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River Ogwen, October 2004
Added: 1- -1, 2004
author: Alan Stone
Location: North Wales
Trip Date(s): Array24th October, 2004
Five of the older members of the club headed north to have a second childhood and joined up with some of the paddlers from Bangor University. We were going to paddle the Ogwen, a river running from Bethesda down towards Bangor. This is normally considered grade IV in average water levels and grade V in spate. It had been chucking down all week and some very nervous and incontinent old duffers met up with the not so bright young things still nursing hangovers. The first question to be decided was whether to do the gun barrel. This is a man made chute of water diverting the river out of a quarry. It flows fast and shallow over a serious of sharp rock ledges. The consequences for getting it wrong can be serious. A recent swimmer broke 3 vertebrae in his back on this section. Two paddled and two opted for a get in below. Of the two who paddled only one got down upright. The oohs, owwws and groans were heard above the roar from the river as the paddler bounced from ledge to ledge? and that noise was just the crowd watching. After being reunited with his boat, Alan nursed his bruises and injured pride to continue down. The river eases off for the next mile before plunging into a gorge for 2 miles of continuous grade IV+. This was alpine white water at its best. The river flows at a feverish pace and we hopped from eddy to eddy grateful for each stop to get our breath back. Boofing, rolling, pinning and squirting all happened in quick succession. Hywel thought he could cool down by swimming. The grins got broader the longer we stayed and played. This was no pool and drop river but just continuous rapid without let up or mercy. All too soon we arrived at the egress while the adrenaline was still pumping. It took me a week to come down from the high. This has to be one of the best bits of white water in this country to paddle. Give me more.
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Extra Pool Sessions
Ian R
9- -0, 2004
There is a second pool session running during September, on Wednesday evenings from 9.15pm to 10.00pm.
It's aimed at adults and intermediates who want to do their own thing (i.e. we don't plan to do any coaching at these sessions).
If we want to keep these sessions going, we need to average at least a dozen people in the pool, so don't just think about it, turn up! |
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Surf and Play Rules Of the Road
Chris Constantine
7- -0, 2005 | Now that the summer is here I thought it would be a good idea to write down the basic rule of the road for surfing and playboating. This way you will not upset anyone else at the beach and enjoy the waves a lot more.
I have organised several play and surf trips in the coming months. If there is enough support I would like to do a session every 1-2 weeks on a Monday or Friday and a couple of weekend trips to Nene, Nottingham and the Trywer... | | read more» |
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