This job has been in the diary for a long time now. I even met with the team from the Guilden Sutton Cubs back in May to make sure that all the arrangements and details where squared away. You’d have thought that it would have been straight forward enough to run two canoe sessions but, through no one’s fault, it became a bigger deal than it should have.
As the last week has unfolded, the strong winds have become more and more of an issue, and the forecast was looking like today would get more of the same. On Thursday evening, I found myself contacting them by way of warning that we might have to call it off on safety grounds. Just to add to the pressure, I discovered that an inspector from the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority was planning on observing the pressure as well. Normally, the inspections don’t bother me but with an awkward decision to be made the might mean there was no session to observe, I was a bit concerned.
In the event, we decided to leave the decision until the last moment. First thing this morning, the water was looking quite calm on The Mere, filling me with optimism. However, by the time I picked up the canoe trailer 5 minutes later, things weren’t looking so good. We decided to take a gamble and start the sessions, on the understanding that I might have to cut them short.
The decision to raft the canoes up was an easy one on this occasion. It’s not something I like to do, unless asked for, but there was little option today. Individual canoes would have been separated at scattered across The Mere in minutes. Knowing that paddling in the wind would be hard work, it was no bad thing to use some of the time off the water making the rafts.
Once on the water, we were able to enjoy a number of games and races, as well as spend some time exploring The Mere. Although it was easy to paddle away from our get in point, the wind picked up further during both morning and afternoon sessions, making it much harder to get back. Everyone had to dig really deep to find extra strength, but they managed it and arrived back at the get in exhausted but with a great sense of achievement at having conquered the conditions.
Well done for all the hard work. I hope you all had a great weekend away.
