A new boat has been acquired (Scorpio HV – see picture), and the boats have been re-allocated between North Queensferry and Swanston so that there are 2 high volume, 2 medium volume, and 2 low volume boats at each site.
The club website is up-to-date with the changes.
The 2024 AGM will take place on Thursday 28th March at the Grange Club , Portgower Place, Edinburgh, at 7 for 7.30pm
As some of the committee will be stepping down we are needing new committee members. The committee meets once every six weeks and its a great opportunity to contribute to the club. If you would like to stand for the committee or would like more information about it please e-mail me at membership@lskc.org.
More information shortly!
LSKC are hosting Edinburgh born paddler Mark Agnew to talk about his recent achievement in paddling the North West Passage across the top of Arctic Canada in 2 double kayaks. Mark will tell of the personal motivation and challenges this 4 person team overcame: including a real insight into the planning and preparation, kayaking and arctic survival practicalities with some truly stunning pictures. This is a real modern day odyssey told with honesty, imagination and self deprecation. Mark is raising funds for the charity Wilderness Foundation UK, which does sterling work in supporting young people to regain their self esteem through adventurous activities – come and be inspired, and help Mark do the same for young people.
Mark, with characteristic modesty, emailed today…
” I forgot to say, I won European Adventurer of the Year. I’m the first Scot to win it.“
16th February 2023, 19:30 – 22:00, Portobello & Joppa Parish Church
Book on Eventbrite:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/kayaking-the-north-west-passage-tickets-776518215887
Winter pool sessions will commence 14 November 2021.
This year we are moving to a new facility and trialling a new booking system. We will be using Leith Academy pool each Sunday afternoon between 1445 and 1645 running one-hour sessions within this booking. Each one-hour slot will be priced at £10, and ten places will be available in each one hour slot. Coaching and support will be available during each session.
Initially we are opening up the first block of 6 Sundays for bookings, commencing 14 November, running until Christmas 2021 and giving 120 slots available for members. Further blocks of sessions are planned for next year. The next block will be opened for booking during December.
You are invited to book slots within this first block. We expect these sessions to be popular, so booking guidelines apply.
You are reminded to observe the appropriate Covid precautions as advised at the time and that if you have returned a positive test you should not attend a session.
Any enquiries to pool@lskc.org
Booking of pool sessions is via this link:
Through the ‘dark months’ (ie UTC) LSKC will hold a series of short entertaining talks with plenty of time to mingle. These will be on the third Thursday of the next 4 months – here’s the dates:
The sessions will be held in the The Grange Club, Portgower Place, Edinburgh EH4 1HQ, who have made their excellent club room available to us (lofty , well ventilated with a bar in the adjoining area).
Please let David Simpson (davids3904@yahoo.co.uk) know of any topics which you’d like included – or anything you can offer (there is a wealth of experience and expertise within the club- please share it!). Current plans include – introduction to tides, weather, navigation, wildlife of the Forth, Marine Mammal Rescue, Conservation and citizen science.
Lothian Sea Kayak Club had a member fall ill whilst on the water during a leader training session in the summer.
The casualty was taken to hospital by the Scottish Charity Air Ambulance ( SCAA).
We are holding an in-person event (remember them?) on Thursday 30th September 8 pm at the Grange Club EH4 1HQ where those involved tell the tale, and a founder member of the SCAA, Mike Beale, will be there to tell us a bit about how the air ambulance service works.
Rob, Ritchie and I paddled into Larne Harbour from the North at 915 am on Tuesday 11th June, having paddled out heading South on Sunday 21st April, 51 days before. We made it!!
Many, many thanks to all of you who have supported us throughout our 1600km trip- we really appreciate the donations, enthusiasm and interest shown. We’ll keep the website live for a while yet so you can get a flavour of the trip (3meninboats.com).We’ll put something together for a talk / slide show but in the meantime there’s some rather dank, smelly kit to sort out!
Ireland’s coasts, and especially the Irish people, are remarkable. If you are thinking about paddling there (and we all will be!) then please get in touch- we have digital and laminated mapping for the entire coast and the Irish paddlers’ network is truly amazing.We’d love to help you share some of what we have been privileged to experience,
David Simpson
LSKC’s AGM is a week away – at 1900 on Wednesday 27th March, at the Grange Club, Portgower Place, EH4 1HQ – (in Stockbridge, just off Raeburn Place)
Copies of the following can found on the new website www.lskc.org at Members’ Area>Resources>AGM, and are directly linked below:
This year’s talk will be by David Simpson (LSKC Committee and SCA President) – “Dramatic coast of Donegal in 2017, and round Ireland in 2019”
It’s a good social night – we keep formal process to a minimum.
Afterwards there is a pot luck supper – it’s an excellent chance to catch up with folk over food and a drink. There is a reasonably priced bar, and tea/coffee will be provided. Anybody coming to the buffet should bring a small item of food (enough for yourself and one or two others) to share. All of this is then put together to create a pot luck supper after the main business of the evening is over.
If you haven’t already, please let me know if you can come or not (to give an idea of numbers).
Hope you will join us
ALAN FRASER
Secretary, LSKC
The talk by Sarah McNair Landry and Erik Boomer was a great success, with a good turnout. Sarah and Erik gave a gripping description of their adventures, accompanied with some incredible pictures and film footage.
In total we raised £624 for the Edinburgh Taxi Trade Children’s Outing.
This was a joint venture between Lothian Sea Kayak Club and Edinburgh Kayak Club and we’d like to say a special thanks to David Simpson for all of his hard work in planning the event, Mel & Rod for the catering, and all of you who supported the evening through ticket sales and donations.
An epic ski journey across the Greenland Ice Cap to kayak a river from source to the Arctic Ocean. Sarah and Erik will be joining LSKC and EKC to recount the story of their recent expedition.
Venue: Portobell and Joppa church
Time: 7:30, 9th November 2018
Sarah and Erik have a truly remarkable record of expedition and adventure exploits. They will talk about their multi award winning expedition across the Greenland Ice Cap (‘Into the Twin Galaxies’) kite skiing with kayaks, and then paddling from glacial source to sea, over, under and down a river whose existence they had to first establish. Exploration and honesty conveyed with clarity insight and craftmanship – one of the most remarkable journeys I have ever witnessed.
Tickets are available on Eventbrite (https://into_twin_galaxies.eventbrite.co.uk), or on the door.
Concessions £10 student / U18 available on the door
Proceeds will be donated to charity – the Edinburgh Taxi Trade Children’s Outing – in memory of Robert Jackson.
