AS we were just about to get in to the canoe our coach for the night said: “Don’t worry, only one person every 10 years gets stuck in their canoe after capsizing.
It’s very rare.”
The words kept going around in my head as I nervously stepped into the training boat from the pontoon.
What if the 10 years since the last person got stuck were up?
But, as soon as I was on the water all my fears evaporated and the statistics no longer mattered.
It seemed to be the same for the other people in the beginners group.
Although I had no idea what they were thinking, their riverside nerves were no longer apparent.
I had joined the group at the Worcester Canoe Club on the banks of the river Severn opposite the racecourse.
The club has been established for nearly 60 years and has an active membership, with paddlers of all ages enjoying the sport in one form or other.
One new member is 15-year-old David Tysoe who has impressed everyone after he started canoeing at the beginning of the summer holidays.
Over the bank holiday weekend he took part in and finished his first competitive marathon race in the nationals.
“My aim is just to have fun and try and get as far as I can,” the Droitwich teenager said.
But before any of us in the beginners’ group could think about racing, or in fact getting anywhere near a buoyancy aid, paddle or boat, we had to have a safety talk.
Matt Brown, chairman of the club, was taking the class and took us through what we were going to do and what to expect.
He joked about drinking river water, avoiding boats and the dangers of over-hanging trees. Next we found ourselves sitting in a canoe on the club’s car park where we could practise getting in and out without the unsettling wobble created by the water.
After practising our paddle strokes it was finally time to take the plunge.
We all made it into our canoes without disappearing into the river and started the first tentative strokes.
Although I have canoed before I was still nervous about whether the technique would come back to me.
Luckily it did and I was able to paddle in a relatively straight line.
The other beginners were getting on well and we were soon learning how to turn using a ‘sweep stroke’ and venturing further upstream.
With the constant guidance from our coach, who was never far behind us, we all started to relax and enjoy being on the water.
From the comfort of the training boat I was transferred into a racing canoe, something I have never tried before.
It is completely different, much longer and more unstable, and there is a stick between your feet which you use to steer.
This is the type of canoe most members of the club paddle and compete in, and the class in which British racer Tim Brabants won a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.
“Tim’s gold medal is a massive boost for the sport,” said chairman Mr Brown.
“We are getting a big surge in interest already and we get between 10 to 20 enquiries to start canoeing every week.”
One of these new starters was in my group.
He had been walking his dog past the club for months and always thought it looked like fun.
He was still smiling after his first lesson and vowed to come back for the next one.
The club welcomes people of all ages and of all abilities and if anyone is interested in starting the sport they are urged to make contact via their website worcestercanoeclub.org.uk.
CANOEING FACTS
The first canoes were made thousands of years ago by the native Americans for hunting, fishing and transport.
Racing started in the 19th century after British writer John MacGregor copied the design of ancient boats and founded the Royal Canoe Club of England in 1866.
The British Canoe Union currently has 70,000 members.
The sport is enjoyed by twice as many people as sailing.
The sport takes many different forms, from sea kayaking to sprint racing and slalom.
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