Welcome to the autumn edition of your club newsletter.
I hope you all agree that it has been a good summer for sea kayaking with only a few club trips cancelled due to poor weather.
Pinkston and Loch Lomond sessions ran throughout the summer with options for micro-skills sessions or trips up the loch, BBQs and away-days. Highlights included a masterclass with a guest coach, a have-a-go-session in white water racers and sprint kayaks, and an open canoe evening. Many thanks to all the organisers of these special events.
Trips and expediations ranged from the local favourite: The Sugaboat, the Falls Of Lora and the club expedition to Mingulay; a remote, unpopulated island in the Outer hebrides. And despite below average rainfall this summer, the river paddlers managed a few trips and adventures, including on the Teith, Tummel, Awe & Leny.
In addition to the social paddling, there has been a lot of kayak coaching and training going on with a focus on PaddleSport Leaders and Sea Kayak Leaders with several newly qualified in both categories, and more in the pipeline. Thanks to Misha for all his work organising and co-oridnating the sessions.
Congratulations to Celia & Andrew on passisng the SKL award and Gary and Iain for the PSL, also well done to all those who acheived the Outdoor First Aid certificate this year. All are worthy acheivements after many hours of training and hard work. Gary describes his assessment experience at the end of the newsletter
In this Issue
1. Feedback
2. Dairy Events
3. Keep Qualifying and Carry on Kayaking
4. More on DIY Storm-Cags
5. Trip Reports
6. Washing Your Boat & Kit
- Stop Press
Forthcoming River Trips
- Sunday 28th September – Grade 2/3 Awe or Rain Fed. Choice of venue will depend on weather and water levels. Contact graham.m.swanson@gmail.com
- Sunday 19th October – Choice of venue will depend on weather and water levels. Contact graham.m.swanson@gmail.com
- Thursday 30th October – Final Pinkston Session with Halloween themed games races & BBQ.
Tuesday Evening Pool Sessions – A series of micro-sessions for the Tuesday night pool session are now listed on the club calendar.
- Aultbea Long Weekend. Thursday 6/11/25 – 10/11/25; Sea kayaking, staying in a cottage in Aultbea. Grade B. Led by Bev. Places will be limited to 8 people. (Possibly more if other trip leaders sign up and people arrange their own accommodation.) Contact Amanda – amandajgrant@yahoo.co.uk
- Speybay Bonanza 14/11/25 – 16/11/25 Following feedback from last year’s Bonanza, we’ll go to an alternate venue every second year for the Ballachulish Bonanaza. This year we go hunting for surf, rapids and dolphins. Contact James – jfraser65@gmail.com
AGM – The club AGM will be held on Wednesday 22nd October at 7.30pm at The Station Inn, Station Road, Bearsden G61 4AN.
All members are welcome and encouraged to attend the AGM. As well as finding out more about how the club works, there is the chance to bring up items and contribute to any discussions.
New members of the committee are also very welcome – if you are interested in joining the committee, please feel free to chat informally to a current committee member to find out what is involved. Being a committee member is not too onerous – we have a meeting once every 2 months – and is a good way to meet other folk within the club.This meeting is in the private room of a pub where you can buy drinks and food before, or after the meeting
If anyone would prefer to attend the AGM remotely, please contact info@dckc.co.uk, and we will do our best to also facilitate an online option (e.g. via Zoom or otherwise) although this will depend on signal in the private room.
We look forward to seeing you all on 22nd October! If you can’t attend and would like your apologies to be noted, please contact the secretary on info@dckc.co.uk
Agenda – https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/feigke63z63m4m639c2yy/10-2025-DCKC-AGM-agenda.docx?rlkey=1b2zihx8xbv6s83fhyavo3uit&st=gbd39xna&dl=0
The 2024 AGM draft minutes are https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/wnsz5z20syfl5bk5cm6ui/10-2024-DCKC-AGM-minutes-Preliminery-Draft-GS.docx?rlkey=rqkjigvf965yxdicqere99mmy&st=bax5xmh2&dl=0
The proposed constitution of the SCIO form DCKC would move into is v5:-
DCKC 2 Tier SCIO Constitution – v5
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2. Feedback
Its great to have received so much feedback from the last issue, most, but not all, related to the ‘knickers in a twist’ article. Not surprisingly, all these comments were from women.
“That was really excellent! I really appreciate your writing about the optimal pants strategy!”
“It’s rubbish that we have to pay a lot more for a suit that functions for us.”
“Great edition; interesting read on the foldable kayaks 🤓”
“Brilliant ….I read every word loved it all.”
“Even tempted into looking at foldables ….thanks Peter”
“Great photos too, especially the big pants one”
As far as my research went, all women’s one-piece dry suits had the same or very similar size drop-seat, which, in my view, is not quite big enough. Cold damp winter hands, groping for layers to pull up, and in the correct order in the right order is not easy and often has uncomfortable results. The best solution I have found is a two-piece suit. The zip around the waist can be a bit awkward to connect up, but once it’s done you only have open the zip to just short if it’s full extent to make for easier peeing, pulling up & re-zipping. The other advantage of the 2-piece is wearing the legs when driving to launch site. That way you already have on part of your kit, including kayak boots, and are nearly ready to go, saving quite a bit of time, and with a good jacket are weatherproof for launching in the rain.
I also received an email from Bev referring to the article she wrote some time ago about homemade storm cags To give you more ideas and options we have re-produced it here, together with details from Pat on how to convert a cycle cape to a storm cag. Many thanks to both.
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3. Keep Qualifying and Carry on Kayaking – Andrew McColl
Nearly three years on from gaining my Coastal Sea Kayak Award (CSKA), I’ve now passed my Sea Kayak Leader (SKL) assessment.
It’s been a long journey to SKL, sometimes swamped with self-doubt and questioning “why am I doing this?”
Why, indeed, when I recall the introduction I gave before the first “rough water” course I attended six years ago. Then, I was adamant that I had absolutely no leadership aspirations and determined that I had to get my own ship in order and gain some badly needed basic paddling skills to control my own kayak, let alone lead a flotilla of fellow paddlers.
Some say that smooth seas seldom make a skilful sailor and others say that qualifications are a natural consequence of experience. And so, after many months of training spread over six years in a variety of not-so-smooth conditions and locations, it came to pass: Sea Kayak Award, Coastal Sea Kayak Award and now Sea Kayak Leader.
As my comfort and kayak control in increasing conditions improved, thoughts of SKL slowly crept in. I’m not sure exactly when and why, but they did and it seemed like a natural progression in challenge and self-improvement.
The various qualifications are motivating and empowering and they’re not at odds with the statement I made in my first “Carry on Kayaking” instalment three years ago that “bits of paper don’t make you a better paddler” – they’ve guided and helped me grow from liability to leader.
Going forward with paddle in hand, I’ll be training for the Sea Kayak Coach qualification and the Advanced Sea Kayak Award, but I have absolutely no aspirations to become an Advanced Sea Kayak Leader…
Ed. Andrew has contrubuted three other articles under the “Carry on …..” theme, which are all well worth reading:- We will keep our eyes open for part 4, ASKL, in another year or so!
Nov 22 – Keep Calm and Carry on Kayaking – Dec 22 – Keep Calm and Carry on Kayaking – June 23 – Keep Fit and Carry on Kayaking
4. DIY Storm Cags
Mobility Scooter Cag:
Bev’s 2018 article:
The solution I came up with was to use a mobility scooter cagoule as the starting point. This is made with a long front (to go down over the legs of the wearer), this front portion can easily be modified to form a spray decjby threading a suitable length of elastic into the front hem. (Note that the back hem is already elasticated.) Because the cag is sized to go over the front of a mobility scooter it is easily big enough to go over a BA.
The mobility scooter cag that I bought is this one: – 
It comes in a one-size-fits-all option, so should be suitable for the vast majority of sea paddlers. It has a hood with a drawstring to tighten the hood around the wearer’s head. The hood can be zipped into the collar, but I’m planning to leave mine out so that it is ready for use without any faffing about unzipping it.
There is a pouch at the front of the cag, which could usefully hold an energy bar/gel and hat. The cuffs are not waterproof but are “sweat shirt” style. This makes them quick and easy to use, with no messing about having to do them up with cold fingers. Obviously the disadvantage is that the cuffs will get wet in use and will need drying out afterwards.
The material itself is heavier duty than a Pac-A-Mac style material, and the seams are all internally taped. It is still lightweight enough that the cag can be folded down into a reasonable size (see photo):
Note that there are other options BUT be aware:
Wheelchair cagoules often have slits at the back (for the handles to be passed through) and some of these look very short at the back.
There are “lined” options for cosiness. The lined options (in addition to being more expensive) will be bulkier and heavier. And if the lining gets wet it will likely be heavy and uncomfortable (and possibly cold). Some of the options available are more poncho-style (with no arms).
To “adapt” the cagoule I unpicked about an inch at each side of the front hem and threaded some thick elastic through the hem. (The elastic end being threaded was fastened to a safety pin so you can push it along.) I used reasonably heavy duty elastic; the thickness of the elastic will however be limited by the hem.
I held the elastic in place with safety pins at either end until I could try the cag out over my cockpit, and wearing my BA. You want the elastic to be only just tight enough to be held in place over the spray deck, and much looser than the spray deck itself so that the cag won’t impede release of the spray deck if the loop is pulled.
Once I was happy that I had the correct length, I just sewed the elastic firmly in placed and sewed up the unpicked hem portion.
I also added sprung fasteners to either side of the hood so that once the cord had been pulled as tight as needed, it would stay in place. We had a couple of spare fasteners lying about but these can be bought from a haberdashery/eBay.
I had wondered about adding a release loop (like on a spray deck) but realised that this would be a mistake – you wouldn’t want anyone to just release the cag in the event of a capsize, and once the cag is loose (and floating about) it might be harder to find the release loop of the spray deck. In practice, the spray deck loop is lies outside the cag and is readily accessible should it be needed.
Bev is still using this 6 years later. It was accepted a suitable kit when she achieved her Advanced Sea Kayak Leader Award last year. (Note she had fitted a loop to it by then and reports no problems, although the article says she wouldn’t do that)
Cycle Cape Cag:
Why make your own storm Cag? For me, there were two reasons. The first began on a rescue practice session off Great Cumbrae when I pulled out my outsized Kag in response to a paddler developing hypothermia. To my great surprise, it didn’t fit! The second reason: the cost of replacing it and perhaps being unsure that the replacement would be big enough.
I stumbled on the idea of a cycle cape and Decathlon even had a choice. It was voluminous and tested on a few suitable candidates, with BA over their suits, it was the perfect size. It had a hood to fit a helmet, the cuffs were elasticated and it was luminous in the dark.
Decathlon – BTWIN 540 Visibility City Cycling Rain Poncho-Khaki/Beige
The adaptation was simple. I machine stitched up the hem starting at the front of the cape, to create a run for the elastic. I fed through spare deck line elastic enough to fit under the cockpit rim with a bit of a grip and created a ‘handle’ at the front so it could be easily pulled off with the spraydeck in a capsize. The circumference of the cape was large so the process took longer than expected.
Next step was a test run on the water.
Verdict: there may be cheaper options out there, but Decathlon’s cycle cape did the job for me, and you could beg the elastic off a mate. You need access to a sewing machine, or a good friend who has….The ‘kag’ was compact and easy to store in the day hatch. It fitted easily over the victim on the water while wearing a helmet and it was straightforward to secure under the cockpit rim. The victim was comfortable and felt the benefit of heat retention. Paddling while wearing it was affected by the volume of fabric in the design, but could be overcome by wearing tow rope bag to the front and tucking the excess fabric under it.
And the moral of the story? Get your kit out and test that it’s fit for purpose.
Tyvec Jacket Cag:
Now that we have tried them out on the water I can say that they were easy enough to put on, needing just little assistance to pull it over the back of the BA, it didn’t flap in the wind or get in the way during a deep water exit and re-entry. We haven’t tried rolling in them yet.
DCKC DIY Storm Cag Summary
5. Trip Reports
The full reports for the trips in May Gigha & the May Second Saturday Paddle are now on the website. (Ed. Intros to these were in the last issue, apologies to Paul and Rob for the delay in publishing these full reports.)
Hardly a club trip, this Gary’s account of his PaddleSport Leader assessment, to give those of you whio missed that breezy day on Loch lomond, a taste of what is involved.
Loch Lomond Paddlesport Leader Assessment Day – Gary Wroe
We kicked off the day at 9:00am, meeting with Grant Dolier of CAG Adventures, our assessor, for the day. The plan was for each candidate to lead a journey on the loch and a section of river, ideally covering new ground or reversing a previous route was acceptable. He checked our route plan and agreed that the weather was within remit – F3.
By 9:30am, our group of ‘guinea pigs’ (student paddlers) arrived, they were kitted out and their boats sorted. After a short welcome, Grant made it clear that his input would be minimal. This was to be our day to plan, lead, and manage, and he encouraged everyone just to be themselves.
Section One: Into the Wind
Iain was first up. He gave his trip brief and led a warm-up session before guiding the group from Lomond Shores towards the River Fruin up the west side of the loch. It wasn’t long before we hit stiff headwinds that made progress challenging. Eventually, we had to deploy tows for both the SUP and the canoe—a great real-world test of leadership and logistics under pressure. Spirits remained high, and having paddled a short way up the Fruin, we returned to a quiet beach for lunch and a well-earned break.
Section Two: Wind-Assisted and River Rescues
I took over for the second half of the journey. After delivering a trip brief using the MYABCDE framework and leading another warm-up, we set off again. Thankfully, the wind was now behind us, making for a quicker and more relaxed paddle back towards the River Leven.
A short way down the Leven, we beached the craft and handed things over to Grant, who ran the shallow water rescue session. We demonstrated rescues across all craft: self-rescue, kayak, SUP, and canoe.
Key takeaways included:
Always rescue to shore if possible. Empty boats stood in shallows. Encourage student involvement, get them doing the heavy lifting. Multiple attempts are permitted.
Final Push: Deep Water Rescues.
I resumed leadership again, guiding the group out to deep water 200m off Lomond Shores. Each candidate had to carry out a self-rescue, then rescue a SUP, kayak and canoe, all much tougher than in the sheltered and shallow waters of the river Leven.
Key takeaways included:
Mixed craft rescues are valid—SUP into canoe, for example. You can get students to assist.
Tired but smiling, we finally reached the shore around 6:00pm.
Final Assessment Challenge: The Fruin Scenario
Before calling it a day, Grant threw in one final curveball:
“How would you deal with an unconscious paddler by the bridge at River Fruin?”
Consider the following – Immediate rescue and assessment (airway, breathing, circulation). Recovery position and insulation. Shelter and group care. Emergency contact via phone or radio. Accurate location using OS maps, apps like OS Locate, or GPS. Coordinating support – possibly police, ambulance, or even mountain rescue depending on access.
Final Debrief & Nuggets of Wisdom
In the debrief, Grant noted he appreciated the use of a notebook for structured briefings—something he encouraged others to adopt as an “aide-mémoire” under pressure.
And finally, a crucial tip for future candidates – Always bring sweets for the guinea pigs. They won’t forgive you if you forget. (Ed, but we did!)
6. Washing Your Boats & Kit
With the approach of winter, many paddlers will be packing their gear away until the spring. Before you do so think about giving it a thorough wash.
Washing a kayak is important for several practical reasons — not just for looks, but for maintenance, performance, and environmental protection.
Here are 5 reasons why you should wash a kayak as well as the rest of your gear, especailly at the end of the season:
🌱 1. Prevent the Spread of Invasive Species (mainly a freshwater issue).
Aquatic hitchhikers like zebra mussels, algae, or snail eggs can cling to your kayak. Thorough washing, especially between different bodies of water, helps protect ecosystems by stopping their spread.
Note: After any watersport on Loch Ken all kit must be washed with a biocide to prevent the spread of North American Signal Crayfish, Japanese Knotweed, Giant Hogweed, American Skunk Cabbage. Biosecurity stations have been provided, and we can expect to see this type of facility at other lochs in the future.
🧼 2. Remove Dirt, Salt, and Debris
Freshwater kayaks gather mud, algae, sand, and plant matter.
Saltwater kayaks collect corrosive salt residue, which can damage fittings and degrade plastic or metal parts over time. Regular washing helps prevent wear and buildup.
🔧 3. Prolong Lifespan
Sand, grime, and UV exposure degrade materials. Cleaning and using UV protectant means the kayak will last longer and perform better.
👁️ 4. Inspect for Damage
When you wash your kayak, you’re more likely to spot cracks or leaks, damaged hatches, bungees, or rudders and wear and tear on the hull
🧽 5. Better Storage
Storing a dirty or damp kayak can lead to potential mould, mildew and bad odours. Clean kayaks are easier to store and handle, especially in warm or enclosed spaces.
🚫 Not Just a Hose-Off:
For a proper clean use mild soap and water, Miltons solution or a suitable biocide. Avoid harsh chemicals, rinse thoroughly and dry completely before storage
Then relax with a beer or bevvi of choice and congratulate yourself on a job well done .
And well done for reaching the end of this newsletter, I hope you enjoyed it.
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