Blackpool Illuminations - 8th October 2016

Seeing the Blackpool Illuminations from the sea is a great excuse for a night paddle with the added bonus that it is very difficult to get lost.

Six of us launched from the slip at the south end of the breakwater with about an hour of daylight remaining. Dramatic dark clouds loomed menacingly over the land, but luckily there was no rain and the clouds dissipated as we began to lose the light.

To use up a bit of time we headed out to one of the navigation buoys that was about a kilometre off the beach, This gave us a wide sweeping view of the Blackpool pleasure beach, the piers, the Tower and then in the distance the hills of the Lake District.

As darkness closed in we headed towards Central Pier and were pleased when they turned on the lights on the Tower. We carried on northwards for a couple of kilometres, then we landed on the beach for a quick snack and comfort break. Landing was mildly entertaining because we couldn't see the sandbanks and we ran out of water a couple of times getting in and out of the beach.

We made our way back south again enjoying the light show on the tower and the bright lights from the illuminations. The trolley buses that go up and down the promenade were made up with lights to make them look like trains and large ships and this was particularly effective from our viewing position.

By time we got back to the slip, the tide had gone out quite a way, so we had a long carry back to the road. The excellent evening was rounded off with some fine fish and chips at the Squires Gate chippy.

Ravenglass Seaquest - 5th June 2016

Fine weather greeted the competitors that gathered on Ravenglass beach for the annual seaquest orienteering event. This event is a 3 hour "score" event where you try and collect as many controls as possible, each control being 10, 20 or 30 points, and then you get time penalties as deducted points for any time taken over the three hours.

I decided to head off up the Esk collecting the controls on the right bank. I managed to find the controls without any difficulty and I was feeling pretty good as I made the turn at the top of the river just through the road bridge. On the return I was now paddling against the incoming tide so I had to eddy hop my way back towards Ravenglass, this time collecting the controls on the other bank. My tactic seemed to pay off as I made up a couple of places on the return and surprisingly John Willacy wasn't out of sight!

I normally budget 90 minutes for the Esk, 30 minutes for the Mite and then 60 minutes for the Irt, and I was pretty much on schedule as I turned into the Mite estuary. Again I collected controls on my right on the way up, which actually meany I only left one control in the middle of the estuary for the return.

Still on schedule, I then started making my way up the Irt. By this time the tide was starting to go out, and I just made the shortcut across into the Irt to reach a control on a fence. This required me to get out of my boat and to jog over to the control to clip it. I then returned my boat that I had hauled up out of the water and place it back in the water in what I thought was deep enough water for me to get going again. Unfortunately once I was back in I was still beached, and I used by paddle to try and pull myself into deeper water. Crack!... I'd exerted too much pressure on my paddle and snapped the shaft.

So another early finish. Luckily I wasn't far from the event start/finish so I could J-stroke with a single paddle back to Ravenglass beach.

About 20km paddled.

St Bees Head - 4th June 2016

Arrived early afternoon planning to stay overnight for the Ravenglass Seaquest on the sunday.

Launched from St. Bees beach by the lifeboat station. The tide was starting to go out and we headed north for an hour before turning around under the lighthouse.

Fantastic bird life with the cliffs covered in guillemots and razorbills.

Returned to the beach at low tide, so the trolleys came in handy for the long carry back up the beach.

River Eden - Lazonby to Armathwaite - 20th March 2016

Annual Macclesfield Canoe Club jaunt down the River Eden. 14 club members set off in the sunshine with the river at an unusually low level for this time of year.

The low level meant that many of the rapids were trickier to pick the way through, but it also meant that some waves and features were present that would have normally been washed out.

The final obstacle is the weir at Armathwaite. We normally shoot this river left, down a rocky ramp but the normally fierce drop on the right hand side was somewhat tamer than usual, so half a dozen of us opted to go down this way. I managed to get down unscathed, but a couple of our group were nearly backward looped in the hole and ended up swimming. Fine entertainment for the walkers watching from the bank.

Me shooting the weir - photo credit Alan Tonge

River Goyt - 15th November 2015

Macclesfield Club trip down the Goyt from Roman Lakes to Chadkirk.

Fairly high water level (up to 0.9 on the online gauge?) made for a bouncy ride with some nice wave trains.

The horseshoe weir was in a dangerous state with many logs being re-circulated and the toe-back into the weir went out for a good few metres.

Here's a video of the weir:

Here's a video of Sam shooting the broken weir near Chadkirk:

Crosby Beach and RIver Mersey - 1st November 2015

Instead of our normal foray's along the North Wales coast we opted for a change of scenery and decided to paddle on the River Mersey through Liverpool. Unfortunately the weather wasn't being that kind, and a fairly thick fog greeted us as we prepared to launch from Crosby Beach RNLI station.

Crosby is famous for the iron man sculptures by Antony Gormley. A hundred of these cast iron statues look eerily out to sea and provide an unusual feature to paddle through. Not sure if I'd be too keen on them if there was a lot of surf though!

Crosby Beach

Graham approaches one of the sculptures

We made our way along the beach and after a few kilometres we met the breakwater that marks the start of the Bootle docks. Work is ongoing improving the breakwater with what looks like a new berthing area and the dockside supports a number of large wind turbines.

Conscious of the shipping hazard we were checking in regularly over the radios with Liverpool VTS (Vessel Traffic Services) on VHF channel 12. There was little activity though because of the fog. We heard reports of the visibility from the vessels in the area and around the Crosby Channel it was "1 to 2 cables" (a cable is one tenth of a nautical mile).

We passed a number of large dock lock gates and the Victoria Tower and made our way down to the main Liverpool riverfront and the city docks. We were being carried along quite fast on the incoming tide as we took photos of the famous landmarks.

Victoria Tower

The Liver Building

Once past Albert Docks and the exhibition centre we were starting to think of somewhere to stop for lunch. This is not easy, as the whole riverfront is either docks or vertical walls. We ended up stopping on some steps near the Dingle Festival Park - the others used the steps and I had a quick leg stretch after mooring up to a vertical ladder.

I returned to my boat and ate a snack on the water. We then started to head back with the tide now on the ebb.

There was more shipping activity on our return - the fog had lifted slightly, and a big tanker headed out from the Tranmere side. We were twice mentioned over the radio by the VTS so we had to check in and report our position. We were on the east side of the river and a ship was about to leave Gladstone dock and they were concerned of our whereabouts. We paddled swiftly past the lock gates and reported that we were clear and shortly afterwards they opened the lock gates and the ship eventually passed us out in the channel.

With the swift tide it was not long before we were back on Crosby beach making our way past all the iron men back to our launch site.

30km paddled. We left Crosby at 11:15, with high tide Liverpool just after 2pm. We were off the water just after 4pm.

Ravenglass Seaquest - 17th May 2015

Perhaps the least said about this the better! I was suffering the after-effects of one too many drinks the evening before, so was not feeling my best. As a result, I cut my race short after just going up the Esk estuary and only 90 minutes. I must remember to refuse that last whiskey....

Conditions were a bit windy, and I think for the first time in the event, nobody managed to get all the controls. Thanks to Karen and her team from Copeland Canoe Club for organising the event - I'll be back next year and hopefully in better condition.

Wastwater - 16th May 2015

With strong winds on the coast, we opted to paddle inland, and headed for Wastwater in the western Lake District. With the imposing Wastwater Screes alongside us, and the highest hills of the Lakes forming a panorama in front of us, it was an atmospheric place to paddle.

We launched where the road from Greendale meets the lake and paddled SW to where the lake water enters the river Irt. Sunshine combined with the lush spring vegetation made for an idyllic spot.

We then paddled NE under the screes passing a couple of walkers negotiating the ankle-twisting boulders. The wind was gusting quite strongly now, and Jim tried to use his storm cag as a sail (without too much success). Rachael and I were make better progress paddling and surfing the small waves.

Once we reached the head of the lake and turned for home, the wind was so strong we were hardly making progress, but luckily the more jagged coast on the NW side meant we could get occasional shelter from inlets to enable return to the car.

Jim Krawiecki with Yewbarrow, Great Gable and Great End in the distance

It would be rude to visit Wasdale without a pint in the Wasdale Head Inn, so once off the water we duly obliged. About 10km paddled.

Brereton Lake - 23rd April 2015

Rescue, rolling practice at Brereton Lake with the Macclesfield Canoe Club.

Nice to get on the water to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather. Spent the evening rolling (didn't try a left handed roll...), self-rescue (including re-entry and roll) and rescuing other boats.

Had a quick go with Alan's greenland paddle... I have one on order, so the next time I go to Brereton I should be using it and starting to go through the greenland competition rolling catalogue!

River Eden - 18th January 2015

Annual trip down the Eden with the Macclesfield Canoe Club. Slightly above medium water level to give a fairly bouncy and entertaining paddle. Snow on the ground made for a chilly wait while the shuttle cars were sorted, but soon warmed up once on the river. Paddled the Pyranha Burn for the first time and this provided a dryer ride than the Inazone, though perhaps slightly less entertaining.

7km from Lazonby to Armathwaite.

Trentham Hasler Race - 3rd August 2014

A sunny, but slightly windy day made the Trentham marathon meeting a very pleasant day out. I entered the Div 7 race over 4 miles (although in theory I'm in Div 9). After a bit of a slow start managed to get into second place and on the last turn opened up a small gap to avoid the need for a sprint finish. Over a minute behind the winner though (I finished in 39:31, winner's time was 38:10), he was promoted to Div 6, I was promoted to Div 7 justifying the decision to put me in that division on the day, missing out on promotion to Div 6 by 21 seconds.

My trusty steed

Andrew Millest takes a wide turn

John Kavanagh gets an inside line

Trentham Lake

River Goyt - 28th December 2013

I've been meaning to paddle the Goyt for a long time, and finally got around to it as a chance to burn off some turkey and my mum's Christmas puddings!

Despite the wild weather over the holidays, the river was at a normal winter level (0.55 on the gauge?). At this level it is a bit bumpy in places on the more stony rapids but still interesting with some fun drops over the weirs.

I paddled with half a dozen kayakers plus an open canoe from Macclesfield Canoe Club. The sun was shining and it was surprisingly pleasant as we put in at Roman Lakes. A number of small rapids led to the first major interest point, the drop at Marple Bridge. We shot this on the left, with one of our party taking a swim. While he was being re-united with his boat I thought it rude not to jump out and nip up to do it again, this time dropping over the middle (a more vertical drop - 2.5 feet? - compared to route on the left that gives a more defined shoot).

We passed on through Brabyn's Park and the next weir, which has three slopes divided by vertical walls. I shot the middle slot which had a stopper, while most of the others scraped over the left hand side.

The next weir is horseshoe shaped and can be dangerous, so most of our group portaged it, but a couple of us shot it towards the left hand side.

A number of small rapids continued the interest, some with small waves or features to play in as we made our way down to the Manchester Canoe Club site and the slalom course. We had another couple of swimmers at, or just below, the abrupt left hand turn just below the club house.

It was starting to cool off now, and the last bit of excitement was the broken weir as we entered Chadkirk park. A new bridge straddles the remains of what used to be a 3ft sloping weir. This has mainly been washed away, leaving wooden stakes that the unwary could be pinned to. With a bit of care these can be negotiated and just below the ruined weir is a shelf that was kicking up a very friendly surfing wave that provided some sport before we continued onto our egress point, near the Country Park car park by the A627.

An entertaining trip and only 30 minutes drive away, giving a paddle of about 7.25km.

River Eden - 16th November 2013

Lazonby to Armathwaite, approximately 5 miles.
Grade 2. Pleasant river paddle with Macclesfield Canoe Club with the river at a low-medium level.

Bollington Pool - 15th November 2013

20 minutes in the pool rolling practice.

Bollington Pool - 8th November 2013

30 minute pool session rolling practice. Hand roll not even close :(

Hilbre Island Race - 22nd September 2013

Bright sunshine and ideal conditions made a pleasant surprise compared to last year's race that had to be moved to Liverpool docks. A new race base at the Dee Sailing Club made for a longer race and great facilities including changing rooms, showers, toilets and a bar!

About 50 boats lined up for the Le Mans start and soon after the starting hooter Ian Tordoff, Chris McSweeny and James Mayers were setting the pace heading down the estuary en route to the Hilbre Islands. A light headwind and small waves built up as we approached the NW side of the main island to create some choppy conditions and a few larger waves pushed us back south to start the return leg. The following wind and waves sometimes quickened my speed and sometimes slowed me as they pushed me offline.

I finished in tenth, in a time of 1:34:54, some 21 minutes behind the winner and 12 minutes behind the boat in third place. Well off the prizes this year, though I wasn't expecting to do well with the much stronger field and having done a lot less training this year.

Nice to have a chat with a few friends at the barbecue on the lawn of the sailing club after the race.

Thanks to Liverpool Canoe Club for organising the event.

Ravenglass Seaquest - 12th May 2013

I picked Jim up on the Saturday afternoon and we headed off with the plan to grab some "fresh air" before meeting up with Annette, Phil and Chris for a meal at Gosforth Hall. Jim had an excellent suggestion of walking up to the "pepper pot" that overlooks the Esk, so we found a bridlepath that took us close enough so we could cross a few fields to get to it and enjoy the fine views.

After our exercise we met up with the others at Chris' house and we had a fine meal in the pub - highly recommend the home made pies!

The following morning started off dry, but after registering at around 10am the weather started to deteriorate and we made for the cafe at the Ol'Ratty station for second breakfast!

Brian and Neil Turnbull and Jim Krawiecki

Despite the weather, a reasonable field was assembled for the event, and at noon we all started with boats heading off in all directions. I went for the Irt first, which may have been a mistake because a number of the controls were quite a way from the water across slippery mud flats. I visited all the controls on the Irt and headed up the Mite accompanied by Neil. As we left the Mite, passing the start/finish point again, we headed into a strong headwind that was energy sapping. By this time Neil was leaving me behind, but also heading to different controls first.

I gathered the controls on the left going upstream, but by time I reached the controls near Waberthwaite Hall I knew I wouldn't be able to get the remaining two controls at the end of the Esk, so I turned and headed for home collecting the controls on the left bank as I headed downstream. I finished with about 8 minutes to spare, and finished fourth in the mens K1.

It was the first time the event was organised by Copeland Canoe Club, and they did an excellent job, but maybe need to be less zealous attempting to collect the controls in before the end of the event!

River Eden - 4th November 2012

Lazonby to Armathwaite, approximately 5 miles.
Grade 2. Pleasant river paddle with Macclesfield Canoe Club with the river at a medium level.
Paddled the InaZone 230, rather strange after paddling sea kayaks.

Fleetwood Seaquest - 15th September 2012

High winds the day before made the holding of the event from the Marine Hall look unlikely, but luckily the winds had dropped sufficiently to make conditions on the beach not too rough.

I got a reasonable start and was the first boat to checkpoint 1, but I was soon overtaken by the K2 of Ned Price and John Kavanagh who went on to take the overall prize.

Alastair Hornsby tracked me around the course all the way - I seemed to make the clips at the checkpoints and get going again slightly quicker, but he had speed to keep catching me up again. I was still ahead of him after the last checkpoint, but coming back into the rougher conditions on the beach I couldn't match his speed and I came in second K1.

As usual the event was well organised by the OAG, and the post race barbeque and cups of tea were most welcome (not sure about some of the raffle prizes though!). Over £250 was raised for the Leukaemia Busters charity.

22km paddled, time 2:21.

Ravenglass Seaquest - 6th May 2012

Good turnout for the 6th running of this popular event - 68 boats on the water, with 90 paddlers. The weather was fairly kind with sunshine and a light (but cool) wind. This was the last time that the event was to be organised by Annette Morris since she has relocated to the Ayrshire coast in Scotland. Next year's event will be organised by Copeland Canoe Club who were present helping Annette with the course setting, race admin and course clearing, so hopefully everything should go as smoothly as it has under Annette's reign.

The event was the usual format - a 3 hour score event over a course of about 15 controls that could be visited in any order and were worth 10, 20 or 30 points with time penalties for late finishing beyond the 3 hours.

A feature of the event this year was the very high tides. This made navigation interesting since the high tide flooded fields and the bends in the rivers that are useful navigation aids were washed out. So you took risks cutting across corners in only a few inches of water, and in a couple of points it was quicker to jump out of your boat and portage over a bank or run through some shallow water to get the best lines.

I went up the Irt first, then the Mite and finally the Esk. This proved a popular route and the top 3 male kayaks all took the same route and jossled for position over the first controls. The lead swapped from me (only for the first control!)... then Alastair Hornsby and then Rob Jones. Alastair and Rob then changed the lead a few times - Rob getting confused at the top of the Irt, Alastair over shooting control 4 at the top of the Mite and also a quick ducking half way up the Esk. Finally Alastair's boat speed in the K1 paid off and he finished a couple of minutes ahead of Rob in a time of 2hrs 14min. I came in a couple of minutes behind Rob in third.

Interestingly, the K2 pair of Ned Price and John Kavanagh from Macclesfield finished in a time of 2hrs 12min. Normally they are further ahead of the K1 singles, but they went up the Esk first and this may not have been the optimum route.

Rob Jones with his 2nd prize bottle of wine