For the fourth successive year, BS Canoe club volunteers staged a "Come and Try Canoeing"  event on the Stort between Station Road Bridge and Causeway/Hockerill Bridge.

We were once again blessed with warm sunny weather, so it was no surprise that the event proved as popular as usual. A record number of people took to the water in the club's stable one-person kayaks and in large open canoes operated by coaches and assistants. Most of the 170 participants were junior-school age children, but some mums and dads had a go too.

A long queue had built up before the first timed tickets were issued and continued unabated until the very last one had been sold.

It was sad to have to disappoint some people who arrived half-way through to discover that they had already "missed the boat", but no more could be expected from the coaches and club volunteers. In addition to working non-stop for the three and half hours that the public were on the water, they had also had to bring all the equipment from the club's premises and return it to storage at the end.

A wide range of instructors and clubs were represented, as diverse as belly dancing, yoga, martial arts and vollyball. Some groups held 30-min join-in sessions in the arenas, while others - including BSCC - offered an activity throughout the day on their stands.

The club took a display of racing boats, photos and leaflets, and two paddle machines.

Octavia was assisted by Matt, David, Euan and Adam in putting people on the paddle machines, while Sue, Andrew and Angela were on hand to answer questions about the club and what we can offer.

We had a sunny August day, and the event was just as popular as ever, with over 160 paddlers taking part and having fun on the river.

The Club's coaches and volunteers worked tirelessly all afternoon and raised a whopping £835 for Grove Cottage.

This year's "Come and Try Canoeing" on the Stort in the town centre attracted even more youngsters than last year's successful event. At least 160 were given the chance to have fun on the river in stable PolyPippin kayaks or (for the younger ones) in open canoes escorted by our coaches.

The event is an annual fundraiser for Grove Cottage (home of Bishop's Stortford Mencap), and the great response enabled us to raise a total of over £850 for the charity this year.

Grove Cottage runs a range of clubs which provide social and educational activities for people of all ages with learning disability. Over 120 members benefit each week from the experiences Grove Cottage can offer, developing potential, avoiding social isolation and bringing respite to families and carers.

The queue for tickets began to form over an hour before the advertised start time and all the available places had been booked long before it drew to a close. The majority of the participants were aged 8-14, but at least 30 adults took the opportunity to have a go as well.

Our dedicated coaches (Malcolm, Jacque, Dave, Ken, Wayne and Gary) worked non-stop all afternoon in the August sunshine, ably assisted from the bank by committee members Andrew and Angela, plus one of the club's youngest paddlers, Ryewin. Special thanks are due to club juniors Kaitie and Julius who patiently kitted everyone up and kept the queue in order throughout the event, and also to Matt, John, and Kaitie who helped the six coaches tow all the boats from the clubhouse into town, and then back again afterwards.

If you took part and are interested in finding more about canoeing by attending a longer taster at the club on a Sunday, or if you missed this session but think canoeing might be for you, have a look around the rest of our website to find out what we do. If you like what you see, go to the JOIN US page to find out how you can book a trial session at the club on a Sunday.

Following the Sponsored Row in December, Maldon Little Ships Club invited BSCC to a special lunch at their clubhouse in Maldon so that MLSC could present club member Chris Sze with the Panther "Crown" Cup, for the largest donation raised by an individual - a spectacular £1360!

BSCC chairman Joe Fitzpatrick also took the opportunity to present the treasurer of the RNLI with an additional cheque raised by the club's bellboat crew, which we understand brings the total funds raised by the event to around £11,000. Jacque Cayford received the participation certificates on behalf of the BSCC team.

A group from BSCC joined in with the annual Row & Gig race at Maldon run in aid of the RNLI by the Maldon Little Ships Club. Most of the BSCC folk were in a bellboat: Ant Wright, Joe Fitzpatrick, Wayne Stephens, Angela Aldam, and Deborah, Dave and Jacque Cayford - with lots of extra muscle provided by Maurice Zoppellini of HYMB and his son Dan. Chris Sze and Steve Whipp also took part in kayaks.

As usual, there was a wide diversity amongst the 52 boats taking part. The event is increasingly popular amongst rowing gigs, who now have their own 6km course. Everyone else (including many types of rowing boats, inflatable dingies, canoes, kayaks and even at least one stand-up-paddleboard) was on the 4km course.

There was an excellent atmosphere, with most crews making a spectacular effort with the fancy dress. Quite a lot of spectators turned out to watch from the quay.

All the boats gathered off Maldon Prom to wait for their respective starting hooters. Jacque got everyone on the bellboat warmed up with her sing-along (captured on this video by Chris!)  Once the boat was under way, Jacque also proved to be a very able helm and the boat was soon flying along. Despite having had no opportunity to practice, the bellboat crew managed a pretty tight turn at the buoy and were heading back towards the start when a closed-cockpit kayaker capsized directly beside. The RNLI were only yards away but being well-trained in race etiquette there really was no option but for the BSCC crew to stop and sort the chap out.  Despite a very efficient rescue, valuable time had been lost and a monumental effort was then needed to make it up. After a final 200 yard battle with a C2, the Stortford bellboat was pronounced the winner of the fastest mixed crew class.

There's nothing like a good healthy bit of canoe training on an autumn morning to get your appetite up for a slice of cake.

A trainer from the East of England Ambulance Service came along to the club on 2nd September to deliver a training course to eleven of the club's members and coaches in the use of our new AED (defibrillator).

The training, and the device itself were supplied to the club by the charity SADS (Sudden Adult Death Trust) and funded by the Bishop's Stortford Community Hospital Charitable Trust.  Linda Ketteridge (pictured below), representing the donors, came along to tell the group about the work of the Trust.

Over 90 youngsters - and some not so young! - took to the water in Bishops Stortford on 20 August to have what, for many, was their first taste of kayaking.

The day started early for the club's volunteers as the boats needed to be towed upriver from the clubhouse. Registration was based on the patio of Cambio Lounge, who also provided refreshments for the volunteers. Five of the club's coaches (Fred, Malcolm, Ken, Jacque and Gary) worked tirelessly all afternoon to make sure everyone was safe and happy on the water. Additional support was provided by Alex, Darren, and junior club member William.

The event raised a total of just over £460 for Grove Cottage (home of Bishop's Stortford Mencap).

See a slide-show of photos.

Bishops Stortford Canoe Club took a Kayak-Pro paddle machine to the Stortford Town Carnival in support of Grove Cottage. Carnival-goers were given the opportunity to see how far they could paddle in 2 minutes. The prize for the fastest paddler was won by D Blakey and  the under-14s prize went to J Baker.
Profits were significantly boosted by young club member Rosie, who brought along a small army of gingerbread men for sale.
All proceeds went to Grove Cottage.