The Adur Canoe Club's main activities are based on the River Adur, Shoreham-by-Sea. The club's main sessions are run on the River Adur most Sunday mornings at 10am throughout the year. During the summer months the club run a Tuesday evening session at 6.45pm (check the calendar for the summer timetable). Tuesday evenings are more aimed towards the more experienced canoeist.
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As of April 2006, some Sunday sessions may be cancelled when there is a club trip running. Please regularly check the club sessions and rota page to see if a particular session is going ahead. |
All of the club's outdoor sessions are supervised by voluntary BCU level kayak 2 coaches or higher).
The Adur Canoe Club's unique location and the tidal nature of the River Adur allow considerable variety in the types of activity that the club can offer. On low tide days (some of which may not be suitable for paddlers without moving water experience), the River Adur becomes narrow with channels of fast moving water. These are ideal for learning basic whitewater skills. On high tide days, areas such as our "Plug Hole", fill with water and offer sheltered water areas ideal for teaching the BCU star awards. It is also a great place for playing games and getting wet!
Shoreham Beach and the English Channel is approximately a miles paddle from the club's base location. Often the club embarks on a trip down the river (normally assisted by the tide, but don't count on it!) to the sea. This is a great way to stay fit, see some of the scenery and wildlife. Under some conditions, Shoreham Beach and sometimes Shoreham Harbour produce some reasonable surf waves which are ideal for a bit of fun and getting wet! In more serious conditions the sea is all but off limits to all but a few serious paddlers within the club! You'll have to see what they get up to!
Briefings
All club sessions commence with signing in, a briefing and reading of
notices within the AOAC. During the briefing the instructor(s)
decide on the types of activity for the session. This usually results
in several independent supervised groups going out; some for training
towards the BCU star awards, some for a long paddle (to the harbour or
up river) and others, just to get wet and have fun! During the summer
months some club sessions are specially designated for training. This
means that on those specified dates
(see the calendar), training will be
available, but don't feel you have to wait until then, there's always
an instructor that's more than willing to help out!
This next section is a general illustrated guide to the types of outdoor activities the club run throughout the year during the outdoor sessions. This will give you a feel of what we generally do!
Throughout the year our BCU instructors provide BCU 2 and 3 star training free to our members. We run specific BCU 2 and 3 star courses during the spring and summer months during our Sunday morning sessions. These courses are aimed to take you from a novice to a proficient safe canoeist! They're also good fun!
Informal 2 and 3 star training is also be available during the Sunday morning sessions throughout the year.
The Adur Canoe Club doesn't have world-class white water or even national class white water (actually, I don't think the water's even white), but at certain times during the tidal cycle, the River Adur does reveal some interesting little features that can be fun for anyone wanting to learn basic whitewater and play-boating skills! Be prepared to get wet during this activity, to try out some interesting looking boats and to unlearn some of those drummed in rules of canoeing!
Shoreham Beach can sometimes produce some moderate surf, particularly when there are swells in the Atlantic Ocean or North Sea. In recent times, wind surfers, kite surfers and true surfers have braved the waters of Shoreham Beach and its harbour to surf the waves! The Adur Canoe Club also takes advantage of these days when they fall on a club session by surfing our kayaks. It's an ideal chance to have a go at surfing and decide if it's for you, and if it is, why not join us on one of the clubs surfing trips!
The Adur Canoe Club owns a number of open canoes (the big boats), which can be used during the outdoors sessions. Although open canoeing isn't the clubs main activity, a number of its members regularly paddle the open canoes. The club also runs an introduction to open canoes course which is a great way to try out an open canoe and to learn how to paddle one!
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Interested in open boating? Why not check out our open canoeing page for information and events about open canoeing! |