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Newsletter119
Spring 2008 / 01
Web: www.marlowcanoeclub.org.uk Email: j.k.norris@btinternet.com
Marlow Canoe Club NewsletterPage 1Spring 2008 / 01
EDITIORS PIECE
The sun's shining, the weathers'warming and bookings are beginning toarrive for this years 1* award courses.We must be due a deep depression anymoment now. Seriously though, this isgoing to be a challenging year on thetraining front as all the coaches andmany helpers who assist during therunning of our courses get to grips withthe new award system. I'm sure all of you have heard about the change bynow, and some you might know a littleabout it. But all of us will benefit fromreading AM's item on the introductionof the new awards. Reaching for thestars provides us with the reasoningbehind the change and concentrates onthe 1 & 2* awards, with links to theBCU site for syllabi etc. Somereferences to coach requirements arealso mentioned; new L1K's please takenote.We also have a rerun of an 'old'favourite. Paul Griffins'Swimmerollathon' is well on the way toestablishing itself as regular feature onthe club's first proper WW run of theseason. The AGM came and went, andfor those unable to attend I've thrown afew words together so at least youknow who won what. There's a tripreport or two including an account of aholiday paddle around St. Brides Bay,with links to everything of note.
WHAT’S IN THIS ISSUE
Editor’s Piece 1Brendan Moore2Pembrokeshire Paddle3Ian Hodges' USK paddle5Swimmerollathon & splosh sweep8Reaching for the stars10Marsh to Marlow11New Kit /
 AGM REPORT
12I like a sense of HUMOUR!13BLAH BLAH BLAH!13
Canoe Expo.14
What's on and other events15Committee / Contacts etc.16
Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known.
A. A. Milne, Pooh's Little Instruction Book 
 
Marlow Canoe Club NewsletterPage 2Spring 2008 / 01
Canoexpo is the big thing this year.Read my bit on what I thought of theshow. I've spoken to Brookbank whoare pretty sure it'll be on next year'scalendar. One final point, I'd like to tryand dispense with postal delivery of printed copies or at the very least makea significant dent in the no's forwardedthis way. It'll be awkward for somebut I'd really like to hear from memberswho cannot get a newsletter any otherway. My contact details are on theback page. The next big step in theevolution of the newsletter will be to goall e-mail. This will open up thepossibilities of more pictures, unlimitedsize and possibly more issues. I'maiming to call time on my editorship inthe next year or two and I'd like to sortthis out before I hand over the reins.Postal delivery will still be available, butas the newsletter moves from a 'book'format to screen layout the printed andposted copy may not be such a'friendly' read in the hand.
 
I will ensuresome printed copies are available withinthe club for visitors etc.-------------------------------------------------
BRENDAN MOORE
For those not in the know, we've seen the last of Brendan Moore, moore's the pity. I don't think I've ever seen Brendan at the club without him being involved in a bit of ad-hoc coaching or advice for those in need. Brendan and Helen are of to New Zealand, and I'm sure (after the envy has settled) we'd like to wish them all the best for their future. As I'd seen relatively little of Brendan I asked him for a few words and got a few pages. Here's about 10% of it.
I first heard about MCC after going to aKayakoJacko rolling clinic to sort outwhat had gone form a reasonably goodto a useless roll which was making mypaddling very defensive and no fun. I’dbeen looking for a club in the area to join and only come across Windsor whodon’t really cover WW, but Jackomentioned the Gurnell pool session so Igot myself down there where I met Andy Hibbert and Shades who said theywere from Marlow.That was in January 2005 but it took me until August to get down to the clubon a Sunday morning, where I met TimT just as he was leaving to go andcheck on a 1 star course running downat the beach by Longridge. We sneakilyran the weir and trundled down to thegroup where I got roped straight indemoing low braces!
Brendan gets 'big air' on the Dart 
More coaching in Derbyshire kept meaway from the club again until New Years day when we did the St Patrick’sStream trip- a chance to take out thelovely shiny new open boat my wifehad treated me to for Christmas! Andshortly after that a Dart trip wasirresistible too- and that’s where theinfamous ‘flying’ photo comes from!Bottom of Triple Step and not a drop of water in the boat, unlike Andy Maxted,who rather embarrassingly took a swimon the grade 2 lower- how we giggled!
 
Marlow Canoe Club NewsletterPage 3Spring 2008 / 01
Trips on the Barle, the top end of theThames and up to the Nene centrefollowed and I got my L2C and ran acourse with Tim in summer 2006 onwhich were our very own JP, Debs andMrs Goddard. All passed with flyingcolours, though I do have a very funnymemory of JP also taking a swim- thistime in about 6 inches of water in frontof a group of gawping teenagers as wepracticed low-braces in the little ‘stream’ under the bridge on river-left afew hundred metres up from the club.The Teifi tour in October 2006 wasmemorable, largely for Reza’sswimming at every opportunity (andsometimes where there didn’t evenseem to be an opportunity!), but mostof all for Debs being taken from theriver on a spinal board after having anOBE halfway down Cenarth Falls! Sheeven tried taking a bite out of the frontof her boat as it landed on top of her atthe bottom of the falls, but her teethdefinitely came off worse. Fortunately atrip to the local hospital showed noserious damage and we got her cosiedup in the front seat of JP’s car for anuneventful trip home. And that brings us to the end of mypaddling career with MCC, It’s been agreat fun ride and one not to miss. AmI sorry to be going- not a bit, but I’llmiss the friends I’ve made at MCC andwill be happy to wish them ‘Kia-Ora’ should any of them ever make it tovisit.Brendan MooreNOV. 2006
Brendan has promised to rub salt into the wound by writing about G4/5 back country Canyoning and a 140km G1/2 tour that he's heard of. Oh! I almost forgot the bit about sea kayaking in crystal clear waters and then there's the………. It just goes on and on! 
 A PEMBROKESHIRE PADDLE
When I watched Kate (Lip Gloss)Silverton doing her ultimate Wild Waterchallenge on the BBC in August, I took more than a normal interest, as I hadbooked on a centre-based trip twoweeks later, kayaking round St Bride’sBay, and finishing off at the Bitches. Itsuddenly looked hard. And we wouldbe carrying camping gear.The trip was run by Twr-y-Felin: acentre set up about 25 years ago by Andy Middleton. Andy was somethingof a rodeo pioneer many years ago, andsettled near the ‘Bitches’ to make aliving.I remember going down to St Davidsfor a camping trip when the kids werevery young. We ‘happening upon’ TYF, as one does when one hasplanned a family holiday well, and I’dbeen able to squeeze in a day’spaddling while the family played on thebeach. It was beautiful. But I’d notbeen able to get back since.The Twr y Felin centre used to be awindmill. The original windmill tower,up a spiral staircase, has a commonroom at the top. As you sit there,supping your pint, you have a greatview over the Pembrokeshire coast.It's a spectacular landscape of ruggedcliffs, with sandy beaches; a veryinviting place for a sea kayaking trip.
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