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The skinny middle aged runner we encountered in the carpark of The Ship pub was the first to speak.
“Ah someone more mad than me,” he said, having spent 90 minutes jogging in sub zero icy and snowy conditions.
He was vacillating between sheer admiration of our chutzpah to circumnavigate Hayling Island and the ludicrousness of doing so in such extreme weather. Such thinking was of course, not lost on Andy, Jay, Kate, Miranda and me. Surely snuggling up and enjoying a Sunday morning sleep in was preferable to de-icing the skegs and foot rests while fingers were painfully cold?
 Getting the boats out
Well, at the time maybe, but once we started out, the microclimate in the kayaks ensured a comfy paddle, especially so with the wind initially behind our backs and we were riding a fast tide. We had a relatively calm sea and a bit of fun riding small waves at the bar on the South East corner of Hayling. And early in the paddle we encountered some some friends Richard and Steve heading in the opposite direction.
The next observers were some yachties cleaning their boats while we sheltered from the constant snow under the verandah of the club for a fuel stop. (The planned lunch spot in the protected bowels of the club was closed). “Didn’t you check the weather forecast?”was the incredulous question.
We had of course, and were well prepared. Jay’s hot chocolate, Miranda’s spare fleece and some bacon sandwiches made from breakfast leftovers helped keep the shivering to a minimum. But there wasn’t any luxuriating. It was back on the water, enjoying the sea with a couple of spectacular MOTHS and an old fashioned rowing boat as quickly as possible.The rowers, surprisingly, given they were out in the same conditions, were heard to loudly mutter “are they f….king kidding?”
 Paddling in the snow
The wind was still blowing, but this time in our faces, the snow still falling, this time landing on cheeks and eyelashes, and the tide that was meant to be giving us a nice sleigh ride home was non existent. Still, Kate amused us with a planned roll, executed perfectly and Jay had given us some paddling technique tips to work on. By the time of our mid afternoon return to the pub the boats were hoisted on roof racks in record time and we adjourned, with enormous enthusiasm to the roaring log fire and warming coffee (ok, a couple of us had a beer).
 Loaded in record time
 View from the pub
I suspect that while many people had done little on this particular Sunday, we had a memorable and most enjoyable time and have notched up a rare experience: paddling around Hayling in the snow.
Jacquelin Magnay
Thursday night and time to head down to Cremorne for some respite from London’s pre-Christmas bustle.
Late as usual after a hectic day but Olwen Jac and Christoph waited patiently with all the kit ready, and their patience was rewarded with… Flashing Christmas hats!
Lowering the boats off the pontoon (wearing our flashing Christmas hats), we saw that the choppy waters spotted from the pier had calmed, and as we pottered west alongside the riverbank the relentless clicking and whirring of London life melted away. There was hardly any traffic, the open stretch of water was dark, cool and quiet, and for a couple of hours life was just the river, the rhythm of paddling, and pleasant conversation.
Our course weaved between the pontoon posts, headed past Wandsworth bridge then Putney bridge, and splooshed quietly past Bishop’s Park with not a jeering stone lobbing yob in sight. Gazing up at the riverbank, and imagining frenzied London working, shopping and partying, the quiet was hard to believe, but welcome.
A little pause at Craven Cottage to hang with Michael Jackson, and take in the view of not much except river stretching up to sky, then we remembered the mulled wine Olwen had brought and headed back. Rounding the bend after Putney, and instead of choppy water and a brisk breeze we were met with a still river and a beautiful serene view – along the riverbank the water shimmered in green, purple, red and gold, and Albert Bridge’s festoon of lights danced and glimmered downriver. We glanced up to look at the clear crescent of the waxing moon, and saw Orion’s Belt glinting through the darkness.
The sights stayed with us as we crossed back to Cremorne and celebrated with wine and pies and warmth, and the stars and the stillness stayed even longer. All serving to remind me that Thursday winter paddling is a weekly must to stay relaxed and sane in hectic London, over Christmas, New Year and beyond…
Miranda
As training sessions go, this one seemed to skip along happily like a kayaker in the wake of a Thames party boat. The three newbies, Dan, Dave and Nick figured a beautiful autumnal day along the quiet Shepperton river banks lined with post rehab rocker villas would be like chicken soup for their busy London lives. Little did they know that ‘wet work’ isn’t another term for drinking on the job. By the end of the day, they learnt just how fast you can spin around your bum in icy water wearing wetsuit tutus.
The day started out with a couple of ripples and grumbles from various leaders. It’s always interesting to see who can come up with the best excuses to be late. As Geoff single handedly loaded all eight kayaks down at Cremorne, various texts arrived on his phone.
Phil and Jaqui – “Our hamster got stuck in the chandelier!”
Judes – “Sam Neill is stalking me!”
Once down at Shepperton, under Phil’s direction the main training got underway and the newbies trailed up and down, zig zagging along as Judes kept calling out “Rudder to the left of them, rudder to the right of them, rudder in front of them, Volley’d and thunder’d; Storm’d at with shot and shell, Boldly they rode and well, Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of Hell!” A little sense of drama never hurt a paddler, especially when a leader is trying to get that stern rudder steering into your head before you manoeuvre around on the Thames. In the end Geoff and Jacqui even managed to get Slow Dane to paddle backwards blindfolded and singing ‘God Save the Queen’ while hitting her head with one paddle and taking out a couple of signets with the other.
As the day finished off, the group rounded Desborough island and slalomed around a couple of near sighted rowers. Once back on land the three boys earned their BCU 1 Star + status, slow Dane narrowly escaped flushing herself down the seventies Sci-Fi toilet and we finished off the day with a well-deserved drink on dry land.
Solvej (aka the Slow Dane)
We had a very interesting visit to the Port of London Authority (PLA) Operations at Woolwich yesterday. Seven of us were met on a bitterly cold morning by Tom Southall, the Deputy Manager of VTS. The PLA ops and London Coastguard are based in the same building just beside the Thames Barrier (which is independently physically operated and maintained by the Environment Agency.)
Tom was very welcoming and encourages these sort of visits where users of the river get to understand more about the operations and the variety of craft they encounter. He firstly gave us a presentation explaining everything from where they fit in and relate to different agencies and stakeholders, such as IALA (International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authority), MCA, (Maritime and Coastguard Agency and IMO (International Maritime Organisation), training and background, their geographic reach and what services they provide and information systems they use.
We then got taken upstairs to the Control Room, where we met the two VTS guys on duty ,who explained the various screens and equipment they were using. It was fascinating to see all the radar and visual images of traffic moving on the Thames, views from their various CCTV cameras on bridges over the river and real time tidal and wind information being monitored. It was a blustery morning and the anemometer was veering around all over the place.
Next we met Sam who was the Coastguard Officer on duty. This is the only place in the UK where the Coastguard and VTS are co-located in the same building. Tom reckons this undoubtedly saves many more lives as they can share information instantaneously when incidents occur and Search and Rescue operations are easier to coordinate. Sam also gave a quick overview of the Coastguard operations and it was reassuring to hear that all information has a back up with dual control from another Coastguard for when Sam goes for lunch. (Usually Thames). They work 12 hours shifts, which must be pretty stressful at times.
View of the Barrier from the Control Room
The Team with London Coastguard
It was a great morning and everyone enjoyed themselves. The time flew past and it was very generous of Tom to give up so much of his personal time. We greatly appreciated it. We are hoping to plan another trip for those who couldn’t make it this weekend and we’ve also invited the VTS and Coastguard guys to come kayaking with us to see the Thames from water level! Maybe they will take us up on this.
CKC team up with Maldon and Dengie Canoe Club for a paddle around Osea Island on the Blackwater Estuary
August 2012
By Ann Gales
As well as exotic trip locations such as Sardinia, Denmark and Kilchoan, we like to try to organise some fairly local paddles in the South East, so when Rob Horton rang me to say he fancied paddling on the Essex Coast, Blackwater Estuary, I thought is was an excellent idea. (Not least because it’s the nearest bit of coast to where I live!).
With the Olympics still in full swing in early August and many folk on holiday, only a few of us could make the trip. So, on chatting with Rob about launch sites, I suggested we team up with some friends form the local Maldon and Dengie Canoe Club, who are based in nearby Burnham on Crouch. The more the merrier.
So setting off on what was a beautiful sunny morning, Rob, myself, and David N, trundled down to the slipway at Bradwell to meet the local Essex boys and girls. Altogether there was 8 of us in the group. Having dropped off the boats at the slip and then parking the cars in the nearby Bradwell Marina (they don’t like you launching and getting out on their own slipway at the club but parking for a small fee is fine), we set off on the incoming flood tide which helped take us up the Estuary.
The Essex coast is challenging mainly because of the numerous sand banks and mud flats. However, on a calm day, the paddling is usually straightforward, just as long as you get the tide times right. Our plan was to paddle west with the incoming tide so we could circumnavigate Osea Island at high tide and then paddle back out as the tide ebbed.
Osea Island is only accessible at low tide via a causeway and its natural geographical isolation therefore made it a perfect location for rehabilitation of drug and alcohol abusers. Until a few years ago, it was used by celebrities such as Amy Winehouse who paid up to £10,000 a week to stay at The Causeway clinic, in the large Edwardian house on the island. Now the island is privately owned and anyone can hire the main house or one of the 18 cottages on the island as holiday homes or locations for big celebrations. (Though it’s not cheap!)
On this glorious sunny day when we went paddling, the water was busy with numerous watersports users, and families having fun on one of the few real hot summer days of 2012. It was an easy paddle apart from keeping a close eye out for jet skis and powerboat users.
Rob and Brenda at the SE corner of Osea Island with the beach behind
 Having paddled round Osea Island in a clockwise direction, passing directly over the causeway which was by now submerged on high tide, we decided to land for lunch on the small beach we had passed earlier on the south east corner of the island.
Some of us went for a quick swim to cool down, whilst Clive demonstrated his rolling skills. The Essex boys, determined to show the Chelsea visitors their sophisticated side, had brought a barbecue, so bacon butties were quickly rustled up by Adrian and Clive even had the gin, tonic AND a flask with ice at the ready. What style…. I’ve made a note to add these to my essential kit list on our next CKC day trip.
As we munched away on sandwiches and lay sunbathing on the beach, it was definitely Costa del Essex and we were very happy and content. We were entertained watching some kids play on inflatable rings towed behind Dad’s powerboat and then we had the wonderful sight of the Tiptree Thames barge going past. We had seen it earlier in the distance heading out of Maldon on our way round the Island.
The Thames Barge
We eventually goaded ourselves into getting into the kayaks once again and pootled back out with the ebb tide. Navigation was straightforward with the landmark of Bradwell Power Station sitting at the mouth of the estuary straight ahead. Even industrial sights don’t seem ugly on a lovely day. As the tide gathered strength we just had to make sure we ferried in towards the marina rather than miss our landing spot and drift casually out to the North Sea.
David N heading back to Bradwell with the now disused Power Station in sight.
We arrived back at Bradwell marina, loaded up the kayaks and had a quick drink at the nearby pub, chatting to our new friends. Everyone had had a really fun day out. We really must do this again sometime. Maybe the Walton Backwaters next time??
Danish Delights
by Ann Gales
When Pia casually suggested last year that she would want to invite her friends at CKC back to her home in Denmark to paddle and see some of the beautiful coast of the Island of Fyn (Funen in Danish), I don’t think any of us imagined just what an outstanding trip this would be.
This short blog can’t possibly do justice to the wonderful 4 days we had. But I tried to summarise the trip and give you the highlights.
Seven of us flew over to Copenhagen early on the Friday morning and were met at Kastrup airport by Pia and her paddling buddy Jakob. Pia took us for a quick whirlwind tour of the Copenhagen centre, where we had a traditional Danish lunch by the canal, before driving the two hours to take us westwards over to the Island of Fyn and to Odense, where Pia and Jakob are members of the Odense Kayak Club.
We had a special treat in store for our evening meal. A fantastic little “restaurant” run on a type of cooperative basis for members, where everyone takes turn at cooking meals. For a very small fee to cover food costs we were treated to a fabulous meal and wonderful Danish hospitality.
We then picked up our boats from Odense Kayak Club. We were all stunned by the fabulous club facilities, which included a gym, kitchen and dining area as well as sauna! (Think we should make a note of that in any ambitious future plans for CKC.). The club was very generous in letting us borrow some of their high quality kayaks and kit and some private members lent us their own fibreglass boats, which was extremely kind and trusting.
Another drive, some shopping en route, and we arrived in the little summerhouse we were renting near Faabourg, on the southern coast of Fyn. A long first day, but it was fantastic.
Now for the paddling…..
We awoke on Saturday morning to dry, but windy conditions and Pia suggested we head down the coast to launch further east. The paddle out to the islands of SkarØ was a bit of slog into a tough headwind but on the plus side the windy conditions made for a more interesting paddle. We spent the rest of the day paddling between a few other islands, stopping for lunch on HjortØ where we met another group of Danish sea kayakers (sea kayaking is understandably very popular here) and then heading west to DrejØ, Although we crossed one of the deep ferry channels on the way, much of this area of water is incredibly shallow. This gave Fiona the wonderful excuse to do some kayak snorkelling, a sport, which she seems to have personally invented. It involves snorkelling upside down in your kayak whilst eskimo rescue style/leaning on someone else’s boat. Mesmerised by the marine life beneath, Fiona seemed oblivious to anything else.
DrejØ was one of the larger islands and had a small town and shop, where some of our group purchased much needed coffees, teas and some rather delicious chocolate cakes and biscuits.
There islands are so beautiful and peaceful, yet in typical Danish fashion they all seem to have at least a picnic bench and some rather high quality toilet cabins.
We headed home, exhausted after a wonderful days’ paddle and Tim cooked an impressive meal to help us re-charge the batteries for the next day.
Looking out the window the next morning it was obvious that it was once again very windy and consequently lots of chop on the sea. Pia and Jakob suggested we drive further down the coast to an area more protected from the wind. A day of fun and games was in store and there was generally a lot of messing about in boats. The highlight was the CKC Viking Boat racing championships. The photo best describes the event, which involved 3 or 4 people rafting up, creative use of paddles and cagoules to sail, whilst the paddler in the middle bravely holds the boats together and those on the outside stand in their kayaks, holding the “sails”.
 Viking Racing the CKC way
This was followed by some more rescues, fun in a playground on the island where Jakob was crowned Champion of Swingball, and Paul threw caution to the wind and launched himself head first down the waterslide. Hilarious.
The next day the sun shone brightly and we had a fairly gentle paddle from the beautiful town of Faabourg round the east side of Horneland and past the town of Dyreborg. Some more messing around in boats with practice rescues, another Viking race and more kayak snorkelling took us to the end of our stay in the south of Funen. We were all sad to be heading back up north.
We reluctantly had to return our sea kayaks to Odense Kayak Club for their Monday evening paddling training. We pitched camp in the grounds by the canal and hung our wet gear out to dry.
But this was not to be the end of our fun filled kayaking weekend.
The next morning, having been woken by Andy on the club megaphone giving the impression of a SBS commander, we quickly got everything packed up and prepared for a morning of experimentation with Odense Kayak Club touring and racing boats. (Yes they really are generous with their wonderful kit). Pia and Jakob were sniggering as they looked forward to seeing how the visitors got on in these more wobbly boats.
In short, it was more fantastic fun. We tried lots of different boats, increasing in wobbleyness as the morning passed. (I’m sure Racing aficionados use the “Wobbley scale”?) The amount of falling in also increased but I think it’s fair to say the CKC team did itself proud and we all mastered at least some of the racing craft. After a hasty lunch, (thanks to Paul for some cracking sandwiches), we had to rush to get back to the airport for our return flights.
Well, this was the most fantastic trip. We all came back wanting to return to Denmark. Thank you to Pia and Jakob for their wonderful hospitality and to Odense Kayak Klub for their welcome and letting us their kit and facilities.
Our Hosts, Pia and Jakob
We felt very privileged to be given such insights into your beautiful country and the chance to paddle there.
Hope they might invite us back again …maybe…….
You may have noticed a little downtime today. I’ve updated our webserver so it instructs your browser to cache more of the site and for longer. Sorry for any trouble and hopefully you’ll see a slightly faster site. For anyone that’s interested I enabled some apache mods, see more here.
Brockwell Lido Session
Brilliant Springtime evening sunshine welcomed us out onto the lido, beautifully vibrant and blue after its recent renovation. The water was cool, but inviting, and Tom jumped straight in for a swim before we started.
We all had a great time practicing rolling in various boats, with excellent coaching from Geoff, resulting in Kenneth mastering his roll in characteristically stylish fashion!
Geoff brought his paddle float as well as boats, paddles and kit, and we all had a go at using it for self rescue, rolling and various other techniques. The standing up in the kayaks was slightly less successful, but just as fun…
It was a great session – several of us became much more confident with our rolls, we got to practice self rescue techniquies, sculling, draw strokes and all sorts of things. And what a great setting to do it in!
Afterwards we loaded the boats onto the trailer, and then headed to the new plush changing rooms to shower in style, followed by a glass of wine round at Geoff and Sandra’s and some good old kayaking chat (another round of “no, the wave was this big…”) before heading home.
I really enjoyed my first lido session, the location is stunning, and an hour and half is a perfect amount of time to get some techniques down as well as have a bit of a giggle in the process! It was easy to get to – short bus ride from Clapham junction or Brixton Victoria line (or free parking outside if you drive) – and fantastic getting to practice with sea kayaks in protected conditions, rather than go straight from rotobats to trying things in choppy water in a sea kayak, and I can’t wait till next week!
Hope to see you all there…
Miranda
Hayling Island Circumnavigation
As if one day of paddling in the wind and rain on the South Coast wasn’t enough, Rob, Richard Bate and I stuck around for a second day of paddling, joined at the last minute by Fiona.
We were well rewarded for our persistence, and after a great fortifying breakfast at Bill’s fantastic paddler-friendly B+B, we headed down to Sandy Point to meet the assorted members of Portsmouth canoe club.
Led by Richard, we set off at a cracking pace, across the flood tidal stream, and into the wind for a slog up the West side of Hayling. The first third of the trip completed, we headed under Langstone Bridge and stopped for a quick break (or lunch #1 for me) at the Ship Inn.
Some headed back at this point, and the rest of us continued down the East side of the Island, through Chichester Harbour and past Hayling Sailing Club – the destination on our two previous Bosham/ Chichester Harbour trips – and round the Southeast corner of the Island onto the Sea Front.
Rounding the headland was a calmer experience than expected, but the surf landing wasn’t, and Richard gallantly landed first, then helped us all in up the steep shingle beach. Lunch number two was consumed, followed by some delicious ginger and tulsi tea – thanks Fiona! – and we launched ourselves back into the surf and back west along the front.
We rounded the Southwest corner of the Island, and sighted our get-out on the other side of Langstone Harbour, with a 4 knot ebb tidal flow between us and it. Up we went, eddy-hopping (more just a big slogg against a slightly weaker ebb tide), trying to find a balance between forward progress and deep enough water to get a paddle stroke in, as far as the ferryboat inn on the Hayling side. Then we turned into the flow, and ferry-glided across the ebb tide to our get-out. Great fun was had by all, with a highly successful day’s paddling made strangely more fun by the slightly undesirable conditions. Thanks Rob, Richard, Fiona and Portsmouth Canoe Club for an awesome day!
Photos courtesy of Rob
Langstone Harbour Skills Day (and swimming with Mulberries)
Eight of us (Philippe, Tom, Neil, Rob, Noakesy, Miranda, Toons and Richard B) made it down to Hayling Island for a skills day in Langstone Harbour on Saturday 5 May, organised by Miranda and led by Richard, who grew up in the area and knows the waters intimately, with support from Toons.
- Loading up at Cremorne on Saturday morning
The harbour is one of three large tidal basins that exist between Fareham in the west and Chichester in the east, created at the end of the last ice age when sea level rose and flooded three coastal valleys. The entrance to Langstone Harbour is 250m wide and the ebb tide peaks at 4–5 knots. We were two days off springs so the tide would be running near its peak.
In Richard’s words: ‘The area is a really good spot for training and trying things out … From paddling in choppy water, to towing, and being aware of the tidal streams, there is nothing better than actually paddling to improve and … gaining a healthy respect for water that looks flat and without issue from the shore.’
High water was at 11am and we were on the water by 12pm as the ebb started to flow. A gentle ferry glide across the harbour entrance from the put in near the ferry on the Hayling Island side to the Portsea Island side got us all warmed up and the tidal virgins amongst us the chance to experience travelling sideways.
We paddled up Langstone Channel and around the Mulberry Caisson – a concrete relic from WWII, ¬constructed locally, but breaking its back before it was due to be towed across the Channel to hook up with hundreds of others to form the floating Mulberry Harbours that supported the Allied landings after D-Day – before sitting on the tidal flow over the fast appearing Sinah Sands and then tucking into a shallow basin called The Kench for some towing practice.
With a steady NE F3 and the ebb tide beginning to flow fast we ventured back towards the Mulberry Caisson where some nice clapotis waves had built up offering a short but tasty introduction to rough water handling. Having all safely negotiated that section and having been warned by Richard of the importance of avoiding buoys, channel markers and posts in the tidal stream we headed due north line astern…
…Noakesy, always one to learn through experience rather than theory, completely misjudged his angles (embarrassing for a former surveyor, albeit of the land rather than hydrographic variety) and became rather well acquainted with a large post to the north of the Mulberry, both in the right way up and inverted positions. Having successfully completed his bathometric survey of the post he decided it was probably a good time to take a swim and be rescued. Joking aside, it was a serious lesson in the power of the sea, and the importance of reading the conditions and being active not passive in them. In Toon’s words: ‘Treat the obstacle as your enemy’.
Having been inspired by Noakesy’s swim with mulberries it was good to see everyone else having a go at rescuing, being rescued or self rescuing with paddle float in the afternoon. In Richard’s words: ‘The progression from that is to do more, so we get really slick and quick at it (back in within a minute), and then repeat in more “advanced” water.’ Thereupon, Richard gave a masterclass in self rescues, with and without paddle float or Greenland stick, and demonstrated that self rescue should really be an Olympic sport in the same artistic category as rhythmic gymnastics or synchronised swimming.
A big thank you to Miranda for organising, Richard and Toons for leading, and everyone else for making it such a memorable, inspiring and rewarding day.
 Any excuse to stay on the sofa...
David Noakes
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