2011 01 newsletter

Newsletter

Frome Canoe Club

Volume 35 Issue 1 ~ January 2011

Happy New Year

See P10 for more about the new fleet, and how to get involved.

See P6 for report and a cunning plan!

Frome Canoe Club is affiliated to the British Canoe Union and is a Registered Charity (Number 1104728) 1

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THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE President Graham Warnecke Vice Presidents Richard and Jane Arney Jim and Catharine Croft Chairman Andy Bell Vice Chairman Rich Carter Treasurer John Kent Secretary Pam Dixon 16 Blagdon Walk, Frome, BA11 2YH

CONTENTS Committee details/Contents Calendar in brief Calendar in detail - River Exe Calendar in detail - Upper Calendar in detail - Surfing Calendar in detail - River Barle Calendar in detail - River Usk Pool sessions Monthly sessions Social AGM Slalom Committee stuff - boat store AGM Agenda About the AGM A problem to solve Bits and Pieces Cartoon Corner

Page 2 3 4 4 5 5 6 7 8 9 9 10/11 12 13 14/15 16/17 18/19 20

Committee Members Howard Charlesworth Alun Jones Gareth McGiveron Julie Middleton Alex Nicol Martin Spurling Sara Withall

COPY DATE FOR THE NEXT ISSUE

27th January Please send items for next Newsletter by email to pam@dixon.org.uk 2

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Calendar 2011 Date

Event

Standard

Contact

7

NO POOL SESSION

All

Pam D

14

Pool sessions START again

All

Pam D

16

River Exe

1 Star +

Rich

16

Upper Dart

3 Star ++

22

Club Social

All

Pam D

26

DVD Wednesday

All

Pam D

30

Sunday Morning Paddle

All

Rich C

30

Surfing trip

Bomb-proof roll is essential

Tim C

9

Annual General Meeting

All

Pam D

13

River Barle

2 Star +

Rich C

23

DVD Wednesday

All

Pam D

27

Sunday Morning Paddle

All

Rich C

27

River Usk

2 Star +

John K

13

River Frome

1 Star

Alun J

27

COME and TRY IT - Slalom Sunday Morning Paddle

All

John K Rich C

30

DVD Wednesday

All

Pam D

January

February

March

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Calendar in detail - river trips River Exe Sunday 16th January

Upper Dart Sunday 16th January

Meet at the Clubhouse, 8am Cost £10 Organiser - Rich Carter

Meet at the Clubhouse, 8.am Cost £13 Sharks !…….About the only hazard you won’t find on the Upper Dart …………

The river Exe is the one we paddled at the Tiverton weekend.

Generally a Grade 2 but the weirs make it more interesting. Bolham is the first and when water levels are right, it makes a good play spot. Then Salmon Ponds weir with hole below and onto the Town Weir where, if you are not careful the wall grabs you! Not far till the next town weir good for surfing and then on for two or three miles to Broken Weir and finally Bickleigh Weir.

If however, you fancy getting to grips with the Mad Mile, Euthanasia Falls, Pandora’s Box, Surprise Surprise, not to mention various steep rapids and ‘flumes’, multiple drops and boulder gardens, then the Upper Dart could be for you.

A beautiful river with its stunning wild life, but it can be freezing in January so bring plenty of food, thermals and warm drinks.

You need to have checked with Rich or Arthur before going on this trip it’s a river not to be taken lightly.

Classed as continuous Grade 3 to 5 depending on what guide book you are reading, it does depend on the recent rainfall, of course.

For those of you who do grade 4s in your sleep, there is an alternate paddle today: the Upper Dart.

Manoeuvre of the Month Jack in our new surf kayak.

Well Jack, you can’t get any more Coppernose clip points paddling here!

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Calendar in detail - trips Surfing Sunday 30th January

The River Barle 13th February

Meet at the Clubhouse, 8.am Cost £13 Organiser - Howard

Meet at the Clubhouse, 8am Cost £13 Organiser - Rich Carter

Surfing in January - when the waves are the best! Well that’s the rumour that Howard is putting around.

A beautiful river on Exmoor. We get in at the famous Tarr Steps and paddle the 7 miles to Dulverton, downhill all the way!

This trip is not for the feint hearted or beginners. As Tim puts it “A bullet proof roll is essential.” People need to be able to look after themselves, so it’s not a trip for beginners.

Likened to an alpine river with its clear water and gorge section, it has rapids and play spots all the way down.

The weir near the end catches out the unsuspecting, but with good guidance from the leaders it is easy really!

The exact location will be decided on the day but we normally head to North Devon and the sandy beeches of Croyde or Saunton.

A lovely paddle to be sure, but you will need to bring plenty of warm clothing and a good lunch. It is often cold when we do this river!

If, however, the surf report is not good for today, you can always regroup and join the Sunday morning paddle, which is tame in comparison, but at least you get to paddle....

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Calendar in detail - river trips A cunning plan?

River Usk 27th February

Frozen winds from the arctic, shedloads of snow and sub -zero day time temperatures have taken their toll on our last two river trips Both the Tavy and the Dart trips were cancelled.

Meet at the Clubhouse, 8am Cost £13 Organiser - John Kent The River Usk is in South Wales. The stretch we will most likely paddle this time is from Talybont to Gliffaes.

From Talybont after a flat start we encounter two grade 3 rapids at Mill Fall and Spuhler's Folley, although in normal water conditions there are clear routes down the left side of the river. In between are rapids above and below Llanginidr Bridge.

To be fair the Tavy was cancelled because of lack of water. We got this intelligence just before our scheduled trip, from Tim and Hazel who had escaped with little Megan for a few days on Dartmoor “There is no water in the river’ they said. ’It will be a bump and scrape!’

If the river is high we can do the stretch from Sennybridge to Aberbran which we did in low water back in October, although as always, in high water you have to be more alert. The rapids are straight forward and are a reasonably continuous grade 2. The hardest sections are encountered early in the trip: with three successive rock ledges, the last being the highest but can be oortaged.

But it was the snow and ice that stopped the Dart trip.

We do have a cunning plan though, for re-instating the Dart trip, with it’s three levels of ability.

On 16th January we already have an Upper trip in the calendar and on that day we also have an Exe trip. Well the plan is to change the Exe to the Dart and this way we can do the Lower, Loop and the Upper. Who’s game? So the all important question is:

Both stretches are around 6 miles in length. Remember to wear warm clothes and to bring food and drink.

Ed: for those of you wanting a more gentle paddle, there is a Sunday morning session at the clubhouse today!

WILL THE EXE BECOME THE DART on the 16th January?

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Calendar in detail - weekly sessions Pool Sessions - restart after the break on Friday 14th January 8-9pm Frome Sports Centre £2.50 youth £3 adults Turn up at 7.45 to the foyer of Frome Sports Centre to choose your paddling slot.

There will be three sessions and you choose which session you would like to paddle in: 8 - 8.20pm 8.20 - 8.40pm 8.40 - 9pm

Orange bands Blue bands Green bands

If you bring your kayak, make sure it is clean and slug free!

Remember: the instructor (in a green t shirt) is there for advice about how to improve your paddling skills. Just go up to him and say you are new/don’t know how to do a capsize (or anything) and he will help you. Or tell the supervisor (yellow t-shirt) that you want some help and he will arrange it with the instructor for you.

Remember - POOL SESSIONS ARE FOR KAYAKING So the repeated and deliberate sinking of boats is not encouraged.

Apart from anything else, it puts people’s backs at risk when they empty the boats. Flooded boats are very heavy.

Please use the sessions for kayaking and be prepared to finish your session early if your boat is flooded, to give you time to empty it.

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Calendar in detail - monthly sessions Monthly DVDs On Wednesdays 26th January is the next one

Monthly Morning Paddle On Sundays 30th January is the next one

At the Clubhouse 7pm.

At the Clubhouse, 10am-noon Cost £2

Once a month, on the last Wednesday, we will meet at the Clubhouse for a DVD night.

Once a month, on the last Sunday, we meet at the clubhouse for a morning paddle.

You can blast through the poles or take it easy! We don’t mind. Everyone is welcome.

Last session - Boxing day saw three open boats get on and no kayaks.

Why? I hear you ask. Well take a look at the back page!

In January we will watch the newly released, Means Of Production 2. We saw the first one last year and liked it so much we sent for the second one.

A Date For Your Diary 27th March

It recounts the adventures of a group of paddlers in their exploration of the familiar creeks of Norway and Corsica, and the lesser known white water of Iceland and Thailand.

Come and Try It - Slalom March’s Sunday session will be an opportunity for you to try out the new slalom boats that we have acquired.

With its healthy dose of Brit irony, it invites you to sit back with a cup of tea, to a long awaited, low budget, cataclysm of kayaking and comedy!

Help will be on tap so that you can get in the boat that best fits you and all your slalom questions can be answered too!

Tea, coffee etc available from 7pm.

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Calendar in detail - Two annual events The Annual Social and Prize giving 22nd January 2011, 7.00pm till 10.30pm Trinity Hall, Frome (BA11 3DE) £5 adults, £3 youth members This event is strictly social and informal. We invite members and their families to join in our evening of fun and entertainment.

There is no paddling involved unless you count all the dvds we watch!

A complimentary drink on arrival and then the buffet is served at 7.30pm.

Later in the evening we have the prize giving ceremony where we give out our annual awards in recognition of the significant achievements our members have made during 2010 .

If you haven’t already let Pam know, please email her to say that you would like to come.

Annual General Meeting - 9th February YOUR CHANCE TO HAVE YOUR SAY! CHECK IT OUT: what has the committee been doing for YOU! Talk to us about your aspirations for the club!

The AGM is your chance hear what the committee has been doing for you in 2010. It is also your chance to have your say Tell us about the good and the bad. And of course, the new committee gets elected, so if you want to have some say in who is going to steer the club forward, then do come along.

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Reports - Slalom things The arrival was only the beginning. Then the fun and games started!

Just how many men does it take to change a .. sorry! fit a footrest?....

Testing, testing ...

Just a bit tight I’d say.

Testing, testing ... Yes! Perfect.

What about this?

Killer kayak eats children?

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Reports - Slalom things want to be at your first slalom feeling exhausted at gate 7 do you?” And Andrew knows that feeling all too well, by all accounts!

“Where have you all been?” asks slalom club coach Andrew Lyall.

Andrew trains every Sunday morning at Market Yard. He knows how easy it is to let fitness levels drop over the winter. “You need to keep at it” he says, and so every Sunday morning, come rain or snow, he is out there on the River Frome training.

Ed: Gate 7? Feeling exhausted?

You’d be lucky! Some of us only get to Gate 4 before the muscles are screaming, the lungs are coming out and the brain says ‘What AM I doing here?’

Says Andrew “It’s only 9 weeks till the new slalom season starts. This is the time that you need to be on the water and getting fit. After all you don’t

If you would like to train on a Sunday morning with Andrew, phone 01373 302472 to let him know and to make arrangements.

If you’re not quite up to training in sub zero temperatures, but do want to get involved in slalom, there are other things you can do.

COME and TRY IT Session it shave off those extra seconds and give you a winning performance....?

27th March. Come and try out slalom at a session on 27th March.

And of course feel free to have a go in one of the new boats!

Training Regular weekly training starts in April when our Wednesday sessions start. More about that in next newsletter.

Beginners - this is good chance for you to have a go! You can paddle in your favourite boat and just have a go at paddling round the course. There will be plenty of people there to help you, and show you what it’s all about.

Sunday Sessions Remember: on the last Sunday of every month we have a club session. Everyone is welcome. Come and get some extra slalom practice before the Wednesday club sessions start.

Old hands - Why not get in one of the new boats and see the difference a ‘modern’ boat makes! Will 11

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Committee news

Small container gets moved to the left a bit.

Passageway here, gets blocked in.

New large container here.

Plans get approval!

MDC approved the plans drawn up by Andy Bell to double our current storage space.

Andy’s ingenious plan is to move the existing container towards the river, then put a second, larger container between this existing one and the building. In doing so, he will create a passageway between the containers and the building.

Both containers will be clad and roofed, and the roof and cladding will continue over the ‘passageway’ making another safe space for storage. By the time it is finished you will not know that it is just basically two metal containers and a passageway, until you open the doors!

Andy who has masterminded the whole thing, drawing up the plans and submitting the planning application said “The start date for the project has not been determined yet, but we are keen to get going as soon as possible.”

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The AGM - agenda

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, 2011 Wednesday 9h February 2011, 7.30pm At the Clubhouse, Market Yard, Frome, Refreshments from 7pm

AGENDA 1.

Apologies

2.

Minutes of the 2010 AGM

3.

Matters arising from the minutes

4.

Reports relating to the year 2010:   

Chairman’s report Treasurer’s report Secretary’s report

5.

President and Vice Presidents remain unchanged

6.

Election of 2011 club officials:    

Chairman Vice-chairman Secretary Treasurer

7.

Election of 2011 committee

8.

Ratification of Head coach

9.

Any other business

Minutes for last year’s meeting can be downloaded from the web site.

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The Annual General Meeting If you feel that you have something to offer the club and would like to share in forging the direction we go, consider standing for the committee. These pages give you an idea of what’s in store!

The committee consists of 12 people: Chairman, Vice Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary and 8 other members To give you a flavour of what committee members do - here are a few ‘job descriptions’. (Current post-holders are in brackets) Chairman (Andy Bell) Provides leadership to the club, giving a steer and direction.

He or she chairs the meetings and has general oversight of the whole club, making sure that the organisation works effectively and that that we comply with BCU requirements.

Vice Chairman (Rich Carter) Works with the Chairman to give steer and direction.

A complementary relationship between the vice chairman and chairman is important.

Treasurer (John Kent) Keeps the accounts and balances the books, reining in overspend and generally advising the committee to be prudent!

Secretary (Pam Dixon) Does all the general admin – minutes and agendas, letters, courses, club sessions and so on.

The committee meets once a month and in the first meeting, various jobs get dished out: Youth (Alex Nicol and Julie Middleton)  Speaks up for Youth members.  Represents their views when we are planning courses, calendar, well everything really!

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The Annual General Meeting continued Kit Officer (Hazel and Tim Cottle until Megan came along!)  Keeps the inventory and has oversight of the kit from a safety point of view.  Checks we have the right things at critical times of the year  Orders new kit, seeking the very best discounts.

Market Yard Site (Rich Carter)  Keeps a watchful eye on the buildings.  Brings to the attention of the committee any major tasks that need doing.

Langham Farm Site (Andy Bell)  Keeps a watchful eye on the site and liaises with Rich and Jane Arney.  Brings to the attention of the committee any major tasks that need doing.

Volunteer Coordinator (Julie Middleton)  Liaises with members and keeps tabs on all us volunteers.  Welcomes newcomers to the club and checks they have all the information they need.

Would you like to get involved? If yes, the next thing to do is . .

 Speak to anyone on the committee between now and the AGM.  Ask for more details about what it involves.  Let us know that you are interested in becoming involved Whether you want to get involved or not, please take some time to think about who you would like to be on this year’s committee and come to the meeting to vote for the people who you think will look after the club.

The nomination form included with this Newsletter can also be found on the website.

We need either paper or electronic nominations for Chairman, Vice Chair, Treasurer and Secretary back to Pam by 26th January.

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A problem to solve It’s a dark and dismal day in the Roy gorge and our illustrious Head Coach and leader has a problem. His normal elite paddling team has been on a bender the night before, Danny (Lager), Sam (Guinness), Jack (Alcopops) and Alex (Pepsi), and are all too hung-over to move.

In sheer desperation Rich calls on his reserve team for the trip, Neil (enthusiastic but habitual lunch stopper), Arthur (over ambitious understudy trying to recapture his lost hair youth), Tim (alleged paddler but never seen on moving water out of a jacuzzi ) and Andy V (old school paddler with serious inversion problems).

Things are going quite well (albeit rather slowly with far too many lunch stops) when a storm breaks and the team has an epic with paddles, people and boats scattering all over the place. Rich leaps into hero mode and manages to drag everybody out of the water and salvage one open boat and two paddles.

Unfortunately they are on the wrong side of the river to climb out of the gorge and the dam at the top is due to release very soon. This will fill the gorge with a wild torrent that will sweep them all into the shark infested waters of the Atlantic Ocean and then perhaps north to the Arctic Sea. So they need to get out of the gorge as soon as possible.

Rich has 2 problems, the first is that he is the only person able to command such a vessel but is too tired after his rescue exertions to actually paddle, the second is the boat is only able to take 3 passen16

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Problem solving gers (one of whom must be Rich in command). Though the boat can be paddled fairly easily by any one or two of the team with their quickest crossing times as follows: Neil Arthur Tim Andy V

1 minute (plus lunch break) 2 minutes (including 1½ minutes to get ready) 5 minutes (if he can remember how) 10 minutes (normally including 3 capsizes)

When two guys are paddling together they can only go as fast as the slower paddler (and I use this term loosely). Eg if Neil and Andy are together the crossing takes 10 (wet) minutes.

Rich’s plan is as follows:Andy V and Tim go first, taking 10 minutes Tim returns with the boat taking 5 minutes (total 15 mins) Next Neil and Arthur go across taking 2 minutes (total 17 mins) And Arthur returns with the boat taking 2 minutes (total 19 mins) Finally Arthur and Tim cross over in 5 minutes, (Final total 24 mins) But with the dam about to release at any time 24 minutes is far too long. Is Richard and the ‘B team’ condemned to a dunk in the freezing, shark infested waters of the Arctic Sea never to be seen again?

Only you can help!

Re worked from an early Newsletter - thanks Pip!

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Bits and Pieces Boxing Day Frolics FCC goes skating! Or was it ice breaking? Six intrepid paddlers get on the water to break the ice. And the rest of us watched.

Sam had the obligatory throw line - just in case.

It wasn’t needed. And then they went for a paddle. Or rather a crash, bang, wallop as far as the first slalom pole!

See back page for proof that Stu, Mandy, Howard, Debbie, Karl and Miles need their heads examined!

Hey Rich, we didn’t need to wreck Gareth’s ignition did we? George has a spare key for these eventualities!

COPPER NOSE CLIP POINTS: NEW LIST STARTS JAN 1st 20111 1 point for a capsize and roll up 2 points for a technical rescue (ie you would have swum without help) 3 points for a SWIM HOW DOES IT WORK? Well, we add up everyone’s points over the whole year. At the end of the year, the person with the most points is awarded that very prestigious Copper Nose Clip. January 1st sees the beginning of the list for 2011.

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Bits and Pieces HOW MANY DIFFERENCES CAN YOU SPOT? To enter: name the differences and send to pam@dixon.org.uk First correct answer pulled out of the hat on the DVD night In January wins a box of chocs!

T Shirts Have you designed a t-shirt for the Club yet?

By Pip Thank you Rich, for collecting the new slalom fleet!

Rich drove all the way to north Wales to pick the boats up in a 9 hour round trip. He was expecting it to be longer but you know Rich - once he gets going nothing stops him! 60 mph trailer speed limits. What are they?

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Remember  Draw by hand or by computer  Designs can be any size  Draw them an any piece of paper  In black and white at this stage  Then use the templates (from the website) to show position on the t-shirt  You must have ‘Frome Canoe Club’ somewhere in your design.

Closing date is January 22nd (the Social) Give entries to Pam at any club session or email them.

CONTACTS Chairman: Andy Bell 07966 203309 Vice Chair: Rich Carter 01373 864623 r.carter305@btinternet.com

CARTOON CORNER

’Scuse me, Sir! Do you have permission for that kayak?

Treasurer: John Kent 01225 765168 jfkent@blueyonder.co.uk Secretary: Pam Dixon 01373 473836 pam@dixon.org.uk Youth Reps: Julie Middleton 07793 251341 Alex Nicol alexjamesnicol@google mail.com

www.frome-canoeclub.org.uk

“I made this kayak for the FCC cardboard challenge. I tell you - this kayak came first in the ‘Best Design’ category.

Of course I’m allowed to cross the channel in it ......”

Who are these crazy people? See p 18 for details.

Check out the photos of club events or put a comment on the message board!

Get all your canoeing things from the Family Adventure Store at Hilperton. BA14 7PJ

Canoeing and kayaking are “Assumed risk” – “Water contact sports” that may carry attendant risks. Participants should be aware of and accept these risks, and be responsible for their own action and involvement.

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