Macclesfield Canal - 31st October 2010

Clarke Lane <-> Higher Poynton Marina.
Back on the canal after a bit of a break (still not quite finished the hall decorating!). Out in 57:14, back in 58:12. Longish boat delay on the way out and a fishing tournament at Adlington marina.
Will be nice to do something more exciting - should have gone to Northumberland for the Storm Gathering.

FSRT Course - 2nd October 2010

Day long course called "Foundation Safety and Rescue Course" that is a pre-requisite for starting any BCU coaching qualifications. The course was run by Mark Finch from the MADCC and held at Brereton Lake.

The course covered a range of topics from equipment, use of throw bags, towing techniques and finally rescues of different boat types. I've performed rescues a number of times from sea kayaks and earlier in my canoeing career from the older style "slalom kayaks", but it was interesting to handle open canadians and small plastic play boats. The latter were particularly troublesome to re-enter once emptied due to the lack of buoyancy in the rear - a tactic of climbing in over the rescuer's boat seemed to work better than the "heel hook" style of re-entry.