WKCC

Canoe Trip – 21st March – Severn Arley to Bewdley

CarolineAR — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:30:08 +0000

One of the series, preparing for the 100 mile Wye trip. The focus of this session is to get used to paddling and portaging with laden boats, so come along with your kit and we”ll work on efficient packing, loading and carrying. As well of course as some paddling, with some adjustments to trim.

This is not a long paddle and we’ll be land based for the kit bit – however others in kayaks are welcome, if you can bear with us whilst we work on the canoes.

We will meet at the Car Park off Dog Lane, Bewdley at 10.00am – bottom left hand side of the car park, down by the river. There are roadworks in Bewdley right now, so allow an extra 10 minutes on your journey.

Please let Caroline know if you want to come, and to arrange canoe pick up (probably Saturday morning, but TBC)

Container Storage

Clive — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 15:35:23 +0000

A few of us got together at the Riverside Centre on Sunday morning to assemble the Canoe Storage.After clearing out the left hand container we started the assembly. It took longer than we had anticipated but it was worth the effort. The 8 Club Canoes are now stored, as per the picture below, in a sensible and easily accessible manner.

The New racking for the canoe storage.

We will take some additional pictures, and we still have to sort out a method of hanging buoyancy aids etc but this was a worthwhile exercise.

Paddle on Sunday 21/02/10

Clive — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:40:43 +0000

There will now be a paddle on Sunady 21/02/10, meet at the Riverside Center (Map) at 9.30am ready to paddle at 10am.The details of the paddle will be decided based on who turns up. This is due to the weather and the river levels, as at the moment they are on the way up. For further information please contact Paul H on 07712 587817.

Racking Work

Clive — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 17:49:45 +0000

Tomorrow, Sunday 21/02/10, we will be completing the racking for the open boat storage at (Click here for a map) The Riverside Centre. Meet at 9.30am at The Riverside Centre to empty the containers and assemble the racking. This should take only a few hours, but a helping hand would be appreciated. Call Clive on 07725 323393.

Film & Activity Evening – Cancelled due to bad weather

Clive — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:48:58 +0000

Tonight, 18/02/2010, we will be meeting at The PRSYC (Pershore Riverside Youth Centre) in Pershore (Location Here) for a non paddling night as the Pool is shut. Hopefully there will be a short film or two as well as some other video, books, magazines etc.

Doors will open about 6.30pm and the film will start about 7.00pm. There is a Chippy not too far as well as a Pizza place and Kebab house, so your tea requirements are taken care of.

All members and associates are welcome to come as it will be a bit of a social event and an opportunity to relax and have a chat.

Any questions – then give Clive a call on 07725 323393.

Nafford – 14/02/10

Clive — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 19:18:22 +0000

Well it was supposed to be a Valentines Day, but a few of us braved the cold weather, and it was cold, to have a session at Nafford this morning. Graham, Fitz, Richard W and Clive were there braving the cold.

It was a good level and it was a case of paddle till your hands were too cold, have a break to let them warm up and then have another go. After a while some Guys from
Evesham Paddle Sports turned up with their slalom polls and had a few goes which was different.

Over all we had a great time at Nafford, as we usually do.

Richard also had his open boats, and he and his wife paddle down to Eckington Bridge after we had finished.

Sunday 14th – Nafford

gpt27 — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 20:08:12 +0000

We will be paddling at Nafford on Sunday 14th Feb meeting at 9:30. The level looks good. Not to tough and not to low. Something for all. Search for previous articles for a map.

Barle Trip Report

Clive — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:22:00 +0000

After some last minute arrangements I picked up Graham at just gone 6.30am and we headed down to Dulverton, some 130 miles south. It was about the same time last year that we did the Barle and the level then was very good, running a good grade III with bits of grade IV. We knew that it was going the be lower than last year but there are two good things about the Barle, First is the location, fantastic scenery paddling through the Exmoor National Park, and the second is that it is fairly consistent white water.

After a bit of confusion over the arrangements (last year we paddled from Tarr Steps to The Anchor Inn, just outside Dulverton) this year we were paddling from Tarr Steps to The Bridge Inn, in Dulverton. Graham and I arrived at the get out about 9.15am shortly followed by Paul H, Richard W and Ben B. A quick chat followed and we agreed to paddle from Tarr Steps to the Bridge Inn, see what time we got there and then decide if we wanted to paddle the extra 2 miles or so down to The Anchor Inn, taking in the Mill Weir. We were able to do this as Tina and Richards wife were there and were able to do the ferry for us.

So we got changed and headed off. As we left Dulverton we encountered a Diversion sign. Anyone who knows this area will also know that there is no easy diversion heading from Dulverton to Tarr Steps. So a journey that should have taken 20 minutes took nearly 40 minutes.

We arrived at Tarr Steps and as we thought the levels were quite a bit lower that last year, making it a good grade II/III. We set off and the joy of the Barle soon came back, while not a big grade the rapids were continuous for the first few hundred yards. There is also quite a gradient on sections of the Barle, as you look ahead it is clear how much it is a down hill flow this is a key element as the water runs with a pace which is more evident in higher water levels.

There were number of play spots as we made our way down river, with some excellent waves that caused us to spend time having fun and brushing up our skills as we went.

We approached the weir just outside Dulverton, shot it to the left and headed down to the last part before the get out. There is a nice bit where the river narrow due to a large boulder on either side and other rocks in the river which causes the current to pour over each other at the narrow point and then swirl around in an eddy just after. Richard was last through and as he came through on the one small pour over he leaned slightly to his right, just as his boat was level with the second current and over he went, in a typical corkscrew fashion. Needless to say seconds later he was out and we had him, boat and paddle to the side and all was well.

Only hundred yards later we were at the get out and we decided, as we had taken our time and enjoyed ourselves we would finish here.

As usual Ben was suffering with the cold on his hands,but again as usual he made light of this, ever the hero . Graham was pleased with his new boat as was Paul with his LOMO drysuit.

The paddling was great. Scenery fantastic. Very little sign of life anywhere with only a few houses until the end of the trip. Great trip alround and one worth repeating again in the future.

Unfortunately, due to the area it can be difficult to predict the levels of the Barle but the picture below is downstream of the bridge in Dulverton taken the day before from the webcam at http://www.stanburys-garage-dulverton.co.uk/ and the level at Tarr Steps was a good 12 inches below the steps, making the river good grade II/III.

The Barle – First Experience

gpt27 — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:45:06 +0000

Since the Barle run this weekend (7^th Feb) was my first kayak river outing with the club since joining late last year, I thought I’d take my turn to record the event from the eyes of a newcomer.
Sharon and I gave Ben a lift down, meeting up with Paul, Tina, Clive and Graham pretty much as planned. Sharon (on her first club trip) and Tina kindly recovered the cars from the get in at Tarr Steps down to the get out at Dulverton whilst the 5 of us set off for the 6 mile run. This was my first time out on the Barle and I’d heard some stories about it being a bit of a hairy start with few opportunities to stop and take the time to pick the next route. However, the river level was a bit lower than last time apparently and we were able to get warmed up and into the swing of it at a more leisurely pace.
Now, I’ve only been kayaking for about 6 months and although I’ve done some white water stuff before, my skills are new and fragile. In this respect, the river turned out to be perfect for developing and reinforcing those skills. We had some nice stretches of shallow grade 1 with plenty of semi submerged rocks to hone the draw strokes on topped up with some cracking grade 2 waves to have a play around in. I have to say that Graham, Clive, Paul and Ben were a good bunch of blokes to be with- they gave me lots of encouragement, hints and tips and I could feel my skills and confidence building all the time- this is exactly what I joined the club for.
You may have noticed that there were a number of “firsts” for me throughout the day, and there is one more. It was the first time that I have unintentionally capsized a kayak on a river- and it was a cracker! Just 50m from the end, I was the last to run down a small drop across the normal flow of the river. I took the same line as everybody else (I thought) and wallop- over I went, hardly had time to take a breath never mind get a support stroke in. I was aware of some rocks quite close to my inverted face so I made a quick exit from the boat. The others were waiting in an eddy just a few feet away so they were alongside by the time I surfaced and they recovered myself, boat and paddle to the side without too much drama- thanks guys. It’s comforting to know that the system works when it needs to!
All in all, a great day out with lots to write about in my log book and a big step forward in broadening my experience in this relatively new activity. Looking forward to next time already.

Richard Westlake

[Show as slideshow]

River Barle – Exmoor Sunday 7th Feb

gpt27 — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 09:22:25 +0000

This weekend’s trip is on the River Barle in the Exmore National Park. The trip will be from Tarr Steps down to the Bridge Inn at Dulverton (about 6 miles).
It’s categorised as a grade 2 river with a few grade 3 bits that can be portaged but as it’s a 130 mile drive each way and it’s difficulty can vary depending on level then this is only suitable for people who are reasonably competent on water like Symonds Yat.
We will meet at The Bridge Inn at Dulverton (the finish) as we drive past this on the way to Tarr Steps. If we can meet at 9:30 and we then arrange the ferry from there.
Map below. Please allow about 2.5 hours for the journey (based on my driving speeds).

The Bridge Inn, Dulverton

Contact Clive or Graham by 12:00 Saturday at the latest to confirm if you are coming. If you leave it after that you will not be included in our travel/ ferry plans.