A visit to the Boyne on Sunday highlighted the huge numbers of kayakers in Ireland. There were vehicles of all shapes and sizes at the put in and take out. There were vans, and cars and carvans and caravans all with roof racks of some description and covered in stickers for some kayak brand or other. So I put the van in the middle of all the other vans, gathered the group together and took the water. We had a great day surfing and playing and enjoying the unseasonably warm temperatures. It was a very sociable day with each bend of the river revealing a new group of familiar faces to chat with.
Unfortunately I had to cancel the Level 4 skills training courses scheduled for last weekend due to lack of water so here’s hoping for some rain so that we can run them this weekend. Also coming up this weekend is the women’s kayaking weekend in Limerick and the UCD boatercross in Wicklow (OMG). So it will either be Limerick of Wicklow depending on water levels followed by a river trip and a skills assessment on Sunday.
During the week this week it’s schools groups with the ICU on the Liffey. It’s great to get the opportunity to do some progressive teaching with schools groups. We get to see them go from complete beginners to quite confident paddlers in a very short space of time. They are all infinitely better kayakers than I ever was at that stage of kayaking.
Well it’s time to go dust off my ball dress and dancing shoes for the 35th anniversary UCD kayak club ball on Saturday night…
