Don’t forget, just over five weeks to go to the annual Runnymede-Royal marathon. It’s 19 miles, 6 portages on a key part of the Thames if you’re training for the Devizes-Westminster race. If you’re not doing DW, it’s a great weekend training run. As per last year’s race, we’re running the event on SATURDAY 17th March, that’s the day before Mothering Sunday. We’ve found many canoeists prefer this arrangement as it means they can do a race on the Saturday and then do the right thing by taking their mum out to lunch on Sunday.
Not-for-profit charitable trust Pacific Blue Foundation is sponsoring historic Camakau boat races in Fiji to promote awareness of culture and traditions (see video above or click on this link if you can’t see the video at all).
Canoes have been a part of Fiji’s existence since the year dot. In fact, since passing traders first settled in the islands more than 5,000 years ago, canoes have been used for everything from fishing to trade, travel and even fighting other tribes.
The modern age, however, saw many fishermen and others opt for motorised boats and a lot of the traditional canoe-building skills used by islanders fell into abeyance. However, environmental pressures and the inexorable rise in the global oil price meant that interest in canoes, powered by both sail and paddle, has surged in the last few years.
Now it looks as though some boat builders are going back to their craft, and building traditional Fijian canoes – or camakaus – again. Mahogany, grown locally, is the hardwood used for the boats’ hulls. They’re impressive, large craft. Older designs tended to get waterlogged in heavy seas so now some more modern materials have crept in to the construction process, including styrofoam (the same material used in some coffee cups) for buoyancy. Other traditional materials such as tar and coconut husks have been dispensed with in favour of nails, marine glue and rope.
Work into the development of a new generation of camakaus is progressing apace, sponsored by non-profit groups. Those behind them hope they will reduce Fiji’s energy consumption and provide islanders in some far-flung parts of the island nation with a cheaper and more environmentally friendly way of transportation – while at the same time keeping traditions alive, potentially creating jobs and even tourism income.
The economics of fishing with camakau versus motorboat are fairly obvious. It’s estimated that maintaining a camakau over five years could cost about $1,700-2,850, whereas a panga, or fishing boat, with 30-hp motor would cost $6,000 in fuel alone each year and some $15,000 overall. That, as some islanders, agree, is quite a lot of fish before you get to break even.
An in-depth feature on the resurgence of camakau building on Fiji appeared in the International Herald Tribune on Saturday and can be found on the website of its parent company The New York Times.
Hasler and Sparks photographed at Bordeaux in 1966
Canoeists will be more than familiar with the Hasler trophy, the annual inter-clubs marathon racing competition which is the backbone of the British Canoe Union’s divisional system.
The trophy is named after Major “Blondie” Hasler who, with Marine Bill Sparks, took part in Operation Frankton, a daring commando raid by folding kayak against shipping in Bordeaux harbour.
Six of the kayaks, called cockles, were launched by submarine off the French coast, one being damaged irreparably before the start. Another boat was lost in rough conditions and its two crew drowned. The remaining six were rounded up and shot by the Germans. Only Hasler and Sparks survived the raid,
The film, The Cockleshell Heroes, is a classic of its type. A new book, Operation Suicide, by military writer Robert Lyman, has been released on Amazon in the last few days. Lyman also wrote The Longest Siege: Tobruk and the Battle for Africa and Slim, Master of War, which is about British General William Slim who commanded the 14th Army in Burma during World War Two.
The book covers some of the ground covered by other authors, the title itself is not particularly revelationary given that the prospects of the canoeists surviving the mission were not felt at the time to be high. The Germans’ ‘Commando Order’ which dictated that captured raiders were to be treated as spies or criminals rather than prisoners of war meant that anyone falling into enemy hands would get short shrift.
But it’s a good read and contains some detail not in previous titles, in particular Hasler and Sparks’ escape to Spain with the French resistance.
Quentin Rees, author of Cockleshell Heroes: The Final Witness, published last year, told the Manchester Evening News: “In common parlance, it was a suicide mission. They didn’t know if it would be successful. They definitely believed that no one would return from the mission.”
Despite the men’s sacrifice, it’s widely felt among military circles that the Cockleshell Heroes were not given adequate tribute. There is a memorial that was paid for by public subscription, but because it’s located at the Royal Marines’ Special Boat Service base in Poole, Dorset, it cannot be viewed by the public.
The latest book, by the way, gets a sloppily-written review in the Express – the newspaper manages to misspell Blondie Hasler’s surname and the article doesn’t really go into the book’s content either, resorting instead to a rehashing of the already well-known facts of the raid.
(Picture credit: Terry Fincher/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Came across this on Facebook and thought it well worth sharing. It’s amazing footage, shot from surf ski of interactions with whales in Hawaii. The paddler concerned had just half an hour for his paddle after a hard day at work. Which just goes to show, a so-so session on the water is always better than a long day in the office.
And it all puts our pike-spotting on the Thames into some perspective.
Check out www.surfski.info for more videos like this – it’s a great site and well worth a visit.
"Fast-track your six pack." Yes, there really is a short cut to looking like this.
Huge excitement in WH Smith this month with the arrival of the latest issue of Mens Health, the lifestyle mag better known for the implausible abdominals of its cover models than for the intellectual appeal of its content (see left for a fairly gratuitous example).
The first is Scotland’s coast-to-coast competition, a 100 mile bike/run/paddle from one side of Scotland to the other. The race, which takes you past Loch Ness, the Great Glen, Ben Nevis and Glen Coe, is open to adventure racers of any ability.
Kayakers be warned, the canoeing element is the least significant part of the challenge – you’ll need good cycling legs! Full details can be found at the event website.
The second, no surprises there, is the Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race, the 125 mile epic that takes place every Easter. This event needs little introduction except perhaps to people like the chap who rang up last week enquiring about help preparing for this year’s race.
The conversation went a little like this:
Royal CC: “Hello, I understand you want to join the canoe club?”
Man: “Yes, that’s right. I want to do the DW race.”
RCC: “That’s great, you’ve got just over a year to get ready.”
Man: “No, I want to do this year’s race. I reckon I’ve got 3 months.”
RCC: “OK, how much canoeing experience have you got?”
Man: “I went a few times when I was in the scouts in the 1990s. I go to the gym three times a week and I reckon my mate and I can do it.”
RCC: “So you haven’t actually been on the water for some time?”
Man: “No, we haven’t done any canoeing but I do a lot of rowing machine. Where can I get a canoe, do you rent them?”
Ollie Harding has added magazine editor to his already long list of skills. The marathon paddler, photographer, coach and canoeing parent has produced the first edition of The Paddler, a glossy new digital magazine dedicated to canoe racing.
The title fills a big gap in the market, most of the current magazines are very picky about what they write about and for no good reason other than their own narrow editorial remits.
Canoe Focus tends to dip in and out of the disciplines, Canoeist magazine seems more touring oriented these days and other publications focus on squirt boats, whitewater, surfing and what one might term the ‘hot hatchback’ end of the sport as opposed to what one might see as the Formula 1 part.
First impressions are very positive, there are write-ups on the marathon world championships, an ICF perspective, the Liffey Descent, a no-holds barred review of the sprint championships in Szeged by Ivan Lawler, and an article on ‘old school canoeing’ by Ian White, now canoeing coach at Cokethorpe school.
Ollie’s foreword says the magazine is ‘unashamedly’ about flat water racing and cites the lack of interest by other titles in articles he’d written about the sport. It’s their loss and our gain, judging by this first issue.
There’s advertising by Marsport, Plastex and Dansprint, good to see these companies supporting a dedicated editorial product.
I think overall we’d give it a 5/5 and look forward to the next issue.
Our recent piece on kayakers competing in a celebrity-type cooking competition has brought forward a rash of sightings of other canoeists engaging in public relations opportunities across the country.
Paul Wycherley
First up is Paul Wycherley, Great Britain sprinter and (Channel Crossing) world record holder, who is firing the starting gun at the Goring 10K run on March 4.
Runners get automatic entry into a prize draw for a pair of Olympic tickets, apparently, so if you’ve missed out so far and want to have a go, take a look at the event website.
Meanwhile, an actuary (that’s someone who used to work as an accountant but found it too exciting – ed.) has been in touch to highlight the participation of multiple world-champion and Olympian Anna Hemmings in a workplace health and wellbeing programme for businesses across the country.
Anna Hemmings
A company called Health Matters 360 is introducing employee fitness programmes aligned to the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
It employs several Olympians under Anna’s leadership to bring the healthy lifestyle message home to company employees.
The athletes will share their Olympic journeys and use their perspectives to help employees achieve the best performance in their work and lives, according to the blurb in Employee Benefitsmagazine.
Anna, a highly experienced motivational speaker, is particularly well qualified to talk about this, having come back against the odds from a debilitating illness during her career to win World Championship gold.
Leanne Brown
All this is very well. But Barking sprint and marathon paddler Leanne Brown, last seen at Royal Canoe Club in January when she won the mixed doubles class at the Elmbridge-Royal Doubles race with her partner Aaron Jordan, is the easy winner in the glamour stakes.
Yesterday she got to open the revamped East Street, Barking branch of Wilkinson.
The store features an improved layout, new product ranges and a brighter, more modern shopping experience, according to the press note sent out by the company.
Leanne, 22, who lives and trains in Barking, joined Wilkinson executives at the ribbon cutting ceremony to officially re-launch the store (pictured).
Wilkinson in Barking
Leanne, a talented U23 canoeist and double national marathon champion, is supported in her canoeing career by the Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust, a charitable resource where young athletes are given extra help to rise to the challenge of competing at international level.
More information about Leanne’s canoeing can be found on the Sport Beans site and her own personal website can be found here.
Keep up the good work folks! And any readers who come across other interesting canoeing-related stories, please do send them in – email us at: secretary@royalcanoeclub.com
(Picture credits in order: GB Canoeing, Sportsister, The Local Data Company, Leanne Brown website)
London Olympic hopefuls Tim Baillie & Etienne Stott
Cardiff International White Water is hosting the International Canoe Federation canoe slalom World Cup from 8-10 June 2012 at the 300m long course in Wales.
Many of the competitors will be taking part in the Olympic Games as well and the Welsh event is seen as a key warm-up competition for the events in London. The Cardiff 2012 website has gone live and has information on the event, competitors, how to get spectator tickets and other event-specific details.
Tickets for Cardiff Canoe 2012 go on sale in March. on sale in early March.
Rumour has it, Birgit Fischer is training for the Olympic Games in London. She will be 50 years old if she makes it. Doubt her chances? Well, to dismiss her as ‘past it’ would be a mistake. It’s one that rivals have made before, time and again.
Fischer is a legend in canoeing. An Uber-Legend, in fact. To describe her as Germany’s answer to Steve Redgrave is rather to miss the point about her achievements. Even he has marvelled at her achievements. Yes, she is a multiple Olympic gold medal winner. Like Redgrave, hers were achieved at different editions of the Games. But there the similarities stop.
She is not just the youngest but also the oldest Olympic canoeing gold medallist, winning her gold medals in K-1 and K-4 500m some 24 years apart. She is also the first female athlete to win gold in six different Olympic Games.
Her first gold medal came at the early age of 18 when she won the K1 500m in Moscow. 1984 saw her absent thanks to the Eastern bloc boycott of the Los Angeles Games. But 1988 saw a return to the international stage and a silver medal in the K1 to accompany golds in both the K2 and K4.
Fischer followed this up with gold and silver in Barcelona and the same again in Atlanta in 1996. By Sydney in 2000, when she won two more golds, the German had seven golds and three silvers.
Retirement then loomed and a comeback only occurred to her when she was asked to sit in her old K1 for a TV documentary. The subsequent comeback and an almost inevitable return to form followed.
At the relatively advanced age of 41 she realised she would not only be able to qualify for Olympic selection but could even challenge for a medal once more – and so, with the German K4 having lost its edge in the wake of her retirement, she found herself back in the boat at Athens and on her way to her eighth Olympic gold medal.
If the latest pronouncements on her second comeback turn out to be true, they will just confirm that this is a canoeist who still does not believe her time is up.
Matt Hide is at the club this weekend doing some filming for his university course and needs some canoeists to help him.
He will have a few cameras set up in the Wells room with a Dansprint ergometer linked to a laptop on Saturday evening at about 6pm.
Markers will be placed on anatomical positions of the body to help with analysis. Candidates are only needed for about one hour and it would really help Matt – because of the use of film, it is for over 18s only – consent of a parent would be required for U18′s.
If you’re interested, please contact Matt via Twitter or email him: matthew.hide[at]live.co.uk
