All Categories - BSCC

BSCC at the Opening of Castle Park (1 Sep 2024)

1/9/2024

Bishops Stortford Canoe Club joined many other local community groups for a celebration of the official opening of Castle Park, the upgraded and rebranded area incorporating the area around the Castle Mound, including Sworders Field, children's play area, skate park, paddling pool and new cafe facility.

The day also featured historic re-enactments, and displays of falconry and skateboarding, as well as opportunities to try archery and axe-throwing but the members of BSCC were kept too busy throughout the afternoon by a steady stream of enquiries to take time off to enjoy the other attractions.

The club took a display of racing boats, photos and leaflets to help to explain what the club is all about. In particular we also took along two ergos (paddle machines), which attracted a lot of attention.

Sixty people took the opportunity to try out the machines. After a chance to warm up (perhaps a misnomer on this incredibly hot day), they were encouraged to record their a 100m time, with the best senior and the best under-14 being awarded prizes at the end the day.

David G, Joe, Alex M, Eddie K and Tom H worked principally at supervising the ergos, while Kevin, Mick, Chris, Angela, Kerstin, Andrew and Alex S were on hand to answer questions about the club and what we can offer. Particular thanks are due to Kevin, David G and Mick who moved all the equipment.

After the event the club received a flurry of enquiries about membership, and a programme of invitations for tasters is now under way.

National Marathon Championships (13-14 Jul 2024)

14/7/2024

The National Marathon Championships were held on the Thames at Reading. Well done to the 8 Stortford paddlers who participated, and especially Kerstin Queeney (now over-54 Ladies K2 champion with Catherine Ayling) and Kat Wilson (over 34 Ladies K1 champion).

SINGLES -
12.6 k & 2 portages
O34 VL: Kat Wilson 1st (1:04:25)
8 k
O54 VL: Kerstin Queeney 4th (45:12)
U14 JM: Jasper Kirtland 13th (43:02)
U14 JL: Libby Gaulton 13th (47:38)

Photo credit: Kerstin Queeney

Photo credit: Chris Sze

Photo credit: Kerstin Queeney

DOUBLES -
12.6 k & 2 portages
O34 VL: Kat Wilson & Victoria Knee [BOA] 1st (1:13:11)
O44 VM: Ben Tubby & Chris Sze 9th (1:3:52)
Mixed: Kat Wilson & Juan Caruncho [BAD?] 18th (58:19), Joe Fitzpatrick & Libby Gaulton 45th (1:03:55), Kerry Tubby & Chris Sze 63rd (1:09:17)
8 k
O54 VL: Kerstin Queeney & Catherine Ayling [EAL] 1st (40:36)
U14 JM: Jasper Kirtland & Libby Gaulton 6th (40:50)

Chris captured a very surprised duck on his GoPro.

Photo credit: Chris Sze

Full results are on the MRC results website.

Rich sets off to face Yukon 1000

6/7/2024

On 12th July our very own Rich Winstanley, committee member of BSCC and Sprint Team Leader, will be setting off in one of the most extreme competitions the world of sport has to offer – the Yukon 1000.

The canoe race begins at Whitehorse in Yukon Territory, Canada, and follows the route taken by the prospectors who canoed down the Yukon river in the 1896 Klondike goldrush to Dawson City (roughly half way through the race), then crosses into the Arctic Circle to finish at the Dalton Highway Bridge in central Alaska.

Thousands of crews apply to participate in this annual event, but no more than 30 will be selected. Each must convince the organiser that they have the necessary bush-craft and survival skills necessary, as well as the fitness and paddling skills, to be able to complete the distance within the maximum 10 day period allowed.

Whitehorse, where the race begins

At 1000 miles, the event is the longest canoe race in the world. However, it is far more than just an extremely long marathon, but also a test of physical and mental endurance in wilderness conditions. The organisers claim that "more people have been up Everest than have been beyond Dawson City." Participants may face forest fires, bears, moose, rapids, whirlpools, rain of "biblical" proportions, or high water.

The race is completely unsupported, and much of the route is so remote as to make external rescue difficult if not impossible, being out of the range of helicopters. Although crews carry mobile phones for emergency use, any other contact with the outside world means an automatic DQ. All the camping gear and food needed for the expedition must of course be carried in the boat.

Each team’s progress will be monitored with a tracker. There is a compulsory minimum of 6 hours’ rest each “night” - though they will be so far north that the sun will not set.

Some crews have already pulled out leaving 23 at the time of writing. All entries are doubles crews – organisers deem the race too dangerous to be attempted alone. Rich and his friend John Astbury (who were paddling partners from their teens) have entered under the team name “Winging It”.

As well as the personal satisfaction of completing this extreme challenge, Rich and John are also hoping to raise funds for Great Ormond Street Hospital, where Rich’s son underwent multiple brain surgeries – if you would like to donate you can do so here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/yukon1000

During the race, Rich & John's progress (boat 21) can be live-tracked here:
https://teammap.net/yukon1000/2024/race.html
All paddlers must stop by 23:00 each night for a min 6 hour rest. Assuming this refers to Mountain Standard Time, this would be 7:00 BST, which is 8 hours ahead.

Leighton Buzzard Hasler (16 Jun 2024)

16/6/2024

Twenty paddlers from BSCC were among the 122 who turned out for the last Hasler race of the 2023-24 season at Leighton Buzzard.

The two golds, six silvers and three bronzes in the Hasler race, as well as solid scoring from the rest of the Stortford paddlers (none were out of time at this race) brought the team a third place overall. Together with past results - including two outright wins - the club has finished the series in equal second place with Norwich CC in the Eastern Region, beaten only by Chelmsford CC.

This means that BSCC has qualified to attend the National Hasler Finals at Richmond in October, after what has been the club's best season since 2018, when we finished in joint first place with Chelmsford.

Two paddlers achieved promotions. Claudia, racing for the first time with Ben, now joins him in Div 4. The pair won the Div 4 doubles race well over 3 minutes faster than the next-placed boat.

Jamie had an excellent race in Div 8 singles. After a good start he held 2nd place for most of the race but was overtaken in the final sprint, and missed out on silver by just 2s. He has been promoted to Div 7.

Karen & Christine and Jacque & Dave took the silver and bronze medals respectively in Div 7 doubles.

Kat and Eddie took silver in Div 3, but as the winners were out of region, scored maximum points.

Oliver and Kerry went for a swim at the final turn but somehow Joe managed to be on hand to help them get back in the race and clock up two more silver medals for the club.

Rupert won yet another medal for the club, by taking bronze in GS A,

SINGLES -
8 miles, 2 portages
Div 6: Jaroslav Klumpler 6th (1:18:50)
4.5 miles
Div 8: Jamie Bond 3rd (44:22), Finlay Sandall 4th (45:40)

Under 14s (Geoff Sanders)
2 miles
Div A: Rupert Kirtland 3rd (19:47)
K2: Rupert Kirtland & Cecelia Blanchard [NOR] 4th (26:09)

DOUBLES -
12 miles, 6 portages
Div 3: Kat Wilson & Eddie Kirtland 2nd (1:44:09)
8 miles, 2 portages
Div 4: Ben Tubby & Claudia Redeker 1st (1:07:42), Mark Adams & Charlotte Ellis [LBZ] retd
Div 5: Kerstin Queeney & Catherine Ayling [EAL] 4th (1:14:48), Jasper Kirtland & Libby Gaulton 7th (1:17:39)
Div 6: Kerry Tubby & Paul Lane [MAI] 4th (1:16:54)
4.5 miles
Div 7: Karen Bradley & Christine Meula 2nd (40:46), Dave Cayford & Jacque Cayford 3rd (41:09)
Div 9: Oliver Klumpler & Kerry Hoar 2nd (49:56)

See also

B. Stortford Hasler (2 Jun 2024)

2/6/2024

Although fielding a larger team than usual (24 paddlers), Stortford was still outnumbered by the teams from Chelmsford CC and Norwich CC, so it was particularly pleasing to score our second outright win of the season.

In singles, Daniel has been awarded a promotion to Division 7 (bronze Div 8). There were also particularly good performances from Kat (silver, Div 3 & fastest lady) and Jaroslav (bronze, Div 6).

SINGLES -
19km, 8 portages
Div 2: David Gurney 5th (1:39:16)
Div 3: Kat Wilson 2nd (1:37:16)
11.5km, 6 portages
Div 5: Tom Holloway 11th (1:19:34)
Div 6: Jaroslav Klumpler 3rd (1:15:42)
6.5km 2 portages
Div 7: Eilidh White 6th (37:22)
Div 8: Daniel Baines 3rd (37:43), Jamie Bond 7th (39:35), Finlay Sandall 10th (42:13)
Div 9: Alex Scott 20th (48:31)

Many of the club's medals and points came from the doubles entries. Joao & Ben formed a very successful partnership in Div 4, and Mark and Kerry T paddled to victory with partners from other clubs in Divs 5 and 6 respectively. Equally important in securing the club's overall win was the 1st place in Div 9 by Oliver and Kerry H - albeit uncontested.

Chris & Karen are proving to be a solid points-scoring pair with their third successive podium place (silver Div 7). On only her second race for the club, Claudia has again been promoted, and joins Kerstin in Div 5 (silver, Div 5).

DOUBLES -
11.5km, 6 portages
Div 4: Joao Spinola & Ben Tubby 1st (1:04:54)
Div 5: Mark Adams & Steve Tingay [LBZ] 1st (1:10:22), Kerstin Queeney & Claudia Redeker 2nd (1:10:27), Alasdair Bruce & Mike Panrucker 4th (1:11:13), Libby Gaulton & Jasper Kirtland 8th (1:13:54)
Div 6: Kerry Tubby & Paul Lane [MAI] 1st (1:14:09)
6.5km, 2 portages
Div 7: Christine Meula & Karen Bradley 2nd (35:39), Dave Cayford & Jacque Cayford 3rd (36:01)
Div 9: Oliver Klumpler & Kerry Hoar 1st (49:20)

Under 14s (Geoff Sanders)
2.5km
Div B: Rupert Kirtland 1st (20:07)

Huge thanks are also due to all the volunteers without whom the race could not happen - the club members, their families and friends, who organised parking, marshalled portages, starts and finishes, who sorted boards and entries, or who provided the refreshments for the day!

Many thanks also to Cllr Murray White, Deputy Mayor of Bishops Stortford, for coming along to present the medals.

The club is now standing in third position within the Eastern Region, but with Leighton Buzzard's home race to come, this could still change.

See also

Norwich Hasler (19 May 2024)

19/5/2024

One hundred and thirty five paddlers from six clubs contended the Norwich Hasler. Although Stortford sent only a small team (14 paddlers), the quality of the performances was excellent, and the team achieved a third place.

Gold medals were won by Joao & Jasper, and Karen & Christine. Jasper has been promoted two divisions to Div 4, and Karen & Christine have been promoted to Div 7.

Silver medals were awarded to Joe, Eddie & David G, and to Kerry T & Claudia. Eddie has been promoted to Div 3, and Kerry and Claudia to Div 6.

Jamie did well to come 4th in his first Div 8 race, and new member Kerry Hoar also did well in her first ever race.

SINGLES -
19.5km, 4 portages
Div 2: Joe Fitzpatrick 2nd (1:38:18)
6.5km
Div 8: Jamie Bond 4th (38:48)
Div 9: Kerry Hoar 7th (50:03)

Under 14s (Geoff Sanders)
3.5km
Div A: Rupert Kirtland 5th (23:42)

DOUBLES -
19.5km, 4 portages
Div 3: David Gurney & Eddie Kirtland 2nd (1:30:42)
13km, 2 portages
Div 5: Joao Spinola & Jasper Kirtland 1st (1:04:02), Kerstin Queeney & Libby Gaulton 8th (1:11:40)
6.5km
Div 7: Kerry Tubby & Claudia Redeker 2nd (32:30)
Div 8: Karen Bradley & Christine Meula 1st (34:24)

The race was of course won by Norwich CC with a perfect score of 600. Chelmsford were second (586) and Stortford third (538).

See also

Chelmsford Sprint Regatta (5 May 2024)

5/5/2024

Seven Stortford paddlers were among the 48 attending the Chelmsford Regatta.

The morning's singles races were followed by fun K2 races in which the youngest paddlers were paired with the fastest.

Results for Stortford paddlers:
u10 Boys - Edward Perrier (silver)
u12 Boys - Rupert Kirkland (5th)
u14 Girls - Libby Gaulton (gold)
u14 Boys - Jasper Kirtland (gold), Jamie Winstanley (7th)
Veteran Men - Joao Spinola (silver)
Veteran Ladies - Ally Judge (silver)

See
The full results (FRA website)
Photos (Angela's Google photo album)

Bedford Hasler (28 Apr 2024)

28/4/2024

There were some great results at Bedford, especially from our doubles crews.

Chris was competing for Stortford for probably the last time before he leaves us for pastures new. He and Ben pulled out all the stops to win gold in Division 4 Doubles, bringing to a close 9 years of racing for BSCC.

Joao partnering Charlotte Ellis (LBZ) was not far behind in the same race.

Jasper, promoted to Div 6 following the Cambridge Hasler, had his first race on the 8-mile course with Kerstin in Div 5 doubles and came third.

On the longest course, David paired up with Eddie to take second place in Div 3 doubles. Meanwhile, on the 4-mile course, Karen & Christine took silver medals in Div 8, and Jacque & Dave bronze in Div 7. Christine has been promoted from Div 9 to Div 8.

DOUBLES -
19.7km, 4 portages
Div 3: David Gurney & Eddie Kirtland 2nd (1:46:47)
12.9km, 2 portages
Div 4: Chris Sze & Ben Tubby 1st (1:10:03), Joao Spinola & Charlotte Ellis [LBZ] 2nd 1:11:46
Div 5: Kerstin Queeney & Jasper Kirtland 3rd (1:17:13)
6.8km
Div 7: Jacque Cayford & Dave Cayford 3rd (48:35)
Div 8: Karen Bradley & Christine Meula 2nd (44:53), Finlay Sandall & Oliver Klumpler 6th (52:25)

Kerry T (Div 7) had the misfortune to fall victim to the gusty wind as the end of the race was in sight, causing her to go for a swim in the river.

Jamie B was the club's star paddler in the singles races. Despite a poor start he worked his way into 4th place and was poised to take 3rd when the lead paddler suffered a capsize. His excellent time earned him a bronze medal and a promotion to Division 8.

SINGLES -
19.7km, 4 portages
Div 2: Joe Fitzpatrick 3rd (1:48:37)
6.8km
Div 7: Kerry Tubby 10th (51:32)
Div 8: Robin Dromard 8th (54:12)
Div 9: Jamie Bond 3rd (47:38)

Under 14s (Geoff Sanders)
2.5km
Div A: Rupert Kirtland 6th (23:59)

The event was attended by 121 paddlers. The scores have now been confirmed - the event was won by Norwich (598 points), with Leighton Buzzard second (593) and BSCC tied with Chelmsford for third place (587). This means that BSCC now lies in joint third place with Leighton Buzzard in the Eastern Region, with both of these clubs still to have their home races.

See also

Nottingham Sprints (13-14 April 2024)

14/4/2024

A team of seven from BSCC went up to Nottingham for the National Sprint Regatta. The weather was mild but very windy, making for very choppy paddling conditions on the lake.

Jasper Kirtland was promoted from the Mini Sprint to the Intermediate class at the end of the 2023 season, and thoroughly enjoyed moving up a level! He qualified fastest for the K1 500m race in the heats, coming 2nd in the final (2:46.49), and paired up with Matthew Anderson of Leighton Buzzard Canoe Club in the K2 Intermediate races. They had two close fought sprints with a Glasgow pairing, with the BSF/LBZ pair taking the lead from the start before being narrowly beaten on the line and coming 2nd in both the K2 200m (1:00.19) and K2 500m (2:38.59).

When the promotions were announced at the end of the event, Jasper had been promoted from the Intermediate class up to Boy’s D - an excellent achievement.

Rupert Kirtland was in the under 12s Mini Sprint B class, coming 4th in the K1 200m (1:34.17), then pairing with Connor Bates of Leighton Buzzard Canoe Club to come 3rd in the Mini Sprint A K2 500m final (3:17.17) and partnering with the winners of that race, Lexi Small and Freya Snell (of Wolverhampton and Royal Leamington Spa Canoe Clubs) to take 1st place in the K4 500m Mini Sprint (2:51.27).

Joe Fitzpatrick also competed in the Men’s B class, coming 4th in the K1 500m final (2:22.97), 4th in the K1 1000m final (5:21.48), and 3rd.

In the Paddle-Ability class, Oliver Klumpler came 3rd in the K1 200m final race (1:10.88), and 4th in the K1 500m final race (3:32.99). As one of only two juniors in the class, he achieved two 1st places in his age group.

Joao Spinola was representing Bishop’s Stortford at a Sprint Regatta for the first time, competing in the Men’s D class (combined with Master’s C/D), coming 5th in the K1 500m final (2:28.81), and a brilliant 2nd in the K1 200m final (55:77). He partnered with Joe Fitzpatrick in the K2 Men’s A/B and Master’s A K2 500m final, coming a very respectable 3rd (2:10.00)

Rich Winstanley competed in the Master’s B class (combined with Men's C). He came 7th in the K1 1000m final (5:52.28) and 8th in the K1 500m final (2:45.02).

As this was a Junior Selection event, Eddie Kirtland was competing in the Boys Under 16 class (as opposed to Boy’s C). He took part in a number of heats, qualifying for the K1 Final 2 in the 200m (9th; 55.27), and the K4 500m final in conjunction with paddlers from Gailey, Richmond, and Worcester clubs, coming 7th (2:06.15).

Overall, it was a good set of results for the first National Sprint Regatta of the year!

See also the full results online.

Photos courtesy Flora Klumpler

Devizes to Westminster (29-31 Mar 2024)

31/3/2024

There were some great results for the three BSCC paddlers - Kat Burbeck (Wilson), Joe Fitzpatrick and Rich Winstanley - taking part in the annual Devizes to Westminster race this Easter.

Heavy rain had caused the organisers to repeat last year's precaution of terminating many of the classes at Teddington, but it was hoped that the Senior Doubles would be able to go all the way through to Westminster, completing the full 125 miles. However, by Saturday the tidal part of the river was Red Flagged so the race ended for everyone at Teddington Lock - "only" 108 miles, with 77 portages.

Perhaps because of the uncertainty around how long the race would be, or even whether it would be able to run at all, the number of entries (270) were fewer than usual. Those who did participate had a very strong flow and flooded banks to contend with.

Kat was paddling with Catherine Drummond of Reading CC in Senior Doubles - the straight-through race. They set off early on Saturday afternoon and reached Teddington at dawn on Sunday. Their time of 16h 54m 27s made them 8th overall out of the 72 Senior Doubles crews, and the first all-female crew.

Joe and Rich were competing in Singles, which takes place in stages with overnight stops. This is normally a four-day event, but this year only three. Joe and Rich set off from Devizes on Friday morning and experienced some heavy downpours of rain into the already swollen canal. The first stage ended at Newbury, with Rich and Joe occupying 2nd and 3rd place, with only a few seconds between their elapsed times.

The conditions were not only difficult for paddlers but also the support crews following them by land, to provide food, drinks, changes of clothes and spare kit. In some places the tow-paths were completely submerged under water.

On Saturday the route took them onto the Thames at Reading and down to Marlow. Many of the competitors found the strong currents challenging, but the Stortford pair took it in their stride. Joe was slightly faster on this second section and ended Saturday in second place, and Rich third. On Sunday it was Rich who was the faster of the two, reaching Teddington with a total elapsed time of 14h 41m 18s, making him second overall and the first Veteran (35+). Joe was 4th overall with a time of 15h 17m 12s.

While Joe does not seem to have enjoyed the experience (the monotony broken only by some swan issues), Rich was disappointed not to be able to do the full 125 miles. He had wanted to undertake this famous race ever since he started paddling as a child. For Rich, the DW was a short training run for his next challenge - the Yukon 1000 in July. This unsupported race goes along the Yukon river though the Canadian wilderness to a point 1000 miles downriver in Alaska.

See the full results of DW 2024