Shiny BoatsWe'd like to thank everyone who helped to clean the boats last week - it was great to see so many people there and it all went very smoothly! Hope to see you next week for a paddle on the lake Rhiannon and the committee Well Pete Knowles was keen - everytime I looked at the Environmental Agency website the water was higher. The last ime I did this in these conditions Alistair Honsby lost his paddle and was lucky not to lose is river racer trying to get under Rosthwaite bridge! Getting up Borrowdale was very wet - had to get in above the Bowderstone as no chance to drive higher - although there were a lot trying.... Only major rapid was fairly chunky - rest was washed out so mainly naviagting to avoid the trees! Girls in the Polo were keen to drive through - but had to reverse back past me!  River was easy to access - just over the style and then paddle through the trees! Chunky in places and not much stopping!  John & Sarah Platt were gathering their boats in as lake rose.  Derwentwater times 2!  Thanks Pete for convincing me to give it a go - I know you were surprised by the level! Greta tomorrow!
 West Cumbria Canoe Club Jim Wilson Tiger Boat Challenge 2017 Derwentwater Marina, CA12 5RF. Wednesday 26th April Registration from 6.15.p.m. Races start from 6.30. p.m. Tiger Boats are like Dragon Boats but are slightly more stable. They take a crew of 10 paddlers (more or less) plus a helm and a drummer. Derwentwater Marina is kindly loaning us their two boats and we will be running a series of short sprint races to find the top winning crew. The Marina is also kindly donating a Tiger Boat Trophy.
Each crew has two races head to head against other crews and then the fastest two crews race in the final. These races happen in quick succession and we aim to finish for prize giving at 8.30.p.m. (dusk is 9.00 p.m.). We invite you to make up a team ahead of time, or just come along and join a scratch crew when you arrive on the night. For insurance purposes, all crew members need to be fully paid up club members. Crews should have a mix of sexes and juniors – this is a free, fun event and we may handicap any teams who look too serious! Refreshments Rain or shine, we will have a BBQ running at the same time as the races with quality food provided at cost – a choice of Thomason’s steak, sausage, or veggie sausage all in a bap. Please bring your own cold drink. We hope the evening is going to be warm and tropical – but if not, we will have the use of the boat house and hot drinks will be available. Peter Knowles, WCCC, Tel: 017687 73686.  June 8th will be barbecue night this year. The club will be providing some beer, salad and crisps and a few extra grills, but please bring your own as much as you can.
Many thanks to Peter Crompton for getting the show on the road. Cheers - Richard On a glorious sunny evening on the 20th April, West Cumbria Canoe Club and Derwentwater Marina hosted Cumbria’s fifth annual Tiger Boat Challenge on Derwentwater. The turn-out was fantastic, with six of Cumbria’s canoe clubs represented. In total 7 teams took part (70 paddlers) and close to 100 people were there on the night! Teams were drawn from right across Cumbria including Carlisle, Penrith, Duddon, Copeland and Sedbergh. Tiger Boats are like Dragon Boats but are slightly more stable. They take a crew of 10 paddlers and a helm. Derwentwater Marina kindly provided the boats and safety cover, as well as the stunning venue, which is also home to West Cumbria Canoe Club. The canoe club put on a barbecue which was perfect in the bright evening sunshine, and by the end of the event a huge quantity of best quality local sausage and steak sandwiches had been consumed! Racing Tiger Boats requires a quick start, with teamwork, balance, coordination and some hard graft essential. Each of the teams races twice, with the fastest 2 making the final, with races thick and fast to pack them into the two hours before sunset. The team to beat were holders Penrith, who were present in force with 2 strong teams, but in the end their top team fell foul of the requirement to include a junior and missed the final due to the resulting penalty. Often it was a case of grunt against smoothness and balance, and no more so than in the final which saw locals West Cumbria just sliding past a muscular Carlisle boat in the final 10 metres of the race to bring the trophy home for only the second time in the history of the event. Pete Knowles, who organises the event said "It is always great to see so many local paddlers and clubs coming together to have a great evening of fun on the water. This event is now a regular annual fixture for all the clubs in Cumbria, and as such we have chosen to rename the event in honour of Jim Wilson to recognise the exceptional contribution he made to canoe sport in Cumbria. A big thank you to everybody from West Cumbria Canoe Club who helped on the night and especially to Derwentwater Marina for hosting us all". Cumbria is a great venue for paddle sports and with clubs throughout the county, the opportunities to get out in a boat are endless!
Results West Cumbria Canoe Club 64.8 Carlisle Canoe Club 65 Copeland Canoe Club 67 Duddon and Sedbergh 67.2 Penrith A 67.5 (penalty added) Penrith B 68.5 Carlisle B 71 More information Pete Knowles 017687 73686 Alan Ashby 017687 80050
Last Sunday, a strong team of members from the local West Cumbria Canoe Club did their bit to clear up the debris from the Big Flood of last December on the river Greta.
Linda Furness of the Keswick Tourism Association had made a special request to the Canoe Club for help to clear unsightly flood debris off the banks of the Greta. Whilst other local bodies had offered their help and co-operation, it was felt that canoeists were uniquely equipped and experienced to help reach the flood debris, which was often awkwardly stuck between water and land. Ian Creighton of the West Cumbria Rivers Trust was especially keen to try and get as much plastic as possible out of the river system, because this gets ingested by fish and into the wildlife cycle. So the teams made this the main priority as they scoured the river and banks for some two kilometres through the tourist heart of Keswick – canoeing, wading and clambering along the banks they collected some forty sacs of plastic. They also collected a huge amount of other assorted debris that had been washed down by the December flood – including 7 carpets, 2 mattresses and a lot of nasty sharp metal waste – some of it the remains of several caravans that had floated down the river! Co-ordinator and Keswick resident Peter Knowles, said “I was surprised at the amount and the variety of rubbish. There were some really horrid things that our team pulled out of the river – you don’t want to know the details! I just admire the enthusiasm of the teams who grafted at this unpleasant job for some four hours, in and out of the cold river. It was good to see this nasty sharp metal rubbish taken out of the river as I know that in the summer local kids play and wade in it”. Dan Jordan, Chair of WCCC said “As the local canoe club we were delighted to take the lead and do our best to help clear up this, our beautiful local river and help get it ready for the tourist season. We locals appreciate the Greta as a beautiful river, but it’s perhaps not generally known that the Greta is nationally important as “the best grade 3 kayaking river in England”. As a local paddler and resident I doubly appreciate and enjoy having such a lovely river on my doorstep.” Can you help? The West Cumbria Rivers Trust are appealing for help for a litter pick along the banks of the River Derwent on Sunday 17th April, meet at Portinscale Bridge at 10.00. See their website for more details. For more information on this story please phone Peter Knowles on 017687 73686  No idea how much rubbish we pulled from the river and banks - but Mark said it was at least equivalent to 50 bin bags full !
Thanks Slime for organising and for everyone who helped. |
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