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Paddle boarding comes to AD

It was a warm Sunday afternoon. The ducks quacked and the swans preened.

The sun was out and 13 people turned up to our inaugural Stand Up Paddle Boarding sessions. We had a fully booked session. We had both families and individuals participate.

We toured around the Mill Pond, Lock Cut and went up to the islands. We covered how to paddle stroke, reverse paddle turn, and the tricky step back turn.

All participants did very well. We had a 100% success rate where everyone stood up on their paddle board; and this includes some who previously had not been able to do that.

We had a great day paddling amongst the ducks and the swans.

Thanks to The Outdoor Academy for the SUP loan and to Claire and Penny for their support.

We are set to hold another session on 30th September. Visit our online calendar for further information.

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PCC Update

National Marathon Championships, Reading 21-22 July 2018
Over the weekend 21st-22nd July Pangbourne Canoe Club, the Adventure Dolphin Race group, competed in the British National Marathon Championships at Reading. Over 1000 boats from 55 clubs from all over the UK and some visiting international paddlers competed. Scorching temperatures made the event even more challenging but if you got too hot, you could always take a swim!

The team of 9 K2s (double kayaks), 7 K1s, 1 C2 (double canoe) and 1 C1, did us proud.
Vicky achieved a podium position; Gold for the O59 _ VLK1, this was an outstanding result – Vicky is the top in the country for her group!

Tommy achieved a much deserved promotion to division 4 in U18_JMK1, competing against a field of paddlers ranked largely in divisions 1-3.

Juniors, Amy and Jensen, completed their 3.5km Lightning (junior K1) race in under 30 minutes. This was Amy’s first race and she did well despite a problem with her rudder. Jensen teamed up with a Reading paddler to race in K2 as well. Rhys made his debut in K2 covering 3.5km in just over 30 minutes. Owen showed great fortitude by racing in K1 on Saturday and two K2 races on Sunday. The biggest race of the weekend was the mixed K2 with 81 boats on the start line. The wash was not quite a tsunami but nevertheless quite substantial for anyone in a wobbly boat. Peter teamed up with a paddler from Kirkcaldy for this event. Caroline teamed up with Shirley taking 4th place in O44_VLK2 – a fantastic result. Paul, Steve, Jarvis, Matt, Owen, Hazel and Vicky also raced in K2 on the Sunday.

A great weekend for both competitors and spectators. Many thanks to Reading Canoe Club and their many willing volunteers for hosting the event. It was brilliantly organised.

Report on Longridge Hasler Saturday 25th July 2018 – More Pottery for Pangbourne

It was a bank holiday weekend….and we’re at a loose end…., so a small but select team from Pangbourne Canoe Club/Adventure Dolphin chose to race four, eight or twelve miles in a K1, K2 or C2 in the final Hasler Series race of 2018 at the Longridge Hasler on Saturday 25th July.

The crowning glory must go to Peter W and James B who won division nine doubles. Peter and James are more accustomed to a double-edged sword (kayak paddle with two blades) but swapped their usual weapon for a single blade (canoe paddle with one blade) and won the division nine doubles race in a canoe rather than a kayak. Their prize was a Longridge Canoe Club mug – a trophy to be cherished and certainly not put in the dishwasher or the writing rapidly vanishes. They were also promoted to division eight. The challenge now is to win division eight.

Paul A and Steve M raced in division six doubles, coming second so gaining a much sought-after Longridge Mug. Paul was promoted from division seven to division five, so quite an achievement.
Chris R delivered a steady performance in a strong division nine singles field where the first nine paddlers were promoted to division eight or higher. The winner was actually promoted to division six.

Fay B and Caroline W did a good time in division five doubles despite the times being fast and Fay having to paddle up a division.
Steve McCluskey
steve.mccluskey@advenuredolphin.co.uk

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Introduction to Kayaking and Rolling

Pool Courses

Adventure Dolphin is set to run two pool courses this Autumn. “Introduction to Kayaking” and “Kayak Rolling” start on 14th September at The Oratory Preparatory School Swimming Pool, Goring Heath, in Oxfordshire.

The first course will run for six weeks: Friday 14th, 21st & 29th September, 5th, 12th & 19th October, while the second, four week course is on Friday 2nd, 9th, 16th & 23rd November.

Introduction to Kayaking
This course is ideal for people wishing to try out kayaking in the warmth of a swimming pool. You will be introduced to the sport through a variety of activities and games that will develop:

– Safety Awareness
– Boat Handling
– Boat Balance
– Water Confidence both in and out of your boat
– Paddling Skills

Time: 18:15 – 19:15 (45 Min in water session)

Minimum age: 8 years old

Kayak rolling
Through the guidance of our coaches you will be given the opportunity to learn how to roll or develop your existing rolling skills in our pool kayaks.

Please note course pre-requisites:

– You must be able to swim 25 metres
– Be both water and boat confident
– Be able to capsize with a spray deck on

Time: 19:00 – 20:00. (45 Min in water session)

Minimum age: 12 years old

Course prices
Course 1 – £60 for members and £66 pounds for non members
Course 2 – £40 pounds for members and £44 pounds for non members

Click here to book your place.

For further information contact: Corinna Bailie – membership@adventuredolphin.co.uk

 

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PCC Update

Simon and Conor faced their first Men’s regatta both putting in very strong performances in k1 and k2 Conor setting the best time in k1 with a 47s 200m and Simon taking the 500m with a 2:04 time. In k2 they partnered up and almost broke the two minute mark in their final over 500m and doing a fast 44s over 200m. Matt then joined them in k4 where thy took 2nd place in 40.90s and 4th in 500m in 1:51minutes.

Moving on the boys class the improvement from our junior boys was incredible, Both Tommy and Owen completed over both 200m and 500m and improved their times from last year. In the finals Owen posted a great time of 48.47s for 200m just pipping Tommy who did 48:89 coming 1st and second in final two. Again in final two over 500m the boys both improved significantly on their heat times to come 5th and 6th getting times of 2:12:53 (Owen) 2:13:66 (Tommy)

Our other Boys member that was completing although for Reading was Jarvis. He was completing in the selection races in a variety of k1,k2 and k4. It was exciting watching and he again came away with some very fast time.
In the K1 he made final three which is no mean feat as he was competing in a mixed A/B class, so over 1000m a time of 4:14:40, and over 200m in final 3 a time of 43:54.Over 500m Jarvis made final two and set an impressive time of 1:55:55.

Finally, but no means least we have three lightening paddlers out. Daisy was promoted last year to lightening A and put in a super race and managed 3:15:40 for 500m in k1.

Jensen – This was his first ever regatta and he put in a fantastic performance in both k1 and k2, over 500m he came 3rd in 3:37:18.

Daisy and Jensen then partnered up for k2 and set their best time in the heat of 2:40 progressing to the final and then managed a 2:43 which is a fantastic achievement.

Rhys – at only nine Rhys was competing at his first regatta and partnered up with a reading paddler who both enjoyed their first race completing the 500m course in three minutes

Well done to everyone thank you to everyone who supports the team when we are there. No calls up the tower for the team leader so that made for a pretty good weekend!

Next up September Regatta, would be great to have a big team out and to finish the year on a high.

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Abingdon Round and Swift Ditch

On Sunday 1st July a group of 21 Adventure Dolphin members met at the paddler friendly Abingdon Marina to sample the Thames, the River Ock and – a perennial favourite of the club – Swift Ditch (this latter always known as Swift Ditch by paddlers but more boringly identified as merely “Back Water” by the Ordnance Survey on their maps).

The group met with a typical mixed bag of craft – kayak, OC solo and OC tandem – and the paddle was ably lead by Ed Edwards assisted by Claire Hardwick, Ian Flanders and Adrian Moon. Ed doubled as our tour guide for the day with enlightening snippets about the buildings and entertainment opportunities of Abingdon appearing to know a great deal about Abingdon jail and which pubs were best to impress girlfriends.

After the obligatory faffing, and Claire’s comprehensive “A to G” briefing, we left Abingdon Marina and set off upstream on the Thames but soon left the major river by passing under the old iron bridge at the entrance to the River Ock. The name Ock apparently originates from a Celtic word meaning salmon – a useless piece of information from Adrian.

The Ock was at a better level than might have been expected after the dry spell of weather and after a few hundred metres paddling and wading upstream we reached the spot at which a portage took us over onto the Wilts and Berks Canal and our return via a small shoot back onto the lower Ock. Back on the Thames Ed put on his tour guide hat and took us on a small diversion into the mill stream requiring some undergrowth removal by Claire (quicker on the draw with the pruning saw than Ian on this occasion).
Having passed up through Abingdon Lock (far too hot for all that portaging business) we headed across the top of the weir into the upper mill stream (more pruning work) and on to a suitably shady spot in the Abbey Gardens that happened to be in striking distance of toilets and an ice cream van – what more could we want.

Our numbers swelled (by 1) after lunch with the arrival of Jane Edwards who hadn’t been able to join us earlier as she had been otherwise occupied with the latest addition to the Edwards clan, one Quinn Alexander, born to son Ash and partner Kate in the early hours of that morning.

Lunch having been duly consumed we headed back across the top of the weir and on up the Thames towards the highlight of the day, Swift Ditch. The entrance to this gem, and the original course of the Thames, involves a 2 metre high drop over a weir at the former flash lock. A number of our group entertained us here by taking a cooling swim – their maiden swim in some cases, no names mentioned. Having restored all parties to their respective boats the paddle down Swift Ditch went without further incident and provided some welcome shady trees and respite from the sun and high temperatures that we have become accustomed to in recent weeks. Unusually for Swift Ditch no pruning work was needed.

Just a few hundred metres below Abingdon Marina Swift Ditch re-joins the Thames and the circuit was completed – a varied trip just a little different than the conventional downstream paddles we are more used to taking. Thanks to Ed who manged to stay awake all day despite having been involved, like Jane, in the early morning run out for that Edwards family addition.

 

To see all the pics click here.

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PCC News Update

Very strong performance from the Pangbourne team

Simon and Conor faced their first Men’s regatta both putting in very strong performances in k1 and k2 Conor setting the best time in k1 with a 47s 200m and Simon taking the 500m with a 2:04 time. In k2 they partnered up and almost broke the 2minute mark in their final over 500m and doing a fast 44s over 200m. Matt then joined them in k4 where thy took 2nd place in 40.90s and 4th in 500m in 1:51minutes.

Moving on the boys class the improvement from our junior boys was incredible, Both Tommy and Owen completed over both 200m and 500m and improved their times from last year. In the finals Owen posted a great time of 48.47s for 200m just pipping Tommy who did 48:89 coming 1st and second in final 2. again in final 2 over 500m the boys both improved significantly on their heat times to come 5th and 6th getting times of 2:12:53 (Owen) 2:13:66 (Tommy)

Our other Boys member that was completing although for Reading was Jarvis. He was completing in the selection races in a variety of k1,k2 and k4. It was exciting watching and he again came away with some very fast time

K1 he made final 3 which is no mean feat as he was competing in a mixed A/B class, so over 1000m a time of 4:14:40, and over 200m in final 3 a time of 43:54.Over 500m Jarvis made final 2 and set an impressive time of 1:55:55

Finally but no means least we have 3 lightening paddlers out

Daisy was promoted last year to lightening A and put in a super race and managed 3:15:40 for 500m in k1

Jensen – This was his first ever regatta and he put in a fantastic performance in both k1 and k2, over 500m he came 3rd in 3:37:18

Daisy and Jensen then partnered up for k2 and set their best time in the heat of 2:40 progressing to the final and then managed a 2:43 which is a fantastic achievement

Rhys – at only 9 Rhys was competing at his first regatta and partnered up with a reading paddler who both enjoyed their first race completing the 500m course in 3 minutes

Well done to everyone thank yo to everyone who supports the team when we are there, No calls up the tower fo the team leader so that made for a pretty good weekend!

Next up September Regatta, would be great to have a big team out and to finish the year on a high

Sarah

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Leadership Training Workshops

Claire Hardwick and Ian Flanders are currently running a series of Leader Training Workshops aimed at three star paddlers (Kayak/Open Canoe), who are considering taking their coaching or leadership awards, or just want to increase their paddling knowledge and confidence. These sessions are also open to younger members aged 14 and up, or anyone interested in the Paddlesport Activity Assistant Award.

The next sessions are:-

Sunday 29th July – Sea Kayak Skills, rescues and rolling.

Sunday August 12th – Foundation Safety Rescue Training Skills

We will be continuing on from the session on the 17th June. However, you do not need to have attended in June to attend this session.
To book your place click here.

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PPC News Update

Racing for the summer kicked off on Sunday 20th May at Basingstoke Canal Canoe Club….we only put a small team out but with several personal successes:

• Jarvis Macnab 2nd in Div 2
• Peter Walker promoted up to Div 4
• Owen Barker 7th out of 19 in Div 5
• Daisy Van Dijck finished well up the field in her first Div 9 … 4 mile.. race, having been racing in the Lightning class…2 miles.. for the past few years.

Diary date: The 2018 Pangbourne Hasler will be held at Adventure Dolphin on Sunday 9th September.

Reading Hasler Race 27th May 2018
Adventure Dolphin, Pangbourne members gained respectable points at the Hasler race on Sunday.
The highlight was Tommy winning Division 6 race and being promoted to Division 5. Results summary:

Top place and promotion to Div 5 : Tommy F = 20 pts

Div 4 Mark W = 16
Peter W = 12
Div 5 Owen B =  18
Gavin L  =   12
Steve Mc = 9
Div 9  Hazel B = 16
Chris R =  13

Div 5K2
Caroline and Eleanor W = 13

Div 6 C2
Vicky M = 17

Jenson M had a great day in his lightning race … points for the Lightning Comp… Geoff Saunders Trophy

and raced again in the Hody event … being placed 2nd with Bruno from Reading CC.

Well done to all.

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Paddlesport Activity Assistant

Many club members are not coaches or qualified leaders, yet they do perform the role of assisting within groups and in running sessions. There is now a British Canoeing award available which recognises these skills. It is open to anyone 14 years and above and is ideal for young paddlers. In some ways this award replaces the old Cadet Leader scheme.

There are more details on the British Canoeing website.
https://www.britishcanoeing.org.uk/courses/paddlesport-activity-assistant
Don’t let the paperwork put you off. There are no requirements to attend a formal training course.

Many of our helpers already have sufficient skills to qualify for the award. Some may want some short training sessions and assistance in completing the log book.

We hope to offer training sessions for anyone interested in gaining this award.
For further information, or to show interest in this scheme please contact Claire Hardwick via tripsplanning@adventuredolphin.co.uk

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What an epic paddle – Wolvercote to Oxford, 20th May 2018, report by Ed Edwards

Wow, what an epic paddle. It seemed to have a bit of everything that a flatwater tour could ask for. River, canal, backwaters, tiny streams, urban, rural, herds of free ranging cows and horses on Port Meadow, picnickers on the banks, cyclists, walkers, over trees, under trees, even through trees!

Once again an AD paddle enjoyed blue skies. The start was at Wolvercote Car Park at the north end of Port Meadow, north of Oxford city. A lovely get-on next to a stone bridge and the first boat on had Tenzing in it. This was an attempt to stop him jumping in and out of everyone else’s boat as they were getting on. He still jumped in and out except it was the same boat very time meaning that more and more water was entering the boat via his coat. About five minutes after starting the trip we had to stop to bail out – 18 bails!

So, down the river to Tumbling Bay the site of the old outdoor swimming which is now full of reeds. A portage and then down Bulstake Stream, a backwater of the Thames. Narrow? No, not as much as Hinksey Stream which we took to reach our lunch stop at The Fishes in North Hinksey. Of course, it meant the saw had to come out again. Third consecutive trip!

Making our way back through the narrow up, over and through section we re-entered the Thames to paddle down to the mouth of Castle Mill Stream. This is the original route of the Thames going through the city centre and right up close to the Castle. Yet more branches but this time we realised that a pruning saw was going to be insufficient as a massive tree had come down across the stream. Team work portaging took us past this obstruction only to be faced with a ridiculously low bridge. Almost lying down in the boat to get through and then we saw the next obstruction. Lock gates and a climb up a two metre plus wall. A paddlers sling was set up as a stirrup and for some of us a bit of pushing and pulling from helpful hands and we were up.

The final leg took us through the City of Oxford joining the Oxford Canal and paddling back to Wolvercote via an ice cream van! Some more portages and narrow streams took us back to our start point. The circuit completed and at no point paddling against the current!

All agreed it was a fantastic trip. Donna summed it up as: Just wanted to say thank you for a super day out yesterday. The Hatchett clan really enjoyed the day and the fantastic company. On a personal note – this time last year I would never have thought that I would be willing or able to wade through backwaters, limbo under fallen trees, scramble up steep river banks, clamber across unmanned narrow boats, shimmy up canal walls with use of a sling, navigate the underside of a very low lying bridge arch, talk to complete strangers with a passion about paddling while sounding reasonably convincing that I know what I’m talking about, or enter a pub in wet gear with a very muddy backside……all in a day trip for an AD member ah. Epic!

See the pictures here