Marlow Canoe Club

Newsletter 141 Autumn 2013

www.marlowcc.org.uk

INSIDE YOUR AUTUMN 2013 ISSUE

3 Paddling amongst the punters
A mixed group of flatwater paddlers take on the Oxford punters. It is a closerun thing but Marlow Canoe Club triumph and make it to the pub only for the elements to intervene and spill the editor's beer. Modern styling and construction, angled zips, concealed buckles, and oodles of pockets on the upside. But no hand warmers and not many attachment loops. The Yak Xipe buoyancy aid gets some critical attention. So what's the attraction of North Wales? Well, the whitewater community does contain a lot of men with excess energy. Coincidentally Wales has a lot of sheep. At last, the club has two new sea kayaks in the fleet. And what is the verdict for their performance on the river? Well, provided you are tall and skinny these Venture Capella boats are ideal for you, aren't they "Salty" Sharron? The sheep here speak English.

EDITORIAL

Submit an article to win a paddling prize

Any club member can submit articles for the newsletter. You do not need the literary talent of Shakespeare or the photographic skills of Annie Leibovitz. Just send us your raw words and/or photographs and the editor will apply the necessary polish. And there is no maximum or minimum size to articles. A single page with a photo would typically be only 350 words or so. But our sport is very visual and often it is good to have lots of photos with just a few lines of text in support. Equally if you do have plenty of text but no photos then that is OK as photos are often either not essential or the club can supply something suitable. Every member, young and old, experienced and newbie, is encouraged to share your paddling experience with others via the newsletter. And remember that every year a decent prize is awarded at the club AGM for the best newsletter article. But you have got to be in it to win it so e mail your words and/or photos to the editor at rbcasbierd@yahoo.co.uk

6 Budget buoyancy

7 North Wales bunkhouses

8 Venture Capella

9 Bunkhouses in Wales & Devon 10 The old boys club

There is still a terrible stench, and not just in the men's changing rooms. What a bunch of troublemakers. Yes, that's right, you lot are. That's why you need us grownups on the committee to keep you in line. Christmas comes early this year.

11 Committee members & Retailers

12 Calendar

COVER PHOTO
The cover photo graph for this news etter was supplied by Rodney Casbierd and is entitled "Saint Catherine and her college".

A little legal stuff....

This newsletter is a free publication for the Marlow Canoe Club. Whilst every care is taken, the newsletter and the Marlow Canoe Club do not accept respons ibility for the opinions expressed or the goods and services mentioned in this publication. 2013.

l i

TOURING

Paddling amongst the punters

by Rodney Casbierd
A day involving confused chaos, punters, doggy paddlers, flying pints of beers, kingfishers and an escape route through tunnels. It can only be another one of Andy Maxteds inland flatwater tours. This was the third of six tours in the 2013 programme. The trip started and finished on the Thames, including a section through the centre of Oxford, but the bulk of the trip was through lush Oxford college countryside on the River Cherwell. The day started with some confusion. The agreed start point was Donnington Bridge. Unfortunately the parking options were unnaturally plentiful and the participants ended up in at least three separate locations, blissfully unaware of one another for a wee while. Fortunately after some random wandering the stragglers did eventually meet up with the core group and we could get started. The putin by the bridge was simple, at the end of a slipway. And, despite the overcast weather and cool conditions, that really set the scene for the relaxed paddle that was to follow. There was a good mix of participants with Jason, Deidre and Andy in open canoes. Adrian also brought a canoe along with wifey and their fourlegged friend. It was a relatively blowy day and the opens were often battling against the elements during the trip. At the other end of the scale, Michael Frellson, Catherine and your correspondent took sea kayaks. But these were possibly too easy for the trip and arguably the most sensible tourist were John, Michael Day and Tim in slightly shorter plastic tubs. The first stint of the trip was upstream along the Thames. With the rowing club just the other side of the bridge, there were a lot of skulls sweeping past us and making us feel right at home. But

TOURING

4
after just a few hundred metres we were turning right into the skull free territory of the River Cherwell. From that point on it was just a nice casual paddle through the tree lined meadows of Oxforshire. On the way we were treated to splendid views of a kingfisher climbing up a tree with the backdrop of the spires from one the Oxford University colleges. Paddling onwards we passed the University botanic gardens, providing a welcome change from what was otherwise becoming a rather samey green environment.

At one point progress was blocked by a weir. Portage here was by a set of rollers. Some of us tried dry launching our plastic boats down the rollers. It worked fine but I must confess that it was somewhat unsettling to feel the rollers dig into the boat beneath as I trundled down on my plunge into the water. And with that excitement behind us, it was onward upstream. This part of the river was punting territory, and the further we travelled the more numerous they became. In the windy conditions it was easy to distinguish the experienced punters from the novices. We zigged our way past the more erratic punters and eventually made it to the Victoria Arms. At this point Michael Frellson cleared off and left us to enjoy our luch without him. The explanation for his premature departure was not clear, but the suspicion was that he fancied a punt more than a pint. The weather other the other hand fancied the pint, and duly sent a gust of wind to whip up table debris and knock over your correspondents full pint of ale. Aside from this tragedy, lunch at the pub was very agreeable. Suitably dosed up with booze and roast dinners, we got back into our boats and took the Cherwell back downstream, now dodging

TOURING
the punts more with luck than judgement. At the weir some members of the group, informally categorised as nutters, went down the slope. Disappointingly this ended without incident. We slogged on and when we got back to the grounds of Magdalen college Deidre drew on her years of guiding experience to direct us down a wonderful narrow cut to emerge at a point with a fabulous view of St Catherines college. Even Catherine herself, sitting in her Easky, seemed relatively impressed. We did a sharp left turn and paddled back down to the Thames. At this point Jason broke from the party and paddled back to the putin. The rest of the group paddled up the Thames to Oxford. Upon reaching Oxford it became evident that alcohol withdrawal symptoms were playing havoc with our tour leader as he desperately searched for a suitable mooring point by a city riverside pub. However, with the rest of us keen to press on, and I suspect aided by the contents of Adrians hipflask, Andy was finally persuaded to abandon his goal of a twopub trip.

And so we turned to go back through the pitch black darkness of the city centre river tunnels. Emerging back into the daylight it was a straightforward paddle back down the Thames, past the boathouses of the many Oxford University college rowing clubs, to the original putin point. All in all this was a very pleasant day out, with something for novices and experienced paddlers alike, containing splendid views courtesy of both Mother Nature and mankind. The people in open canoes will probably remember it as a day of struggling against the elements, whereas I will remember it as the day when the gales took my pint of beer and fed it to the grass. I cannot pretend that it was the most exciting day out but it was very relaxing and, after a typical persons week of stress and arguments with both work colleagues and family members, there is a lot to be said for that I reckon.

REVIEW

Budget buoyancy
by Rodney Casbierd
The Yak Xipe is one of the newer buoyancy aids on the market. It looks nice and has some snazzy features but is it really any good? I had been looking around for a personal floatation device (PFD) to use primarily for inland flatwater touring and maybe a bit of sea kayaking. This would be my first buoyancy aid so I was not looking for anything spectacular. All I really wanted was a buoyancy aid that was not one of those clumsy over the head vest jobs, and that had a reasonable amount of storage. Despite that nothing quite fitted the bill or my torso until I saw and tried on the Yak Xipe. The Xipe is a frontzip jacket with lowish cut sides for easier arm movement. Having become very used to the clubs PFDs I initially found the freedom of the Xipe quite disconcerting and I wondered if it was truly secure. However, recent trials in a club pool session proved that it sure is, staying firmly in position during repeated capsizes and eskimo rescue exercises. It has two zipped front pockets either side of the central main jacket zip. The righthand pocket includes an internal clip for the attachment of a key or similar items. It also has an internal webbed compartment secured by velcro. The left hand pocket is similarly roomy and would probably accommodate a small VHF radio. It also has an access nipple allowing a small hydration pouch. On the back of the jacket there is a large area slimline zipped pocket, again with an access nipple. This pocket is obviously primarily intended to accommodate a larger hydration pouch. When I first tried on the Xipe in the shop it appeared that the jacket was somewhat skewed on my body. But this is actually part of the design, with the central zip being at a slight angle. This allows the front pockets to be asymmetrically shaped, increasing the flexibility of the jackets storage, and presumably makes it marginally easier for right handers to zip up.

REVIEW
Another unusual feature is that the main front buckle is underneath the zip and not above it. This means that you secure the buckle first and then do up the zip. It makes for a smoother front to the buoyancy aid and presumably less risk of the buckle getting snagged on something or accidentally coming undone. So far so good then. Well, before you all rush to the shops, there are some other features to be aware of and possibly beware of. First and foremost the Xipe only provides 55N of buoyancy. That approximately equates to 5.5kg which is not a lot so, despite all those nice pockets, it really would not be a good idea to put too much in them. And, even unladen with all your goodies, you should not be relying upon it to always get you face up in the water.

Also there are not really any decent external loops to which you can attach stuff to, and no hand warmers. And the trendy angled central zip has a tendency to unzip, requiring the pulltab on the zip to be secured in an elasticated loop to prevent this. But for my purposes, inland flatwater touring, none of these downsides are significant. And at 70 with club discount at Marsport, I reckon the Yak Xipe represents pretty good value for your hardearned cash. So is it any good? Well yeah, I would say so.

North Wales bunkhouses

by Chris Weston
Tyddyn Bychan
Corwen, North Wales http://www.tyddynbychan.co.uk/ Rivers nearby: Tryweryn, LLugwy, Vrnwy, Dee Basic bedrooms but big communal kitchen and great location for those rivers further into north wales

The Goat inn

Maerdy, North Wales Rivers Nearby: Dee, Tryweryn, Afon Ceriw, Afon Alwen. Pub downstairs for beers and dinner, awesome serve yourself breakfast, rooms could do with a refurb as they are looking a bit tired.

Rhos y Gwaliau Outdoor

Bala, North Wales http://www.rygoutdoor.co.uk/Welcome.html Rivers Nearby: Upper and Lower Tryweryn, Dee. Has a double room which is great for couples, modern recently refurbished kitchen and good drying room.

Bala Backpackers

Bala, North Wales http://www.balabackpackers.co.uk/ Rivers nearby: Upper and Lower Tryweryn, Dee etc. Slightly mad owner with ridiculous set of rules however if you are a quiet well behaved group it is cheap and right in the town so a good location.

REVIEW

Venture Capella
by Rodney Casbierd
Recently the club purchased two brand new sea kayaks. The boats are both Capella 160 boats manufactured by Venture Kayaks. These are entry/intermediatelevel sea boats. The Capella is a well proven design. I paddled the original P&H version of the Capella during the clubs sea kayak weekend in Dorset way back at the start of June. On the first day of that trip the sea was pretty choppy and it was something of a baptism of fire for a sea novice. But I soon learned to put my trust in the boat and it proved itself to be a very capable performer in the conditions. Venture Kayaks now make the Capella using a different construction technique. These are the boats that we have purchased. Unlike the clubs Easkys, the Capella has a nicely rounded hull to ride the waves better. It is also somewhat slimmer so it is no surprise to find that it cuts through the water nicely and maintains a straight line with ease. However, larger paddlers may find it something of a tight fit. Paddlers with short legs may also find it difficult. I am average height for a bloke and found that the easytoadjust foot rests needed to be almost fully forward to achieve good contact. That suggests that someone of shorter stature might have a problem. With the aid of a screwdriver the seat moves forwards and backwards by an inch or so in each direction, and the backrest can also be moved a bit, but this may not be quite enough to cater for anyone with an inside leg shorter than 28 inches or so. But, for those of us that do fit, both the seat and the knee pads are very comfortable indeed. And the boat is then a joy on the river. Aside from its excellent straightline speed the boat handles extremely well and edging the boat is easy, even for me. Just apply a slight amount of edge and the boat turns very smoothly and reliably. Once again this is far superior to the Easky where a significant amount of edge is required to achieve any turning action. The rounded hull obviously means that the boat has somewhat less initial stability than a flat bottomed Easky. This would probably unsettle a novice paddler. However the secondary stability seems excellent and this quickly breeds trust in the boat allowing the paddler to confidently apply a healthy edge to the boat. The Capella is a boat that you can happily stand up in. You will not need it on the river, but for sea use the skeg is easy to deploy and retract. In Dorset the ageing P&H version of the Capella seemed to have a skeg that would stick and fail to deploy. Time will tell to see if the new boats we have bought exhibit the same weakness.

REVIEW

There is plenty of storage with both fore and aft hatches into which you can dump your touring gear. Plus for sea use there is the additional benefit of a small day hatch behind you on the right. All of the hatches are a push fit to seal which can sometimes be a bit tricky to close on dry land let alone when out at sea. Nonetheless having a day hatch is a nice feature on a budget boat. There is space at the bow for a compass to be fitted, although none are currently installed on our boats. And there is also plenty of strapping on the deck to secure your bottle, spare paddle and any other items you wish to carry. The Capella is a long boat and is plastic so do not expect it to be lightweight. However it is fine for a oneman lift through locks and similar short distances. I would gauge it to feel heavier than an Easky but not as heavy as the other sea kayaks such as Lady Penelope (aka the Qkayaks Penguin). All in all these two new boats are a most welcome addition to our fleet. Nice one "Salty" Sharron.

Bunkhouses in Mid/South Wales & Devon

by Chris Weston
Braich Goch
Corris, Northern Mid Wales http://www.braichgoch.co.uk/ Rivers nearby:Afon Dulas and Afon Twymwyn. Great bar next door, big kitchen and comfy lounge.

Held Bunkhouse

Beili Neuadd

Rhayader, Southern Mid wales http://www.beilineuadd.co.uk/index.html Rivers nearby: Upper Wye and River Edw. Cosy bunkhouse, great home cooked breakfast if you pay and awesome curry and chips from local chippy!!

Brecon, South Wales http://www.heldbunkhouse.co.uk/ Rivers nearby: Wye, Usk, Severn. Good showers, kitchen and drying room. Weird communal bed that is awkward if you fill the place!!

Parkers Farm

White Hart Inn

Talybont, South Wales www.breconbunkhouse.co.uk Rivers Nearby: Wye, Usk. Pub downstairs and good breakfast.

Ashburton Devon www.parkersfarmholidays.co.uk Rivers Nearby: Upper Dart, Dart Loop. Used to do great little cottages and short stay for MCC members although no mention now on their website.

If you don't have dry bags, double wrap your spare gear in well knotted bin liners and put them in a fabric bag before you cram them into the back of your boat. Pack a couple of unused bin liners in the bottom to use after lunch.
(tip courtesy of club member Andy Maxted)

TOP TIPS

COMMITTEE

10

The old boys club

Discusses sewage, commandos, helmets, pick n mix, changing rooms and tinsel
At a recent committee meeting we fell into a vortex and found ourselves battling with a race of alien androids that had taken over the bodies of fellow drinkers in the Marlow Donkey. Hmmm, OK, you saw the movie too did you? The authorities have made the club aware that the sewage problem at Bourne End is ongoing. Yeah, right, like our noses have not already made us aware of the fact! Since the last meeting the club has spent over 1000 more than we have received. Membership is currently 210 with several membership applications in the queue. The club secretary has gone AWOL. A squad of seawolves, commanded by Major Tom Bailey, has been despatched to track her down. In the mean time Ceri Harris has been persuaded by a series of compromising photographs to take on the role. There are plans to upgrade clubhouse security to include the riverside doors. However, whilst Major Tom Bailey is distracted by the intergalactic Penny hunt, this will have to be held in abeyance. The clubhouse door has, however, been painted to protect it from the forthcoming winter weather. We are going to offload a few more of our older boats. We have ordered 15 brand new helmets and 30 new buoyancy aids to replace the pensionable ones we currently use. We acquired two brand new Capella sea kayaks since the last meeting. See review in this newsletter for details. There have been difficulties arranging another sea kayaking trip. This is mainly due to the unavailability of a suitable coach. Inland flat water touring programme has been well attended in 2013. Thanks Andy Maxted, looking forward to 2014! Whitewater summer trips to the Tryweryn have been well attended and the booking spreadsheet for the winter programme is filling up nicely. The head coach will review the modular programme of courses in 2014. It will probably be simplified to achieve a compromise between the existing "pick n mix" system and the more traditional qualificationdriven system. More female paddlers seem to be joining. If this keeps on then it may be necessary to move the partition wall between the changing rooms. There remains a vacancy for the post of youth representative. Christmas dinner has been scheduled for Saturday 21 December. If you want to go then contact the Social secretary (Mel) and cough up a fiver deposit and bring some tinsel along.

COMMITTEE
President
Tim Ward 01494 482959 wards@btinternet.com

11
Chairman
Adrian Cooper 01844 344580 adrianccooper@gmail.com

Secretary

Penny Newton 07765 226790 secretary@marlowcc.org.uk

Treasurer

Kelvin Abbott 01753 654923 kelvin.abbott@btinternet.com

Membership

Rod Edmonds 01753 671389 r.edmonds@etoncollege.org.uk

Coaching

Alex Shiell shiellalex@yahoo.co.uk

Equipment

Tom Bailey blast1102@ymail.com

1* Course Coordinator
Simon Knowles 07786 836012 simonknowles16@googlemail.com Vacant

Women's Representative
Catherine Harris harrc014@rbwm.org

Youth Representative

Social Secretary

Melinda Livett melinda.livett@yahoo.com

Whitewater

James Hughes 01628 485049 jimbige@hotmail.com

Touring

Andy Maxted andymcoaching@gmail.com

Sea

"Salty" Sharron Bartlett sb@thebartletts.eu

Newsletter Editor
Rodney Casbierd 07960 900980 rbcasbierd@yahoo.co.uk

Website Editor

Chris Porteous chrisps@marlowcc.org.uk

Feel free to contact us to discuss a relevant issue or share your views

LOCAL RETAILERS
Marsport, Reading
01189 665912 http://www.marsport.co.uk

Riverside, Oxford

01865 248673 http://www.riversideoxford.co.uk

Paddlesport, Warwick
01926 640573 http://www.paddlesport.co.uk

WWC, Shepperton
01932 247978
http://www.whitewaterthecanoecentre.co.uk

CALENDAR
Saturday 5 October
Pool session 7.00 pm 8.00 pm

12

Sunday 6 October

Whitewater Safety and Rescue Refresher 9.30 am 4.30 pm

CLUB SESSIONS
Every Sunday
Doors open at 9.30 am. On the water for 10 am.

Weekend 1213 October

Intermediate Kayaking Skills 9.30 am 4.30 pm

Saturday 26 October
Rolling Clinic 6.00 pm 8.00 pm

Sunday 27 October
Novice Whitewater Kayaking 9.30 am 4.30 pm

POOL SESSION
Once per month
Saturday 7.00 8.00 pm, see calendar for dates
Chalfont Leisure Centre, Nicol Road, Chalfont St Peter, SL9 9LR. 5 adults, 3 juniors

Monday 4 November

Committee meeting 7.30 pm 9.30 pm, Marlow Donkey PH

Saturday 9 November
Pool session 7.00 pm 8.00 pm

Sunday 10 November Weekend 2324 November

BCU Three Star WW Kayak Assessment 9.30 am 4.30 pm

MEMBERSHIP RATES
Adult 42 Family 65 Junior 23 Senior 23 Storage 19 per boat

BCU Whitewater Safety and Rescue 9.30 am 4.30 pm

Saturday 7 December
Pool session 7.00 pm 8.00 pm

Only joking
Question: How many whitewater polo players does it take to change a lightbulb? Answer : Sixteen. One to hold the bulb and fifteen to drink beer until the room starts spinning.

Saturday 21 December
Club Christmas Dinner 7.30 pm at the Britannia Marlow 3 courses for 17.95

Monday 6 January

Committee meeting 7.30 pm 9.30 pm, Marlow Donkey PH