Weir rescue, Taff, Friday 29 Sept

Matt saw a kayaker running alongside the river (the Taff) by his house in Trefforest today and went to see what was happening. He found a crew of young lads (fresher students maybe?) had been kayaking down and that one of them was stuck in the weir, still in his boat but rolling and tiring quickly. None of them had a throw line. Matt ran back to his house to fetch his and executed a rescue. Well done Matt.

The weir in question is the one Chris Sladden describes as lethal in his book, the Welsh Rivers. http://www.canoewales.com. Quote: "There are five weirs on this section and two are best portaged, with one being a definite portage. The first, about a kilometre from the start [Pontypridd] should be obvious from the river and is a certain portage. This was always a fairly nasty weir with a potentially holding stopper. In 1996 and 1997, I watched the local authority effectively re-building the weir - an interesting spectacle - and I had great hopes that it would be made safe. Instead they turned it from a dangerous weir into a totally lethal weir! Beware and portage." Seems like the paddlers involved hadn't done their homework, nor were they properly equipped. Discuss.

Tags: Taff

Tryweryn Saturday 13 May

Matt, Dave C. , Chris W. and I went up on Friday evening for a day's paddle. We met there with Iestyn who fancied his first paddle for about 4 or years. He used my Inazone while I used my new Jefe and Matt had his new (to him) Prozone. Iestyn ran the upper section just once - turning in the best surfing on the International Wave, Dave ran it twice and the rest of us made it three times. No incidents to report, just good fun. Andy might like to know Matt tail squirted

Chris got Euros to take some photos and videos. They're on the following link:http://www.whiskerc.co.uk/gallary.php?id=Tryweryn%20-%20May%202006 Excellent stuff. Thanks Chris. Diolch Euros.

Owain was also on the banks with his camera and took some 200+ photos. A few are shown above.

Tags: Tryweryn

Cosmeston 6 May

Report awaited.

Easter trip reports

From Andy. (All his own spelling):

"Six of us went [to Symonds Yat], Emlyn and daughter, Andy Peate and Jordan, Ieaun and me.

 Weather was Sunny if a bit overcast but fairly warm and comfortable for a days paddling

Set out at 9 am, or was that 9.15 am Emlyn!, anyway we met at ASDA’s car park and trailed off from there. 50 minutes later we arrived at an almost deserted Symonds Yat car park. Water level was fairly high covering the first step on main landing/launching area. We got the safety bits out of the way and preceded to launch boats in various ways, everyone except me opting for the more sedate and conventional way of launch, while I went down the shoot! All I can say is the bottom bit hurts! We paddled up to the ROCK up stream where Andy Peate and I launched ourselves off the Rock followed by Jordan and Ieuan jumping in off the rock without boats several times. Current was quite strong around the base of the rock. We had to be careful with the kids as they would have been pushed in to a strainer just down stream of the rock. All passed without incident. Emlyn passed up the opportunity of lunching his aircraft carrier off the rock, thank god, it would have taken all of us to man handle it up there!

After that excitement we moved down stream to the grade 2 stuff. Emlyn stopped to change boats with daughter as he felt a little venerable in his barge and elected to paddle the Diablo.  Pushing on (anyone want to buy a barge?) we arrived at the rapids with the plan to make the available eddies, however, the kids had other ideas, much more fun to blast through being chased by the adults! Anyway the first run was fine no casualties or swimmers. We started to chat to paddlers from Marlow Canoe Club who were down for the weekend. We decided to run one of the smaller rapids closets to where we had stopped to give the kids a chance to get on a wave. All was going well until Emlyn’s daughter fell off the wave and went swimming. The nice chaps from Marlow helped us out with rescuing kit and live stock. Eventually after having to swim back across the river to be reunited with her boat Emlyn’s daughter made back across to where the rest of the group where on the sandy beach at the bottom section of rapids. We decided to re-run the whitewater section again with a game plan in place! While Emlyn and his daughter elected to go to the PUB!

We carried our boats up the short section to re-launch via Seal! Various incidents with boats getting stuck in the mud due to the water depth being so shallow, after that we headed with children to the rapids. All went well for the first eddy then kids decided that they didn’t want to paddle so hard and drifted off through the rest of the whitewater until they reached the eddy just above the last rapid, all except Jordan who went screaming on by caught hold of a branch to stop him going in to the stopper and ended up swimming and again making the acquaintance of those awful nice chaps from Marlow Canoe Club. Once all the rescues were over we headed back to the launching area for a bit of messing about down slides and rolling, then a spot of lunch and of course a swift one in the Saracens Head before heading for home. Good day had by all. Thanks to all for attending. Need more days like this one! "

From Matt, a report on  a surfing trip on Easter Monday (17 April):

"Myself, Piers and Phil met at Rest bay car park at one o'clock.  Got changed and on the water for about half one. Choppy messy surf of around 2 - 4 foot waves. Great fun that said, the condition of the surf kept all the surfers away. Piers and Phil caught some cracking waves and had a great introduction to surf.  No great calamities to report of.
Followed by coffee and cookies in the cafe.  Tanned faces and aching muscles all round."

Tags: Wye, Symonds Yat, Rest Bay

Committee meeting of 6 April 2006: minutes

Meeting held at the Plough, 8.30pm.

Present: Andy R (Chair, L2 Coach), Steve Middleton (Vice Chair), Les (Treasurer), Grant (Training Officer and Child Protection, L3 Coach), Hywel (Sec., L2 Coach), John N. (L2 Coach), Matt (aspirant L2)

1. Video session of pool. Hywel explained the technical problems which had prevented him getting video on the web site. He undertook to ask Richad how his production was going, and to give the CD to Andy for him to make copies.

2. Hywel gave the Community Chest grant cheque to the Treasurer. It wa agreed that the Treasurer would only pass grant money to those undertaking the training activity upon receipt of a certificate of attendance, or equivalent, as that evidence would be required by the Secretary in making his report at the end of Feb 2007 to the Sports Council.

3. Child protection: Grant undertook to ask the WCA if they had a model policy. Andy would ask about the need for CRB clearance.

4. Equipment. Paul Mac was going to make an approach about buying equipment (potentially sensistive detail not blogged here). John Neale offerred to provide a boat.

5. Trips. 4 trips were agreed.

1. The following Sunday; 2. Sat 6 May at Cosmeston after the pool session incl 2 and 3* assessment; 3. Sunday 28 May, Glasbury to Hay on the Wye; 4, Sunday 11 June, surfing at Rest Bay.

 

Afon Ysgir, Sunday 26 March

The rain finally came so four of us squeezed in a white water trip before the fishing season really limits our choices. I was joined by Rob, Phil D. and Tim. The gauge on the weir at the take out was about 4.5 on the lower scale at the start and closer to 4 by the end. That meant that it was a reasonable, low-medium level for most of the trip, with virtually no scraping at all, the only exception being above the second stage of the main drop. I recommended the chicken shoot on the left which Phil followed, as did Tim, just, after one 360 spin above it. Rob ignored my recommendation (at least I assume it was a deliberate choice), broached for a minute or two on the shallows, thought about running it backwards, and then straightened up to go for a more exciting drop of the ledge.

At another stage I spotted a tree blocking our path, reckoned all could make the last eddy above to take out and called them down. So concerned was I for my flock that I then drifted out of the eddy. By grabbing the bank I stalled my progress and Phil then undertook a stretching rescue to pull me and the boat back. Thank you Phil.

Other points of interest were: no wires stretched across the river. Very good. Phil had to roll after tripping up while playing. Very good. Dead sheep blocked our way on a tree stretched across the river towards the end. Not good but I got its picture which I will add shortly.

A lovely trip I thought.

Upper Taff, Saturday 18 Feb.

At last, some rain during the week meant there was some water in the Taff, not a lot but enough: lower 5 on the weir at Abercynon weir gauge (and filthy looking water coming in from the Cynon further down) . Five of us went out at short notice, arranged on Friday night once we'd heard the pool session was cancelled. As well as the old hands, Matt and me, we had three paddlers new to the river: Phil D., Paul Mac and Dave C.

This was a particuler adventure for Paul: first trip on movig water for some twenty years and, as he didn't have a proper helmet, he choose to undertake the trip wearing a Met cycle helmet. Luckily, he quickly found his stabilisers and had an incident free trip, though wisely choosing to portage the Graveyard G3 rapid.

Phil tried a stern squirt below Quakers Yard weir, following Matts example, but didn't pull it off. He did, however, pull off his first in-anger white water roll! Dave C. also got a roll in at the same spot.

We all rushed to the end to have a cup of coffee while changing in Matt's backyard. The civilisation of it all. Will we ever be prepared to change standing in the road in hailstones again?