It was epic…
(Write-up to follow)
2010-6
3
Spinny Spinny Hitty Hitty Mexican Social!
This long awaited social finally happened post exams giving people no excuse not to have a drink or two, some took this to the extreme (no names mentioned!). To keep up with tradition there was a lot of Tequila but also punch which got progressively more alcoholic throughout the night!
This social was kindly held at Josh Cleall’s house and he was a wonderful host. As you crossed the threshold into the house you felt like you had crossed the border into Mexico! We were greeted by an authentic Mexican with a real handlebar moustache (no eyeliner involved!), Mexican music, cheesy nachos and more than enough dip.
Sat outside we couldn’t resist a bit of EUCC banter, consisting of playing with washing line pegs. I think the record has to go to Hugh Woods who managed to get Emily May with a train of about 5 pegs on front of her Sombrero.
Kindly supplied by Hugh, Jess and Jacky was a Piñata; people took it in turns to try to rupture it after being spun round whilst people chanted “SPINNY SPINNY HITTY HITTY”. There were a few near misses with the table and people’s faces but it was defiantly worth it. Overall a fun night… bring on next year!
2010-6
3
NEW student paddling forum!
Here is another reason for you to be proud of your canoe club. We realised that although there are lots of wonderful inter-club events like the fantastic NSR, BUCS events and friendly gatherings, there was no way to contact everyone at once or chat between the clubs. So we took the initiative and came up with a solution…
…the NATIONAL STUDENT PADDLING FORUM! Check it out at www.nspf.co.uk. It has the potential to turn into a hugely useful tool that will unite student paddlers all over the country. Sounds cheesy, but True Story. It could be used to exchange information and secrets about local paddling and camping spots, encourage more friendly events and more explorations of other disciplines, spread awareness of inter-club events you are holding, join forces to arrange group discounts on kit and training courses, find other student boaters who live near you for paddling opportunities during the holidays, exchange floor space for beer, and even exchange ideas for inventive fundraising. I’ll stop now, but I hope you can see how useful it could become!
Sounds great, and the feedback we’re getting from other clubs has been very positive. The site is very new, fresh, and itching to be (ab)used, so sign up and get chatting!
Hope to see you online soon x
2010-6
2
6 Hours of Faff (Wales Trip)
No one does faff like EUCC…
Most of us assembled at the cave at 9am to sort out boats, when we were told that the bus wouldn’t start. After failed attempts to jump-start the bus, (because as most of us know, pushing it up a hill doesn’t generally work) the RAC was called. Unfortunately, “Heather” couldn’t pull through so we had to set off in 5 cars instead. We managed to make it a few miles outside of Exeter before smoke started billowing from under the bonnet of Noah’s car. After some further faffing and another call to the RAC, we left the Exeter area with an impressive journey time of 1.5mph. Luckily, we did manage to make it to Wales in time for a few hours drinking round a campfire before bed. There was even time for some of us to learn how to open and shut gates…
Saturday started with a lovely wake-up call from Noah, and a few privileged people were filmed with his camera. We spent the morning scouting out the upper section of the Tryweryn river and sending the A-Team down the white water course. In the afternoon, the less confident paddlers tried out the lower section of the river, which was very enjoyable and a great chance to practice eddying and ferry-gliding skills. We then went into Bala for some hard-earned fish and chips. Saturday night banter around the campfire was hilarious – some very funny jokes were told courtesy of Thomas.
On Sunday we all ran the upper section of the Tryweryn. Things were going well with only a couple of swims until the second group reached the big wave under the bridge. Kate found out that the hole in the wave on river left was very sticky and her heroic efforts to paddle out and high-brace resulted in a dislocated shoulder. She handled the 5+ hours of waiting in A&E and having her shoulder put back into place exceptionally well, plus the loss of her new cag and thermals! A few paddlers down, the rest of the group decided to give the upper section of the Tryweryn another try. A couple more swims, including Sarah’s long trip upside down as she struggled to get Jess’s deck off of the acrobat, proved that EUCC keeps paddling no matter what. Despite the problems, everyone seemed to enjoy the weekend and I think we’re all agreed that it should become an annual trip. Thank you to Noah for organising the whole weekend, and to Hugh and Pete for getting “Fix Up, Look Sharp” permanently stuck in my head!
2010-5
23
Saunton Surf 22nd May 2010
On the warmest day of the year so far a group of examus finishus (latin for those who have finished exams), and a couple trying to avoid revision, headed to Saunton to take advantage of the surf we’ve been lacking recently.
There were a few first-timers at surfing amongst us, and they all did very well. A fair bit of time was spent out-back waiting for the perfect break and drifting further and further from the car park.
When we finally came back on to dryland, we went for a quick dip in the appealing, but very cold water, this was followed by much splashing and dunking, as well as try to jump over incoming waves.
Amateur hour goes to JC for walking the mile or so back to the car park but not taking his boat, leaving someone having to carry their boat and drag his boat all the way back, no hard feelings!
This fantastic day ended with fish and chips in Braunton and a pint at the impy. Now I need to start some revision….
2010-4
27
BUCS Polo (Doncaster) / Josh Cleall’s 21st Birthday.
When I arrived at the cave at 12 on Friday I was a little concerned that there were only three of us assembled to play polo, but thankfully the others were at Hugh’s house making our wonderful stash. After minimal faff with boats (about an hour and a half) we managed to get to Hugh’s to pick up the team. Phil decided that packing some clothes and ordering his mum’s birthday present in about 5 minutes would be a good shout. We placed a sign at the back of the bus saying “Honk if you like Kayak Netball” and I think we managed at least 5 honks! Once we arrived in Doncaster we went to meet the organisers and some of the other teams and generally just wandered around drinking.
Saturday started with a 7.30am wake-up and some tough games against Leeds, Cardiff, and Newcastle. They didn’t take the view that girls should be let off easily so well done to Kate “Mad Dog” and Jess who both managed to roll up after some pretty nasty tackles! Our games always attracted a good crowd as lots of people wanted to cheer “Come on My Face!”. We then got into the party mood using Southampton’s AGM. Josh Cleall won Safety Sec, Paulo won Competitions Sec, and Hugh stripped off in order to convince Southampton that he was the perfect person to become their next Captain! He also had an inspirational speech that went something along the lines of “more good things, less bad things, and lots of balloons”. After some more drinking we hit the marquee to show off our insane moves and conga around the bemused onlookers. We kept the party going long after most other universities had gone to bed by playing Chicken and (UmmYa?!). Some people got a little over-excited and fold-up chairs were broken…
Sunday started with games against Bristol and Hertfordshire, in which we managed some great goals from Hugh, Kate, Phil, and JC. We then organised a Plastic-Fantastic tournament in which we came a respectable 2nd! There was some doctoring of the numbers on the buoyancy aids – Hugh and Jams became 118 118, and 999 and a penis were also included. After a brief game of chariots and Jams (the NSR rabbit) picking me up and dumping me in the lake we packed up to go home. Our next My Face escapade will be against Southampton sometime in the summer term… Until then, lots of surfing!!
