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Friday 11th – Monday 14th June 2010
Last weekend was the inaugural club trip and what better place to choose for getting on the sea than Kilchoan – a remote Scottish crofting village at the westernmost end of the Ardnamurchan peninsula, a two-hour drive to the west of Fort William.
Seven club members set off from London by train, plane and automobile to arrive in Kilchoan in time for a Friday evening paddle around Glas Eilean with a full escort from the inquisitive seal population.
On Saturday we set off up Loch Sunart pushed along by a brisk westerly wind with some fairly exciting paddling around Maclean’s Nose and Ardslignish Point (Rubha Aird Shlignich).
We stopped off at some beautiful deserted beaches on the way that are only accessible by sea. Once past Ardslignish Point, things became a little calmer and we had a leisurely paddle to the Nature Centre at Glenmore for a well deserved tea. All in all 7.7 nautical miles clocked up!
On Sunday we returned back to Kilchoan from Glenmore clocking up a distance of over 10 nautical miles, this time going into the wind and waves which proved to be a demanding exercise. Just to make things a little more interesting we crossed over Loch Sunart to Oronsay and a quick look into Loch Na Droma Buidhe (Loch Drumbuie) before heading back across Loch Sunart via Sligneach Mor to say hello to some seals and along the coast to Kilchoan. On the way we stopped for lunch at Port a Chamais, a deserted settlement at the foot of Ben Hiant. A couple of ruined crofter’s cottages on the shore front made a beautiful picnic spot.
As you would expect we experienced the full range of weather and sea conditions which was just what we were looking for. A special thanks to Jon Haylett and Trevor Potts for the loan of equipment and to John Chapple for the taxi service and much appreciated bottles of beer!
Geoff
6th June 2010
Some people would say that the VHF radio is perhaps the most important piece of safety equipment to have aboard a boat. VHF radios can be used to check the weather, communicate with other boats and land stations, and to hail people when you get into a jam or an emergency.
And so it was that a bunch of us armed with the Club’s newly acquired Icom M33 handheld radio headed over to Canary Wharf early on Sunday to do a VHF Radio course to obtain the Short Range Certificate. Given the relatively early start none of us were particularly upbeat (not least Debs who was nursing a hangover) but the day turned out to be pretty good thanks to Tim from Timuna Seawho did his best to make it as relevant as possible to sea kayaking and the nature of our activities.
Taking it in turns to use (non-transmitting) equipment we went through the process of learning the radio functions and the limited frequencies we should use if required, radio etiquette, and distress procedures. For instance, did you know that there are three different types of distress message that can be used? But then did you know that Toons looks like a younger version of President Logan from 24 – no, neither did he until the course  !
We also went through some specifics for the Thames and how to interact with London VTS (Vessel Traffic Services – Port of London Authority) in respect to kayaking on the tideway and figured out that a whilst in a kayak a handheld has an approximate range of 2.25 nautical miles.
All in all a great day and well worth doing – I certainly feel able to use a radio should I need to even if it’s just to check for weather broadcasts.
Phil
Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd May 2010
Whilst I have maintained a full First Aid at Work qualification for well over a decade now given most of my free time is either spent up a mountain or on the water I figured I really should top up my skills with a course specific to the outdoors and tailored to my activities. So I took it upon myself to organise a course for Chelsea Kayak Club and Battersea Canoe Club and after a bit of research decided that the ITC Level 2 Certificate in Outdoor First Aid was the most appropriate one to do. The course comprised two 1 day units leading to a full certificate – Unit 1 “Outdoor First Aid Emergency Action” and Unit 2 “Emergency Incident Management” and was delivered by Charlie Holmes from React First an ITC accredited provider.
Whilst I was pretty clear in my mind what I wanted (and hoped) to get out of the course I have to confess I was also slightly apprehensive. This was because other first aid courses I had attended (albeit largely office orientated) had always left me a little wanting. Happily my apprehension was misplaced and from the outset the course took a very different tack to the others I had experienced before. It was very fast paced, hands on, practical, pragmatic and realistic.
We learnt the essential emergency lifesaving skills and protocols which provided us with a framework to a systematically manage first aid incidents including improvised techniques – let’s face it you’re limited in what you might have up a hill or on the water (and stuff like duct tape and cling film is definitely really handy to have in your first aid kit)! The incident management scenarios really helped me reinforce what we were being taught and reflect on what I did wrong or missed. We were also shown some advanced techniques such as how to safely remove a helmet if the need arose. We also took the opportunity to constructively work through how we might remove an unconscious casualty from a kayak – which proved to be no easy task, although we did reach a conclusion.
Clearly until faced with an actual incident (god forbid) it is difficult to say how well I will perform properly under pressure (although the course certainly gave me an insight into this). However, I certainly feel better equipped than I did before and can definitely say the course was well worth doing and would recommend it to anyone who spends a significant amount of time in the outdoors.
Phil
Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th May 2010
“What’s the weather usually like on the Isle of Wight in May?” I asked Mitch from Isle of Wight Sea Kayaking – “In May it’s usually pretty good”, she replied.
And so it was that seven of us from the Club headed over to the Isle of Wight for two days of 4 Star Training armed only with an enthusiasm to learn. Well the weather was definitely not great but do you want perfect conditions when you’re doing your 4 Star Sea Leader Training…? Probably not… ok the weather wasn’t completely terrible but it was too much for certain individuals in the group so they opted for a hotel instead of camping (wimps!).
The new 4 Star Award is a leadership award, it is not a coaching award and it is not suitable for leading beginners or relative novices. That said there are a lot of synergies with coaching. You need to be able to judge the conditions and standard of the group and make appropriate decisions about route planning, pass on sufficient information to help achieve your objectives, and modify plans if the need arises. For instance, a leader needs to have the skill to pass on tips to improve the group’s overall paddling ability and confidence. If the weather is bad and you can’t do the trip you wanted to do – you could head for the pub – or if the opportunity presents itself you can always do a skills session where everyone gets to practice stuff receiving feedback from others.
After receiving a briefing from Owen Burson on the remit of the award he told us the weather forecast for the day (a modest north easterly), and set us to work on a tabletop coastal planning exercise. Splitting into groups we pored over nautical and OS maps desperately trying to remember what we’d previously been taught on the coastal navigation course. A rough plan started to emerge – I say rough, one group decided to opt to stop in a pub, and another group opted for a route which would involve a hell of a walkout (top tip – remember to check “local knowledge”!), I’m pleased to say Miranda and I had the best route proposing a trip which would take us along the south of the island to Whitecliff Bay and back again.
We then headed off to Fort Victoria (near Yarmouth) and split into two groups to plan an open crossing over the Solent to Hurst Castle spit. Our group headed straight for the lighthouse, with the other opting for a slightly different and less direct route – but we all got there safely and after a spot of lunch we were off again. The only problem was the tide conditions had totally changed (wind was now against tide) which made things interesting for group management, and even more interesting when Owen got us to do some skills stuff… After a further skills session, which included the use of various towlines and ways of using them, we finished up for the day and headed back for some much deserved food and drink.
Sunday morning arrived and after another quick tabletop exercise we headed out into Freshwater Bay for leadership training and a bit of rock hopping. However, not before a slight comedy moment which involved John doing a failed roll and swimming, and Jacqui deftly moving in for a deep water rescue which started well but ended with her swimming too as she was unprepared for John’s shift in weight… “Oh well” I thought, I guess I’d better move in to rescue them. Little did I know that only a short amount of time later I would end up swimming myself after get caught off guard being sideways on a steep crashing wave!
We learnt about CLAP-T in the context of leading on the sea and group management – Communications, Line of Sight, Avoidance is better than cure, Position of Maximum Usefulness, and Top Tips – several of us were already familiar with this concept in the context of whitewater paddling. We also went through the theory behind surf landings (unfortunately there was no real surf around to practice this – something for us to action later).
After lunch we went through some incident scenarios on the water with a bit of problem solving thrown in for good measure (e.g. how to patch up a breached hull whilst on the water, dealing with a lost hatch, or paddle) and then a load of wet work involving deep water rescues and self-rescues, as well as the opportunity to practice rolling if people wanted it.
We headed back for a session on safety kit, a debrief and chat about the actual assessment before all going our separate ways back to London. All in all a great weekend and a great training course which is well worth doing – even if you don’t actually end up doing the assessment. Lot’s for us to think about, and put into practice on salt water which is why Chelsea Kayak Club came about in the first place – here’s to our many trips and expeditions and eventually putting putting in for our assessment!
Phil
Monday 17th May 2010
CKC would like to say a big well done to Cremorne Riverside which has just become the first kayaking centre to receive the London 2012 Inspire Mark for its “Future Paddling” project!
The project aims to engage year 5 and 6 students in paddlesport. Worksheets will be used to learn about local history and as part of this they will discover boats hidden in the park which are all classes of canoes and kayaks used during the Olympic Games. After this students get the opportunity to kayak on the Tidal Thames and work towards a nationally recognised award.
An Olympic and Paralympic first, the London 2012 Inspire programme officially recognises outstanding non-commercial projects and events inspired by the Games.
CKC Editor
2nd – 9th May 2010
Ok – this was not my first sea symposium, not by a long way. I’ve been at three in Ireland, back in the early days: Connemara, Donegal and Ballycastle. All good fun, but the nearest thing we got to foreigners was having Nigel Foster give a talk. And his ex-wife, Sharon. But that’s for another time…
THIS symposium, on the other hand, has people from all over Europe and even a couple all the way from the USA. Dutch, Norwegians, Danes, Swedes, Italians, British, Irish, French, Estonians and even a couple of Swiss. Yes really – Swiss sea kayakers. There are hundreds of people for the main weekend and it’s a full programme of paddles, talks, workshops, courses and so on.
I arrived there on the Sunday evening just as things were beginning to quieten down, with none other than Harry Whelan from Cremorne. Harry is very well known in the sea paddling fraternity, and arriving with him is a quick route to fame. Or possibly infamy.
A curry in downtown Holyhead was his plan and we met up with quite a few mates of his; legends of the sea paddling mob. All that networking proved to be a good idea as one of the curry munchers turned out to be Chris Reed, who then gave me an excellent deal on a paddling suit the next day – the “friends and family rate”, further sweetened on hearing the news of Chelsea Kayak Club.
Sleeping arrangements were basic enough, and there was a fairly lax approach to registering and bed allocation, so I took pot luck and jumped in a room. After a night of no sleep at all, thanks to some supersonic snoring (which eventually saw me giving up and sleeping on the floor of the shower room), I moved into a room full of friendly high tech Norwegians who were webbed, wirelessed and wideo-enabled to the max. And they hardly snored at all. They were serial sea symposiumers, and were in Anglesea mostly for the huge tidal races so our paths rarely crossed. But I did learn to say “you are my hero” in Norwegian. ”Du er min held”, as you ask. I wonder if it will do me any good in Sweden in August?
The rest of the week looked like this:
- Monday – 26 k paddle to Skerries and back from Soldiers’ Point . This was the “hard option”. I nearly switched groups when I discovered that one of my co-paddlers was Freya Hoffmeister, who was just back from her solo paddle around Australia. Yes, Australia. All of it. Took nearly a year. But I stuck it out and was rewarded with a stunning day, sunshine, seals and a thorough explore of the lighthouse.
- Tuesday – Day One of Four Star Training. Led by two excellent coaches, Phil Hadley from Dudley and Jen Kleck from California. Phil and I yapped away in Black Country dialect which was a good laugh. “Owroight?” “Ow am ya?” and so on. Made the Norwegian seem straightforward enough.
- Wednesday – Day Two of Four Star Training. Led by another excellent coach, Trys.
- Thursday – Did my Foundation Safety and Rescue Course with three others, led by Tom Thomas. A small Danish woman called Mariete and I were also assessed at the end for our Two Star; the other two were not anywhere close to the standard in open canoes. Happily Mariete and I both were and were signed off. Also went as a guinea pig on the night navigation on the five star assessment – which was particularly amazing as at the end of the night we were called on to take part in a real life search and rescue – flares, helicopters, lifeboats, the whole works.
- Friday – a trip to South Stack from Porth Dafoch. Pleasant day – sunny, lots of birds, a nice swell at the stack, time to explore caves and chill out. Harry was on this trip too – and so the blackguarding started. A bit of a tidal race near Porth Dafoch, just enough to get the idea of surfing.
- Saturday – day one of tidal races and overfalls. Out from Church Beach to a point where it really got pretty big and lumpy, after some really good coaching from Phil Clegg. Some advanced blackguarding from Harry – unknown to me he attached a tow line to the stern of my boat as I was launching through the surf and then he ran sideways along the beach. I fell over, and as I hadn’t my deck on, I fell out. In front of everyone. Nice.
- Sunday – day two of tidal races and overfalls. I was ready for Harry this day, but he still managed to stick a couple of boulders in my day hatch. Nice again. I did get him back by towing away his boat when he was sat on a rock. This trip went from Soldiers’ Point to North Stack and then around to Porth Dafoch. Harry also managed to press gang some poor Danish woman into attaching a throw line to my stern, but it was close enough to the cockpit that I could release it. Then it sank. Which was bad. For him. Oh how we laughed…
There wasn’t too much social life, just the same crowd drinking in the on-site bar, although on the Wednesday night there was some whisky-fueled competitive acrobatics and party games by a few of the coaches. All good fun, and pretty impressive how strong and flexible some of the younger coaches are. If Phil Clegg ever challenges you to a trial of strength or flexibility, be warned. I did have a go or two, just to try and raise the profile of the Chelsea Kayak Club. It could have been worse, I suppose. The things your Chairman does for you.
Then it was home time, carrying Harry’s lovely new Rapier on the roof and trying not to fall asleep. This symposium gets a lot of repeat custom, and I can see why. If you get the chance next year, go.
Andy
Some of Cremorne’s Over 60’s Kayak Group, took part last weekend in the London Kayakathon. With a combined age of 136 years, and only 2 years paddling experience, “The Chelsea Coffin Dodgers” paddled 26.2 miles in a double sea kayak and raised over £1000 for charity. Moya and Daisy – you show us how sea kayaking can truly be open to all and be a lifelong passion.
Chelsea Kayak Club congratulates you!
Andy McM
Thursday 29th April 2010
Our smallest group yet – Phil, Andy, Tim and guest Judy Armstrong, all the way from Stellenbosch, South Africa, via Southfields.
Pleasant weather and a strong ebb tide saw us go up river. The idea was to take it fairly easy but seemingly little effort saw us all the way up past Putney Bridge to the ramp that Battersea Canoe Club use to access the river. This saw us right across from Craven Cottage where Fulham were playing Hamburg for a place in the Europa League final. We were there at half time, with Fulham trailing 0-1 and the mood of the fans grim. Tim and Andy hung about to hear the roar of the crowd when the half started up again – if there had only been a big screen we could have watched it would have been like being in the grounds.
A nice paddle back, with the ebb tide, and a chance to have a look at a couple of drilling rigs on the river that are working on the super sewer. Think oil rigs only smaller.
As we approached Wandsworth Tim noticed the sound of a huge, but distant, roar – “Fulham must have scored!”
Back to the centre, Andy set a precedent by NOT going for a drink (he was blaming babysitter issues – WEAK) but Judy was impressed enough with us and we with her that she joined up.
And Fulham won 2-1 and went through to the final.
Andy McM
Sunday 18th April 2010
A cracking paddle on Sunday 18th April. Taking advantage of the Centre Manager’s generous offer to use Cremorne when there are no youth groups in, we assembled at 11:30. There had been some mention of towing a boat and throwing unexpected factors into the mix, but as the Club had signed up for a leisurely paddle rather than a training course, these ideas were overruled. As Phil put it “it’s not boot camp”.
But a leisurely paddle it wasn’t either. Not really. Harry sent us on our way downriver with the last of the ebb tide, promising to catch us up and take us further down. By the time we reached Westminster, taking a leisurely pace, enjoying the sun and the lack of planes, and waiting to be joined by Harry, the flood was on. We hung about for a while, meeting a lone paddler from Putney Bridge CC, and a group from Westminster Boating Base, and went as far as the V dock at the London Eye, then with no sign of our guide we turned for home with the tide behind us. We were only just through Westminster Bridge when the man himself appeared. A quick conference – were we up for more? – “YES”, “SURE”, “er okay then” and we were back in safer and more experienced hands.
Town! Busy busy busy on a fine Sunday, ferries going both ways every few minutes, tourists on all the bridges and the banks and a decent flood tide against us. Kate P on her first trip with the Club, Olwen concerned about being later than planned, Tim on his first trip downstream, most of us on our first foray past the London Eye. Sure what could go wrong?
Well, nothing, as it turned out. Harry pushed us hard, scornfully dismissing the easier routes in the slower flow closest to the banks and pushing us to get out into the flow, working us hard through the bridges, handling the waves from the ferries, and even waiting for the roughest water to go through the arches. Everyone did admirably, especially those with little experience in sea kayaks. We pushed on until the bow of HMS Belfast, enjoying its towering bulk, the view of Tower Bridge, the glistening new glass buildings cheek by jowl with old warehouses and medieval houses. When not instructing or leading us, Harry seemed to be surfing every wave on the river – a real master of his craft and a pleasure to watch.
We turned at HMS Belfast and came back with the strong flood tide, pausing only to safely navigate the very congested waters between Westminster and Waterloo bridges – “don’t try and sneak up the sides” was the command, “establish yourself in a tight group as part of the traffic then paddle your line”. Interesting, and effective.
After Westminster, Harry left us on our own, the pace slowed and we all came home in a relaxed formation.
London at its finest – and how nice to be on the water in the midst of it all.
Andy McM
Sunday 11th April 2010
I was part of a small group that headed over to Shepperton Lock today for a paddle of the single bladed variety. Not to be confused with kayaking (its closed deck relative), canoeing (or open boating as it is often called) is a rapidly developing discipline of paddlesport in the UK.
Being first and foremost a kayaker, it’s not often I get the opportunity to go open boating – but each time I do, I like it more and more and today was no different. Not least because under the expert coaching of Owen Burson some of the intermediate strokes that have eluded me for so long have started to come together as well as nailing some new touring strokes – I particularly like the Knifed J Stroke. The investment in a kneeling mat probably also had a lot to do with it too . Clearly I’m no Bill Mason (an absolute legend in the canoeing community) but I feel I’ve made great progress and keen to do more.
In the afternoon with the sun shining we put our new found strokes into practice around Desborough Island (3.3km in total). It is easy to see why open boating is considered to be such an elegant way of exploring the water and enjoying the wildlife and scenery (parrots in our case…). The only mistake we made was allowing Bunny to set the pace…
The open canoe was invented for journeying and given CKC’s touring remit (and the successes of the day) I’ve now started to turn my mind to organising an open boating trip / expedition in the near future. After what has felt like a very cold and drawn out winter it seems the timing of setting up the club could not have been better! Here’s to a summer of trips and expeditions, be it of the double or single bladed variety!
Phil
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