Stand Up Paddleboards

By Sandy Johnston Comment Closed
We obtained some stand-up paddleboards at the end of last year. The club owns 4 which are stored at the Loch Lomond outdoor container. Sandy will be providing the opportunity to try out paddleboarding at the Tuesday night sessions on Loch Lomond. If you want to book one of the four boards available drop him a text on 07962 226280.                 Hopefully it will be a bit warmer than the picture!...
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6 New Safer Paddlers

By Sandy Johnston Comment Closed
Congratulations to Marcus Wheel, Petra Sharp, Peter Sharp, George Arbuckle, Les Aitken and Alisdair Gibbons who all completed the Foundation Safety and Rescue Course over the last weekend. An excellent effort put in by all resulted in enjoyable courses in some fairly chilly conditions. They all now have the skills to look after themselves and others on the water and can build on these as they progress in their paddling. There will be other opportunities to complete the FS&RT course later in the season. Keep an eye on the website if you are interested....
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Elterwater Lake District River Weekend

By graham Comment Closed
Having undertaken extensive research Graham was able to identify a suitable Hostel in Elterwater which was cheap, had both male and female sleeping areas, a dry room, a full English breakfast, close to a pub, and central to a wide range of rivers. The last criteria obviously being the most important! Travel arrangements in place we headed down to the Lake District as we experienced the tail of Storm Freya. Sandy’s wee van did well to make it up a 25% gradient hill fully laden and Sandy did well manoeuvring all the tight corners in the dark. Having dumped our kit in the prison…..sorry hostel….we headed down to the pub to wait on Graham and Campbell.   After a good nights sleep (in the ladies dorm) and a noisy sleep in the boys room we stocked up on energy reserves with a very tasty cooked breakfast. Following a most excellent exercise in skilful (tandem) navigation we arrived at our put-in point on the...
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Additional Date for FS&RT

By Sandy Johnston Comment Closed
The weekend of 6 to 7 April 2019 is turning into a Foundation Safety and Rescue Weekend! Sandy had organised a course for the Saturday 6 April and this filled up so quickly that he has had to organise a further course for the following day. If you are interested in this course to develop your paddling or if you want to re-visit this course before Paddlesport Instructor training then you should contact Sandy sooner than later to obtain a place. sandy.johnston@sky.com The British Canoeing Foundation Safety & Rescue Training course is the first safety course that most paddlers encounter as it teaches the safety skills that the other courses then build on and develop. You will be shown simple and effective techniques which will allow you to deal with the common problems that you can be confronted with on flat water whether you paddle a kayak, a canoe or a sea kayak. By the end of the course you will...
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Foundation Safety and Rescue Courses

By Sandy Johnston Comment Closed
If you want to take part in a Foundation Safety and Rescue course this summer please get in touch with Sandy Johnston on sandy.johnston@sky.com A course has been arranged for Saturday 6 April 2019. This course is now full. If there is sufficient interest, Sandy will provide another course, possibly on Sunday 7 April 2019. The following information may be of use to help you decide. The British Canoeing Foundation Safety & Rescue Training course is the first safety course that most paddlers encounter as it teaches the safety skills that the other courses then build on and develop. You will be shown simple and effective techniques which will allow you to deal with the common problems that you can be confronted with on flat water whether you paddle a kayak, a canoe, a SUP or a sea kayak. By the end of the course you will be a safer paddler as you will have the skill to be able to rescue others in...
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GlenIsla trip 10th and 11th November 2018

By graham Comment Closed
This year was an alternating year when the Lochawe weekend goes on tour. After phoning just about every village hall in Scotland we went to the GlenIsla village hall near Kirriemuir. A great hall with showers, a fantastic kitchen and a pub 300m away. It also brought a new area with new rivers and sea trips, but more later. After some ins and outs the group ended up as 12 people, with a mix of river and sea participants. A game of paper-scissors-stone on Saturday morning gave Misha a sea day followed by a river day, whereas Graham had a river day then a sea day. Rain overnight had meant that a debate of West Water (Grade 3 / 4) or South Esk (Grade 2/3). The group (Graham, Derek, Gianni, Marcus and Sam) stopped for a look as we crossed the South Esk and it looked big and brown and seemed a good choice. The gauge when we got a phone...
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Star tests no more. Welcome to the personal performance awards.

By Sandy Johnston Comment Closed
January 2019 sees the introduction of the personal performance awards. These awards are discipline specific and place the paddler firmly at the centre of the process allowing paddlers to gain recognition and development in the craft and environment that they choose. The awards are concerned with learning and improving underpinned by an ethos of 'supporting the paddler' so they should be a bit friendlier than the old star tests. Further information can be found at: https://www.britishcanoeingawarding.org.uk/new-personal-performance-awards/#home There are 3 paddle awards, Paddle Start, Paddle Discover and Paddle Explore. These are for people who are new to paddling and provide progressive levels of attainment which will be achievable as they develop their skills and progress as paddlers. These lead on to the discipline specific pathway awards. There are three awards in each discipline which also provide a progression allowing paddlers to develop in the paddling discipline that they are interested in. However unlike the star tests (the old award system) the paddler can choose...
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Instructor Training

By Sandy Johnston Comment Closed
Is anyone interested in becoming an Instructor in any of the following: kayak sea kayak canoe SUP This qualification allows you to instruct (normally beginners) in a very sheltered water environment.  It is discipline specific in that you only paddle the craft that you are happy in (you can do it in more than one craft if you wish) Further information can be found at https://www.britishcanoeingawarding.org.uk/new-paddlesport-instructor/ If you are interested in this first step along the road to becoming a coach please contact me on sandy.johnston@sky.com or 07962 226280 or see me at the pool  or Pinkston sessions. Sandy  ...
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Sound of Luing trip report 08.09.2018

By graham Comment Closed
Rab, Leigh, Sandy, Hannah, Pat This trip was carefully named to reflect the difficulty of predicating where you might end up depending on the tides and wind conditions in this area. We had hoped for Garvellachs but it became apparent as the week progressed that we would get there but couldn’t be sure whether we would get off the island anytime soon. We settled for Belnahua, an island at the north end of the Sound of Luing where we would camp and set off early the next day to escape the worst of the weather. We launched from near Craignish point, west of Ardfern. It was F2 and we were slow to make progress across Dorus Mor against a 2 mph tidal stream to Dearg Sgeir which lay 1 ½ km off shore. We then headed for Scarba with the Corryvreckan opening up to the west. As we got closer, we could hear the roar of the body of water passing through...
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The DCKC Awesome Sea Paddling Week 2018

By Bev Ouzman Comment Closed
What can we say? It was AWESOME. It was so awesome that this report can only really give you a flavour. Next time – be there! We went to Shetland. Only a few days earlier, with the weather forecast looking unfavourable with a large storm predicted followed two days later by another storm, a non-Shetland Plan C was in place. We delayed the final decision on where to go whilst the forecast twisted and changed, and changed again. As our departure date drew closer, the forecast became more certain and it became clear that the first storm would pass before we arrived, allowing two good paddling days before the next front swept in. Our awesome trip leaders, Misha and Graham, decided two good days in Shetland would be worth the journey. In fact, the DCKC awesome sea paddling week yielded seven days of Shetland paddling and it has taken me a good week to recover. We paddled the most northerly part of...
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Open Canoe Autumn Sessions

By Sandy Johnston Comment Closed
A series of one day sessions designed for those who wish to progress in the art of open canoeing. We will be looking at development of technique both on open water and progressing onto easy rivers. The sessions will be tailored to provide a progression for those taking part and will be coached. Above all though I'm looking to enjoy some paddling in different locations and conditions through the Autumn. Hope you can join me................... Sandy Any questions, see me at Pinkston or at the pool sessions, or email on sandy.johnston@sky.com Sunday 23 September 2018 Saturday 13 October 2018 Sunday 28 October 2018 Sunday 11 November 2018 Sunday 25 November 2018 Sunday 9 December 2018...
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News – British Canoeing launch new Personal Performance Awards

By Sandy Johnston Comment Closed
British Canoeing have announced details of the awards that will replace the star tests. http://canoescotland.org/news/british-canoeing-announces-new-personal-performance-awards The Personal Performance Awards are designed for paddlers wanting to gain recognition of their learning and development, in the craft and environment they choose. The process of completing the awards is based on learning and, as such, the ethos of ‘supporting the paddler’ is the main focus of all the awards, encouraging individuals in their personal development. The new Personal Performance Awards include: Paddle Awards: Three introductory awards – Start, Discover, Explore – that are designed for those new to paddlesport Discipline Specific Awards: 12 pathways comprising three awards which enables paddlers to choose the environment, craft and paddle sport discipline that is right for them. We will be providing the opportunity to gain these new awards from January 2019....
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Foundation Safety and Rescue Course 05/08/2018

By Sandy Johnston Comment Closed
The British Canoeing Foundation Safety & Rescue Training course is the first safety course that most paddlers encounter as it teaches the safety skills that the other courses then build on and develop. You will be shown simple and effective techniques which will allow you to deal with the common problems that you can be confronted with on flat water whether you paddle a kayak, a canoe or a sea kayak. By the end of the course you will be a safer paddler as you will have the skill to be able to rescue others in a wide variety of situations and you will be able to empty a variety of boats in a safe and easy way. Topics covered on this course include: Safety and rescue protocols. Equipment – what to carry. Simple reaching rescues. Simple throwing rescues. Swimmer tows and rescues. Tows and towlines. Safe boat emptying for kayaks, canoes and sea kayaks. Returning swimmers to boats. Dealing with...
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