News

Call for missing photos!

20/10/201620/10/2016 By graham Comment Closed

If you have any digital images from club trips back in the day then we have space for them on the club's awesome Smugmug photo gallery! Just email graham (grahammswanson@gmail.com) with the name of the trip and year/month/date and he will get you an upload link. We have also started "tagging" some images for people folders... https://dckc.smugmug.com/People-Folders Here is a photo album of the club's selfie king. [SME_gallery ids='93Lg9X4,8nCnBhS,Z22nTrS,GZC4Bx9,wV2QkQC,RH6bS3M,xw7qWgb,C5Xq3R7,4mfPqGz,LRhFj9j,KCGr5gz,75FJD9G,kVsLR8b,3VLfz5d,QNMWnks,cWTR5Vf,zDM3hht' size='ThumbURL' columns='3' caption='' link='Large' new='']...

River Teith 02/10/2016

18/10/2016 By Sandy Johnston Comment Closed

Here is a trip report from one of our younger club members..............Connor McCLuskey. The River Teith It takes about an hour to get to Callander from the Clydebank area. To get into the river it is probably better to seal launch because of the upstream current in the eddy at the entry point. During the time I was there, the water was near its highest point so it got to grade 3 water at some points and was really fast flowing, especially near the end at a rapid called Torrie. The good thing about this river is that in between the rapids there was slower and calmer water which gave you time to have a break in a near by eddy. Something to watch out for is the height of the waves and the amount of reasonable sized rocks in the middle of the river. As a group because of the amount of rocks, we had to basically navigate a route through some,...

Autumn Rivers

07/10/2016 By Sandy Johnston Comment Closed

You may have seen on the calendar that we have a number of river trips running between now and December. These are for anyone who wants to attend who has basic boat handing skills. There will also be the chance to train for and sit the three star assessment in white water kayak. The remainder of the dates are Saturday 8 October 2016 Saturday 5 November 2016 Sunday 6 November 2016 Saturday 12 November 2016 Saturday 10 December 2016 with an assessment date on Sunday 11 December 2016 The plan is also to make these trips open to other paddlers who are not necessarily interested in obtaining their 3 star. This will provide the opportunity to get out on the river in not just kayaks but also canoes, whether tandem or solo. we will be paddling a range of rivers and I hope to include the Teith, the Awe, the Tay, the Nith, the Clyde and maybe some others if we can fit them in. If you are interested,...

Across Scotland by Open Canoe (almost)

11/09/2016 By Sandy Johnston Comment Closed

In the olden days the rivers and lochs formed the main communication routes through the wild landscape. As idyllic as this sound, I now celebrate the modern age! Day 1 A drive up toward Glencoe seen us disembark at Rannoch Moore, where the river Ba flows into Loch Ba. At this point Graham armed us all with saws and instructed us (me) in it’s use…….after being left to pack my boat, I cut myself on the saw! Having filled the canoes full of all the kit we’d need for the next 5 days we launched the heavy boats into the loch. Sandy paddled up the River Ba for his first of many photo opportunities and then with little appreciation of what we were going to face, we were off. With naive enthusiasm we paddled the across Loch Ba with a head wind. When the wind changed to a cross-wind we took the opportunity to raft up in pairs and fire up the sail. It took...

Tay Descent 22.10.2016

29/07/2016 By Sandy Johnston Comment Closed

Is anyone interested in the Tay Descent? Leigh Murray is looking for like-minded souls who would like to take part in this event. The early-bird registration finishes on 31/07/16 so if you are interested get in touch with Leigh now! The details can be found on the SCA website at http://canoescotland.org/events/highlighted-events/tay-descent-2016 ...

Open Boat Tour 15 – 19 August 2016

15/07/2016 By Sandy Johnston Comment Closed

I am planning to go open boating during the week of Monday 15 to Friday 19 August 2016. I realise that its maybe not the best time for most club members as holiday periods will have passed, kids are back at school, everyone's skint, etc however I'm going boating that week! If there are any like-minded individuals in the club please feel free to get in touch. I am considering various options. These are: various single day trips on rivers and lochs a multi-day expedition of an easy nature like paddling the great Glen a multi-day expedition of a slightly harder nature such as a classic river descent, if water levels allow a multi-day expedition across Scotland Obviously nothing is set in stone and I am still at an early stage in planning. To keep cost down I will be wild camping using a bivy or hammock. If you are interested in any of the above options either speak to me at...

Young Men visit Pinkston WW Course

27/05/201627/05/2016 By graham Comment Closed

Ross, Cameron and Findaly had their first "real session at Pinkson". Some great images are below......

River Awe 30.04.16

30/04/2016 By Sandy Johnston Comment Closed

Saturday 30 April saw two club members journeying north to paddle the River Awe. The dam was releasing on one gate so water levels were medium/low but there was enough water to make the trip entertaining. After the shuttle we spent some time on ferry gliding on the rapid just below the dam and this then developed onto making use of water features to aid crossing the flow and this then developed onto wave surfing. Leigh caught her first wave closely followed by her first capsize and swim of the day and then, after some more practice at breaking in and out, we continued downstream to the graveyard section. This section has a number of large boulders which can be negotiated fairly easily as was shown by another group on the river who were paddling white water racers. We also paddled through the graveyard without mishap and the Leigh then took the lead for the next section down to Bridge of Awe. This was...

SCA Coaching and Volunteer Conference

25/04/2016 By Sandy Johnston Comment Closed

SCA Coaching and Volunteer Conference 2016 This was attended by Louisa Oram and myself last weekend, 23 to 24 April 2016. We both took advantage of having the Friday off work to start the weekend off with an afternoon’s skiing on Cairngorm. I hadn’t been on planks for a year, but the conditions at the top of the mountain were ideal and best of all, it seemed as if nobody knew about it, as there was hardly anyone there. Skiing without queues! Superb. Anyway, after a day on the hill we booked in to Glenmore Lodge where we were met by some of the SCA staff, Andy Murray and Mikaela Meik, who confirmed the various workshops that we were attending and ran through the housekeeping. Then to our rooms to drop stuff off before retiring to the bar for a beer and a bar meal before the evening session. My session over the evening was the SCA Event Safety and I am sure...

Trip report 4 star sea assessment, April 2016

25/04/201620/04/2016 By graham Comment Closed

Sandy, Tony and Graham headed off to the Northumberland Coast for 4 star sea kayak assessment. The four star leader assessment checks that we have the personal skill level and leadership ability required to lead a group of paddlers, on short (6 to 8 miles, of at least 3 hours paddling), single or multi-day journeys in a moderate tidal water environment with winds not exceeding Beaufort Force 4. Sounds fine but what is moderate tidal water? A stretch of coastline with available landings every 1 to 2 miles or 1 hour paddling, including areas where it is not easy to land. Crossings not exceeding 2 nautical miles. Up to 2 knots of tide (but not involving tide races or overfalls). Winds not exceeding Beaufort Force 4. Launching and landing through surf (up to 1 metre, trough to crest height). That sounded fine too , we had done the training, practiced in the pool, paddled on sea trips (and river trips), and prepared or borrowed the kit needed...

SATURDAY 23rd – No L. Lomond Skills Session

22/04/2016 By graham Comment Closed

Please note that although the Loch Lomond skills session that was mentioned on the Newsletters ?isn't running this Saturday as a Loch Katrine A/B trip was scheduled instead. Apologies for my diary error. Graham...

CANCELLED – PINKSTON SESSION 20th APRIL 2016

20/04/2016 By graham Comment Closed

CANCELLED - PINKSTON SESSION 20th APRIL 2016 BACK AS NORMAL NEXT WEEK....

Foundation Safety and Rescue Training

19/04/201619/04/2016 By Sandy Johnston Comment Closed

Sandy is running this course oh Saturday 14 May 2016 at Loch Lomond. Participants should be of 2 star standard, they don't necessarily have to have the 2 star award. There are only six places available at a discounted rate for club members,this is a valuable day's training at a cost of 30 per head. The course is described as follows: Course aims - This training course aims to provide paddlers with the key safety and rescue skills required to operate safely and to be able to deal with common emergencies. These skills form the foundations for safety and rescue throughout British Canoeing qualifications. The award has two purposes: To provide the paddler with the necessary skills which will enable them to ensure the safety of themselves and others To provide the paddler with the appropriate rescue skills which can be used to help themselves and/or others in difficulty Course philosophy ?- Fundamentally this course is designed for all paddlers irrespective of their chosen...

3 Star River Trips

18/04/2016 By Sandy Johnston Comment Closed

Fancy learning to kayak on rivers, clean water, fantastic scenery, and sunshine? Okay we cant guarantee the sunshine, it is Scotland after all, but we have had two outings so far in this series of trips which have provided all the above although it has been cold! The temperature will increase as we approach the summer and the water levels will drop but there will still be sufficient rivers for us to paddle and to work on river running skills. The idea for these sessions is to provide club members with the opportunity to develop in this area of kayaking. Participants can be any age and should be of 2 star standard to get the most out of the experience. That doesnt mean that you have to have your 2 star award but you should have 2 star skills such as efficient forward paddling, being able to steer and manoeuvre the boat and being able to prevent a capsize. Being able to...