Another lovely day on the Thames

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Super sunny warm day, no wind, gentle tide and a great group! We explored our beautiful river reaching the City Barge for a coffee in the sun with a riverside view! Then drifted home with the last of the ebbing tide. We looked at how we can make our forward paddle stroke more efficient – what a difference having good connection with the boat through our feet and using our legs together with upper body … Read more

Old Harry Rocks

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22nd of May 2021

South coast trip 2021, #01

    Finally!

    We got ourselves a weather window (still sort of gray and rainy but we had a much more agreeable sea state), a fantastically flexible, pro-active and helpful team (thank you so much).
    So – off we went.
    It is a long drive for a few hours of Neptune worship but we had a blast. 

    • Fantastically helpful team:
      (Of course Frank knew all along the kayaks would fit… I wasn’t sure…)

    I was so happy to be back. The sea. Big ocean skies. Waves and wind. Salt. And of course an ace team:
    F., Frank, Eliza, Carlos (Yay!)

    • Old Harry – splashed

    A short-ish trip to Swanage. A cave. A hole in the wall.

    • Reversing into cave
    • Cavewoman
    • Eliza
    • Hole in the wall

    Rescue training in cold but clean water. Funny… ‘ Once we went into the water – we sort of just carried on doing loads of rescues… started getting really good at them too.

    • Carlos rescuing Eliza

    Some fears were set to rest, confidence was built upon and there seems to be a hunger/thirst (salt water?) for more…

    What a day!

    • The sun came out after our rescue training
    • shortish trip: 14.6 km = 7.8 nautical miles

    Night Paddles

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    (Paddle & pint) 18th, 19th & 20th of May 2021 with Judy, Rebecca, Glen, James, Dee & Siobhan Super enthusiastic & strong participants: Distance records, first time night paddlers, first time paddling in strong winds… Nautical manoeuvres in the dark. Of course the real experience starts after sundown when darkness sets in and the birds settle down. After leaving the pub and embarking on the journey back to the pier the river is completely empty … Read more

    Boat maintenance and repairs

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    We recently had a boat maintenance and repairs day, along with a much needed clear out of the garage. Huge thanks to Julius for organising this, and to Julius, Dean, Kiki, Liz, Elaine, Sarah and Michelle for all their hard work returning the fleet to tip top condition! The lost property and spare clothing boxes were overflowing and an email will soon be going out to members with photos of items for you to claim.

    2021 05 16 A lovely gentle paddle from drizzle to sunshine!

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    A typical Sunday gentle paddle upstream! Despite threatening skies, some drizzle and a breeze in our faces, our happy trio enjoyed a relaxed morning heading upriver against the ebbing tide. Why are goslings SO cute! On reaching Kew Railway Bridge, the Bulls Head pub looked shut but wonderfully The City Barge was open! So we all enjoyed a super warming coffee sitting with a river view. Thanks Liz! … and fantastically the grey clouds were … Read more

    Five Tasters & Two Coaches teaching on two Consecutive Sunny Sundays

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    Students : Jan, Philip, Niamh, Steve & Svetlana Coaches: Coaches Elaine and Steve Weather: Sunny on both days. Tide: low tide on first session, high tide on second section. Day 1 is basic kit up day. Check everyone has sufficient clothes for the session. Ask about their paddling experiences and share Coach Elaine’s and Coach Steve’s. Choose buoyancy aids and check they are tight enough not to fall through them should they swim. Down to the pontoon on route a … Read more

    PADDLE TO HAMPTON COURT PALACE

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    HAMPTON COURT PALACE (Molesey lock) paddle (in Sea Kayak) with tide from Chiswick pier and back 9.25am – 18.05pm. 28.5 miles round trip. Might be useful to use a gps: https://gb.mapometer.com/canoeing Headed off on a minor tide, which was partially due to the sluice gates being down. The water flattened off within 15 min and really was not much of a help for the rest of the day which made it a challenging extra long … Read more

    THAMES FLOODING – PADDLE TO TASTE NAKED LADIES BEER 29/4/21

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    CLUB PADDLE TO TASTE NAKED LADIES BEER. Sea Kayak Paddle with tide from Chiswick to Twickenham and back. I have included some snaps from previous paddles which I never got around to posting. So a couple of stories intermingled. Sea Kayak Paddle 14.45- 19.00pm. Headed off on a powerful tide to Twick. Smooth paddle low wind. Not just the pigeons are exploiting CPCC’s sumptuous riverside pontoon. No stops lots of Canadian Geese nesting on moored … Read more

    Sea Kayak taster session…

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    Sunday 25/04/2021 Super relaxed session with a perfect mix of comfort zone defying explorers. Strong winds, sun & team. With Neil, Rhiannon – with Tom, David & Seb. Loads of smiles and happiness. Sunday afternoon Thames perfection.

    Paddling through the Night

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    20/04/2021 & 21/04/2021
    with Elaine, Safi, Harriet, Leigh, James, Frank, Eliza & Federico.
    Chiswick Pier to Richmond and back. Enjoying each other’s company,
    the river (which was all ours), our kayaks, the silence, the sounds, moonlight and stars.

    Federico, Elaine & Harriet – styling it…

    Swans without lights… (clearly amateurs) and Kew Bridge.



    Eliza & Safi – colour coordinated

    Life is worth living again… First pint by the river (for some of us), Lovely staff… A fairly steep ramp to get out of…


    We are still a little limited in terms of pubs and toilet breaks – but we got ‘lucky’ on the second evening due to indepth research of our scouting division.

    Back home.
    Brilliant fun! Big ‘thank you’ to everyone. Hopefully soon again.

    Additional pictures by Frank.