Trip Reports Page 2

River Barle: Tarr Steps to Exebridge
Sunday 15th November 2009

After a week of heavy rain the first Club river trip of the season was eagerly anticipated. Seven paddlers headed up to Somerset to Tarr Steps to paddle the river Barle down to Exe Bridge a section totalling some 16 kilometres.

The first section is the South West’s most popular and best Grade 2 trip. Its popularity was confirmed as we arrived at Tarr Steps to find about 30 other paddlers already there. Out trip had coincided with an annual race, which is held in memory of a paddler who had drowned on the river 21 years ago. Just the sort of reminder that the more apprehensive of us needed! The race got underway while we shuttled our vehicles and by the time we were ready to go there were a lot less people about.

The river was quite high but manageable and we were treated to impressively long and numerous rapids. The purchaser of the beers was quickly decided as Ian took a swim early on (after about 400 metres) after failing to negotiate a very large rock. The interest continued down past Marsh Bridge with some interesting rapids that were challenging in places for most of the group but good fun! Continuing on towards Dulverton still water and a horizon line heralded the town weir. River right provided an easy line and all successfully negotiated the weir. Below the weir a long braided rapid led us into Dulverton where this section of the river ends, just below Dulverton Bridge.

Following on from Dulverton down to Exebridge the last 6 kilometres continued to provide interesting paddling, as the level was quite high. There is a large weir about a kilometre after Dulverton. We portaged this one and welcomed the leg stretch this opportunity to be out of the boats provided. The second weir was more straightforward and we all successfully slid down its face. Not long after that the Barle and the Exe converge and there was an enjoyable surf wave lurking where we stopped to play and Andy demonstrated a couple of good rolls!

After another kilometre the road bridge came into view. We had reached our egress and after changing enjoyed a pint (or hot chocolate for some) in the Anchor Inn.

Thanks to Bertie for leading this trip.
 

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Report and pictures by: Barbara Browning

Night Paddle, Ringstead to Durdle Door and back.
Saturday 18th July.

A message on the ansa-phone in the afternoon from Hugh confirmed the trip was on. The heat wave earlier in the month a distant memory, the planned trip actually fitted into a brief window of light winds (SW 3), calmish seas( slight) and no rain (dry!)

So on the beach finds us having an in-depth briefing, which included the issue of personal laminated maps, which enabled our group of 5 to set off eastwards.

We cleared Ringstead (which is a big bay) around a small choppy point. The eroded grooves on the cliffs tell their tale-this is an exposed coastline in spite of our eponymous island in the way of the prevailing South Westerlies.

So the green coast of the bay gives way to the deserted cliffs with Bat Hole in the distance. Small groups of cormorants could be seen. We took our turns to go through Bats Hole which was calm and the sea full of kelp, to find Hugh ambushing us armed with his camera.

Next Durdle Door which is still standing in spite of my sons claims that it had fallen in due to a combination of global warming and acid rain.

Issued with whistles, green ,pink and purple night lights we set off back. The journey back was a delight ,into a freshening wind in our faces. Tidal assistance meant easy paddling with the hull of my canoe slapping down loudly into wave troughs. The light went quickly, huge formations of heavy, dark rain clouds out to sea built up rapidly, filling the horizon.

In the gloom we spotted the rocks of the causeway and beached in the dark with varying degrees of clumsiness.

It was a successful trip and most invigorating. Thanks to Hugh for organising it. He obviously put a lot of thought and effort in and everybody enjoyed it.

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Report by: Rob Hogben | Pictures : Hugh DeIongh

IOPCC FRIENDS AND FAMILY DAY
Saturday 11th July 2009 - Sandsfoot

Despite the weather we had a very successful, relaxed and enjoyable afternoon on the water.

The forecast wasn’t good, and true to met office predictions it started raining on Friday night and seemed determined to drizzle all the next day. Lots of phone calls in the morning expecting cancellation but no, we were running with what we’d got.

Ken arrived with a much larger fleet of boats than anticipated (thanks to John Perham of WOEC, who lent us the Jurassic Kids kayaks) and combined with IOPCC’s club boats I thought we would have more kayaks than people!

BUT within 30 minutes of kick off the whole fleet was on the water and there were kayaks and paddlers everywhere – what a great sight! Lovely to see new faces and whole families trying paddling out for the first time and others who just turned up for a go. Lots of fun was had by all. Unlike last year there was no passing trade from accidental tourists that happened to be attracted by the boats and noise, but some very keen and determined folks ready for some sport.

In all, it was a very enjoyable and relaxing (if not the sunniest) afternoon. A big thank you to Will who did a grand job of looking after everyone on the water, Ken for bringing the boats and returning them, John, Gemma, Keziah and Hannah for helping with the clear up.
Feedback from the punters has been very positive, so perhaps we’ll see some new faces on the water.

Thank you to everyone for turning up.

Cate

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Report by: Cate Bargh | Pictures : Barbara Browning

Aveton Gifford to Thurlestone
30th-31st May 2009

The weekend 30th-31st May was the highlight of IOPCC’s month. Ken Baillie carefully planned the Club trip to Thurlestone in the South Hams of Devon. This was such a great weekend enjoyed by 11 members. Ken had got it all organised and the whole trip went perfectly. Even the weather was great.

Most people met at Dorchester Tesco’s and travelled down in convoy to the Car Park at Aveton Gifford where we were due to launch at 14.00. This was at about half tide and we had to walk with our boats floating along for the first few hundred meters or so before there was enough water to paddle. The sheltered estuary was very beautiful with lots of birds and an ebbing tide to float down on. At Bantham the pace of the tide quickened as we wound our way past the thatched boat house and between the moored boats. As we reached the mouth of the river we came out of the shelter and felt the Force 5 easterly wind. The waves were substantial in the entrance and we were in the company of kite surfers who were often spectacularly airborne. As usual there were a couple of larger waves which some people got trashed by – but everyone stayed upright.

Once out onto the ocean we headed inshore to appreciate the spectacular coastline and to try to get out of the full force of the wind, which was gusting up to 25 knots. It was a hot sunny day out of the wind and the beaches were very busy with holidaymakers. We had hoped to camp on a beach at Thurlestone but we carried on to Hope Cove where we stopped for an ice cream. Cate decided she was a little warm and had a swim on the way in. Hugh valiantly went to her rescue.

Ken had a chat with the Harbour Master at Hope Cove and agreed that it was OK for us to camp around the corner from the main beach. It was just a 5-minute paddle away but very secluded as it could only be reached by boat. We set up camp there and enjoyed food, drink, a fire and good company in a beautiful location with perfect weather. It was Clive’s 60th birthday so we all enjoyed the cake Hilary had made for the occasion. Even a half moon and the stars came out to join us.

An uneventful night led to a perfect morning. Our leader had said the plan was OTW 9am sharp. Such was the enthusiasm and organisation of the group that we were ready to go at 08.15 – so we did. The wind had dropped and it was a perfect blue day. As the tide was flooding we were able to paddle through Thurlestone Rock which is an arch . After this the group split as 4 paddlers stayed inshore to rock hop whilst the rest of the group carried on out to go around Burgh Island. Ken had arranged VHF communication channels in advance so there were no worries and we all met up at Challaborough for a leisurely brunch.

Once again Kens planning was perfect and we were able to paddle across the bar, which links Burgh Island to Bigbury at high water. It was good fun to paddle our boats across with people paddling across.

There was some waves and surf to be enjoyed on our way back into the Avon estuary. The tide was weakly flooding up the estuary and we had a leisurely paddle back up to Aveton Gifford accompanied by jumping fish, egrets, herons and swans. This was an excellent club trip, carefully and meticulously organised by Ken and enjoyed by us all.
 

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Report by: Barbara Browning

Poole to Brownsea Island
12th April 2009

Easter Sunday 0930: Lake Pier car park. The sky didn’t look as promising as forecast. Six of us were preparing to be on the water at 10:00; two more, Barbara and Ian were already on the water, paddling round from their overnight camp, with their equipment stowed in their sea kayaks. We were also pleased to be hosts to Emlyn. He was on holiday from South Wales, and had sought us out through the wonderful IOPCC website. He was joining us on our trip in his Capella (his wife went shopping in Bournemouth with his wallet - good effort!).

Clive West organised this trip meticulously, as he did not want to be responsible for getting us stuck in the mud at low tide! The sky brightened as we prepared to launch (this included Ian and Hilary clearing my boat of wood lice - I must use my boat more!). Clive handed out laminated OS maps of the area which included our destination: Brownsea Island. Also included were the tide directions and speeds taken from tidal diamonds on the chart.

We set off on time, with the sun glittering on the water now. Conditions were calm and clear. We paddled straight across the end of Wareham Channel to the other side and headed south skirting the Arne nature reserve. This was very tranquil. Anchored ‘gin palaces’ were dotted here and there and impressive properties peeped out from the shore. We passed Long Island and the wooded Round Island and then headed east towards Green Island and Furzey Island, passing a colony of noisy gulls.

From Fitzworth Point we headed north-east, straight across to the west side of Brownsea Island. This was as exposed as it got with a mild head wind and some gentle bouncy water. The approach to Brownsea was inspiring - peaceful sandy beaches and pine woods. I was looking forward to my lunch only to be told by Clive that we had to paddle all the way round the island first!

Landing is forbidden on most of the north side and all of the east side due to nesting birds, including Oyster-catchers and Canadian geese of which we saw lots. Brownsea Island has been a designated nature reserve since 1927, now managed by the National trust. It is also famous for being the birthplace of scouting, with Baden Powell taking his first group there. The view of Poole on our left was not particularly attractive but the harbour was full of activity with sailing boats, cruisers, wind-surfers and skidoos.

As we passed Sandbanks and rounded the corner onto the south side of Brownsea the calm and tranquillity returned. With the island on our right hand side now and superb views of green mainland including the Purbeck hills in the distance. Despite my rumbling tummy the mood was relaxed and the temperature warm. Along the beach people were enjoying the holiday. Craig obviously still had some energy to dispel before lunch, as he did some Eskimo rolls.

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Report by: Fiona Marlow

Bude Surf Trip
29th March 2009

Early on Sunday morning nine paddlers ventured north to sample the thundering surf of Widemouth Bay in Bude. Surf reports did not look overly optimistic despite high wind and rough seas earlier in the week, but we decided to go anyway as there was bound to be more than in Weymouth.

The day did not look promising with an early morning frost and the usual build up of rain clouds as we approached Honiton. Things improved as we made fast progress with no traffic problems and without getting lost. The omens improved further when the beach café opened just as we arrived and coffee and bacon butties brightened the prospects markedly. The day continued to improve with some nice clean waves and a bright blue sky. The beach was unusually quiet with hardly any board surfers and paddlers in the majority- surf probably not big enough for the hard-core locals.

Much riding of waves followed accompanied by occasional swimming although not nearly so frequent or as painful as the whitewater swimming practice of previous months. Bertie, Steve and Matt showed off their skills in their glass-fibre surf boats while the rest of us did our best in the plastic. Ken demonstrated his patent T-Bone rescue to good effect and a fair amount of rolling was evident.

The surf had been about 12feet by the time we got back to Dorchester (measured in the 'proper way' from the sea-bed to somewhere above the crest of the wave). The day was unfortunately without any real drama or tragedy, although we did scour the beach for possible accidents and photo opportunities but everyone enjoyed themselves and returned exhausted which all adds up to a pretty damn good day on the water, which is what it’s all about.

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Report by: John Christmas

Round Portland
21st March 2009

The weather couldn’t have been more perfect. After the usual moving of cars, we set off from Chesil beach right on time at 11:00. It was my first trip all the way round so I was looking forward to it. Barbara wanted to practice her VHF skills so signed in with the coastguard to let them know what we were planning. Little did we all know how much more she would be using the VHF set later. The plan was to leave 3 hours before high tide so that we would benefit from the tide being with us all the way round.

The sea down the west side of the island was like a sheet of glass. The visibility was near perfect, the occasional diver disturbing the surface. We all did a bit of rock hopping round the boulders. Clive managed to lighten his boat a bit by leaving some fibreglass on the rocks. As we moved to the south of the island and left the hoards of climbers behind, the scene was like something out of a David Attenborough’s documentary with cormorants diving into the water as we slid past.

About noon we rounded the bill, paddling through Pulpit Rock and past the lighthouse, relieved not to be with the crowds that were on land. We then started up the east side on route to our lunch stop, past large caves and huge wooden boat cranes that are used to lower boats down the cliff edge. I was looking forward to lunch as I had been told about the “baking” wars that go on between Hilary and Barbara.

At this point we were watching more climbers out enjoying the weather. I was wondering what to write in the trip report as this part of the island was starting to get less interesting when suddenly one of the climbers fell from the top of the cliff. We took the decision to alert the coastguard of the situation, as we weren’t sure whether any of the climbers was able to alert the emergency services. Barbara did a grand job of giving the coastguard all the information they needed. We then all rafted up to give “Whiskey Bravo” the local coastguard helicopter a better chance of seeing us. Once again, Clive wished he had packed his orange flares. We were relieved when we heard the roar of the helicopter coming down the coast toward us. The climber was eventually airlifted to the local hospital and only suffered a couple of broken bones and concussion (a lucky chap). We had a ringside view of the whole affair before moving off to complete the journey.

We got back to Portland Castle at 15:00 after paddling through the breakwater and port. When we contacted the coastguard to let them know we were back, they commended the way in which we handled the affair. If the climber had serious head injuries, those extra minutes saved could have made all the difference. Subsequent to the event, we had a nice write up in the Echo, photos supplied by Ian and Barbara. Hopefully it will raise the awareness of the club and what a professional bunch we are!!

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Report by: Barbara Browning