UCD Canoe Club
General => Kayaking => Topic started by: Peter O'Sullivan on June 19, 2013, 16:00:31
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I will be in Clifden a few times over the summer. Anyone else thinking of going? Going to get back in training for freestyle. Will either camp or stay in the hostel depending on the tides and weather.
For those who haven't been. Clifden hole is excellent. Here is a description http://wiki.iww.ie/index.php/Clifden_Hole (http://wiki.iww.ie/index.php/Clifden_Hole)
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I'd be up for a trip! I'll be gone for July but outside that I'd be up for it
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might be up for the trip if it's at a time that I have money to afford it :)
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Id be up for this in August
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For tide heights I use either http://www.irishtimes.com/news/weather/tides or a program Wtides. http://www.wtides.com/ (http://www.wtides.com/)
Clidfen will be working from this Friday for a week.
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Some future dates for paddling Clifden. Camping is down to 10euro per person, from 14, at the campsite. Bring insect repellent.
2013-07-06
05:01 IST 4.18m. High Tide
10:50 IST 1.35m. Low Tide
17:15 IST 4.47m. High Tide /// 3 cm below the 'cut off' but still worth paddling.
23:18 IST 1.13m. Low Tide
2013-07-07
05:41 IST 4.30m. High Tide
11:27 IST 1.24m. Low Tide
17:52 IST 4.59m. High Tide
23:53 IST 1.00m. Low Tide
2013-07-08
06:17 IST 4.40m. High Tide
12:03 IST 1.15m. Low Tide
18:27 IST 4.67m. High Tide
2013-07-20
03:31 IST 4.31m. High Tide
09:36 IST 1.23m. Low Tide
15:57 IST 4.61m. High Tide
22:10 IST 0.94m. Low Tide
2013-07-21
04:32 IST 4.59m. High Tide
10:30 IST 0.98m. Low Tide
16:53 IST 4.93m. High Tide
2013-07-26
08:33 IST 4.99m. High Tide
14:20 IST 0.79m. Low Tide
20:48 IST 5.11m. High Tide
2013-07-27
02:49 IST 0.64m. Low Tide
09:18 IST 4.77m. High Tide
15:06 IST 1.03m. Low Tide
21:34 IST 4.81m. High Tide
2013-07-28
03:35 IST 0.96m. Low Tide
10:05 IST 4.50m. High Tide
15:55 IST 1.32m. Low Tide
22:22 IST 4.46m. High Tide
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Anyone going to the Clifden comp this weekend?
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I'd really love to, but already signed up to log hours with LKC on saturday, and my playboat is badly in need of a lot of outfitting that I have not done.
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I am in Galway all this week. I will probably paddle in Clifden again this weekend. Send me a text if you are going.
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Well seeing as no club member have any interest in Clifden I have to ask. How on earth do people expect to be competitive at varsities ( never mind win ) if they don't paddle! You can't learn freestyle paddling drifting down an icy Liffey in a creeker. Varsities 2014 - here comes another half assed performance.
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Ah Peter, calm down :). We'll be grand! Some of us are interested and there's some practice going on, I think.
Also happy birthday! Sorry I can't make the party :-\.
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Well seeing as no club member have any interest in Clifden I have to ask. How on earth do people expect to be competitive at varsities ( never mind win ) if they don't paddle! You can't learn freestyle paddling drifting down an icy Liffey in a creeker.
Apart from the original question asking if there was interest in general there is only one suggested trip to Clifden in this thread
Anyone going to the Clifden comp this weekend?
which was made two days before the event and only on the board.
I think it's more likely that it wasn't seen rather than that no one was interested since board viewing goes way down over the summer. Everyone gets a notification when something goes up on the facebook group, so it's handy to put a link to forum posts there to see that they aren't missed.
Even still, most people are away over the summer and it's difficult to get a group together for anything, let alone a trip to Galway. Don't take it personally or as a sign of disinterest in freestyle, it's just the way it is.
Varsities 2014 - here comes another half assed performance.
Belittling the club's performance at varsities like that comes across as very insulting, whether it was intended or not, in a thread that is otherwise quite positive.
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Peter, just because people can't make it Galway doesn't mean they're not paddling, or interested! People have to work, many of them over the weekends so trips anywhere are pretty hard to even think about. Even trying to get people for polo, which are actual competitions is a nightmare.
Varsities 2014 - here comes another half assed performance.
Belittling the club's performance at varsities like that comes across as very insulting, whether it was intended or not, in a thread that is otherwise quite positive.
As Maryanne said it comes across as insulting considering the amount of work the committee are doing at the moment to make sure freestyle is promoted in September.
It's the summer, people are away and working and just because we're not surfing in Clifden doesn't mean we're not out paddling
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Aoife, Clifden had an actual competition last weekend. That's what Peter was originally talking about :).
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Well seeing as no club member have any interest in Clifden I have to ask. How on earth do people expect to be competitive at varsities ( never mind win ) if they don't paddle! You can't learn freestyle paddling drifting down an icy Liffey in a creeker. Varsities 2014 - here comes another half assed performance.
sound. really sound.
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Aoife, Clifden had an actual competition last weekend. That's what Peter was originally talking about :).
Yeah I know, but considering its a nightmare to get a team together for something that was a main focus last year, I'm not surprised at the poor attendance at Galway
Hopefully with the extra training and focus that's planned for freestyle next year we'll have a better attendance next year, but basing the clubs commitment on one competition is a bit harsh!
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Varsities 2014 - here comes another half assed performance.
Peter, I'd just like to ask which Varsities you're talking about here?
Surely not Varsities 2012 where UCD finished 2nd, our highest finish in many years, or 2013 where we (with thanks to a good contribution by yourself) finished 3rd?
The sentence I quoted above insults every member of this club who puts time and effort into organising, helping out with and taking part in Varsities, our main event of the year.
Perhaps wasting your time belittling the efforts of other people isn't the best course of action when you see an area in which the club is lacking. With a little bit of time and effort you could have a group of people heading down to Clifden any weekend you like. That may involve countless texts and planning the trips more than 2 days in advance but as you can tell from the polo attendance, a bit of planning goes a long way.
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Varsities 2014 - here comes another half assed performance.
Peter, I'd just like to ask which Varsities you're talking about here?
Surely not Varsities 2012 where UCD finished 2nd, our highest finish in many years, or 2013 where we (with thanks to a good contribution by yourself) finished 3rd?
The sentence I quoted above insults every member of this club who puts time and effort into organising, helping out with and taking part in Varsities, our main event of the year.
Perhaps wasting your time belittling the efforts of other people isn't the best course of action when you see an area in which the club is lacking. With a little bit of time and effort you could have a group of people heading down to Clifden any weekend you like. That may involve countless texts and planning the trips more than 2 days in advance but as you can tell from the polo attendance, a bit of planning goes a long way.
=Sound with more words nice work D :)
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To be honest guys, I think ye are all overreacting. Peter makes a valid point that without practice now, we won't do well in the freestyle in Varsities this year. Peter is just trying to giddy up and motivate people into doing it. Fair enough, people are busy, but I do believe there us a lack of interest almost in doing competitions in Freestyle. I don't think Peter is belittling the efforts if the club a much as the individual members who aren't making any effort. Again, I think that ye are overreacting, and if you can get offended by such a comment, then you should take some of the advice thrown around the club and man the fuck up
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I meant in terms of freestyle. ULKC had 10 people on the water over the weekend (it wasn't a club trip). NUIGKC are there regularly over the summer. Hard to compete with that come varsities.
Next time Clifden tides are good for a weekend are given below. I'll probably be there only one more weekend this summer.
2013-08-09
04:30 IST Twilight begins
06:06 IST Sunrise
21:15 IST Sunset
22:50 IST Twilight ends
01:10 IST 0.78m. Low Tide
07:32 IST 4.72m. High Tide
13:20 IST 0.98m. Low Tide
19:42 IST 4.88m. High Tide
2013-08-10
04:33 IST Twilight begins
06:07 IST Sunrise
21:13 IST Sunset
22:48 IST Twilight ends
01:42 IST 0.81m. Low Tide
08:04 IST 4.68m. High Tide
13:53 IST 1.03m. Low Tide
20:15 IST 4.81m. High Tide
2013-08-11
04:35 IST Twilight begins
06:09 IST Sunrise
21:11 IST Sunset
22:45 IST Twilight ends
02:15 IST 0.90m. Low Tide
08:39 IST 4.60m. High Tide
14:28 IST 1.14m. Low Tide
20:51 IST 4.67m. High Tide
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Let's just agree to disagree
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Ah a whole heap more replies I didn't see. To them I say context. I meant half assed in terms of freestyle. By that I meant a very small pool of people that had little or no practice prior to competition to select from. Think, fail to prepare and so on. The club is very weak in terms of freestyle at the moment.
It would be nice to see for next year, a pool of 10 people with a minimum of 3 ladies that can do a few basic moves and not rely on 'fun' moves to get points.
I haven't been to Mahahide arches in years ( before the redevelopment ), has anyone, what is it like? This year coming I will continue to avoid Sluice because of the dodgy water quality. But I will gladly help anyone that wants to improve at freestyle where and when possible.
4.5m is the height Clifden is good from. Not sure why the description on line said 4.2m, I've emailed Seanie Byrne to get that fixed.
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I don't think Peter is belittling the efforts if the club a much as the individual members who aren't making any effort.
I meant half assed in terms of freestyle. By that I meant a very small pool of people that had little or no practice prior to competition to select from.
For the sake of positive club relationships and morale it's probably better to move away from belittling or calling anyone's efforts half-assed, rather than narrowing the focus of the belittling to fewer people.
By far the most important message here is everyone agrees that working on freestyle as individuals and as a club is a positive and important thing.
Clifden is a cool venue that could be a nice excuse for a group road trip and in the good weather maybe even some good camping.
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Anyway, moving on. There are two more possible weekends between now and September. The weekend of the 9th, 10th and 11th or the 23rd to 25th. Clifden is the only deep, retentive predictable playspot in Ireland hence I am plugging it so much. If you've only ever been playboating at a flushy Stackallen or Sluice you will really enjoy Clifden.
If you miss either of these up coming weekends you probably won't see Clifden until the following summer.
2013-08-23
06:30 IST Sunrise
20:45 IST Sunset
22:11 IST Twilight ends
07:25 IST 5.24m. High Tide
13:14 IST 0.58m. Low Tide
19:40 IST 5.37m. High Tide
2013-08-24
05:06 IST Twilight begins
06:32 IST Sunrise
20:43 IST Sunset
22:08 IST Twilight ends
01:39 IST 0.46m. Low Tide
08:05 IST 5.10m. High Tide
13:55 IST 0.73m. Low Tide
20:21 IST 5.14m. High Tide
2013-08-25
05:08 IST Twilight begins
06:33 IST Sunrise
20:41 IST Sunset
02:18 IST 0.72m. Low Tide
08:46 IST 4.88m. High Tide
14:35 IST 0.98m. Low Tide
21:03 IST 4.82m. High Tide
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I was thinking of heading down this weekend, would it not really be worth it if it's 4.2-4.4m then?
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Ya' know, when i first read Peter's post above (the rather tactless one - something I'm afraid I'm also often guilty of) - my first reaction was along the lines of "that really unfair to give out to people who have jobs, little money, time etc. for not dropping everything and spending all their time there" - and that's true, it is unfair to give out to people.
I later thought about it and well, we put in a lot amount of time, money and effort(plus some entrty fee) to go to polo competitions every 2-3 weeks. Maybe we could all get together and organise something for at least a couple of times over the Summer - something that's a proper club event.
I'm sorry to the committee for suggesting more work for them, but it could be a good idea. I'm sure that it would also be much more attractive to a lot of those who aren't interested in doing things like polo - Maryanne, Jer, Eoghan, Marie etc?
Ps. Clifden is a great spot, but that's no reason not to give Stack and Sluice their due.
Stack is the perfect place to begin freestyle and after that it's a great spot to hone skills without relying on power.
Sluice is a unique feature which needs a bit time to get used to (Peter hasn't done this -in fact, hasn't even paddled it at a good level- and thus disregards it).
While there is a risk of Weils(as there is in most places), this is massively over-played. Statistics will show that cases are rare -really rare.
Just about any move is possible here, and if nothing else your general paddling will improve massively.
---> More to the point in terms of performance, Sluice is where varsities will be held this year and regular training here will be vital to a good performance.
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To answer Jer's question. 4.2m is too low and not worth paddling. Best to go to Clifden when you can paddle morning and evening on Saturday.
If you were competing in polo at the weekend, fair play to you. Same if you were out paddling anything over the last few weeks. If your gear hasn't seen water since the last club trip and your playboat is gathering dust in the boathouse its time to get off your ass and paddle something.
Stack and Sluice are probably empty at the moment and from looking at SMDs it would probably take over 80mm of rain to get them going.
Seeing as it is Sluice this year all the more reason to have large pool of playboaters to allow for causalities from the dodgy water! I have been sick, not Weils, from Sluice before and reluctant to encourage training there. I'd love to give Malahide a go when I get back to Dublin.
Last thought, I need to do a fair bit of repairs to my carbon boat before I can paddle it again.
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I thought I saw you trying to sell the Saint there a few weeks ago Peter?
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Yeah I'm in for a weekend trip to Clifden or Malahide! If my playboat doesn't see some action soon I'm selling it :)
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I thought I saw you trying to sell the Saint there a few weeks ago Peter?
I was trying to sell it. Then 8 sessions in Clifden and one very minor off car roof experience later it needs some patching up at the nose and tail.
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Yeah I'm in for a weekend trip to Clifden or Malahide! If my playboat doesn't see some action soon I'm selling it :)
From what I have heard Malahide isn't any good. Apparently its too shallow. Is the boat for sale yet?
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Yeah I'm in for a weekend trip to Clifden or Malahide! If my playboat doesn't see some action soon I'm selling it :)
From what I have heard Malahide isn't any good. Apparently its too shallow. Is the boat for sale yet?
I'm seriously considering it...only thing stopping me is that I know I definitely won't do any playboating if I sell it...
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Garbhan pointed out I wasn't highlighting all of benefits of paddling in Clifden. Its suitable for all levels, you don't need any prior experience to go. Swims are the easy. During the summer the water is warm. Less experienced people will still enjoy paddling there from 4.4m and upwards. It will wash away the cobwebs before starting back on club trips in September. Your role ( and paddling in general ) will improve loads.
There is one weekend left this summer. What I said before is still true. You won't learn freestyle paddling drifting down an icy Liffey in a creeker.
Eoghan, sell the boat to some club member. It'll be good for the club.
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which weekend is still good this summer?
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which weekend is still good this summer?
2013-08-23
06:30 IST Sunrise
20:45 IST Sunset
07:25 IST 5.24m. High Tide
13:14 IST 0.58m. Low Tide
19:40 IST 5.37m. High Tide
2013-08-24
06:32 IST Sunrise
20:43 IST Sunset
01:39 IST 0.46m. Low Tide
08:05 IST 5.10m. High Tide
13:55 IST 0.73m. Low Tide
20:21 IST 5.14m. High Tide
2013-08-25
06:33 IST Sunrise
20:41 IST Sunset
02:18 IST 0.72m. Low Tide
08:46 IST 4.88m. High Tide
14:35 IST 0.98m. Low Tide
21:03 IST 4.82m. High Tide
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would you be around to head down that weekend?
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I am reluctant to commit without knowing there would be a few others going.
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I'm interested!
yeah the boat is dangerously close to being released into the transfer market
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I may be interested in going. Don't have many/any plans for that weekend afaik.
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I'm 90% sure I'm going
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I finish work on the 23rd, then I'm going out with people from work to say goodbye, thank you and to celebrate finishing my project.
I could come down on Saturday:
IF the car is free
& I don't die of exhaustion between now and then
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So far Diarmuid, Eoghan, Deividas and Ross are interested. Anyone else. Kieran and Derv?
I finish work on the 23rd, then I'm going out with people from work to say goodbye, thank you and to celebrate finishing my project.
I could come down on Saturday:
IF the car is free
& I don't die of exhaustion between now and then
Thats a no then.
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So this post has been due since the weekend :P , So Clifden... IT'S PRETTY DAMN AWESOME! If you can at all make it to Clifden you should go. I've been paddling at least once a week for the whole summer and it was still a big step up but a needed one at that. That's not to stay it isn't beginner friendly because it is, it's probably the best place it the whole country to swim in moving water, I should know it happened to me about 15 times! But I am a far better paddler from it. Not only progressed my roll but improved my other skills, it's amazing how rusty you can get over the summer.
Which means that if UCD want to do even half decently and Freestyle this year you need to have people go to Clifden and other freestyle spots and train. Peter's even willing to teach it which is great. Clifden is a great spot to learn. The level would need to be at 4.4m or higher to practice high end competition moves but 4.2/4.3 is still worth going down for as even getting practice of "fun moves" is worth the time. I only got in side surfs and spins ( and some half loops :P) but they're worth something in freestyle points and side/front surfing is the bases of most fun moves. Clifden is also a great spot for "dropping in" as it's a 30 second walk to do it again.
It also helps that the club has some freestyle boats, even though a few are a bit old school, and that I-Canoe rent a very good range of playboats for €40 a week. Heck Alex even showed that a lot is possible in just a G-Force!
Even though it's early in the morning, the process of getting out of bed(sleeping bag) and getting to the hole in 20ish minutes, putting on damp gear which you don't mind because your sleepy, getting on the water and then the rush as you plough in the hole is AMAZING!
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Nice one Garbhan - it's seriously good fun. Fair play for making the trek
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Oh yeah, sorry! Thought I'd replied to this! Pretty positiveI'm up for it. Finished work next Thursday/Friday. Plan on making it :D