News

On our social trip to Waldringfield we all had lots of fun

After a last minute change to crews and transport

The skiff’s covers were finally undone!                                                                                         

As so often happens – the buckets were nearly taken for a ride

But Jo ran back with them to the dinghy park

So there was plenty of room inside

Whisstock was launched first with her magnificent crew

I’m biased as I was one of them

But Whispers crew were brilliant too!

Whisper went first to the pontoon, to ensure there wasn’t a fall

In fact all her crew were very nimble

And this was not needed at all.

It was not a race…supposedly all for fun

But when Whisper was drawing nearer to Whisstock

The Whisstock crew became rather glum!

With tide and wind against us,  we rowed with all our might

But in fact it was not too long

Before The Maybush came in sight

Fiona met us on the beach …her solo bike ride had been fun

Tables found, drinks ordered …..

The socialising had begun!

It took some effort to drag one of the cox away

The other was keen to have the tide with us

For a least a little part of this day

Two travelled back by car and others swapped their seats

And Whisper and Whisstock returned home safely

Our great day out complete

But we can’t end without saying a great big ‘Thank You’

To Dave & Julian, our able cox and

Fiona & Caro our special organising two!

By Cathie Taylor, 3 September 2022

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In October and November, Jacq ran our first coastal Learn to Row course and would like to welcome Saska, Carrie and Stephen to the club.

Having watched the training video’s, talked about safety and boat handing in a land session the new crew, with the help of Andy, David and Julian took to the water. The forecast over that weekend was awful but both days turned out to be lovely and calm with just a little mizzle on the last day.

Having practised taking off, landing, turning, swerving, rowing at different pressures and speeds, slaps, chops and emergency stops the new crew then did their ‘Man Overboard’ training and saved Bob (aka a large white buoy) from the depths of the Deben.

By the end of the weekend, the crew were rowing very well and all graduated with big smiles. If Saska, Carrie or Stephen sign up to row with you, please introduce yourself and help them to put their new skills into practice.

A few pictures from yesterday’s bubble outing. It was the first time that new member Simon has joined in and the first time for John as cox. We experienced a big contrast in the two sides of the river but had a lovely Coffee at Waldringfield.

A lee shore found us stuck at the Maybush pub for a while but lunch on the beach at the Tips was nothing but tranquil.

The weather was perfect but the launch slightly delayed following a comment on how easily the boat moved following inflation of the tyres and greasing the axels. Fortunately the clip that was retaining the wheel before it fell off was readily found and a wheel running on a mixture of dirt and grease still rolls quite well.

Nothing too adventurous for the first row just a trip up to Bromeswell Common for lunch. Following an enforced period of mostly solitary activity just being together on our lovely river was enough and made it a memorable trip. Looking forward to many more.

Covid has been difficult and restricting but at last British Rowing have allowed coastal rowing to resume providing that the crews stay together in a bubble.

So here is our ‘Bubble’ enjoying a late afternoon row to the Wilford Bridge on the 9th September. Not exactly coastal conditions for Steve Smith’s inaugural row but it was lovely to enjoy the clam of the Deben once again.

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The first row of 2020 after a few previous attempts thwarted by strong winds. We rowed down to Waldringfield against the flood tide and crossed the river to The Hams to step ashore for lunch. Returning to Woodbridge we continued upstream to get a nostalgic view of Whisstock’s birthplace in the Longshed and returned to the DYC. The proficiency of the rowers showed that nothing had been forgotten in the past 7 months! Looking forward to the next one.

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On a very windy Saturday Morning in September – Jacq, Fiona, Andy, Chris and David prepared Whisstock to take to the water.

Using the DYC dingy park to remove the cover and frame and set things up is proving to be excellent. There is plenty of space and maneuvering the skiff up the hill and down the slipway is surprisingly easy.

Caro and Brian had come to see us set off and take the photographs below which was a lovely send off.

With winds gusting up to 38 mph the crew slowly made their way along the tourist section to Kyson Beach with much waving from people walking along the exposed pathway. The first plan was to see what it was like in the Martlesham Creek but this proved to be almost impossible with a strong headwind so we turned around and headed back up stream.

To our great surprise we were able to hover around the Tide Mill and watch a group of Morris Men perform outside The Longshed. They seemed very pleased to see us as very few pedestrians had braved the day.

It’s nice to know that we can still have a paddle on the days when others aren’t brave enough to take to the water.

Thanks Crew

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