Canoeing tips for a beginner

[cwillson]

Hiya,

One of my dreams for a long time now has involved a canoeing/wild camping trip.

I recognise its still a bit of a way off, as I dont have the canoeing gear or the moeny to get it right away, but I want to start planning how I can get myself started.

The only experience I have is a kayaking day when I was in my teens (so quite a time ago now sadly!) so I have the following questions (although I am sure there are plenty of things I have not thought about);

- Apart from the canoe, paddle, and I assume lifevest, what else do I need kit wise?

- Having no experience, I'm thinking it might be best to join a local club and have a go there. You never know, I might get seasick! lol

- What are the laws regarding canoeing on UK rivers? Are there private stretches, or is it just the banks that will be private?

All advice much appreciated.

C

 

[Nonsuch]

Open canoeing is GREAT. I took the plunge nearly 20 years ago and have loved every minute.

Lots of questions to answer- Song of the Paddle is the place to look - run a few searches and all the answers are there. Sounds like you've got the basic list, plus camping gear of course. River access and wild-camping rights in England are a bit tricky but much easier in Scotland if you make the trip north. The best way of all to learn is go on a trip with someone experienced, or pay to join a bushcraft/canoeing course and there are plenty of those (ORCA or Woodsmoke to name but two).

You will almost certainly find a trip you could join up with on SOTP - they're a very friendly lot and would welcome you and there are lots of members on both BCUK and SOTP

NS

 

[Shewie]

Another vote for Song of the Paddle forum. As well as all the info in the forums to take in John has also put some goods articles together on the front page.

Another friendly place is Canoe with a View forum, plenty of good info and a good bunch of folk.

 

[cwillson]

Excellent, thanks chaps. I've had a quick peek at Song of the Paddle and it looks great.

I'll check out Canoe with a View too.

 

[jonajuna]

being in the cotswolds, not considred the wye as a first outing? plenty of companies up there will hire you kit and even pick you up witht he canoes to return you to your car at the end of your time

a few nice campsites along the way, none wild but a couple allow open fires, at least 1 has a pub! lol

 

[alecf]

For finding a club near you try the canoe england website - http://www.canoe-england.org.uk/findaclub.aspx
They should be able to help you get some basic skills.

As others have said, access in england and wales isn't always too easy but in scotland all waterways are open for use (note, the banks are not and so you will still have to be careful where you camp).
http://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk has good info on rivers with access etc, although it is largely for white water rivers but there still is a reasonable amount of touring information.

Hope that helps!

 

[Boreas]

Hello from Canada. I don't know much at all about canoeing in the UK. However, I've been canoeing in Canada since I was old enough to pick up a miniature sized paddle!

As far as kit goes, you want to stay light, as most canoe routes will require some portaging at some point, and you'll have to hump your gear to the next water way. I'd recommend getting some dry bags to keep your essentials dry, such as one for clothing and sleeping bag and one for food.

If you have any questions, definitely look on that uk website that others have mentioned, I would bet that there are those on that site that have far more experience than me. If you have any questions though, feel free to PM me.

I hope you folks overseas can watch these videos. This link is for a Canadian website that collects culturally important films and such.

this is a search for bill mason, who was an extremely influential naturalist and canoeist. He was more or less responsible for the canoeing comeback in Canada, if for nothing else I respect him for keeping a traditional skill alive. You can search for other bushcraft type videos on the site too, your imagination is the limit. Be sure to check out his path of the paddle instructional videos.

http://www.nfb.ca/explore-by/title/?txt=bill mason

 

[Snowfire]

being in the cotswolds, not considred the wye as a first outing? plenty of companies up there will hire you kit and even pick you up witht he canoes to return you to your car at the end of your time

a few nice campsites along the way, none wild but a couple allow open fires, at least 1 has a pub! lol

Second the Wye - plenty of easy day trips for a beginner.

If it's open canoes you're interested in check out the Open Canoe Association - http://opencanoe.info/ You can get some good coaching and good company on their trips. I'm hoping to make it to the Canoefest in May (been the last two years and thoroughly enjoyed it).

 

[forestwalker]

Seconded on the Bill Mason movies (they can be seen from Sweden, so the UK should be ok as well). I like his books as well, as well as "The Complete Wilderness Paddler" (Davidsson & Rugge). Not moderny flashy in gear, but gives you a nice start.

For kit I'd get some decent rope (actually, for most uses 5 mm braided polyester flagpole line is fine: costs very little, and is strong enough for most needs). One or two lengths for securing gear, a painter in each end (say 5 m) and some extra for lining. One 25 m length will do (even if most people prefer floating rope for lining).

Remember that the sun can be rather fierce on the water; a hat and sunglasses are good investments.

Remember to waterproof your kit (trash can liners inside the pack works quite well); even if you do not spill, any water (paddle splash, rain) that gets into the canoe will stay there, slowly soaking your kit.

There are two main styles of canoe packers, BTW; those that keep their kit in a large number of small bags, making it easy to fill the canoe, and those that pack a few larger bags. Personally I think that the million-bag people are silly and deluded, but that is a bit like the Mora vs Woodlore argument. My argument is that it makes it easy and quick to load, unload and portage, I'm sure the other style people have arguments they feel are valid, not that I can imagine what they would be...

 

[andythecelt]

I canoed a section of the Wye 12 or 13 years ago. It was a part of an MOD 'character building' course so conditions were primitive. The river had burst it banks at the time so we were paddling through fields and between trees. None of us had any experience whatsoever, it was a 'there you go lads see you in 10 miles' situation. I loved every minute of it. I'd like to get a folding Canadian at some point but other things have to take priority at the moment. I've never paddled any river other than the Wye so don't have anything to compare it to but even with the water running high it was perfectly safe for us newbies, in the section we did at least. As a first river to have a crack at I'd highly commend it.

 

[jmatthews]

I couldn't see what could go wrong with a novice going out on his own and learning the hard way (providing they can swim). So I asked some mates that know what they're doing and the thing that can happen with them is that they can capsize in windy conditions and once capsized they are incredibly difficult to recover because once turned back over, it will be swamped with water and so wont float on the surface (will not sink though) so you have to get to shore to be able to empty the water. As well as any gear floating/sinking around you, if you are far from the edge of the water or in open water then you have a long and tiring swim back to the edge- dragging a half submersed canoe behind you.

Try Googleing/YouTube solo self rescue techniques, I found this quickly- http://www.paddling.net/sameboat/archives/sameboat403.html

But you'll be fine if you don't go out in really windy conditions. Perhaps think about having gear in dry-bags, so if stuff goes over or you capsize then it should float and stay dry.

James

 

[Chrisj]

I'd second the recommendation for canoe with a view. Loads of good advice and a really friendly crowd. Several of us are qualified coaches so most trips have someone who can really help (although qualifications aren't everything, there is lots of great knowledge available from completeley unqualified people).
I would say the essentials are Boat, paddle, bouyancy aid, clothing that is still warm when wet and some training (this can be gotten near enough free of charge by joining a local club).
The main thing is don't look at the obstacles to doing it get out there and enjoy life. Our ancestors learnt by experiment. So long as you learn enough from other peoples mistakes (ie join a club and be trained in current best practice) to be safe then whatever works for you is fine.
The main thing is ENJOY!!!

 

[gregorach]

I couldn't see what could go wrong with a novice going out on his own and learning the hard way (providing they can swim).

You could spend ages going round in circles. The J-stroke isn't particularly hard, but I don't know how long it would take you to come up with it on your own. A day's coaching from someone who knows what they're doing will teach you a heck of a lot.

 

[Oblio13]

Airfare is cheap these days. Fly into Boston, rent a car, and drive up to the Maine Canoe Symposium this June:

http://www.mainecanoesymposium.org/

Food and lodging are cheap, or you can bring your own tent and grub. You'll meet some nice people, get three days of canoe lessons, and then you could float the Saco river or something similar.

 

[Lupin Rider]

I had a similar urge last year as did this http://www.woodcraftschool.co.uk/travelling-naturalist-devon.htm

it was awesome, a great mix of beginner canoeing with wild camping.

john c

 

[alecf]

Airfare is cheap these days. Fly into Boston, rent a car, and drive up to the Maine Canoe Symposium this June:

http://www.mainecanoesymposium.org/

Food and lodging are cheap, or you can bring your own tent and grub. You'll meet some nice people, get three days of canoe lessons, and then you could float the Saco river or something similar.

Hes from the UK so a transatlantic flight from the UK is going to be much more expensive than poping down a local club.