News – Page 6 – Nomad Kayak Club

15Jan 2023 by Michael Quinn No Comments

River Colne & Canal to Coy Carp Trip Report

15th January 2023 A local lake, canal and mainly the River Colne, downstream to The Coy Carp pub, near Harefield. 7 Paddlers: Ian Walker (Trip Leader), Dave Hillier (Safety), Martin Edwards, Andy Slatford, Dan Wickham, Nathan Ashford & Jai Auguste. Ian led this local intermediate white-water trip, mainly on the Rickmansworth River Colne loop. After many days of rain it was a more interesting trip than planned. This was an intermediate Nomad Kayak Club trip with Dave Hillier thankfully providing good rescue cover. It was good timing while the river levels up and just before the next cold snap. Fun was had by all & only 1 person had a couple of dunkings, However it was a good to get some rescue practice in. The main hazards were tree branches/logs…

02Jan 2023 by Michael Quinn No Comments

River Thames Section 1b – Castle Eaton to Lechlade Trip Report

Event, News, Trip, Trip Reports

2nd January 2023 6.8 miles downstream paddle, starting where trip 1a ended (Castle Eaton Red Lion Pub) to Lechlade. Paddlers: Dave Hillier (Trip Leader), Phillip Gent (without doggies), Ian Walker (Safety and Report Writer) Just 3 of us set off sliding into the flooded Thames after Graham (shuttle) helping with us with car shuttle leaving both Dave’s van and Phil’s car at the Lechlade carpark end point. Weather for a recent change was sunny all day, felt bit chilly at 7 degrees Celsius on average for trip, but when in the sun quite nice with only a slight wind. Dave gave our trip briefing, main warning being to watch out for hidden obstacles in the faster and much higher than usual flowing upper River Thames. The river is normally…

31Dec 2022 by Michael Quinn 1 Comment

River Thames Section 1a – Cricklade to Castle Eaton – Trip Report

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31st December 2022 4.1 miles/6.6 km downstream, Cricklade to Castle Eaton. The reduced daylight hours resulted in the Section 1 trip (Paddle the Thames, Mark Rainsley) being split into two and this is the first part. Paddlers: Dave Hillier (Trip Leader), Andy (Assistant), Pierre Leon, John Murray, Phillip Gent (with doggie guests Fifi and Coco), Jai, Sue Leon (Report Writer) We gathered on the last day of 2022 at a small parking area near the Cricklade slipway and the weather was set to be gloomy and wet most of the day, Cricklade is approximately 15 miles/24 km from the source of the Thames at Kemble and so it was more of a stream than a river. As we waited for the others to arrive a few dog walkers passed by on…

24Dec 2022 by Michael Quinn No Comments

River Thames Section 9b – Wargrave to Aston – Trip Report & Video

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Saturday 24th December 2022 5.9 miles/9.5 km downstream, Wargrave to Aston. The reduced daylight hours resulted in the Section 9 trip, Reading to Aston (Paddle the Thames, Mark Rainsley), into two and this is the second part. Paddlers: Dave Hillier (Trip Leader), Pierre Leon, Chris Harper, John Murray, Phill Gent (with doggie guests Fifi and Coco), Jai, Sue Leon (Report Writer) We gathered at the St George and Dragon pub which has a kayak-friendly platform onto the river. Dave had previously sent out the lock status report as shown below (we were to traverse Marsh and Hambledon locks) and so we were expecting a faster flow and this was immediately obvious on looking at the river. We were travelling downstream although a few tandem kayakers seemed to be coping easily with upstream…

11Dec 2022 by Michael Quinn No Comments

St Patrick’s Stream Trip Report & Video

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On Sunday 11th December, 8 slightly insane Nomads arrived at the St George and Dragon Pub in Wargrave on a frosty & foggy morning, with Pierre having negotiated the use of their car park and launch area. The air temperature was around -2°C and the water temperature approx. 0.000001°C above freezing. Participants were Dave Hillier, Chris Harper, Nigel Atkinson, Graham Summers, Sue & Pierre Leon, Hannah Smith (aka Santa) and Nathan Ashford. After everyone kitting up in as many layers as possible Dave provided the safety briefing and Graham a brisk warm-up on the bank. We then keenly got on the water to start our journey, heading upstream along the Thames in the direction of Reading. Santa had a few “glove issues” but after a few rounds of glove swapping…

25Nov 2022 by Michael Quinn No Comments

River Thames Section 9a – Reading to Wargrave – Trip Report & Video

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Thames Section 9a Trip Report - Friday 25th November 2022 6.2 miles/10 km downstream, Reading to Wargrave with a side paddle along St. Patrick’s stream. Because of the reduced daylight it was decided to split the Section 9 trip Reading to Aston (Paddle the Thames, Mark Rainsley) into two trips with a break at Wargrave. We also took the option to paddle St. Patrick’s Stream.Paddlers: Dave Hillier (Trip Leader), Pierre Leon (Route Planner), Chris Harper (Consultant), John Murray, Phill Gent (with doggie guests FiFi and Coco), Nigel Atkinson, Dean Edwards, Conrad, Sue Leon (Report Writer)We gathered and unloaded on the road outside the Wokingham Waterside Centre (RG6 1PQ) which had been the get-out point of our Section 8 trip. Although there are restrictions for parking here before 10 am we…

13Nov 2022 by Michael Quinn No Comments

Basingstoke Canal Trip Report & Video

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Basingstoke Canal 13-11-22This was a round trip, 7km each way, starting at the Mytchett Canal Centre and turning around at Ash Lock. Paddlers Dave Hillier (Leader), Pierre and Sue Leon, Nathan, Jai, John Murray, Phill Gent and Coco and Fifi. This stretch of the Basingstoke Canal is more like a river than a canal; as it morphs into lakes and slowly meanders its way through the Surrey and Hampshire countryside. It was a most picturesque paddle especially with the autumnal colours, as leaves of yellow, red, brown and black fell from the trees onto the water like rain. The put in point was the Mytchett Canal Centre where Dave did his safety talk and we all limbered up by mimicking chickens; fortunately, we were more or less alone. The weather…

28Oct 2022 by Michael Quinn No Comments

River Thames Section 8 – Pangbourne to Reading

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Participants were myself (Dave Hiller), Sue and Pierre Leon, Conrad Chambers, Chris Harper, Phillip Gent, Hannah Smith and John Murray. It’s often said ‘It’s not all about the water you're paddling on, but who you’re paddling with’, well today was just that. This write up is from me, as I saw it (and with the lack of a volunteer to do it, it has landed on my lap). So here goes (sorry to bore you). Section 8, of the River Thames, Pangbourne to Reading, the shortest section yet but the hardest so far to sort out. At this point I must say a massive thank you to Pierre who went above and beyond and sorted our parking from a building he was once shackled to. Eight of us on the…

23Oct 2022 by Michael Quinn 1 Comment

River Dart Trip Report

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Trip report by Nigel Atkinson. On Friday 21 October evening we met at the Dartbridge Inn in Buckfastleigh to plan the weekend's activity with a hefty meal. With more non paddlers than paddlers (5 kayakers, 2 cameramen, and 4 support personnel (wives)) logistics were simple and we arranged to meet the following morning at 9:30 (after a hefty breakfast) in the hotel car park in kayak kit ready to depart for Newbridge our put in for both days. After a quick safety briefing and a warmup enjoyed by all bar the oldest and grumpiest in the group we launched onto this beautiful river Dart with the water at a perfect height (just touching the slab at Newbridge). Considering the time of year, the forecast and the possible water levels the…

09Oct 2022 by Michael Quinn No Comments

Nomads visit the River Ivel, Bedfordshire

Event, Trip, Trip Reports

On Sunday the 9th October 7 Nomads arrived nice and bright and early on a glorious crisp bright autumn morning in Sandy. Everyone arrived in good time, for fear of reprimand from the ‘lay-in’ police (Dave Hillier). It was really great to see the lift sharing coordination which meant all vehicles were fully occupied minimising our environmental impact! 😊 Ian Walker led the trip with Dave Hillier assisting. We covered roughly a 5 mile stretch of the River Ivel with intermediate waters and several weirs. Although water levels were quite low giving some challenges, some areas gave the feeling of paddling through a thick soup and less water coming over the weirs meant less fun for the paddlers! As always lots of fun and laughter was had by all! After…