River Dove Trip – Sunday 20th March 2011

A rather large gathering of kayakers and canoeing enthusiasts took to the Dove River, after a short briefing on a lovely Spring Day. The Rutland contingent of craft comprising of a Red Rocket (Lynette), a Blue Bullet (Mike), three Yellow Perils (Richard, Judy and Trevor) the bright Green Kermit kayak (Pete), Ray and Yvonne followed up with the tree hugging Wenohah Canadian, we all waited with trepidation and anticipation for the forthcoming adventure.

We set off with nervous energy, exchanging banter, for a 12 mile objective, Six miles of Grade 1 (Maybe 2) water, was just enough to provide stimulation to head for the V’s to avoid shallows and steering a course to avoid all the trees.

Avoiding all the trees !!

The scenery as we approached the first weir was post industrial buildings, gun emplacements and remnants of old railways and a beautiful ruined castle (We believe Tutbury) on a prominent hill in the distance. The majority of the group launched themselves off the precipice of the weir (For many it was a first) down the 4ft abyss into the foaming river, Ray and Yvonne opted to portage and Mike supervised us!!!!

Judy shooting weir just ahead of Pete !!

We all sat on the bank shared with many others, to enjoy a light hearted lunch break in brilliant sunshine. The trip continued into more rural surroundings, by this time we were perfecting our white water skills, ferry gliding, tree avoidance and pebble hopping, prepared and ready for the second weir. It was very exhilarating with large standing waves at the base and a good drop to the water below, this time we all enjoyed the experience.

We had completed about 9 miles and Trevor (Obviously tiring) attempted to hitch a ride on the Canadian, Pete performed a shallow capsize drill and amazed us all by the length of time he could hold his breath before surfacing, Lynette by now having fired on full turbo in her red rocket was finding the pace too warm and began shedding her clothes on the bank unabashed by onlookers.

The last weir was encountered with no incident and we all gathered together for the final leg. It was amazing how few people we saw on the whole trip considering the number at the start…we put it down to our speed, efficiency, tight discipline, superior paddling skills and the much improved “Bow Rudder”. Thanks to Mike for organising a great day, do join us next year.!!!!!

 

Raymond and Yvonne

RCC Matters - Winter 2010

The summer turned into autumn and now we are mid-way through winter. Once again the snow and cold has returned with a vengence to Rutland but true to our reputation, none of this has stopped the members of Rutland Canoe Club having fun.

Check out tales of Mull, fireworks, ice and medals in the latest newsletter. And the Limpopo ALLIGATOR!!!

Team Rutland at Soar Valley Barrow Race

Richard, Judi, Trevor, Lynette and Mike enjoyed a windy, swirly exciting race alon g the River Soar on Saturday.  After a warm up paddle along the canal we started the race just below the maelstrom that had formed after the weir and soon had to limbo under a low bridge.

The river looked completely different to the last race a month before with water honking under the bridges and totally obscuring the picturesque reed beds we had to negotiate last time. The strong head wind made it difficult to get into a smooth rhythm whilst the fast current made some of the bends quite interesting!

Main body paddling is great stamina training and gives us a real edge in these races! We all came away with medals in our respective classes and would recommend these sort of events to other club members.

Barrow Loop Race – 11th December 2010

Judi really enjoyed the day and recommends the race to anybody who would like to try racing but has never done it before.

Great venue,a perfect distance of 3km for beginners - a worthwhile distance, but not totally exhausting! A variety of river scenery, bends, reed beds, wide stretches of water, a range of craft - even a coracle (made on a weekend course at the Boathouse Inn), and the friendliness of all involved.

The one minute interval between starters made you feel that you were not trailing behind the others, and then the thrill of actually catching up and overtaking another paddler.

The post race drink at The Boathouse (the finish of the race) when the section winners and  times were announced was a real surprise – with Rutland winning 3 of the categories! (Judi – senior short boats, Lynette – senior wavehoppers, Mike – senior long boats)

As an onlooker and supporter, Richard, (feeling under the weather on the day!) hopes to be on the water for the next race on January 15th.

Medal at Nene Wild-water Race !

Congratulations to Lynette who took the Gold Medal in her class at the Nene Wild-water Race on Sunday.

Entering a club wavehopper on a beautiful October day, Lynette made two racing runs with her cumulative time winning the day. It was a fun day and we’d recommend it to other club members next time around.

The winning run -

Under starter’s orders:

Taking the big drop:

Working through the back straight:

Crossing the finish line:

Medal ceremony:

The wavehopper was reported to handle well and to feel much more stable on moving water and was a delight to paddle – a very fun race and much easier than slalom!!

Rutland Day 2010

Photo : Anglian Water

The club had a display stand at the show today which was really well attended. As well as photos and leaflets about the club and a rather magnificent banner, there were a number of boats available for people to try out...and didn't they just.

A wide variety of people of all ages wriggled into buoyancy aids and had a go on the water - coming off, eyes sparkling, grinning from one side of their faces to the other and full of excitement for paddling.

Trevor, Jools and Richard were in their element and you were more likely to get a bone off a gnawing dog than prise Trevor from the double. Judith, Christine and Martin went more calmly about ensuring that everyone had a good time. Thank you to everyone who helped out and in particular to Martin for making it happen.

RCC Matters - Autumn 2010

What a busy summer we've had - club trips, individual trips, barbecues and camping, raft races and trying out different boats. Much of what we got up to is revealed in this newsletter. . . .