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Volume 30 Issue 2
FROME CANOE CLUB
April 2006
FROME CANOE CLUB
Rich swims on the River Frome! Is this an April Fool? Go to page 13
to read all about it.
Easter Egg Hunt - Langham Farm
Yousah on the Etive Neil on the Etive
2
This Months Contents
Front Page Easter Eggs + Scotland
Page 2 Committee Details / Contents
Page 3 Calendar Dates & Events
Page 4 to 10 Calendar in detail
Page 11 River Exe Report
Page 12 Erme, what was that then?
Page 13 Rich Swims + New Members
Page 14 Paddler Development
Page 15 Frome Treasure Hunt
Page 16 Youth + Cartoon
Page 17 Access Sport + Asst Editor
Page 18 Bits & Pieces
Page 19 Copper Nose Clip Points +
Extra Page 1 Scotland at Easter
Extra Page 2 Viking Slalom Poster
Extra Page 3 Langham Farm Slalom Poster
Extra Page 4 Introduction to Open Canoeing
Back Page Scotland continued
THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
President
Graham Warnecke
Vice Presidents
Richard & Jane Arney
Jim & Catharine Croft
Chairman
Arthur Belbin 01225 766276
ViceChairman
Kris Buxton-Dean 07889 732594
Secretary
Pam Dixon 01373 473836
Treasurer
John Kent 01225 765168
Head Coach
Richard Carter 01373 864623
Members
Jackie Powell 01225 867178
Steve Ellis 01985 214473
Pip Hallett 07740 183287
Helen Samuel 07817 018493
Stephen Ellis 01985 214473
Club Secretary
Pam Dixon
16 Blagdon Walk
Frome
BA11 2YH
01373 473836
E-mail pam.dixon@blueyonder.co.uk
Throwline Editor
Pip Hallett
‘Lyndhurst’ 1 Spencers Orchard
Bradford On Avon
Wiltshire BA15 1TJ
01225 864509
E-mail qswi1035@email.mot.com
FCC ‘THROWLINE ’ CLUB MAGAZINE
Next Newsletter
Published
**June**
All articles etc must
reach the editor by
If you have a paddling article, news or
gossip that you would like printed, then
please send to the Editor before the 6th
June (just after the clubs slalom).
3
Calendar Dates & Events
DATE EVENT STD REQ CONTACT
April
19th Wednesday Sessions Start All Pam Dixon
21st Friday Langham Sessions Start 1 Star Pip Hallett
22/23rd Tryweryn 3 Star Kris B-Dean
May
6/7th 1 Star Kayak Course All Pam Dixon
7th Surfing day out 1 Star Kris B-Dean
20/21st Open Canoe Course All Pam Dixon
21st Open canoe trip + Others ‘Wye’ 1 Star Pam Dixon
Sat 27th Langham Farm Slalom Preparation All Pip Hallett
28th Loddon Slalom Event All John kent
June
3/4th Langham Farm Slalom Event All Rich Carter
17/18th Canoe Safety Training Course All
17/18th 2 Star weekend course 1 Star
July
1/2nd Biblins Weekend 1 Star Pam Dixon
15/16th 1 Star Kayak Course All Pam Dixon
15/16th 1 Star Kayak Course All Pam Dixon
23rd River Avon Trip 1 Star TBD
30th River Wye Trip (2* qualifier) 1 Star TBD
August
6th BBQ & Try a boat paddle All Pam Dixon
NOTE:
1 Star +, means you must have Moving Water experience (phone organiser if in doubt)
2 Star +, means you must have White Water experience (please phone organiser)
3 Star, means you must phone organiser (lots of White Water experience required)
New River Trip Prices Local trips cost £3 Exe cost £10 All other trips cost £13
FCC ‘THROWLINE ’ CLUB MAGAZINE
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FCC ‘THROWLINE ’ CLUB MAGAZINE
Calendar in Detail Surfing Day Out - Kris Buxton-Dean Date: 7th May
Cost: £13
Meet: Market Yard 8am.
The summer is nearly here, so the rivers are closing, but
the beach is now calling, can you hear it? I can. The surf can
be large at this time of year and the sea is still cold, but
given a day of lovely sunshine and there is nothing better.
We'll be going to North Devon, probably Saunton or Croyde, but the exact beach we end
up on will be dependant upon the surf.
You will need to have you 1 star to paddle on this trip. (If the surf is large we will have to
raise the standard required).
Plenty of food and drink is essential, along with some warm clothes as the wind along the
beach can be a bit strong at times.
River Wye Trip - Pam Dixon Date: 21st May
Cost: £13
Meet: Market Yard 8am.
Return: about 6pm
This trip is from Lybrook to Symonds Yat a distance of about 6 miles on
the River Wye which runs through the most beautiful Forest of Dean.
All the Open Boaters from the course on the Saturday will be on this trip and we are hoping
that many kayakers will join us as well. It’s an easy paddle on a wide and gentle river and
ends with a play on the rapids at Symonds Yat (if we have time).
If you’re an open boater on the One or Two star course, you will need to bring a generous
bribe in the form of a hamper of food for the tester who is always exceptionally hungry and
thirsty, and don’t forget your hat. Open boaters always seem to wear a floppy hats! In fact
shall we have a hat competition?
5
FCC ‘THROWLINE ’ CLUB MAGAZINE
Calendar in Detail Come and have FUN - Your Help Is Really Needed
On Saturday 27th May we need as many members of the club, parents and children to
assist us down at our Langham Farm site (near Rode) to put together the Slalom site for the
Slalom weekend 4 & 5th June (one week later).
What do you need to do….just turn up, help put together the refreshment tent, the slalom
gates and make the site ready etc. This is not complicated, as several of the expe-
rienced slalom crew will be there to guide and
help you and of course we will have our ’Head
Coach’ Rich to oversee everything. We are on site as from 9.30am on the Saturday
morning, and we are able to keep you going
with a constant supply of freshly brewed tea
and soft drinks. We should finish around lunchtime. A last thought to leave you with, is that without your much needed help the Slalom will not
go as smoothly as it should do…..come along it is really a fun day out in the fresh air in one
of the most lovely local places by the river.
Hopefully see you on Saturday 27th May, see you then, cheers, Pip. (01225-864509)
Slalom Practice Evening
Meet: Langham Farm
Time: 6.30pm till 9pm
Cost: £2 On Tuesday 31st May we are proposing to meet at Langham Farm
to let you practice around the slalom poles that were set up the
previous week. Hopefully we will have an experienced slalom paddler to provide
guidance and help at running a typical course.
A selection of Slalom boats will be available on site, also spare kit (cag/helmet/buoyancy /
spraydeck/paddles etc). Any questions phone John Kent (01225 765168)
Hope to see you down on site for some practice runs, cheers John.
6
FCC ‘THROWLINE ’ CLUB MAGAZINE
Calendar in Detail Langham Farm Slalom Sat & Sun 3rd/4th June This is a National competition which we run every year. Competitors come from all over the
country to participate in this event. It is part of the BCU Calendar of slalom events which is
in place every year and we are extremely lucky to have the BCU Slalom Organiser, Jim Croft
and the Treasurer, his wife Catharine, to come and spend the weekend with us helping us
with the computer side of things and the other 999 things that we ask him to do! Langham Farm slalom is strategically very important. It is the only event in the South West
and it is expressly for beginners. Not only do we feel that we are able to make a contribu-
tion to the National calendar of events, we are pleased that it is on our doorstep, making it
so very easy to participate in. Beginners start in Division 4 and can progress to Div 3 in our
event if they do well. Taking it further, they go on up to Div 2, Div 1 and then Premiere.
Danyel, Shane and John Kent are all Div 2 paddlers. (We are extremely lucky that Shane has
offered to help us with the training sessions on Wednesday Club sessions – we shall all bene-
fit from an expert’s advice.) The slalom we run in June is a double event – that is you can enter on either of the two days
or on both. We are hoping that we will get a strong FCC team together to compete. Last
year we had 18 club members entering which is the biggest we have achieved lately. In addition to the competitors, we need lots of members to run the event. We need volun-
teers to help set up the course in advance, put the site in order, set up road signs etc. We
will do that on the Saturday 27th May. On the actual days of the competition we need volunteers to man the car park, man the
food tent, man the results – the list goes on. We need
plenty of help and we will ask nearer the time for peo-
ple to choose what they would like to do. If you are interested in finding out more about slalom
competitions please ask John who comes to every club
session. Also think about training with us on Wednes-
day Club Sessions when they start in April.
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FCC ‘THROWLINE ’ CLUB MAGAZINE
Calendar in Detail Friday Evening Canoe & Kayaking Sessions
Where: Meet at Langham Farm, Rode.
When: Friday evenings 7 till 9pm—Starting 21st April
Last meeting 1st September
Cost: £2 per evening (payable on site)
We will be meeting at Langham Farm on all Friday evenings during the summer. All 1 star paddlers and above are welcome to come along. It’s a chance for you to prac-
tise many of those skills recently gained in the training sessions or just to have fun paddling.
If you do not have your own kayak or gear, we do have very limited stocks at Langham for
you to use, only a couple of general kayaks are kept on site (please phone me well in ad-
vance to arrange loan of any kit). Please note most paddlers bring their own boats and gear.
Unfortunately this year we cannot guarantee that a qualified instructor will always be in
attendance on site. Therefore if an instructor is not in attendance at a session, then the
club event will be cancelled for that night, and paddlers informed on site. This could result
in youngsters under 18 years of age, not being allowed to paddle. We are currently trying to arrange one night per month when a coach will be in attendance
to supervise our youth membership. (these dates to be published soon)
Please remember the ‘Country Code’ when going onto the farm, as the farmer Richard
Arney is very kind in letting us use the site.
For any other details or queries please contact Pip on 01225 864509
There may be a couple of dates that the site will not be available for use by us and
on these occasions, please look for cancellation notice at top Farm gate (by the cat-
tle grid) in event of not being able to use the site at short notice. (other users pre-
book the site for camping etc. so please do not interfere with their use of the site)
PLEASE NOTE: There will be no Friday Langham session on Friday 28th April
due to a coaches meeting being held on that Friday evening.
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Calendar in Detail
Biblins - A weekend of paddling fun
When: 1st/2nd July
Cost: £27
Meet: Market Yard - 8am Saturday
Return: Back at Market Yard about 6 pm on Sunday Biblins is the name of a campsite we stay in when we spend two glorious days in the Forest
of Dean and paddle the River Wye on both Saturday and Sunday. We have christened the
trip by this name because . . . well we just do! This trip is ideal for beginners and old hands alike. And it’s perfect for our youth members
who want to leave Mums and Dads at home. Although we are equally happy to have parents
with us whether they paddle or just come along for the scenery! It’s a rather lazy weekend: we chat, paddle, eat; chat, paddle, eat. And of course the campfire
on Saturday evening is a ‘Pip’s speciality’. It’s worth going on the trip for this alone! All the food is provided for the weekend. But bring things like a tent and sleeping bag and washing
gear. As with other trips you can borrow all the kit you need for paddling. We sort that out
when we meet on Saturday morning. The river trip on Saturday is usually from Lydbrook to the campsite and on Sunday we play
on the Yat rapids which are close to the campsite. This trip is ideal for open boats. We have
6 of these so if you want to practise your open boating skills – book a canoe with Pam and
we’ll get it there for you! A WEEKEND NOT TO BE MISSED: cost includes all the food you can eat, an overnight stay in the
beautiful Forest of Dean (camping), the most wonderful company and two paddles on the river Wye.
YOUTH MEMBERS: an ideal trip for you – ask mums and dads if you can go.
Every year its just gets better, sun, fun and paddling. (Ed)
News Snippet - Money, money and more money!
A huge well done, must go to Pam for all her hard work in securing a des-
perately needed £30K towards the total amount to allow us to build the
new clubhouse. Construction is now expected to start at the end of May.
9
Calendar in Detail
FCC ‘THROWLINE ’ CLUB MAGAZINE
Wednesday Club Sessions: Time to get training! Start - already running
7pm – 9pm
Market Yard, Frome
Cost £2 As from the middle of April, we no longer meet at the pool, but change the venue to the
River Frome in the Market Yard in Frome. Yes! It is time to get back on the real water. Stop
going round and round in circles in the pool and remember what it is like to paddle in a
straight line; feeling fresh air on your face and fresh water on your skin.
Last year was so successful we are going to repeat the format with only a few modifications:
Timings
Polo Training - Hard and fast – a game of polo. In two teams aiming to score as many
goals as possible. Slalom Training – learn the skills and techniques required to complete a slalom race: how
to get through the gates as fast as possible without touching them! PaddlePower – for 8-11 year olds, an introduction to the sport. Basic strokes are covered
with lots of games.
Choices! There are choices to be made!
You can choose:
To train for the first hour and then get off. Or Train for the first hour and then wind down with some recreational paddling in the sec-
ond hour
Or omit the training and just get on for the second hour. You can alternate with the Polo and Slalom each week. But last year people tended to settle
into a routine and stay with one group. This way, paddler-skills were developed and people
progressed significantly in their chosen discipline.
7 - 8pm 8 – 9pm 7.30 – 8.30pm
Slalom training Recreational paddling New paddlers -introduction
Polo training - -
PaddlePower - -
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FCC ‘THROWLINE ’ CLUB MAGAZINE
What our club is doing by way of other Slalom
Events This is advance notice of slalom activities. Below is a list of early season
events that the club is intending to dip into. Training starts at Market
Yard after Easter so you will have plenty of opportunity to practice be-
forehand.
River Loddon, Reading May 28/29. Coaching, Practice and
Teams on Sunday. Divisions 3 and 4 Individual Monday. The Team event involves teams
of 3 racing together. Langham Farm June 3/4. Divisions 3 and 4. This is a Double event where there are
separate races Saturday and Sunday.
North Walls, Winchester June 10/11. Division 4 Double event.
Cardington, Bedford June 24/25. Divisions 2, 3 and 4 Double event.
Shepperton, Middlesex July 1/2. Divisions 3 and 4 Double event. This event looks
like it will clash with the Biblins Weekend.
Ironbridge, Shropshire July 8/9. Divisions 2 and 3 Double event.
Slalom is intended to test river-running skills in a safe and friendly environment. The object is
to negotiate a series of gates on moving water. The winner of the event is the one who has
negotiated the course in the fastest time, with the fewest penalties. There are penalties for
hitting and missing gates.
Entry level to slalom is Division 4 and these slaloms are generally held on calm water and the
courses will be simple. In all but the top division any boat may be used. You don't need a
slalom boat to take part in slalom, but the club has a small number if you wish to try one.
For further details on the training sessions, entry to the events, or just slalom in general,
contact John Kent on 01225 765168 or e-mail him at john@jfkent.freeserve.co.uk. There is
also a website you can look at which will tell you more about slalom www.canoeslalom.co.uk.
Calendar in Detail
PA Urgently Needed
No not a personal assistant, but a 25/30 Watt amplifier suitable for use at this June’s Slalom.
Mains operated with two external horn speakers would be best. If you have or know where
we can obtain/borrow one, then please phone Pip (01225 864509) as soon as possible.
11
FCC ‘THROWLINE ’ CLUB MAGAZINE
Scotland - 2006 by Neil Dixon
After many dry trips to the West Highlands of Scotland, the rain did come for us this year.
Sheets and sheets of it. Whole days of it. And nights. We also had snow, wind and sun. But
best of all we had rivers in spate! We did the usual rivers – Spean, Roy, Arkaig, and Etive and
were we added the Gloy, Loy and Pattack to the list – these last ones needed to be in spate
to run them. And for a few there was the rock slide the Allt a Chaoruinn.
High spots – Emma jumping out of her boat before a rapid on the Spean and then deciding to walk
out which meant a very high climb for her with James helping her to carry her boat up
the steep sided valley to get to the road. Rich, at the Roy Gorge, holding paddles up high only to have them wrenched from his
grip by the narrow rock walls. There followed a most exquisite demonstration of hand
paddling down a Grade 5 drop, narrowly missing a nasty undercut rock. The river Pattack. Only four paddlers on this one, Neil, Yousaf, Stu and Danny. The
hardest part started with a long rapid in the lead up to the final falls, which involved
some down time in a big hole by Stu and Yousaf and the inevitable rolls. The team col-
lected itself above the falls in an eddy and rehearsed the route over the falls, repeatedly
reciting after Neil, ‘Ferryglide to river left, stay on the left with the rock on your right,
then move to the middle to miss the boils and the large swirling undercut on the right,
and plop over the falls.’ Easy! Stu didn’t make the first ferryglide and took a more inter-
esting route. He survived.
Low spots – Stu having to revise for his looming exams. Poor Stu. It put him out of action for several
evenings but he did miss the washing up this way! A long, long look at the Nevis, a river which can only be run in spate. When we got out
of the cars to look at the Poldubh Falls, we were stunned and silenced by the fury of the
water not to mention the noise. Neil and Danny worked out the best line, but Rich
wouldn’t let them paddle it.
Awards presented: Tree Hugger - to Rich who had a nasty meeting with a tree on the Gloy after a large hole
had munched him. Rolls to Perfection – to Stu who showed off whenever he could, including one very enter-
taining roll at the top of Big Man’s Falls on the Etive. He didn’t mean to roll here but having
messed up on Right Angle Falls just a few moments previous, he had to roll in preference to
dropping the 7m drop upside down.
Continued on Back Page.
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FCC ‘THROWLINE ’ CLUB MAGAZINE
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FCC ‘THROWLINE ’ CLUB MAGAZINE
It’s a great weekend of canoeing and not one to be
missed! Come and paddle or just watch others paddling
around the course.
Frome Canoe Club
Canoe Slalom Division 3/4 Double For more information phone John Kent 01225 765168
or Pam the Club Secretary 01373 473836
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Open Canoeing
An introduction to Open Canoeing - by Helen Samuels
Its not all silly hats and flat water!
I am of course talking about open canoeing. This year I aim help to raise
the profile of open boating in the club. So have you ever thought of pad-
dling an open canoe with a friend. With two of you in the boat its easy to
manoeuvre and paddle along. Yes you can paddle it by yourself if you
wish, but two in the boat on longer trips just makes for more fun and an
easier paddle. (just watch those kayakers trying to keep up).
Last year Stuart Haywood, one of our members, competed both in the
Exe descent and the Liffey descent in an open canoe and had a really
great time with lots of exciting tales to talk about afterwards.
The club also has a few open coaches to help you get to grips with this
fun type of paddling. Watch out for a special open course being run at
Langham Farm on the 20th-21st May with a trip down the Wye on the
Sunday. Neil is a great coach and a real expert in his open canoe to
demonstrate the different techniques and strokes involved.
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FCC ‘THROWLINE ’ CLUB MAGAZINE
River Exe - Sunday 19th March Siberian winds bringing freezing cold weather, the odd flurry of snowflakes and gloomy grey
skies were enough to put all except the most hardened paddler off. The turn out at on Sun-
day morning was as expected, given the weather, but we did have a small group of young
paddlers from Downside School which was great. And so to the meet at Bolham. Yes! There
was water. A quick turnabout and we were off, after reminding ourselves that the last time
we were here, we arrived with one boat short. To the weir. The stopper looked small and playable but Rich tried it and said ‘That is a bit
sticky: be careful.’ Whereupon only Chris and James had a go but not for long. The rapid
below nearly caught Ben as he slipped unknowingly into it – backwards. He managed to turn
round a feat that experienced paddlers find hard, and came to no harm in the end. The bridge with the wave under was a great playing place. Surfing galore. Everyone tried it.
In fact it was a positive battle field with paddlers jousting for position. Salmon Steps were
easy today but the hole got Pam as she listened to advice from Rich and took a wrong line.
Easy rapids and bouncy water led us to Town Bridge with its two stepped weir. No prob-
lems here. By now the boys from Downside were beginning to get the hang of this surfing
business and they didn’t hang about. Straight into Walronds like seasoned paddlers, vying for
the best wave they could find. The long paddle towards Bickleigh had Chris asking the inevitable ‘Are we nearly there yet?’
We were all getting tired when Broken Weir came into view but we knew we must be get-
ting close now. Ben Leigh took his second swim here, catching his boat on a rock which just
got in the way. The trees caught him below the weir and after the unavoidable wrestle with
the branches, he was back in his boat but cold. Bickleigh was brilliant. Everyone surfed and some played in the stopper. We couldn’t stop
Ben, Robbie and Fred who excelled with new found surfing skills. Even pushing Mark and
Rich out. Impressive. And after all that anxiety about the weather, do you know it was positively balmy. The sun
shone. We glimpsed soft green bubs just beginning to show on trees, bright yellow celan-
dines, their petals burst open in the sun, a couple of kingfishers playing in front of us and
there was no cold wind. What a day to paddle the Exe.
Paddlers and points: Ben Reid (3), Ben Leigh(6), Alex Galvin, Robbie Campbell (2 for the
rolling he did. He said he was playing!) Fred Mahon. Emma, James, Chris Paton, Mark, John,
Pam (1), Pip and Rich.
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Erme, what was that then? – by Kris B-Dean
It’s 6:45 on a Sunday morning and snowing, not a promising sign, and it got worse. When I
checked the rainfall for Dartmoor over night, it had barely rained. Having met Arthur soon
after 7, and picked up Mark a little while later we are heading towards Devon with the snow
getting worse. Whilst waiting for Danny, Johnny and Stuart (a good half hour late) we had
hatched a paddling plan. Oh how plans can change! When Danny etc. turned up, they con-
vinced us that the Erme would be on. We would go to Oakhampton, if the river there was-
n’t on, then we would head down to look at the Tavy, and if that wasn’t on we would con-
tinue to Ivybridge to check out the Erme.
We arrived at Oakhampton, there was some water, but was it enough? A stroll down to the
river, nope we would leave this river for another day (yes we will go back to it, lots of po-
tential was noted). We decided there was not enough water for the Tavy, so straight on to
the Erme. Top tip for anyone following Johnny, use of indicators is akin to that of a van driv-
er, respect of signs (no entry ones) is limited.
After listening to Danny who warned about the first drop, Mark and I went to look at it,
what we saw was nothing to be worried about. We got on and soon reached the first drop,
but it was not the one that Mark and I looked at, whoops we’d walked too far (very rare for
me to do that!). It was a rather interesting grade 4 drop, definitely not the grade 2/3 one I
was expecting. The river loses height rather quickly at this point with lots of small drops
until we got to a rather nasty little slot, that all apart from Stuart walked around. Bigger
drops were appearing now with ever greater frequency.
All of us thought it was a lovely river to paddle. Johnny picked up the first point of the day
with a quick roll, then he provided us with the first swim of the day, unfortunately this left
his boat pinned on a tree trunk in mid flow. Getting his boat off, involved two throwlines, a
sling, a knife, a big stick, plus all of us and a passing dog walker. After about half an hour of
quality paddling time and much effort, the boat popped off its perch. Onward we paddled
until a large drop / weir appeared, with an unclear line and the potentialy to plough straight
in to a huge rock. Who hit that rock? Well I did and nearly fell over. Johnny hit it and did fall
over, followed by Mark who hit it and fell out of his boat, for 3 points. His boat gained a
lovely big dent. A couple more drops and we had reached the gorge, feeling broken, knack-
ered or scared, Arthur, Johnny, Mark and I, got out and walked back to the car. Stuart and
Danny ran the gorge, with Stewart picking up a point after taking an iffy line The trip can been great, we ran a river most of us had not done before, we saw great scen-
ery (so if you’re ever near Ivybridge take a walk beside the river and look for yourself).
Participants - Arthur, Danny, Johnny (5), Kris (1), Mark B (3) and Stuart (1)
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FCC ‘THROWLINE ’ CLUB MAGAZINE
Just a reminder - Membership Charges
Youth £14
Adult £23
Family £36
Affiliated £36
The club remains committed to keeping charges as reasonable as possible and we feel that
the membership subscription represents very good value for money.
New members
Welcome to Downside School and to the students who have already paddled on the river
with us: Ben Reid, Ben Leigh, Alex Galvin, Robbie Campbell, and Fred Mahon. Miss Tarr, known to us as Emma, is responsible for introducing these boys to kayaking and
for the affiliation to our club. Also joining us have been David Weedon, Callum Aldridge and Mark Fulbrook. Mark is the
one who brings an unusual black kayak to the pool and throws it about a bit. James and Mark Hull return to us after a long gap. Both away at university, it is good to see
you again when you are back in Frome.
Who has seen Rich swimming? 2nd April and this is not a
belated April Fool! This has got to be a first! Rich swimming? Surely not I hear you ask. Well we witnessed it
on the Frome Treasure-Hunt-Trip and did he get wet or what! It was the third weir of the day. We approached in a straggle. Kris went over – perfect
line, no problem, as did Pip and they indicated to others to come too. Rich sent little Wil-
liam over and then proceeded himself. For some reason, Rich turned as he landed, got
caught in sticky stopper, leaned the wrong way and arms flailing, over he went. No sign of
support strokes and no sign of the lean downstream. He didn’t even set up for a roll. He
just bailed out quick.
We all think it was William, waiting so patiently for Rich, who sorted him out.
Ed. If it had not been for William Ellis pulling Rich free from the stopper, he might have been
there all day. Best 3 points entertainment we have enjoyed for a long time.
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FCC ‘THROWLINE ’ CLUB MAGAZINE
PADDLER DEVELOPMENT
Are you looking to improve your paddling skills? Here are the details of the courses we are
providing:
Two Star Weekend courses
June 17th/18th
September 3rd and 10th
Two Star - Six week course, eve-
nings Tuesdays
Starts 13th June
Ends 18th July
Three Star - Six week course,
evenings Thursdays
Starts 20th April
Ends 25th May
STAR COURSES: DATES
Canoe Safety - a
weekend course
17th/18th June
Building on rescue skills
covered in the Star
Awards, this weekend
course develops a safe
and practical approach
to dealing with flat water
incidents and rescues.
Open Canoe
1 and 2 Star A weekend course
20th/21st May
Learn modern strokes
and traditional skills in
tandem open canoes.
Saturday will be based in
Frome and Sunday will
be a river trip on the
River Wye.
Aquatic First Aid
14th May
An 8 hour qualification
which covers incident man-
agement, resuscitation, hy-
pothermia and many other
aspects of first aid applicable
to canoeing. This course is needed if you
intend to pursue a coaching
qualification.
One Star Weekend courses
May 6th/7th
July 15th/16th
August 26th/27th
COSTS Cost Youth Cost Adult
One Star £21 £26
Two Star £26 £31
Three Star £26 £36
Open Canoe £16 £21
Canoe Safety £26
First Aid £16 £16
To book your place on a
course: fill up an application
form which you can get at any
club session , or phone/email
Pam and ask her to send you
one.
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FCC ‘THROWLINE ’ CLUB MAGAZINE
Reports River Frome Treasure & Scavenger Hunt - by James & Wil-
liam On the 2nd of April we paddled the River Frome in two teams, each team had one set of
clues. On our team we had Chris, James, William, Rich and Steve. We met at Market Yard
and paddled from the Creamery at Oldford down to Langham Farm. The weather was good and the water level was quite high, with some tree branches dangling
into the water, so we had to watch that we didn't get tangled in them. There was plenty of water going over the weirs, but unfortunately, William capsized at the
bottom of one of the weirs and then Richard capsized trying to help him. They both swam!
Everyone was happy to see Rich in the water.
Our team found: 4 balls, 1 card, 3 bits of red plastic, 7 nails (Rich lost these when he swam, but William res-
cued him!), 1 How To Build A Boat, 2 bottles, 1 piece of fishing line and 1 piece of string.
Along the trip our team won the following items: 1 pack of strawberry pencils , 1 pack of fruit pastels, 6 Mars bars, 8 Cream Eggs and , 3 Flake
bars. When we solved the last clue we all rushed out to the toilets only to find that Pip had set a
trick for us, but we didn’t mind because we had enough chocolate already!
At the end of the trip not very many people were cold.
All in all it was great! Thanks Pip and Kris for organising a great day!
By James and William Ellis Paddlers and points: Rich (3), Chris P, Megan, Alun, Pam, Arthur, Steve, James E, William E
(3) , Jackie, Pip and Kris.
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FCC ‘THROWLINE ’ CLUB MAGAZINE
Youth + Cartoon
Weddings Everywhere
Calling all youngsters - Jackie A special hello to all our clubs youngsters. My name is Jackie and I am part of
the organising committee.
So why am I calling all youngsters? It is because I will be taking a special inter-
est and trying to help all our youth members to gain more enjoyment from
their paddling. I can help guide you to develop your paddling skills, by introducing you to the
most suitable training courses and other events.
So if any of you would like to make some suggestions, or has any good ideas about what
they think we could be doing to improve things for our younger members, please come and
find me on club nights.
I am a good listener and look forward to either chatting to you or if you prefer send me
your emails at: jackie24-24@hotmail.com. (sensible comments only please!)
Between us we will be able to make your paddling with the club more fun and much more
rewarding. Looking forward to hearing from you, Jackie.
‘My Love’ how about if I dash off soon after the
reception, then I might just catch the last run
down the Dart, before it gets to dark.
or
I just couldn’t believe your mum, when she said
that I should be careful tonight not to damage
my back again, like I did in Scotland canoeing
last year.
or
Now that it’s legal, some of the clubs senior
members might stop giving us those disapprov-
ing looks as we retire to our tent at Biblins.
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Access Sport + New Assistant Editor
Helen steps forward
We are please to welcome Helen Samuels who has offered to help out
as assistant editor. She will help to bring something new to the bi-
monthly news, gossip and reports. Please let Helen know of any items, especially club gossip that you
would like to be included in the newsletter.
Access Sport We, that is Frome Canoe Club, has been proposed by the BCU
to receive help from an organisation called Access Sport. This is a national charity whose object is to promote sporting
activities to young people. The benefits are huge. We will get a
grant of £3000 to buy equipment or training opportunities for
members. We will get professional advice and guidance espe-
cially with regard to promoting our activities and fundraising.
They help us to launch a Festival Day with a Sporting Ambassa-
dor eg James Cracknell, to promote fun and fitness. The commitment by us is that we will
monitor the youth participation and of course promote it. But we do this really well al-
ready and we hope that the successes we achieved last year will continue. In Year 2 of our
association with Access Sport we can receive a further £1000 if we obtain matched fund-
ing. Incidentally, the BCU was asked to propose just ONE club for this association with Access
Sport and we, FCC, was the one they proposed. Out of the whole country – this is amaz-
ing and we can only draw one conclusion from this: The BCU thinks we are a good club.
Not bad is it?
Congratulations - Yes another wedding com-
ing soon. The clubs best wishes go to Emma Tarr and James Spurling who an-
nounced recently that they are to marry this coming December. Many
best wishes to you both.
Ed. Just shows our dating service does really work.
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FCC ‘THROWLINE ’ CLUB MAGAZINE
Bits & Pieces A Comfortable Chair and Good Lunch - by Jackie Being a layabout at the time, I was asked to go to this forum for the voluntary sector on
behalf of the club. Could this be my punishment for not getting wet this winter? Anyway,
the promise of a free lunch seemed a good enough reason to go. What could have been a very 'dry' day turned out to be very informative and interesting
(honest). The presentations were very professional, concise and relevant to the many differ-
ent organisations that were present. The subjects included managing and marketing charities and voluntary organisations, including the use of resources. Howev-
er, the emphasis was clearly on giving information and advice on the permanent problem of
fundraising in the voluntary sector. The Mendip Community Support organisation appeared to be very willing and able to help
groups within the community. (I am willing to sell the information on fundraising at a reason-
able price, but to our main fundraiser Pam, its free). The forum brought together people from a wide range of organisations and charities within
Mendip, consequently there was loads of networking and exchanges of ideas. It was interest-
ing to get an idea of how FCC is viewed as a positive part of the local community from a
non-paddling perspective.
More importantly, the lunch was really good and the chairs VERY comfortable.
£60 for the club Imagine my surprise when Chris Harvey walked through my front door (I had opened it
first!) and handed me a fat cheque. After he had picked me up from the floor and sat me
down on a chair, he explained that he, Linz and Tom had acted as rescue boats for the Raft
Race on the moat in Wells last summer and by way of thanks had received from the Lions
Club of Wells, a cheque for £60. Thank you Chris, Linz and Tom.
Jim Croft - a special ‘get well’ mention All of Frome Canoe Club wishes you well when you go into hospital
during May to have the pacemaker battery replaced. Jim, we all hope
that everything goes according to plan and that you are well enough
to spend a few days with us over the weekend of 3rd/4th June! ‘sorry we can’t fit a new battery because we now use kinetics, so you will
just have to take up paddling to recharge that pacemaker!
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FCC ‘THROWLINE ’ CLUB MAGAZINE
‘Copper Nose Clip Points’
If you know different….or have been left off the
above points list then let the Editor know imme-
diately, as we wouldn’t want you to miss out!
Stuart Haywood 15 pts
Richard Carter 14 pts
Ben Leigh 6 pts
William Passfield 5 pts
Neil Dixon 4 pts
James Ellis 3 pts
William Ellis 3 pts
Jon Bevan 3 pts
Megan Jones 3 pts
Sam Penny 3 pts
Mark Baines 3 pts
Ben Reid 3 pts
Jack Smiles 3 pts
Danny O’Gorman 3 pts
Emma Tarr 3 pts
George Paxton 2 pts
Robbie Campbell 2 pts
Jackie Powell 2 pts
Nick Kent 2 pts
James Spurling 2 pts
Kris B– Dean 1 pt
Pam Dixon 1 pt
Remember POINTS awarded:
1 pt for a ROLL.
2 pts for a TECHNICAL SWIM
3 pts for a SWIM
Points up to Monday 17th April
For new members going on a trip:
Remember if you want to go on a paddling trip and want to know more, all you have
to do is phone up the organiser and ask. He or she will be happy to tell you the skills/
standard required and all arrangements for the trip. Remember that you can borrow any
club kit that you need, including a wetsuit if you're lucky: we do have a few which have been
donated to the club and which may just fit you!
When out paddling, remember: Thermal Vest/tee shirt! 100% Polyester thermals keep
you warm. WET Suit! Many layers of thinner Polyester are better than one thick one. Ca-
noeing CAGS (Cagoule) to keep the wind and water off, and luckily the club has just bought
some new good quality semi-dry ones.
What else? Packed lunch (high energy food) and a hot drink. A warm dry change of
clothes for afterwards. Anything else? Well we always meet at the clubhouse before we
leave, and that is the time to sort out what you need in the way of club kit, pack it into the
cars along with your own kit, and then off to paddle.
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FCC ‘THROWLINE ’ CLUB MAGAZINE
Scotland 2006 continued
Canoeing and kayaking are "Assumed risk" - "Water contact sports" that may carry risks. Participants
should be aware of and accept these risks, and be responsible for their own action and involvement.
Mid Air Manoeuvres – to Neil, who also messed up at Right Angle Falls on the Etive and
started the subsequent big drop sideways. Some aerial antics sorted him out and he did man-
age to straighten out. Longest Distance Travelled Under Water – to Yousaf at Ski Jump on the Etive. It must
have been a full 10 metres and had us all with hearts in mouth waiting for him to emerge.
Paddlers and points: Stuart 12, Rich 11, Neil 4, Danny 3, Emma 3, Nick 2, James 2, Pam 0.
The Allt a Chaoruinn.
This is an amazing river – or rock slide. It is described as a step creek, falling 80m in 1km.
The first drop is a 6m slide called ‘Speed’, a deep gutter which you shoot down. This is fol-
lowed by ‘Ecstasy’, the longest rapid of the run with several drops, slides and sticky holes
some of which Stuart and Neil found. ‘Pinball’ comes next. This is a 2 metre drop onto a steep rock slide with a rock in the middle, diverting all the water to the right but paddlers
need to go to the left. An enormous effort to get the must-make line saw Neil and Danny
bounce safely if not gracefully down the wet rocks on the left, avoiding the dangerous under-
cut cliff on the right. Stu opted for the equally steep and bouncy seal-launch approach. The
last section is the ‘Chasm’ but we renamed it the ‘Toilet Flush’ because it was just a massive
rush of water in a steep narrow slide, only as wide as a boat, forcing paddlers to use a stern
rudder grip for fear of trapping paddles in the high sided walls. Neil, Stu and Danny did this run and the rest provided bank support: camera crew and safety
cover.
We reconnoitred the Moy, the Nevis and the Kiachnish, but events conspired against us and
so they have gone on the to-do list for next year.
Recommended