Waterside B

It was a bit of an early start for some of us this morning, but we were on the road in good time to get Craig on the water an away for his first Waterside. He managed 10th in a time of 3:33:23 - not bad in a Trimmer!
It was a first for Fern too in Ladies K2 with Cathy and they were 2nd in 2:54:00





George and Bryan managed one place better than Waterside A - 1st in C2 in 3:01:39
















Ian was 7th in Senior K1 with a time of 2:25:58

Mick and Beth improved on their last year's time with 4th place in the Junior/ Veteran class in 2:53:01.

The weather was warm, sunny and completly calm, unlike most of the Watersides I can remember and people could almost be forgiven for thinking it was spring. There was enough flow on the Kennett to make the river sections interesting. It was altogether an enjoyable paddle although Craig did sleep for a considerable part of the journey home.

Special thanks to Sarah who came along and took the photos.

Full results at http://www.watersides.fsnet.co.uk/current-b-res.htm

More photos at http://www.paddlepics.com/

Sunday Lunch

After the 5th Winter Race, about 30 members and families ate Sunday Lunch at The Larwood & Voce near Trent Bridge. Most were accomodated at the long table, but "the outpost" was not far away and far from lonely. (You can just see Nigel.) The food was good and the portions excellent, with rapid service once they started. Many thanks to Harriett who got this started and did the leg work.
This is a pleasant venue for such events and very close to the club, so I look forward to the next one after the final Winter Race of the series on March 9th. Remember to book! It's hoped that more of the junior members can be present at this event, with a dozen now attending the gym sessons and about the same doing the Winter Races.



Thanks Julie for bringing the camera and Hayleigh for the photo.

Winter Race 5

The slightly bitter wind didn't put 38 paddlers off doing today's race. There were no startlingly good times, which seemed to be all rather slow, but there were some good performances and a few changes in the Series leader board.

Laura bagged Paul as the best partner, finishing 2nd in the race, but moving into top spot on the leader board. Zyggy also got it sussed with Shob away, getting Dave B to partner him and he now moves up to 2nd in the overall points. (Don't forget, only the 4 best scores count.) My calculations show that any one of 13 people could theoretically win the series, 8 of them juniors.

Fern turned in the best result today with a PB over 4 minutes faster than her previous one and she still paddled up the middle of the river, so there could be yet another even better result from her at the next race. So 20 points and a tee-shirt for her!

The 6th and last race is on 9th March, with all to play for.

Full Unofficial results at: http://uk.geocities.com/nottinghamkayakclub/resultstore/winter_races_07_08.htm

Meanwhile, about 30 club members followed today's strenuous efforts with Sunday Lunch at the Larwood & Voce - hopefully pictures soon.

Waterside A, Wahey!

Waterside was an awesome race. i didnt really know what to expect, having heard many conversations and reports of the race from last year, i was abit weary, however i was very pleasantly surprised! I would say probably one of the most enjoyable races ive ever done, exciting, hard and challenging but also chilled and relaxing. The company was fab as always, and alot of laughs!!! Thanks Mick for racing with me, i hope u enjoyed it as much as i did!
p.s. check me out, writing the first blog! x

Waterside A

There was a good turnout by NKC at Waterside A this weekend with entries in the Senior K1, Ladies K1, Mixed K2, Ladies K2, Veteran Junior K2 and C2. Hopefully there will be some personal reports from some of those taking part. Meanwhile here are a few photos of Ian in Senior K1, Hayleigh & Cathy in Ladies K1 and Mick and Sarah in Veteran/Junior K2.

Photos by Tadek (See also NKC Website Home Page)

Winter Race 4

They were the most challenging conditions of the 2007/8 Series so far. Some of us can remember even more extreme conditions over the years, but this was quite bad enough, with the water nearly to the top step outside the club and a gusty downstream wind. It was very similar to the first one I ever did in 1971 or 2 in a slalom boat. I think I managed some of it backwards and it took over 2 hours! Andy took the longest on this occasion twice as fast as that (I think he's about the same age that I was at the time!) He actually finished and scored points, although several were not so fortunate with 3 swimmers and several rescuers not completing the course and others retiring for other reasons. At this point, special mention must go to Pat, Ady & Ricky, Norman & Alison who helped Geordie & Tony out in a very brambly patch of "The Grove. " Pat in particular deserves thanks as he had already rescued Tom at the first cross over.
The juniors that completed the course deserve special mention, as strength on the last section to Clifton Bridge was the most important asset apart from boat control. Zyggy, Harvey, Laura & Tadek did well with their experienced senior partners, but the two crews who deserve special mention here are Beth & Leanna and Shobhanna & Zyggy as they were all junior crews. Beth and Shobhanna managed to steer & stroke for their younger partners in the most challanging conditions, with their skills developed at the training sessions during the high water in the summer being put to the real test. Sarah was the other junior who completed the race with Harriett and again they deserve a special mention as this was their first time together as a crew.
Two of the Fast Track girls raced and they also deserve paticular mention as they had paddled up from Holme Pierrepont just to start the race. That says something about their determination & skill already. They do need to learn to get closer to the bank going upstream in fierce currents, but it is a comment on their strength, stamina and will power that they made it to the club and finished the race like that.
As you would expect in such conditions, the fastest K1s, who normally find it hard to get to the front and score high points, benefitted from the conditions, with a win for Ian C, and 19 for Matt F & 18 for Jimmy. Altogether 40 people entered in 27 boats - a good turn out for such a day.
Full (as yet unofficial) results can be found at http://uk.geocities.com/nottinghamkayakclub/resultstore/winter_races_07_08.htm.
Please note that the date of Race 5 has changed to 3rd February as there is a rowing event on 17th.

Soar "Resolution" New Year Race

Sub-title: Craig & Tony' swim, Leanna's first race & Beth & Shob's "Big Adventure"

Only 3 Nottie crews made the effort this year, which is a bit sad when we are less than an hour down the A46 from Leicester. Weather - fine. Company - excellent. Paddle - enjoyable. Craig & Tony swam, but after a quick crew re-arrangement continued, Leanna & I had a good steady paddle. In fact I should say excellent as it was Leanna's first ever race apart from Clifton. But Beth's story is more eventful than that! Scroll down to her account of the day!