Two groups took to the water late Tuesday afternoon. One with Club member Tia deciding to try out a SUP board for the first time coached by John. As you can see she got the hang of it very quickly. They were just short of a bit of relaxing music to accompany the impromptu yoga lesson that John held on the water. New paddlers, a mother and daughter, enjoyed themselves out on the water with Fran and  have decided to become members after having a few trial sessions. Fran also spotted the Pyramid of Furness dominating the sky line at the docks.

 The sun shone on us all day for the first wildwater race of the season. 21 club  paddlers of all abilities and all ages competed in this fun event. The Crake had plenty of water in following recent rain. This made the paddle up to the start at Penny Bridge a bit of a slog for some. Setting off at 1 min intervals the run down was some what faster with some taking less than 5 mins.
Many thanks to Andy and his many helpers for making it a ‘grand day out’ (and to all participants that made the effort so worth while).
Special appreciation to the Crake Croquet Club for letting us access the river via their property.
Look at the club calendar to see the other WWRs we are running in Jan. March and April next year.
​Pictures of the start by Carols grandaughter Nancy who took some great pictures while her nana was at the start. Full album can be found here
One member and competitor on the day wrote
"Andy, Thanks a lot for organising the river race. It was very well organised, inclusive and managed. I know these are very difficult times to be organising events but credit to the club and the volunteers who manage to deliver it regardless of the challenges faced. I particularly liked the safety briefing and going through the course I realised how apt it was. Really appreciate your efforts.
Thanks, 
Abdallah and Aban"

Wednesday 7th Oct. saw 5 mid-weekers at Brown Howe, Coniston for about 4 hours / 14 km of mainly gentle paddling and exploring. It stayed mainly dry with calm / wind/ squalls/ sun and clouds - a typical day in the lakes. 
Brown Howe is one of only 3 recorded Cumbrian sites for the fairly rare native wild pear. The mid-weekers go out once or twice a month on lakes or canal. Contact John to go on his mailing list. Pictures by John and David.

“On 27th Sept. 10 novice paddlers and 4 coaches took to the water in glorious sunshine. The Leven’s slalom course was the venue for this river skills training session. Although the water level was low there was sufficient flow for basic training. The weir at the top of the rock garden provided more exciting water for the more experienced and a final adrenaline rush for the beginners!  “ by John. Great pictures and videos by Sue, Fran, James & John who captured some great memories for folk to look back on of their achievements.

Over the years we have had many a club trips to Thirlmere. The conditions are always unpredictable and can change in the blink of an eye. This was a good day to circumnavigate the lake. It was calm and sunny most of the day but a stiff breeze built up as we reached the dam wall near the end of the trip - just to let us know we had been lucky this time!! 
John organises these weekday tours once or twice a month on lakes or canal - if you would like to join his contact list for these outings send him your details. Pictures by Fran and John

At 1.30 pm on Saturday afternoon 11 novice paddlers and 3 coaches started to get boats on the water at between the 2 bridges at Greenodd. There was a lot of water coming down the Crake - especially over the weir! High tide at Barrow was at 2.00 so about 2.45 at Greenodd. There was a good sized tide at 9 .08 M and by the time we were all on the water the waves had calmed and the weir was no more.
It was a hard paddle up the river with the tide as there was a fair flow to push up against - the younger members of the team found this hard work but managed it well. Due to the volume of water we were able to paddle a good way up past Penny Bridge and practice a few moving water skills. 
On the way back down the beginners soon realized that it is more difficult controlling your direction when going with the flow - some low hanging trees had unexpected visitors but all survived the run back to Greenodd. 
At this point some tired youngsters (and mothers) landed while other went out into the Levens estuary where there was a fast ebbing tide and waves to practice ferry gliding on. Powerful eddies behind the foot bridge pillars proved a bit tricky for some.
We returned to the Crake where the weir was beginning to reappear and so some real keen souls went for a play on it.
All did really well and a couple pushed the envelop so far that they fell out of it!! (we like to see this as it's the fasted way to learn)
A comment from one of the beginners is, I suppose, what we all get from working together in a family club.
 
“Thanks for organising the trip today. It was just the right conditions and right level of challenge for us. Some of us and I am speaking for myself would have never dreamt of doing it had it not been for such good support available. 
All the three coaches were amazing- it all worked out well, I am sure it was just because it was thoroughly planned and meticulously executed.”
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John and several DCC members travelled north to circumnavigate Wastwater.  Lovely pictures of the days paddle by David Kyles

“Friday 31st July, we set off North to Mains Farm Campsite at Kirkoswald, near Penrith. On a lovely sunny afternoon, we all set up camp, a variety of tents a van and a caravan. After everyone was settled in and the toilets and showers were located, we all headed down to the river, just down a field from the campsite for a white-water safety training session. Although the water was very cold no one minded too much because the day was so warm. After a session of practice rescues, we headed back to camp for warm showers and to eat our evening meal.  We celebrated Julies Birthday after our meal, then headed into the field for a game of rounders. The teams were oldies verses youngsters (2 boys from the campsite joined in to make up the numbers). After our game (the youngsters won) we headed back to camp, after it got dark, we all retired to bed.
On Saturday, a car shuttle was put in, prior to the start of the days paddle at Brougham Castle. We paddled nearly 24 km on the River Eamont and Eden, mostly on flat water, with a little bit of white water. We stopped for lunch and then again at Lacy caves for a look around. Then back into the boats for the final paddle back to camp.  On-route we saw several fish jumping, buzzards, and herons. Arriving back at camp everyone was tired, so a shower and evening meal was followed by sitting and talking until darkness moved us all off to bed.
An early start Sunday, all the tents were taken down. It had rained overnight so it was all a bit wet.  All the drivers then took the loaded-up cars to the finish of todays paddle at Armathwaite bridge after everyone had arrived back at the campsite, we carried the boats down the field and back onto the river for the paddle. The last feature on the river was Armathwaite weir. A few of the paddlers attempted the weir while others took the less daunting (Chicken Shoot) route down.  Then down to the bridge for lunch, loading boats onto cars and trailer, then onward home for a well earned shower and a rest. “ By Coach Andy Longstaff. Great pictures by Sue, Vicky and Emily Longstaff. Visit the gallery to see the weekends full album.
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On Tuesday evening dock session Jack & Phoebe were launched onto the water by use of the seal launch built by John and Ray. They had a great time with it all being caught on video ( Click this link) by Penny.