Sheffield Canoe Club

Trip Reports

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2013

10- 02-13 River Don Trip6 paddlers braved the snow to paddle from the gorge section to base. Two fallen trees blocked the 1st drop. Ian was the first near ‘swimmer’. But Dave won the ‘best entry’!! An enjoyable snowy morning. - Ian

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01-01-13 New Years Day

Due to the high water levels we paddled around our Oughtibridge base – good morning had by all – see the photos in the gallery Chris Marlow said he didn’t swim!!!! - Ian

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2012

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Saturday 1st December Illuminated paddle

Brilliant evening, well attended despite the cold. Check out the photos. The hot drinks and buns afterwards were well appreciated. Thank you.

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Matlock Slalom Training

On Sunday 14th October Me and Jack joined GreenStar to do some slalom training at Matlock. We were split up into two groups, one of the Div 3 paddlers, and the other of Div 2 and upwards. I was in the Div 3 group and Jack was in the Div 2+ group. We all started at the slalom start and did some practice on the gates that were already up. Then the Div 2+ group moved down the river to give us some room. We then did some basic training on the gates like learning how to attack them properly. We then moved down the river to where we did some practice on a gate circuit in the middle of the course. Then after a brief lunch break we all got back on the water for another session of training. This time Me and Jack were in the same group as Jack did some C1 training. We did a little bit of work on the gates near the slalom start and then moved down towards the middle of the course. Here we were doing a circuit over “Killer Rock”. Here we kept changing the circuit to keep us on our toes and to cover all the possible circuits with the gates up. After this we had all had enough and got off after a long day of strenuous training. – Matt C

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Anglesey sea trip October 2012. sea trip video.

This month’s trip was enjoyed by the members who went down in glorious sunshine and flat seas on both days Saturday and Sunday with Frank Staniland, Cath Waterhouse , John Witham, Neil Furmidge, Alan Riggot and myself Phill Hickson and Julie Jones who was taking her 4* sea kayaking assessment over the weekend.

Over the weekend there must have been around 20 to 30 sea paddlers all taking part in many of the superb trips to be had on the island in excellent conditions, the guy’s who did not manage to get down missed out on a superb weekends paddle just hope you all can make the next trips and no illness stops you from going!

Saturday’s trip went from Porthdafach beach round to south stack lighthouse taking in penryhn maur tide race well done John for getting round without capsizing both outbound and return! A lunch stop was taken just before south stack and then Frank, Alan and Neil continued to the lighthouse while the rest of us returned to Porthdafach and onto Trearddur bay and back to Porthdafach. Sunday was another superb days paddle again in glorious sunshine leaving from Church bay on the far west coast of Holy island above Holyhead harbour paddling up and around Carmel head another tide race which all managed without incident taking in the many caves to be seen and explored along this coastline. Lunch was taken not long after Carmel head looking out towards the Skerries where a couple of groups had paddled out to.

Following lunch we then set off up the coast again taking in some superb scenery and through and past Harry Furloughs rocks another tide race which was nothing to worry about but was just on the verge of turning prior to finishing the trip at Cemlyn Bay.

Thanks to all who turned up and made the weekends paddle most enjoyable, hope to see you on the next trips, good luck to Frank on his trip to India on the Bhutan River in 3 weeks time. - Phill Hickson

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Marple Slalom - Stockport

On 1st and 2nd of September members of Sheffield canoe club took part in a Division 3/4 slalom event in Marple, near Manchester. On the Saturday only Me and Andrew took part. The day was good fun as we met friends that we had made in Scotland at the Slalom training. The day ended with Me coming 5th and Andrew coming 6th. On the Sunday Jack joined us at the slalom. On this day the three of us entered a team event under the name of “Full Montey”. This led to us coming 5th out of the 10 teams that were entered. This day ended with me coming 8th, Andrew coming 3rd and Jack coming 1st , and last, in his one-man class. Overall we had a great two days and can’t wait until Oughtibridge in two weeks. Also a great Thank you to Manchester Canoe Club for letting me borrow one of their Slalom boats. - Matt Crowhurst

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Grandtully Slalom Training - Scotland

Each year Yorkshire slalom go up to Grandtully for training and the slalom. We were all split into groups of ability, for two one hour sessions each day, and each group was assigned a coach. My group started at the bottom of the river, doing simple things like `floating` down the river. Although these were simple things, they were made a lot harder by the faster water. The river was grade 3. Over the week I progressed up the river, Going from the bottom, up to the middle part, and finally going down from the top, albeit only once in my boat and twice out of my boat (known as the big swim). Over the weekend the Slalom took place. I did not enter it because it was a div 1/2 slalom and I am in div 3. Although I did not enter the slalom, I still did some judging, which was a fun experience. Over the week, fun was had by all, and we all made some good friends. - Andrew Crowhurst

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Fairnilee Slalom & Slalom Training - Scotland

After arriving on the Wednesday evening in the pouring rain, we were delighted when Thursday dawned fine. During the training on the Thursday, we practiced various techniques including: Ferry gliding, surfing waves, breaking in and out of the flow and getting a general feel for the water. At the end of the session, we all had to do either a capsize or roll. For the training on the Friday, we had the slalom course up. During that days training, we used the gates to perfect our techniques and got to know the slalom course. On the Saturday and Sunday, the slalom took place. On the Saturday I came 9th and got the best junior award. On the Sunday I came 6th, but sadly didn’t get anything. - Andrew Crowhurst

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The Slenningford Trip Report:

On Saturday 18th August four intrepid canoeists, Dave, Warren, Paul and Julie did an initial paddle on the slalom site of Slenningford Mill. the area was in flood after nearly two inches of rain during the previous twenty four hours. The area just below the 999 weir had several good waves for ferry gliding on and doing break ins/outs on.Further down there were several large standing waves.Julie experienced them pushing her into a tree and getting smacked on the head by a tree branch. Dave got stuck in a stopper further down the course but got out okay. Big smiles of relief were on everybody's faces when we got to the bottom of this grade three section of river as any swim would have been a very nasty one.Once the initial paddle was finished we were joined for several other runs down this river section by Jack, Sammy and Morley who survived!!!! – Julie

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No report for canal trip 29-7-12

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A Trip Report & Guide To The Upper Don by Rob and Max Stokoe

Max and I paddled a 5.5 mile section of the Don between Thurlstone and Thurgoland this weekend.  We have lived in Thurlstone for over 10 years and when the river is in spate have seen people paddling this section but never given it a go. A sunny Sunday in June after two days of heavy rain gave us perfect conditions for Max (9) to try his first real river trip beyond the Sunday morning sessions at Oughtibridge.

What follows is a quick guide (letters are marked on the attached map). PDF As ever, getting the river level right is important, too low it will be a scrape, too high and it’s in the trees. At the height we paddled, full and fast flowing with no exposed rocks and just enough space to limbo under most of the trees it was continuous Grade I-II with no slack water:

• A – Our get in point, at the bridge as you enter Thurlstone turn immediately right into the drive leading to South Yorkshire home improvements. Get in on the left bank after the garages. There are Kingfishers along this section.
• B – Just after the get in there is a broken weir which can be shot river left or right. Best inspected before getting in and as a gauge to water level. We paddled with a good depth of water  flowing across the full width of the weir and a small chain of breaking waves where the river narrows bellow. A good height but not in spate.
• C – Nice bit of grade II with standing and breaking waves.
• D – Not really a weir (no drop) but it does form a stopper across 70% of the width of the river.
• E – Caution there is a fallen tree across the full width of the river, at the height we paddled it was just possible to get over it far river right but we portaged on the left bank to be safe.
• F – The bridge here has a height gauge which was at 50cm.
• G – At lower levels there would be an island / shingle bank in the river covered in vegetation this was flooded enough to paddle over but with a lot of greenery above water level like paddling through a rhubarb field.
• H – Nice bit of grade II with standing and breaking waves, stopper river left. In the next section we found a snake swimming in the river.
• I – Large weir, can be run across it’s full width, portaged river right or egress here river left following public footpath to the road.
• J – After shooting the weir there is a footpath over stepping stones (or a set of small pour-overs at this level). There is another good egress river left following public footpath to the road. If you continue down river be aware that after about 100m there are two sets of steel wires strung across the full width of the river, though the level would have to be very high for these to be a problem.
• K – We continued to here but don't recommend it the river slows and meanders as the water backs up above the weir, the gradient is less steep and we felt that most of the fun was over by the get outs at I and J. The weir here is steeper and forms a larger stopper than than last so worth a look in high water.

The health and safety bit : At high water levels this is a fast flowing and fairly continuous run with only small breakouts and fairly steep vegetated banks. There are a lot of overhanging trees that block more than half the width of the river and not all of them can be avoided. We had a great day but please don't read this as a recommendation for a first river trip or paddling in a group of less than three people.  

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River Don Trip - On Monday 7th May Julie, Neil, Chris, Warren, Morley and Chrissie went on a paddle from Rivelin Valley to Meadowhall. We went down about 13 weirs and paddled about 6 miles. The water levels were disappointing after the recent rain we have had so it was abump and scrape in places. We had a good audience when we were playing on the stopper at the bottom of the weir at Meadowhall. Morley especially enjoyed himself on that and had a giant smile on his face. - Julie

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Holme Pierrepoint - On the 11th April Me, Andrew, and Jack joined Green Star CC at their slalom training at Holme Pierrepoint. We were then split off in to groups of experience of the river. The 3 of us were in a group by ourselves as Esther needed to see what we could do. We spent the first part of the morning on the Chicken Chute. Here Esther looked at how well we could break in and out and ferry glide. Then we did some work on drifting down the river. Next we were using our edges to turn on the eddy line and then we learnt how to stop the boat on the eddy line. We then progressed on to the main part at The Narrows. Here we were just getting used to the rougher water. After that we moved slightly further downstream to work on our breaking in and out on bigger water. This meant we had to break into the flow, break out on the other side and then come back across. Then we had a lunch stop. After lunch I got off as I was cold but Andrew and Jack continued unphased by the huge hail stones being hurled at them. They moved up to The Tardis where they were working on breaking in and out and ferry gliding on rougher water. Jack then decided to get off leaving Andrew on his own. Then after 5hours of intense paddling Andrew decided enough was enough and got off after his brief swim.

Overall the 3 of us had a great day out, learnt a lot, and would really like to go back again. A massive Thank you to Esther for the advice and time. - Matt

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Anglesey Easter 2012 - This year saw 42 members down at the ever popular venue of Anglesey outdoors with 40 paddlers taking part in sea trips that where run over the Easter weekend period along with walks and fun and games on the camp site not to mention the pub!

Friday saw 16 paddlers taking part in glorious sunshine and flat seas on a trip to Porth Ruffydd in a mixture of sea boats and short river boats for lunch and returning to Porth Dafach followed by another trip in the afternoon taking some paddlers in sea boats to Trearddur Bay and back.

Saturday 2 trips where run when 24 paddlers paddled from Newborugh Warren to Llanddwyn Island stopping for lunch and then going exploring a little bit further around the cliffs then returning back to Newborough Warren a total distance of approximately 5 K. The other trip that was run was for sea boats only which took the 7 paddlers from Borthwen (Rhoscolyn) to Newborough Warren a total distance of approx 18k.

Sunday the final trip of the weekend had 27 paddlers taking part in a trip from Borthwen bay to four mile bridge approx distance of 8K, again in a mixture of boats taking you along some of the south sides rocky coastline and up the estuary to four mile bridge, this trip was one of the longest and hardest trips for the short boats and I along with all the other sea boat paddlers congratulate all the members in river boats for completing such a long trip with very few having to be towed by the longer boats, WELL DONE to you all. A well deserved lunch was had by all at four mile bridge where we met Matt Holmes and Paul Fletcher who stayed at the bridge playing about on the stoppers and standing waves formed on the inland sea side of the bridge. After lunch a number of members in sea boats returned to Borthwen with the outgoing tide down the estuary a lot quicker than going up needless to say!

Once again another good weekend was had by all who attended with the weather being kind to all who took part on the trips with fine weather and calm sea conditions for all the younger paddlers and those in short boats. - Phill Hickson

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Sponsored Trip in aid of Sport Relief 24-3-12

At around ten, on Saturday 24th March 2012, about thirty Sheffield Canoe Club members assembled themselves on the edge of the Sheffield Tinsley canal at Victoria Quays. Next at around ten thirty, we all set off. As we began paddling, we soon became surrounded by industrial buildings. The buildings then began to thin, and we began to follow the tram track towards Meadowhall. As we continued towards the lock, we came across a party on the bank. Soon we arrived at the lock and had a short break. After our break we were all refreshed and ready to paddle back to Victoria Quays. The journey back was uneventful, apart from the occasional angler. Some people, in faster boats (Matt and Jack), powered off ahead of everyone and neglected to wait for anyone!! Finally, we arrived back at Victoria Quays and disembarked on to the Quay side. - Andrew C

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Flamborough trip March 2012

The Flamborough trip on Saturday 10th of March was enjoyed by all paddlers in glorious sunshine and flat seas with very little wind, a shame those who didn’t go missed an excellent paddle. The members taking part where myself, William Bennet, James, Neil Furmidge (new Olympic cave escape artist), David, Julie Scott and Julie Jones. Our trip left from North Landing turning south towards south landing for approx 3 miles taking in the superb cliff scenery of some of the best cliffs on the east coast line along with a vast amount of caves to explore when the tides permit. We then landed for a short stop and some lunch by means of landing in one of the caves below the lighthouse that is accessible at most levels and opens out at the rear to take in the sun whist having lunch, it was at this point when Neil decided to show of his skills at his new found Olympic sport of who can exit a cave the fastest, after going into one of the caves from where we had stopped for lunch, Neil entered the cave and after about 3-4 mins in the cave came running out as fast as he could closely followed by a young pup seal that had obviously been resting in the cave network once the tide had gone out for a bit of peace and quiet only to be disturbed by a big man in an orange dry suit! The seal scurried down the rocks only to find 7 brightly coloured things that float on top of the water blocking his escape, so it then proceeded to find the newest of these brightly coloured objects and climb over the top of it covering it in seal slime, at least it didn’t scratch the boats bottom! did it Julie. Following our lunch stop we then proceeded back to north landing passing the upset seal bobbing around in the bay having been disturbed waiting for us to leave so it could go back in and rest again. Once back in North landing bay a couple tried their hand at rolling and self rescues and David tried out my sea boat only to find that a sea kayak takes longer to turn around than a short boat but travels easier in a straight line, a bit more practice David and you will be hooked! It was not a long trip but long enough for the 2 paddlers in short boats well done. - Phill Hickson.

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