June 2007 Portsmouth And District Canoe Club

Trip List, June July August    Next Item      Back to Top 
Eastney
Eastney - Sally Port
Hamble - Warsash
Lee on Solent - Ryde
Lepe - Newport (IoW)
Poole Weekend
Portchester
Putney - Greenwich
Round Portsea & Hayling Island
Rescue Training
Sally Port
Sally Port - Ryde Pier
Sandy Point
Sandy Point - Selsey Bill
Southsea
Stokes Bay - Bembridge

CHAIRMAN'S REPORT    Next Item      Back to Top
I’m more than happy to report that our many activities seem to be well attended by club members. Although I have not been on as many trips as I would like, I have been able to attend both Monday and Wednesday nights. It has been good to see how many folks have turned up, and that the skill level of many is improving. This is creating a desire to improve further. We did spend some time in the committee discussing skill levels in light of the latest BCU information, which seems to change at each coaching meeting they hold. Because nothing is settled yet, and the indications are that level 5 may be the BCU recognised status to lead a group, we came to the conclusion to be committed to promoting club members skills and safety awareness. This is particularly important when there are people in our sport who like to promote Sea Kayak Races in our area without any apparent regard to local knowledge or authorities. It was a great relief to hear that the race was cancelled due to the extreme poor weather, and for the sake of safety.

As part of this commitment of the Committee, we have determined to make the New Avocet fully "sea ready" with a new compass, and towing cleat and ring. There will be no rope, but we hope that anyone who wishes to use the boat for training up to 4 or 5 star will have the requisite items in their kit. the boat will remain basic enough for anyone to enjoy a paddle out at whatever level they are. If you wish to hire the boat, or for that matter any of the ones kept at the pool, do contact any of the Committee who live down this way about picking them up.

The First Aid course arranged with the Red Cross was fully attended, and much appreciated by those who could go, as many methods have changed since folks last did the course. It was proposed that the club arrange these courses every couple of years so members can keep their certificates in date.

On a personal note, a thank you to all those who replied to my question on the Club Forum about paddling in the tidal area of the River Fal. May I encourage folks who can to use this resource to help plan any personal trips you may wish to make during the summer/holiday months, I’ve received both tidal and route information that will be invaluable as I had no knowledge of the area. It is also worth looking at the pictures that get posted on the forum, as some are worthy of captions.

If you are coming down to the Portsmouth area, make a note of the dates later in the Newsletter when there are other major events taking place here, i.e. The Great South Run etc. This leads me on to the future Trip List, of which there are a few trips still waiting for leaders, if you are a club leader, or more particularly an aspiring one, please contact John B to put your name against a trip. We do want the aspiring trip leaders to gain experience so that we may have the widest pool available, which by the way means that those of us who, to coin a phrase "like to paddle our own canoe". We must respect the leader even if we’ve done the trip loads of times before. Leaders take responsibility for your safety, and as such need to gain experience in controlling a group, which can be confidence destroying if we are all going different ways. We are all responsible for the reputation of the Club.

May you all have a very enjoyable couple of months on the sea and in the sun, and if you have wind and waves, may they always be behind you. Have fun and be safe.

Russell Paling

Club Equipment    Next Item      Back to Top
Over the years the club has gradually gained a few kayaks. Sometimes these have been bequests whilst on other occasions they have been purchased. In the past these have been lent out on a "first ask first get" basis. Thanks to Sport England the club has recently been able to obtain a number of new kayaks for the Pool at Eastney. They are much closer to the style of kayak used normally and reduce the need to bring kayaks in from outside. The original kayaks were purchased in 1987 so have not done too bad.

In addition to these a yellow rotary moulded Avocet sea-kayak has been purchased. This is available for club members that wish to use it. It is a similar specification that most regular club-members may choose. It has hatches as well as a skeg and is good for sea-trips run by the club. The long-term objective is for it and other club equipment to be stored somewhere rather than in members’ gardens or garages. To cover this cost and wear and tear to the kayaks a small fee is being introduced.

Other kayaks Day use £5 Evening £2

Dates to avoid Portsmouth Traffic    Next Item      Back to Top

It would appear that there are a number of events taking place in Portsmouth that may make traffic difficult. So check your diary if you plan to be in the area on the following dates. You may even wish to take part!!

Customer Service!    Next Item      Back to Top
By Alison M
I have owned a Palm neoprene spraydeck for well over ten years. Not used as much as I would like but still not that new. This started to get a hole near the stitching on one side. I checked places like Andark (based near the Hamble who specialise in diving products and make wetsuits) who would not repair stitching and finally went back to Palm. I was pleasantly surprised to find them very helpful. They were quite happy to look at the deck and let me have an estimate of the cost before proceeding with any repairs.

I duly sent the deck to them. It was returned within a working week with the hole repaired and a weak point in another place also re-stitched.

The cost of this - nothing.

I had expected there to be some sort of cost if for no other reason than the age of the spraydeck. If any of you have any equipment made by Palm that needs a repair then it is definitely worth contacting them. The gentleman who dealt with my query and with whom I exchanged e-mails is John Dilley. His e-mail address is john.dilley@palmequipmenteurope.com if you ever need to contact Palm."

Thanks - I thought the least I could do was publicise the way that Palm dealt with my query and the repair.

Keyhaven to Yarmouth 29^th April 2007    Next Item      Back to Top
By Chris L
Simon A (Trip Leader), Dave W, Kirsty G, Julie H, Chris L.

A warm, generally sunny day with a light southerly breeze greeted us as we arrived at Keyhaven. The busy harbour area obliged us to manhandle the boats from the parking area to the water, a sweaty carry of a few hundred yards. The value of a kayak trolley, demonstrated by Dave, became apparent he zoomed past, grinning smugly as the rest of us toiled man– and woman- fully toward the small beach! (Actually he let me use it too, but I’d hate to spoil a good story)!

The trip commenced from Keyhaven at one hour before high water Portsmouth, allowing us to use the near-slack state of the tide to cross to Yarmouth. A thirty-five minute paddle saw us near to the jetty to the east of Sconce Point, passing the cardinal buoy clanging dolefully in the slight sea. After a quick consultation with the rest of the paddlers, Simon decided to extend the trip by paddling up the River Yar towards Freshwater.

After lunch we retraced our steps to Yarmouth and out into the Solent. By this time the tide had started to ebb quite quickly so we struck a more eastward course to compensate. The sea was quite lively over the shoals near Yarmouth harbour entrance and once past these, the wind and tide allowed a bit of a surf towards Keyhaven.

Any thoughts of some practice rolling were soon dismissed by the scummy surface of the water near Keyhaven. Dave produced his trolley again and zoomed off toward the car park, bringing this very pleasant trip to an end. Many thanks to Simon for organising the trip.

North Devon Weekend 6^th – 9^th April 2007    Next Item      Back to Top
By John B
Some weekends work out as planned and some require fine tuning. By the time that Tymele and I had fought the Easter Bank Holiday traffic Axel E & Tony S were already camped up. A quick check with the bar found we had just 45 minutes left so the "quick" tent was put up and the local brew checked out. It is vital to support local facilities when living away!

The Friday started with the realisation that I had left the large tent poles safe at home - OOPs! It would mean we would have to move some of the gear about a bit but such is life. Once sorted we were able to pile into my car to get to the start at Minehead and meet Gideon R and Claire T. They were two members that I had yet to meet but were well known by Tony. On arriving we found plenty of other paddlers looking to start, were we late? It seemed they were locals planning to do part of the journey so maybe I had got the tides right?

The plan was to follow the coast from Minehead down to Lynmouth, just over 14 miles away. The coast along here is very green and the shoreline does not have many simple landing spots for a comfortable lunch. With good conditions we were soon at Porlock landing on large rounded rocks. As the tide went further out we could see the shoreline change to small rock pools and it meant the launch involved a lot of lugging kayaks over wet rocks. Having got Claire on the water first she was able to shepherd our kayaks as the tide quickly went further out to sea! It was a little like St. Malo – but rockier and with less sand.

The fine weather continued and with the tidal assistance we were soon arriving at Lynmouth. Here we found more rocks but Tymele had brought the car up and phoned us to indicate a shingle base to the river that made landing easy. It still involved a longish carry but eventually we were loaded for the return run. That evening we were joined by Steve E and Mark B.

The Saturday was planned to end at the campsite itself so we just needed to get two very loaded cars to the start. Both Axel’s and my car were soon loaded up with gear and people to meet Andrew W at Lynmouth. With the sun shining and the tide fully in it looked very different to the previous day.

The wind was slightly in our face but with plenty of rocks to explore we were soon investigating every nook and cranny. Thanks to the fact that sea-kayaks don’t turn so quickly we were all getting a good work out for the day. With lunch at Heddon’s Mouth we could relax in the sun before continuing to Watermouth Cove and journey’s end – or so I thought.

Whilst the others were getting changed and using the showers Andrew had decided that I needed to get fit (can’t really disagree) and as the tide would soon be in our favour we should paddle back to Lynmouth. It had taken most of the day to complete the ten miles but with the tide, wind and no rock hopping we headed off. Our pace was a lot quicker than many trips and we were back at the start in under 2 hours. Had we not arrived at the river entrance at low tide again we would have beaten the shuttle party collecting Axels car! As it was they were just leaving as we walked into the car park having lugged the boats up "again"!!

With the good weather holding the Sunday was starting and finishing at the campsite. By following the coast past Ilfracombe we would make for Barricane Beach 8 miles along, just before the big surf beaches on the western coastline. Steve was not feeling too well and decided he would have to head home. The launch was just after high water and it was a little trickier than expected with Andrew getting caught out by a rogue wave and some underlying rocks. This shoreline was much rockier but most were happy to view it just a bit offshore rather than hugging the waterline. As we arrived at the beach for lunch we could see large surf waves coming in!

Fortunately this was the wrong beach. Claire had been here before in her youth and knew the area well. Barricane was just around the next set of rocks. As hoped for we had a simple landing and were soon enjoying lunch on the finely ground shingle. It is not unusual for us to remain fully dressed in full kayaking kit whilst youngsters play in the sea etc. Today was no exception. With just one ignorant dog owner who let his dog water Gideon’s kayak it was a nice place to have lunch. Axel disappeared at one point and was seen at the ice-cream stall – sadly he did not bring back enough for us all. Again the water slowly ebbed away and we needed to get back on the water. Strangely, Gideon was not crushed in the rush to assist him with his kayak for the paddle back to complete the day.

The last day was the most nerve wracking for me, plus I suspect I was not the only one! The plan was to start at Barnstaple and follow the River Taw to the entrance then along the coast to land at Saunton Sands. Saunton is a popular surf location but with little wind recently it was expected to be reasonably simple to land. The entrance of the River Taw was another story! We had found it a lot bouncier than expected a few years ago whilst coming the opposite way so this time we would use the river to push us out more easily. Well that was the plan anyway….

Arriving at Barnstaple we found lots of surf-racing kayaks using the tide to head inland with the incoming tide. The tide was still coming in at a good pace so we headed up river slightly to explore. The other paddlers were busy racing so we hugged the riverbank as they went by. After about a mile we reached the top of the tide and headed down river. The channel is not marked as the sands cause so many changes but we threaded our way with ease. The entrance to the river was a sensible place to pause for lunch. Arriving at the first point we could see a picnic table so made plans to land there. We found the sand a lot softer than it looked which made the exit trickier than expected!

During the lunch break Axel and I scouted through the dunes to check on the main entrance. Waves to the left and waves to right but in the middle green water, exactly as planned – phew! Even so once we were back on the water we stayed in close communication as the waves grew larger on our way out to sea. Once past the white stuff we headed north for the finish point. From the sea the waves looked much bigger but as each person landed successfully my tension eased. It was then a "simple" walk of ½ mile with the kayaks across the sand to the car park.

A cream tea in the sunshine and it was time to go home having had four days of good paddling in excellent conditions. Thanks for coming folks and next time I will remember the large tent poles!

Learning for Real    Next Item      Back to Top
By Peter & Liz B
The first session 'Incident Management' at the Anglesey Symposium gave us plenty of practice at rescues near the rocks and waves breaking up over the rocks seem much more benign after practice in the impact zone. However, a real life paddle that went wrong was much more instructive. This was our 'Introduction to tide races for intermediate paddlers'. Weather SW 4-5 decreasing 3-4 but it had been SW 6 most of the night before. Our party of 12 plus 2 instructors left Rhoscolyn beach and headed out into the bay in calm water. The entrance of the bay had 3-4' breaking waves. One paddler decided that she didn't like the look of it and went back to the beach. The chief instructor had a look outside and came back saying it looked OK for the strength of our party of which Liz and myself were apparently the weakest (only 2 *). After paddling out there were immediate problems. The waves were 6' or so with sets of 10-15' coming through (imagine looking up at Butser Hill from the A3 and you have the idea), toppling at the crests, intimidating but we felt fine once we had been over a few. However, 3 paddlers found that they couldn't turn their boats, which wasn't good since the tide was running against the waves and paddling into them only took you further into the race. One of them, a grade 4 white water paddler who 'never came out of his boat', capsized, failed to roll 4 times due to trying to get his head up too quickly, and was swimming. By the time he was rescued we had been sucked further into the race.

The decision was made to ferry glide off-shore to an eddy, obvious to us but not to all of the 4* paddlers with us - good old Monday nights at Eastney. This was down-tide of the Rhoscolyn Beacon rocks but facing wind and waves, which were rolling through green. From this safe spot the group could then plan the return through the surf to the beach. We set off, keeping an eye over our shoulders on the large sets approaching, and both found it rather enjoyable as well as quite challenging, a lovely sea to be in. However, not all of the party felt as we did and the same paddler capsized again and didn't try to roll this time, whilst another had to raft up with a confident partner and be taken in tow by the second instructor. Another decided to stay with the lead instructor who was busy rescuing the swimmer. Communication was difficult, we decided as beginners that the best thing to do was not to add to the problems and to get ourselves safely into the eddy. Once there, you could paddle into the waves just keeping station in the eddy and clear of the rocks. Soon, 10 of us were in the eddy, but the others involved in the rescue were drifting further into the race. It was a difficult call for the young American instructor with us. He suddenly went grey, he had written the number in the party '14' on his deck and now calculated that with 10 in the eddy and 3 in the race we were missing one. When we reminded him that one had returned to the beach at the start, his colour returned!

Then we saw the lead instructor's paddle waving, black, in a clear distress signal, against the white water about 1/2 mile away now. Our instructor didn't want to leave us even though we all seemed to be reasonably happy and safe. A further complication was that during the tow, the line had caught under the day hatch of his borrowed boat and as it jerked had flicked the cover off. He had no spare and there seemed to be a leak between this flooded compartment and the rear so that was also taking on water and needed pumping out - next to impossible with waves flooding over the deck and a good chance of loosing that hatch cover as well. We had another 4* sea instructor within the group and he said that he felt confident to go and help. He set off and our instructor made a pan pan call on the radio.

Deep in the race it had proved impossible to empty the capsized boat and the paddler was not practised at paddling a flooded boat so he had rafted with the other paddler and both were in an assisted tow with the instructor. The raft capsized on a wave. Whilst busy pulling each other up, they lost both paddles and had no splits so the instructor was having to make super-human efforts to tow them both out of the race to avoid the rocks off Rhoscolyn Head. Joined by the 4* paddler in a double tow he had time to get out his radio to give his exact position to the RNLI and give his splits to the raft to assist keeping clear of the rocks. A well-known brand waist towline was tangled uselessly around the boats adding to the drag, after the stitching on the webbing parted.

15 -20 minutes later they were picked up by the Atlantic RIB who took the white water paddler and his hired sea kayak on board and landed him on the beach to warm up. The others in various assisted tows then made their own way back towards us. The smaller RNLI RIB had also come out for practice as it was being shepherded by the larger boat. It looked precarious in the waves but the lifeboat men seemed to be enjoying the ride. Once every one was safe, the sea seemed nicer, the tide was slackening and in an hour would reverse so that all the waves would become green again making the paddle back easy. However, the RNLI thought we should return to the beach whilst they were nearby, so we paddled back into the bay through the surf, exciting but uneventful.

After this experience, we are making ourselves emergency hatch covers, investing in paddle leashes and building up a complete set of safety kit each, including tow lines which can be boat or waist-mounted and easily changed from short to long tow, previously we relied on having a full set between us. We are also looking to buy a radio and do the course, not necessarily in that order. Following the earlier sessions off the rocks, our good resolutions were to practice rescue in difficult conditions and to practice paddling a waterlogged boat. In conditions where you are likely to capsize, emptying out is the last priority. You need to be in the cockpit and paddling towards a safe place for pumping out and putting the spray deck on, not messing about in a 'T' or an 'X'. Now we are more likely to put those resolutions into practice.

North Wales Easter 2007    Next Item      Back to Top
By Dave M
Mark Tozer is a freelance outdoors instructor (see:  http://www.edgeofadventure.com/home.htm and http://marktozer.blogspot.com ). Reading about him I decided he could be what I was looking for - someone who could tailor a few days of advanced kayak instruction to a small group. Arrangements were easily made and Dave W and I were soon heading for North Wales for 3 days of instruction.

The first morning we met at the well-known Plas y Brenin outdoors centre ( http://www.pyb.co.uk ) in Snowdonia, and used their pool for a couple of hours of rolling coaching. Amongst other things we realised our left and right rolls worked differently and Mark reassured us this was no problem - in fact it's usual - just as long as we were aware. Pete's Eats ( http://www.petes-eats.co.uk ) in Llanberis provided excellent lunch and we planned the remainder of the 3 days. The afternoon was spent on the Menai Straits, and we launched near the Menai Bridge ( http://tinyurl.com/yuzbrt ), went with the flow under it (south) and spent the afternoon exploring moves in and out of fast-moving water, and later on as the stream slackened, general boat handling and stroke-work.

The sea kayaks we paddled were demo boats provided by Mark and borrowed from Rockpool Kayaks ( http://www.rockpoolkayaks.com/index_1.htm ) in Holyhead. The boats have innovative features, are beautifully and perfectly constructed, are quite light and - as Dave and I found - superb to paddle. Take a look at the web site and also at the (horror!) pictures of Dave and I that Mark put there in the 'owners gallery' -> http://www.rockpoolkayaks.com/oriel/index.php [ they may have moved by the time this gets into print ].

We stayed not far from Holyhead at Anglesey Outdoors ( http://www.angleseyoutdoors.com ) which is a recent addition to the YHA's inventory. It was previously Nigel Dennis' centre and is superbly sited only a few hundred yards from the water at Porth Darfarch ( http://tinyurl.com/2srhnj ) and the very interesting water towards the race at Penrhyn Mawr ( http://tinyurl.com/3b2scs )  and towards South Stack.

That was where we launched and paddled the next day. By mid-day the sun was scorching and the wind and waves nearly non-existent. But the fast water and overfalls at Penrhyn Mawr still produced excellent teaching conditions, and after wearing a groove in the race we retreated up the coast towards South Stack and had some lunch, then further up the coast and back.

Given the (too) good weather, Penrhyn Mawr offered the best rough water possibilities for our final day, and so we re-convened a bit earlier at Porth Darfarch so as to get the best of the tide. During the morning we saw the race build and then diminish. For 2 or 3 hours we surfed the waves, used the eddies and tried to avoid the ugly boils. It is surprisingly easy to progress back up the race using eddies, and to get stuck in at the top again.

Around mid-day a group of 6 or 7 kayaks appeared. It turned out to be a group doing 5-star training from Plas y Brenin, amongst whom was Andrew W. They had an excellent student-instructor ratio and two very well respected instructors.

Lands End Weekend 12^th – 14^th May    Next Item      Back to Top
By John B
Lands End is a long way down the A30 - a road that one day they will finish. It was planned to avoid the crush of Bank Holiday traffic and take a day off instead. Tymele and I arrived late on the Friday not knowing that the other kayak there was owned by Tim G – well it was upside down and it was 10pm! We were awoken in the morning by Axel E and Tony S pulling up alongside. As we had slept Dave G, Cathy A and Simon B had also arrived. Cathy and Simon were asleep in their van - luxury.

As we had remembered the tent poles this time we soon had the tent up and were arranging plans for the day. With a F5 SW wind Lands End itself was off the cards but we were able to head down to Newlyn to see what it was like. The get in by the lifeboat station was easy enough with a car park nearby. Whilst packing we were joined by Andrew Wallace and so the team was complete. Making our way out of the harbour it did not seem at all windy!

Once outside the sea wall I was very glad we were not on the other side of the peninsula!! Staying reasonably close to shore we made slow but steady progress past Mousehole. With the wind increasing (as expected) we decided at Penzer Point to head back to Mousehole for lunch. With the wind and waves behind we all made the most of the conditions and were very soon arriving in the sheltered harbour. The sun was out and we had a sandy beach to land on, what more could we ask for? We were about to find out!

Since Axel had not been able to get his skeg to work he and Tony headed back to Newlyn whilst the rest of us headed straight across the bay to St. Michael’s Mount. It looked close but was actually 3 miles away. The following wind and tide meant we were again having some good waves amongst the messy stuff. Keeping "the Mount" on our left we were able to float in complete comfort once sheltered behind it. In theory Tymele had by now driven to Marazion to take Cathy & Simon back by road. Thanks to the power of mobile phones and a lot of luck she was actually parked at the slipway for the ferry. Once Simon & Cathy were ashore Andrew, Tim, Dave and I turned tail for a bash into the wind and waves.

The middle of the harbour had a US Coastguard Pilot tug which made an easy target for us to aim for. It seems the Anglian Princess has been moored here for some time and was not just checking the area for dangers to US security. It seemed to take a very long time to get near the vessel but eventually we were arriving in the shelter of the harbour having done a round trip of almost 11NM. Tymele was back to greet us and assisted by Cathy & Simon boats were soon loaded.

The evening was spent in the local pub called "the Bucket of Blood". This gruesome name dates from about 200 years ago when the then pub owner was surprised to retrieve a head in a bucket from the well. The food was excellent. When one of the local lasses celebrating her 21^st birthday entered with her and friends dressed as bunny girls the evening became "interesting". Eventually the beer kitty ran out and whilst Simon & Cathy walked back to the camp Tony & Tymele were happy to drive us reprobates back.

The Sunday forecast was again windy but more from the South. Cathy & Simon had already planned to spend the day walking but the rest of us were happy to paddle. We dropped Dave’s car at Perranporth and set off from the large beach at the base of the campsite in Hayle. The day was spent making the most of the tide push as we skipped past Godrevy Point. The coastline was rugged but the beach at Portreath looked like the only sensible lunch stop. Despite no wind there was still a slight swell coming in resulting in a few waves for the nervous. There was a rowing boat that had just landed so we all landed successfully nearby but not too close as to be in their way.

The surf was creating just as big a problem for us. Tim seemed to be "enjoying" his fight out to sea. As he progressed out the waves just got bigger. Andrew and Axel managed to get out easily and being last I figured I’d have had better time to watch things and time it easily. The first wave knocked my pump off so I went back for that then the second knocked my chart off. Again I was on the beach but putting stuff in the front hatch! Finally with just my pride dented I bashed my way out – note to self "fit better deck elastics to the Romany Explorer".

As we cruised past the rocky coastline the weather changed from mist to rain. The last headland resulted in a surprise for us all as a fin popped above the surface. It was at least one dolphin/porpoise/tuna [Tim could not be sure] and caused us all to pause for a while to see if "Flipper" returned. Fortunately the mist and rain had changed to sunshine so we did not mind drifting for a short while. With no sign of fins returning we pushed onward.

With just over 1 ½ miles to go we occasionally had a light swell come from behind us. Soon after the telephone rang. It was Tymele confirming that there was "a little surf" at the exit point. What would make life trickier was the large number of swimmers and surfers! So as we got closer to Perranporth discussions on surf landings etc were soon being had. On arrival we could see that Tymele was indeed correct and there were even lifeguards on the shore – they had obviously heard about our surf-landings!! More surprising were the jet-skies that were buzzing around the area in the surf line. Tony timed his moment to get ashore first and act as beach-master for the next person. We were a reasonable distance offshore and it was not long before he was lost to us as a wave followed behind him. Tim decided to head for a gap between some rocks to our right. Whilst it looked slightly easier the room for error was not so good, get the timing wrong and the rocks would be very unforgiving.

Eventually just Andrew and I were left, so picking our moment we raced for the shore. As we drew closer to shore some waves could be seen behind us. I headed right to get behind the rocky outcrop but Andrew got the full brunt and spent a moment admiring the fish life (also trying to avoid a jet ski). Landing in one piece we could just see Tim landing, having picked the right moment through the rocks. It seemed we had "dropped in" on a heat for a national surf competition and the jet ski’s were rescue boats. Tony had been asked to get us to take the route that Tim had taken. Had we been asked off shore we would declined the suggestion anyway. A bit of a long carry but made up by some genuine Cornish Pasties being eaten just before the rain arrived. Soon we were back at base and making plans for another evening at the pub.

The forecast was for even more wind that evening (F7 Northerly). Judging by the breeze in the tent it seems Michael Fish got it about right. Axel & Tony had already headed back for Kent by the time we awoke but had remained long enough to catch the 6am forecast and pop it in the tent – thanks folks! With a little help all round Tim, Andrew, Dave and I were all soon packed and headed for Gweek. That was to be the end point of a little plod from Porthoustock (on the East coast) and along the Helford River sheltered from the wind.

After finding some of the smallest roads in the land we arrived at Porthoustock and were soon pushing into a strong wind. The waves were coming straight at us making it steady but stable. Communication was not easy but after almost an hour we were crossing the entrance to the Helford River. With the wind in our face the break at Toll Point was well received. The initial exploration of the river was with a little less wind and as we drew near to the next headland it looked like a small beach would be the perfect spot for an early lunch. Even the sun was out for us to make the most of it.

The sun was out, the wind has disappeared and Andrew was handing out delicious biscuits, what could be better? Well having a short drive home would have been nice – instead of the 4hr+ one. It had been a good weekend despite the weather. Thanks to you all for coming. It had been an experiment to go so far away and not use a Bank Holiday. If anyone feels like doing not on a Bank Holiday again next year please let me know.

Round Portsmouth and Hayling 20^th May 2007    Next Item      Back to Top
By John B
The original plan was to start from Sally Port and end up at Selsey Bill. The weather forecast was F4-5 Northerly so a last minute plan was made to circumnavigate Portsea and Hayling Island. I arrived an hour before the start and was surprised to find most of the group already there. It was agreed to relocate to near the Southsea Rowing Club to make getting through the Harbour Entrance at the end easier. So Dave R, Dave W, Andrew W, Andrew M and Martin S were soon heading around the corner to the revised start point.

Almost as soon as they arrived Audrey F who had been having trouble finding the start point joined them. Audrey has many years of experience behind her and was surprised to find she was the only woman on the trip. Once we were all ready it was a simple route to just keep the land on our left. From the castle our course due east put us to where the new jet-ski area is marked. The East Winner sandbank was still exposed so we headed out slightly to where some folks were surfing in the waves at the end. The tide was pushing us along well and we were soon having our first breather off shore of the Hayling Fun Fair. The sea was much calmer than expected and Sandy Point was flat.

We had to stay close to shore as we entered Chichester Harbour to avoid the large number of yachts coming out. There were plenty of small boats setting off from the yacht club and slipways as we passed by. The tide was still providing plenty of assistance and with wind much less than forecast we were soon at the top of Chichester Harbour. It was agreed that we would push on for lunch at Hilsea rather than pause and possibly have to wait until the tide receded to be able to pass under the various bridges along the Creek. With the tide still coming in we had plenty of water to pass beyond Long Island and Bakers Island within Langstone Harbour.

The tide was easing as we joined the road traffic and noise alongside the A27. Eventually we could see the bridges at Hilsea and with the tide slightly against us passed easily under before stopping for lunch at the boat ramp. The noise remained and with youngsters using motorbikes across the water it was not the most relaxing break. Once the tide movement had eased we were on our way towards Tipner.

Passing under the M275 we headed out to the channel markings to gradually make our way to the Gosport shore. Once past the "shallows" of the harbour we headed for Burrow Island. From here we had to wait for a yacht to pass by but Dave R decided to stick with it and "chase" it to the harbour entrance. This meant he could easily stay in the main flow and avoid the traffic. It is no longer possible to pass through the entrance on the Portsmouth side or get too close to the Naval Base so we followed the marinas to the "small boat channel" at the entrance. Once opposite Clarence Pier it is possible to cross over to Portsmouth. We had to wait for a few large vessels to enter the harbour before pushing across to the shore.

Once ashore it was not long before most were ready to head for home or a committee meeting. It had been a trip with weather conditions far better than expected. Thanks for coming folks hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Minutes of the PDCC Committee Meeting. 20^th April 2007    Next Item      Back to Top
Apologies: Simon A, Steve A, Richard B and Glyn T

Minutes of last meeting were agreed.

New Website John B is still working on setting this up.

Club Base Dave W is following up a lead with the Cockershell Community Centre, Eastney.

Next Meeting The date was changed to the 22^nd July – location to be agreed.

Stop Press News    Next Item      Back to Top
On 9^th June Dave R achieved what can only be described as a lifetime ambition. With Dave W, he set off early in the morning near Holyhead. Then about 16 hours and 54 NM later he arrived near Dublin. Like many trips he has been looking to do this run for many years. Each time it has not happened usually due to the weather.

Well done to you both, when will we see this on the club program? Those wishing to attend may need more than their two star……

Hopefully there will be a full report in the next newsletter.

Wanted         Back to Top
Some may be thinking this edition is late. Others may be wondering if the newsletter is low on content. The true answer is both! The Newsletter is our main method of letting each other know what is going on and what we have done. If no articles are written it is difficult to publish it. We all write it so please send your articles to John B on either john@brockworks.freeserve.co.uk

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