| Paddlers |
Guests |
| Ken Baillie |
Port of Plymouth C.A. |
| Tony Sandry |
|
| Jo Williams |
|
| Geoff Ridler |
|
| John Christmas |
|
| Jane Seigne |
|
Saturday
Five club paddlers met at Aveton Gifford
at noon on a lovely sunny day, Jo, Geoff, John, Tony and
I. After introductions and a very quick pre trip faff we
were off.
This has to be one of my favourite
paddles on the club calendar. To start with judging the
tide correctly at Aveton Gifford to give the correct
water height and some tidal assistance down the river is
always a challenge, with a pick up of speed as you reach
the river mouth it is always a tense moment as you punch
your way out to sea. (Good scenery and wild life is
always available on the river) As always we were not
disappointed.
On this paddle we had an interesting swell
backed up with a 3 – 4 cross shore wind. Once through
the swell Jo who had been slightly apprehensive soon
settled into a good rhythm and was happy to lead the
group as we rock hopped towards Thurlestone Rock. Both
swell and wind picked up slightly which kept up the
concentration levels and in what seemed like no time we
had arrived at Bolt Tail. A quick group discussion, we
decided not to paddle on past Bolt Tail but to turn tail
and return to the safety of Hope Cove for a well earned
ice cream and some provisions for the night. After a 30
minute break we were back on the water and with a short
paddle around the harbour we arrived at Beacon Point
Beach, our campsite for the night.
In the past, wood for the camp fire has
been sparse however this year we had wood in abundance
and thanks to John and his Financial Times we soon had a
roaring fire.
Combine this with a good meal, a glass of
wine, a glorious evening and sunset what more could one
ask for?
Sunday
Reveille 07:00
Breakfast, packed up and beach clean
done we were all ready to go by 0830. With a slightly
misty start to the day we headed off rock hopping
towards Thurlestone Rock and Burgh Island.
By the time
we had reached The Island in almost perfect paddling
conditions the sun was shining through. After a pleasant
paddle around the Island we returned to Bantham and the
café to wait for the water to rise over the sand spit.
During breakfast Jane turned up with members of the
Port of Plymouth Canoeing Association, all in sea boats ready to play in
the surf at the river mouth, an opportunity not to be
missed. Breakfast over we paddled over to join Jane and
co. Some of us who hadn’t paddled a fully laden sea boat
in surf were not too sure about this. To reassure them I
volunteered to fall out of my boat and show them how
easy it was to be rescued. Thanks to JC who performed a
textbook rescue I was back in my boat before too many
people noticed. Tony then decided to get in on the act
and he too capsized, this time assisted by Geoff who
rescued Tony without him coming out of his boat.
Demonstrations over we all had a good half hour in the
surf.
After regrouping at the river mouth we
paddled back up the river in perfect conditions and just
made it by about five minutes on the tide back at Aveton
Gifford. Like I said at the start this paddle offers a
lot, made better by the weather and company.
Thanks to Jo, Geoff, John and Tony.
