has always been supportive, providing overflow camping and car parking when it has been needed among many other helpful services. Let's hope we can establish as good relations with the new owner.

A loss we will feel closer to home is Paul Newman who will go to the deep south of Basingstoke in November! I don't think I could list Paul's many services to the club. He was Treasurer until March, has organised many slaloms and races and is currently Competition Co-ordinator.

This means that next year we will need some new organisers and as soon as possible a co-ordinator to put together next year's calendar. Any volunteers - or feel free to put someone else's name forward!

"The Mysterious Disappearance of Mike Newby"

Dear all,

I would just like to let you know that I have not fallen off the edge of the world, but have moved to the Isle of Man. My job has involved a family relocation to the Isle of Man. It all happened rather quickly and involved packing our worldly belongings into several hundred cardboard boxes. To cut a long story short I am now working for the Electricity Authority in the Isle of Man, building a new power station. We have now found a house and have settled in sufficiently to unpack my canoe.

I would just like to thank the club for introducing me to a sport that I have thoroughly enjoyed and for being such a friendly group of people.

Best regards

Mike Newby

Paddlers' Gear "Top Twenty"

I thought this internet survey result, compiled by Mike McCrea in the US, might be of general interest. Thanks to Mike for his permission to use it - ed.

After 4 months of soliciting responses from a number of paddling message boards I finally received the 100th completed Paddler's Gear Survey (a survey list of 70+ items of potentially "essential" paddling gear). Here are the "Top Twenty" items and percentage of respondents who carry them:

• 77% Water
• 73% Food
• 65% First Aid
• 58% Dry bag/Box
• 57% Sunscreen
• 53% Throw Bag
• 53% Hat
• 52% Spare paddle
• 47% Carabiners
• 46% Booties/ Tevas/ Specialized footwear
• 44% Whistle
• 44% Waterproof matches/ Lighter
• 43% Gloves/ Pogies
• 41% River Knife/scissors
• 41% Sponge
• 39% Sun glasses
• 37% Duct tape
• 37% Spare clothes
• 35% Maps & Guides
• 35% Watch/ timepiece

The Newsletter

Peter King

(I'm letting the Chairman have the last word! - ed.)

This bit was going into the chat. I then thought that most of you automatically skip that bit of the Newsletter and decided that you may get the message if I put it in a separate piece.

Essentially the Newsletter, like the club, is yours. The editor will do the best she can with what is available. She will ask for contributions, beg for contributions, may even offer a pint for contributions and spends far too much time chasing after people who have promised to write something.

We like snippets of news of ex members, changes of address (but do tell the membership secretary as well). Any odd bits like a good place to buy wetsuit boots. Trips you'd like to make if you can find a couple of bods to go along. Has anyone paddled the Exe descent - what's it like?

The next issue…

… should appear early in October - copy deadline late September. If I'm short of material I can always print all ten remaining pages of Chris's Greece report!