Sunday 10 December 2017

By Way of a Change

On Tuesday the club got together for a 'pub paddle'. I decided to go with them rather than yet another session working over the same old four mile pound. Also just for a change I thought I'd give the canoe a bit of a work out. I'd recently finished a couple of small modifications to it and fitted airbags front and rear so it seemed an auspicious time to take it out.

The fact is that whereas it's easy enough to load up the kayak, it's a bit of a faff getting the canoe on and off the car, especially single handed, otherwise it would most likely get a lot more use. Light as it is at 24 kilos it's still a bit of a job. If it was a manufactured composite material it would be somewhere near twice that weight and just about unmanageable. I have had my name down for one of the club's canoe stowage places since I brought it home but I'm still second on the list so it's going to have to stay in the slot in the garden for the time being.

Nevertheless, loaded and strapped down I set off for the pre-arranged meeting point at the waterside pub car park at t'other end of the Basingstoke canal. There were about ten of us all told in various styles of canoe and kayak. Two other of the club canoes were also being taken out tandem whereas I was paddling sole. On the last occasion I was out in it there had been a bit of wind which adversely affects the handling as the front rides quite high out of the water. Usually it's enough to move into the centre and kneel but this time I wanted to experiment with a new paddle partner in the form of a 25 kilo bag of sand so that I could remain seated.



So it was we set off together heading south-east towards Cookham. Passing through the recently reconstructed part of the canal at Dogmersfield, the extent of the repairs necessary to the banks after a landslip had all but closed it off, was evident from the amount of piling and ironwork that now holds the banks in place. After a while we each began to find our own pace and the group broke down into smaller segments. The kayak paddlers led the way and I was just about able to keep up with their leisurely pace by sitting/switching the stroke. The other canoes rather fell behind making their own leisurely way. Meanwhile a couple of others in playboats followed on. 



The weather stayed sunny but cold and we had the pleasurable experience of following a Kingfisher for a quarter of a mile or so as it chased on ahead of us from perch to perch, but we eventually lost it in passing. After an hour or so we arrived and regrouped at Cookham wharf and straight away embarked on the return trip. Some of the time I spent practicing strokes and cross strokes, but for the most part I kept the sit/swivel going which is easier on the knees and joints. 

We packed up and I got the boat loaded with the willing help of one of the other paddlers after remembering yo get my paddle partner 'Sandy' out of the boat first. After a rough clean up and change of clothing we retired to the pub for refreshment and sandwiches before setting off for home.

All in all a pleasant way to spend a Tuesday morning.

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