Stanley Kayaking (May 2021)

Wed 5 May 2021

With the the long summer nights and warm balmy evenings (not!) I thought it was time to go canoeing again. I’d arranged to meet up with a couple of buddies from my DUCC days and put out the invite to see if anyone else fancied it. I never knew there was such keen interest in getting wet and cold in our hillwalking club!

It took a fair bit of WhatsApp organising to make sure everyone had the necessary kit but eventually we got there. Great to be back on a river and all our novices looked like they had a cold but fun time.

Only two dunkings, Paul and Rosie both going for the complete immersion experience. Somehow Sandy stayed in her boat despite being the wobbliest at times. She also gets a gold star for paddling twice as far as the rest of us; her boat kept going round and round in circles!

Thanks to my pals for helping with safety cover and hopefully they’ll be a few more chances to introduce people to kayaking over the summer, preferably with warmer water!

(Thanks also to Bruce who came along as spectator and took most of the photos)

  • report by David Matthews