A record number of 9 club members ventured south for a day at Cardiff International White Water Centre on Sun 8 Oct, on what turned out to be a beautiful autumn day. We warmed up during the first hour-and-a-half while the flow was at its lowest rate (4 cumecs – cubic meters per second), providing the opportunity for our less experienced paddlers to get to know the course and receive some expert tuition from Simon, while the more experienced set about challenging themselves in waves and eddies. For the last hour before lunch things got a little more exciting when the flow increased to 6 cumecs, leading to a few swims and rolls. Most of us stayed on for the 8 cumec session after lunch, although the sunshine had brought out the crowds and the course was wall-to-wall plastic (and rafts!) making it difficult to manage the more challenging conditions with anything resembling control – so we called it a day after 4 or so runs, agreeing that we’d all pushed ourselves and had a great time.
Trip information & 2023 statistics to date:
- 8 Oct 2023, Cardiff International White Water Centre (4, 6, 8 cumecs)
- 9 kayakers: Andy, Dave J, Huw, Nairi, Pete M, Rhiannon, Sam C, Simon, Steve R
- 4 accidental swims and 6 accidental rolls!
| Paddler | No of trips / days | No of swims | No of rolls |
| Andrew | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Anne | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Asher | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris | 8 | 4 | 0 |
| Dave J | 8 | 1 | 8 |
| Dave M | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ellie | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Huw | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Ian | 1 | 2.5 | 0 |
| Jack | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Jess | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Lee | 1 | 0.5 | 0 |
| Lily | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Mike S | – | 1 (polo) | – |
| Nairi | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Pete M | 14 | 0.5 | 5 |
| Phil H | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Rhiannon | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| Sam C | 6 | 2 (1 hand) | 1 |
| Sam H | 6 | 1 | 2 |
| Sarah | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Simon | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve H | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Steve R | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| Stuart | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Tanya | 2 | 1 | 1 |