News

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...

OC Trip – River Spey 01-03.04.16

04/04/201604/04/2016 By Sandy Johnston Comment Closed

07.00 hrs on Friday 1 April 2016 saw Sandy, Leigh, Bernie, Derek and Graham Roy meeting at the Clubs Outdoor Store in Clydebank. Was this some elaborate April fool prank? No, we were meeting to start our three day open canoe descent of the River Spey. 3 hrs took us to our starting point at Kincraig on the north end of loch Insh where we unloaded the boats and then a further 3 hrs were needed to shuttle a car to Spey Bay and return to the start point. Eventually we were off! It was a fairly windy and wet day but we were thankful that the wind was coming from the south west so it was at our backs as we paddled north. 10 km of paddling took us to Aviemore, but no stops for us and a further 11 km took us to Boat of Garten. We then paddled on to our first campsite on an island which was...

Open Canoe Weekend 1 to 3 April 2016

09/03/2016 By Sandy Johnston Comment Closed

Hi, the 1 to 3 April has been set aside for our normal Easter-ish Open Canoe trip. Various ideas have been floated (if you pardon the pun) for this event. These are: Glasgow to Edinburgh canal trip Great Glen Canoe Paddle (slightly more strenuous) Another attempt on the River Tweed Another attempt at the River Dee The River Spey The River Tay No decision has been made as yet so I suggest that anyone interested come along to a meeting at the Pool session on Tuesday 15 March at 21.00 hrs (start of adult session). This trip will be open to beginners as we would seek to pair people up (experienced with beginner) to paddle tandem. Sandy...

River Trips – Spring/Summer 2016

06/03/2016 By Sandy Johnston Comment Closed

I have published the dates for a number of river trips which I will be running between April and July 2016 with two aims in mind: I want to provide a varied programme of river trips to allow club members to develop their experience and their river paddling expertise whilst in the company of an experienced Coach and River Leader I want to provide coaching and training that will allow club members to gain and practise the skills required to pass the BCU 3 Star Award in White Water Kayak. I plan to have a progression over the year and to frequently re-visit skills in each trip so that it isn't necessary to attend all the trips to be prepared for the assessment. However the more you attend, the more prepared you shall be! The rivers I am looking to include are the Teith, the Doon, the Clyde, the Tay, the Nith, the Avon, the Awe and the Ayr. Any comments, questions or concerns, give me...

Arran Excursion – Saturday 05 March 2016

06/03/2016 By Sandy Johnston Comment Closed

Rab, Barry, Sue, Tony and Sandy took the first ferry across to Arran on Saturday 5 March. Lovely weather, cold with sunny skies and a force 4 wind looked like it would make for an excellent days paddling. Once off the ferry we found that the usual put-in was being developed and as a result was fenced off. However a short walk took us to a beach next to the ferry terminal where we could launch. We get changed and sorted out the boats while taking in the amazing view of Goat Fell with a snowy covering surrounded by cloudless blue skies. The wind was blowing from the north so the first 3 kms to Corrygills Point meant we were paddling with a side wind, disconcerting at first but fine when you relaxed into it and applied a little skeg to make life a little easier. After Corrygills point we turned south and with a following sea we made a fair...

Club store at Loch Lomond

17/02/2016 By graham Comment Closed

Sandy supervising the delivery of the new club container at Balloch. Work is in hand to get it kitted our....

2015 The Year in Photos

23/12/2015 By graham Comment Closed

Club photos are displayed on the awesome Smugmug site at dckc.smugmug.com See what we got up to or if you have images to add or a whole trip that has been missed then email graham at grahammswanson@gmail.com and he will get you an upload link. We now have the ability to "insert" images into posts and trip reports directly from smugmug... so if anyone fancies doing a trip report let me know as you can easily add images. Here are 3 from November's adventures....