Hello all
A big thank you to those who came along on Friday night and supported the joint Battersea Canoe Club / Chelsea Kayak Club Christmas party. I certainly enjoyed myself very much and there was a very nice atmosphere. In addition to the standard fare of music, drink and food (more than we could eat, indeed) we also had a lateral thinking quiz of boating terms thanks to Jacqui and a photo competition run by Katie and Manda. There was also a somewhat “formal” part of the evening with an address by BCC Chair Alasdair Pettigrew followed by a slide show of the Scilly Isles trip by Miranda.
We’ve had a marvellous first nine months of operations, getting access to the excellent facilities of Cremorne, including its boats and kayaking equipment and establishing a formal licensing arrangement with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea which we hope will continue long into the future. We have had two successful grant applications, the first where RBKC have commissioned us to do a piece of work to bring kayaking to our neighbours in the Worlds End Estate, and the second from Sport England. This means that we now have our own fleet of boats – 9 in total – and all necessary ancillary equipment: paddles, buoyancy aids, a VHF radio, towlines, first aid equipment etc. This gives us the newest fleet of boats on the Thames and an unmatched selection of sea kayaks anywhere in Greater London. Our website is up and running successfully, acting as both a promotional tool and a means to organise trips. Trips have taken place in England, Scotland, Sweden and the Scilly Isles. Our weekly Thames sessions have doubled, with two sessions now going out each Thursday night. Our membership continues to expand, with current membership approximately 50 people. Many members have taken advantage of training opportunities in first aid, VHF radio use, coaching and leadership awards. Our committee has been augmented by the Chair of the Cremorne Users’ Group, joining us as Liaison Officer and a keen CKC paddler in her own right. Our profile is building, with an elegant logo, business cards, and a four page article in Canoe Kayak. As the club gets bigger we have split general members’ updates from the committee meetings, but we hope to remain very much in touch with and responsive to the needs of all the members and open to your suggestions and ideas.
Al made a couple of points and referred to the relationship between Chelsea Kayak Club and Battersea Canoe Club as a marriage – “two great clubs” but both very different. While marriage might be a bit hasty (!) I would certainly see that we have a symbiosis with CKC offering a branch of the sport that BCC do not, and vice versa. Many CKC members continue to be BCC members in good standing, and Friday night’s Christmas party was organised by three such examples: Jacqui, Katie and Manda. Long may this continue. What we all have in common is a love of going paddling and a desire to have some fun! Al also made a plea for members to get involved in making things happen, and I strongly endorse this. Both CKC and BCC are clubs with members, not businesses with clients; so if you want to see something happen, put your hand up to make it happen.
In this spirit I would like to publicly thank Jaqui, Katie and Manda for a job well done on Friday night; and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the hard working CKC committee, Toons for his work on the web, John Mayne for his input into grant applications, Gavin McEachran, Richard Bate and Olwen Ross for their leading of sessions. Without all of these people we would not be the success story that we are.
The future is very bright, I feel.
Happy and safe paddling.
Andy
Chair, CKC
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