The INTER-CLUB TOURING AWARD SHIELD

For 2009

2.00pm Saturday 27^th March 2010 at The Boat House Pub in Chertsey

The Inter-Club Touring Award Shield, now in its Twentieth Year,

was presented to

Jeff Simmons of Westel Canoe Club by 

Adrian Barclay the BCU Touring Awards Administrator

For paddling the greatest number of miles in the year of 2009 in the BCU National Inter-Club Touring Award Scheme.

The results are:-

Kevin East, received the Silver Award on behalf of Canoe Camping Club – Thames & South East

 Julia Barclay, received the Bronze Award on behalf of Purley Canoe Club

 This Inter-Club Touring competition is open to all BCU Clubs and Groups. Each BCU Club or Group needs to keep a log of all the trips they have done in a year – the number of paddlers per trip and the mileage of each trip.

 A Club volunteer simply enters these figures, and any individual club members mileage, onto the official Inter-Club Touring Award Entry form, which calculates your total Club mileage for the year.  This form should be sent to the Touring Award Administrator at the end of the year.

 It would be great to see some new clubs enter this competition next year. If you are interested in participating in this scheme please contact me Adrian Barclay, on the email address below.

 Adrian Barclay

BCU Touring Awards Administrator  

abarclaypcc@btinternet.com

Here is a picture of the presentation

The BCU InterClub Touring Award Presentation 27/3/2010

 

Have to say a big ‘Thank You’ to all the coaches leading the two days on the Wye last weekend(27 &  28/2/2010). In fact, a thank you to all participants who entered into the spirit and together evolved a fun atmosphere.
Special thanks to Adrian and Julia for the arrangements, planning, food, smashing Bunk-house and indeed, the chosen sections of the Wye around Builth Wells.

For readers unable to join the shin-dig, the Wye was not in flood. The water was fresh and clean – and flowing (I guess) at a knot or two mostly – faster in the rapids. We did notice the rocks – sometimes before we hit them. Certain skilled members of the group paddled the Grade3 sections, whilst lesser mortals portaged round them.

As I recall, Julia, Richard, Robin, Vicky, Kevin, Rob and Ian all took a swim, whilst Adrian, Mark, Kieran, Gary, Lauren and Maureen avoided it.

The travelling worked fine, and all the catering. Pub on Saturday dished up excellent food. Cosy and friendly. Oh, and it was very nice to have Mark & Vicky back to join us.

Julia doing a bit of surfing

Adrian makes it through

Gary going through Hell Hole corner

Ian nearly goes for a swim

Robin

It seems as if we have been a little slow getting on the water this year but at least we made it before the end of January, “just”.

It was a crisp morning today (31/1/2010) at Hartlake Bridge on the Medway and it was very sunny even though, there was a hard frost on the ground.  I was dressed up like “Michelin Man” because I wasn’t sure how cold it was going to be.  In retrospect I realise that I was wearing to much, not that I was getting too hot but because I just couldn’t move.

Julia was wearing her new “Teddy Suit”, which kept her “snug as a bug in a rug” under her salopettes, whilst Ian wore his new “Sweet Helmet” which had extra padding to keep his head warm plus his new very grippy boots.

The three of us actually got on the water just before 11am and given Julia and I (Ian went paddling on the Dart last weekend) haven’t been padding on a river for about 2 months now, we were still able to keep up a reasonable pass and within 20mins we got to the first lock.

A quick portage and back on the river so we reached the second lock by about 11.45am. We must have reached the next lock and the canoe shoot within another 20mins and Ian and I went down the shoot which was great but the water was freezing.

Ian and I had a quick play at the bottom of the shoot before my fingers were frozen solid, so we quickly got out and I put on some wolly socks over my hands to warm them up, and it worked.

We had some lunch, and quickly got back on the water. At 1.30pm we arrived at Yalding after a good bit of exercise, a good warm up for the new year and a “cracking day on the river”.

By 2.10pm we had got changed and had strapped 3 boats on our roof including the open boat and then we drove back to Hartlake Bridge were Ian put his boat on his roof and we were home by 3pm.

It was a good day out and we all enjoyed the opportunity to get back on the water again. So thaks to Ian for motivating us all to get on the water and go paddling.

Hope to see you all on the next Club Trip.

Adrian

More posts will be added here soon, but in the meantime, here’s some pictures from our trip to the river Wye earlier this year.