I decided last week, for me and the young un,to get some basic Canadian canoing tuition under our belts, before actually going out and buying a boat. So I made a few inquiries and booked up with Platty + on Derwent Water.
We arrived a little late, due to tractors on Hartside pass and a little old lady, driving a nearly new land rover, at around 35-40mph all the way from Threlkeld to Keswick! (bless her )
Anyway we arrived, parked up at the Lodore Falls Hotel car park, notified the porter etc. then made haste to the Platty + boating center, which just happens to be at the end of the Derwent Water ferry jetty.
We were met by Sarah Platt, one of the partners and then got changed into our waterproofs, were sorted out with pfd's and then introduced to John Platt; who was to be our instructor for our introductory lesson. We were also introduced to a young couple who were, just like us, taking part as absolute beginners.
We were taken through some very basic stuff about the paddles, pfd's safety etc and then we moved on to the boats themselves.
These were Old Town, Discovery 158's and as soon as I sat in the boat, I felt both comfortable and strangely confident .
Anyway, we tootled about in the small bay, by the jetty ( alongside a beautiful replica viking long boat!) and began to get to grips with the job in hand. John had already explained that normally, the heavier body goes in the back and that the rear passenger did the steering etc but I was surprised at how much the breeze blew the boats around at first and wondered how on earth we were to make any headway at all!
Then with a little coaching and advice we were up and away, admittedly, in the wrong direction! but moving non the less!
We corrected our direction of travel and rejoined the others fairly swiftly, soon picking up the knack of "making it go"Then we covered proper steering, turning the boat, forming a raft for safety and stability and making the boat move sideways etc. To be honest, we covered all the basic skills which me and the youngster used later on, to go where we wanted to go.
We were soon able to make the boat do, what John asked us to make it do and I can only put this down to Johns patience and skill as an instructor, because in no time time flat we were all paddling in the same direction, able to form a raft quite quickly when needed and all the time we were learning new skills.
Some of the "how to" seemed to come naturally but an awful lot of what later, seemed obvious, only became so, after it being explained by John.
We learned about using the wind to our advantage and how to trim the boat. While we drifted with the wind in a raft, John shared with us a load of historic details about the lake itself and the surrounding fells, much of which, even though I have been a keen fell walker for 35 years on and off, still came as a surprise.
Then it was time to make our way back, across the breeze, to the jetty and the end of our introduction to the Canadian canoe.
I had planned all along, to hire the boat for a few hours after our lesson, so after collecting our grub, camera, etc we set off again, after some more cautionary words from Johns wife Sarah.
Suffice to say we made it to the island we chose as our target but found we continued to learn for ourselves as well as develop and put to very good use,what John had taught us.
Us posing for a quick picture! we didn't sit in the boat all the time! (faces blurred to protect the innocent!)
This could be us any other time!: a few folk wandering around the top of Catbells.
this shows some of the choppy conditions south of the island, Oh and Great End/Sca Fell Pike:
I'll post some more pictures as well as a description of the, rather hairy, paddle back down, later on!
I hope this hasn't been too boring, it was a fantastic introduction for me and the lad and I would whole heartedly recommend ANYONE, who is thinking of getting in a canoe for the first time, to consider some professional, basic instruction, before you go.
AND, if you fancy a trip to Derwent Water,in the Lakes,then I would also Recommend John and Sarah Platt's center: "Platty +" for very friendly and professional service.
Just to be clear: I have absolutely no connection with Platty + other than being a very satisfied customer.
More later in the week!
All the best
R.B.
We arrived a little late, due to tractors on Hartside pass and a little old lady, driving a nearly new land rover, at around 35-40mph all the way from Threlkeld to Keswick! (bless her )
Anyway we arrived, parked up at the Lodore Falls Hotel car park, notified the porter etc. then made haste to the Platty + boating center, which just happens to be at the end of the Derwent Water ferry jetty.
We were met by Sarah Platt, one of the partners and then got changed into our waterproofs, were sorted out with pfd's and then introduced to John Platt; who was to be our instructor for our introductory lesson. We were also introduced to a young couple who were, just like us, taking part as absolute beginners.
We were taken through some very basic stuff about the paddles, pfd's safety etc and then we moved on to the boats themselves.
These were Old Town, Discovery 158's and as soon as I sat in the boat, I felt both comfortable and strangely confident .
Anyway, we tootled about in the small bay, by the jetty ( alongside a beautiful replica viking long boat!) and began to get to grips with the job in hand. John had already explained that normally, the heavier body goes in the back and that the rear passenger did the steering etc but I was surprised at how much the breeze blew the boats around at first and wondered how on earth we were to make any headway at all!
Then with a little coaching and advice we were up and away, admittedly, in the wrong direction! but moving non the less!
We corrected our direction of travel and rejoined the others fairly swiftly, soon picking up the knack of "making it go"Then we covered proper steering, turning the boat, forming a raft for safety and stability and making the boat move sideways etc. To be honest, we covered all the basic skills which me and the youngster used later on, to go where we wanted to go.
We were soon able to make the boat do, what John asked us to make it do and I can only put this down to Johns patience and skill as an instructor, because in no time time flat we were all paddling in the same direction, able to form a raft quite quickly when needed and all the time we were learning new skills.
Some of the "how to" seemed to come naturally but an awful lot of what later, seemed obvious, only became so, after it being explained by John.
We learned about using the wind to our advantage and how to trim the boat. While we drifted with the wind in a raft, John shared with us a load of historic details about the lake itself and the surrounding fells, much of which, even though I have been a keen fell walker for 35 years on and off, still came as a surprise.
Then it was time to make our way back, across the breeze, to the jetty and the end of our introduction to the Canadian canoe.
I had planned all along, to hire the boat for a few hours after our lesson, so after collecting our grub, camera, etc we set off again, after some more cautionary words from Johns wife Sarah.
Suffice to say we made it to the island we chose as our target but found we continued to learn for ourselves as well as develop and put to very good use,what John had taught us.
Us posing for a quick picture! we didn't sit in the boat all the time! (faces blurred to protect the innocent!)
This could be us any other time!: a few folk wandering around the top of Catbells.
this shows some of the choppy conditions south of the island, Oh and Great End/Sca Fell Pike:
I'll post some more pictures as well as a description of the, rather hairy, paddle back down, later on!
I hope this hasn't been too boring, it was a fantastic introduction for me and the lad and I would whole heartedly recommend ANYONE, who is thinking of getting in a canoe for the first time, to consider some professional, basic instruction, before you go.
AND, if you fancy a trip to Derwent Water,in the Lakes,then I would also Recommend John and Sarah Platt's center: "Platty +" for very friendly and professional service.
Just to be clear: I have absolutely no connection with Platty + other than being a very satisfied customer.
More later in the week!
All the best
R.B.
