All posts by WYCC

Announcements, Trips

River trips added to the calendar

The schedule of club river trips for the new season has now been published on the Calendar.

Each trip has been classified as Beginner (generally Grade 2), Intermediate (Grade 3) or Experienced (3+). If you would like further info, e.g. you are unsure if a trip is suitable, please contact the organiser listed for the trip in question.

We would encourage our newer members to consider attending some of the beginner paddles as they provide a good introduction to river trips, get you some experience on the river and are most importantly, good fun!

General trip guidelines/tips

  • Club trips are only open to members.
  • If you would like to attend a trip, please ensure you let the organiser know by the last Thursday at the latest before the trip starts – this gives the organiser time to ensure sufficient safety cover is available.
  • If you need kit for a trip, let the organiser know well in advance of the paddle – we’ll try to accommodate a request where possible or arrange for you to collect kit.
  • You must wear suitable clothing for paddling and appropriate for the weather conditions – many of the trips are held over the winter months when it can be cold.
  • A change of clothing is a necessity (for the winter months, this also includes hat/gloves and possibly hand warmers).
  • On long trips in particular, it is a good idea to take food and drink (in cold weather, a hot drink).
  • Consider taking a dry bag (you can purchase suitable dry bags from RoHo) with personal medication, first aid kit etc – you can store your food, gloves etc in the dry bag too.
  • For the advanced trips, a throwline is a necessary item. Additionally, consider taking a knife in your bouyancy aid pocket.
  • Boats should be fitted with inflated air bags at all times – not doing so makes the rescue of boats particularly difficult.
  • If in doubt, ask the organiser or other experienced paddlers for advice.
  • Trips can change venue on the day due to last minute issues such as the weather or river levels – again, it is important to let the organiser know you are attending.
  • A lot of the previous trips have videos on our YouTube channel – check them out for an idea of what to expect.
Announcements

Club membership renewal is now due

Please note that club membership fees are now due from 1st October for the coming 2014 year.

Club membership entitles you to attend river trips, club holidays and lower fees for pool/Pugneys sessions. It also provides the opportunity to vote at the AGM in November, to help influence the direction of your club.

2014 Membership fees for the club are as follows:

£30 family
£20 individual

Membership fees should be paid as soon as possible and within 1 month of the renewal date.

Please ensure you fill in a new membership form with the payment (see below). Once completed, please hand the form and payment to a member of the committee at either Pugneys or one of the pool sessions. Alternatively, you can post payment along with the membership form to the address on the form.

If you wish to make payment via a Bank transfer, please contact Natalie Wilbond for further details.

Cheques should be made payable to West Yorkshire Canoe Club.

The updated membership form is available to download here.

Trips

River Wharfe, both Upper and Lower, Sun 6th Oct

It’s time to dust off the big boats!!! This is the first trip of the season and is the much talked about Wharfe-Wharfe that has been in the making for over a year 🙂 The plan is to do both the Upper and Lower sections of the river Wharfe in a single run. This river includes Conistone Falls (a 1m river wide drop), Ghailstrills strid, Linton Falls (a grade 4 2m two-tier drop) and Appletreewick falls.

To make things easier, meet up is at the bridge over the river near Kilnsey (where we get in for the Upper Wharfe trips), drop off kit, take cars to the get out at Barden bridge and shuttle back in a couple of cars.

Meet up time is 9am.

This paddle is a long one and not for beginners – please make sure you bring along something to eat and drink as it is a long time on the water.

The last section, from Burnsall to Barden, is suitable for those who have experience of moving water – if you’d like to meet up with us at Burnsall for the lower section of the river (which is usually a whole trip of its own), please let me know and we can make arrangements.

If you plan to join the paddle, please let Tony know via email (tonythompson@pobox.com), on Facebook or via text to 07590 567652.

Trip is club members only. The trip can only take place if water levels are sufficient so please ensure you let the organiser know you are coming in case plans change.