SUDBURY CANOE CLUB
Club history
Sudbury Canoe Club was re-instated in 1995. It had existed, to a limited degree during the mid 70s. In the 18 months prior to the reforming of the club, structured canoeing returned to the Stour due to the efforts of six like-minded casual paddlers. We had met for informal paddles quite regularly but soon decided that there was a growing interest from the wider public.
Initially, this small group decided to form a canoe group rather than club because apart from our own kit we had very poor resources, this is turn meant that we did not have a responsibility to affiliate to the British Canoe Union. But new paddlers came along and a sense of membership ensued and as numbers increased it become obvious that we needed more structure and more formally qualified instructors. In 1995 the formal SCC was launched and the founder members gained canoeing and kayaking Coach Awards, and eventually had three BCU Level 3 coaches and many aspirant Level 2s.
​With this new found structure and team the SCC headed off to diverse locations including Matlock, North Wales, the Lake District , The Alps and Belgium to gain more skills on both flat and white water. The aim was to continue developing skills, introducing new paddlers to different experiences and using the River Stour as a base for those wanting calmer water and time to develop skills.
The club has gone from strength to strength – with a new Freestyle team, open canoeists, sea paddlers and daring white water kayakers – but as it’s core is still that original group of like minded people meeting up for good company and a paddle on the River Stour.
​2025 is the 30th anniversary of the club which is a landmark that we should all be proud of and we have much to thank those intrepid few who began paddling so many years ago on this lovely river!
A few pictures from the past of the people who have made this club what it is today.
Fred, Kyrstie and gang
Belgium 2007
An extraordinary Ardennes adventure, narrated Mike Dodd
IN THE BEGINNING
Email from Garry, Weather worsening, snow coming, suggest you get your passengers together early to allow a prompt set off. Don't want to miss the boat!
THURSDAY
Thursday morning arrives. Tom and Sam turn up at mine before 4:30 am so that we might get an early start. Snow, lots of it due this morning. Tom driving, we head for Dover and the boat. Snow arrives in force near the M25 and gets worse, until we are driving at a steady 40 / 50 mph. Good job we allowed the extra time.
Garry has had his passengers stay overnight, fed them, and had a social evening just to make sure there is no delay in the morning. He sets off at 5 am. What no spare time? Guess what? Someone has forgotten his passport! Yep it's a detour to Oisin's to collect a passport.
Dover, call from Garry, we may be running a little late. Garry arrives and misses the boat by three mins. Should have taken the old coaching route like Steve and his gang, used the A2. Who would have thought of that? None the less, Steve and his gang do catch the boat. Garry, Oisin and Tim now have a further two hours of Fred's jokes in a confined space!
Off the boat with "we will meet you there", we head for the Ardennes, Steve opting for a different route. We head south with anticipation of the fun to come. Arriving in La Roche, a lovely little town in the thick of the Ardennes, we meet up with Steve and his gang. Good that's seven of the team in the right place. Frites and Jupiler are the order of the day that has no snow but a steady drizzle. We get into the Belgium way of life. Chilled.
Off to the hostel a few miles away at a place called Champion.. Here we are welcomed by Jean Luc, the Hostel manager. Time to put the bags away and check out the bar. In the meantime, the lost souls arrive to complete the team for the weekend. Let's party! I mean paddle of course....Guy our host arrives to join us and give us a clue to the weekends paddling.
The first evening is all smiles and beer, odds on who is going to take the first swim, and the inevitable! Snoring, night one and Fred along with Oisin clears the room with snoring. A ploy to get themselves more space.​
FRIDAY
Morning arrives, Tim has not slept a wink, and his usual sunny disposition is missing, he was found sticking pins in effigies of Fred and Oisin. All keen and breakfast consumed Guy reappears with news that today's river is to be the Warche, a dam fed river of grade 1/2, fast and with a couple of drops, a great warm up. Kyrstie and Kate take it upon themselves to prep the pack lunches, a task they did all weekend and I know everyone was pleased and grateful for their efforts.
An hour and a half travel and we arrive at Butgenbach, the put in near the German border. It is cold and cheerless but everyone was full of it waiting to get going. Shuttle done and it's to the water. Soon we are away, with our first swim only metres away, but we didn't know it yet. Low bridge ahead in a strong flow, it's time to make your mind up, Limbo, or duck. Steve struggled with making a decision and opted for a strange mix that ended up with the inevitable swim. This was what would turn out to be the first of many entertaining moments from Steve.
Trying not to be out done Fred also struggles with the decision making process but somehow he survives. Two scratches in a helmet he has only worn this trip, sob sob. 100 metres and it's a swim and head clouting. What Guy thought of this, who knows? The rest of us laughed ourselves down the river. Soon we were settling in to the paddle with surfing opportunities being taken regularly. It was while doing this that Sam Amps fell victim to a wave and had to roll. Sam was yet again in trouble while surfing under a twig; it bit him, and was last seen hanging on to the twig and proceeding towards a swim. Another rescue!
First drop coming up, a tunnel with a stopper on its exit. Space out and follow on was the instruction. Space obviously means daylight between boats as everyone blindly followed at a very close distance apart through the tunnel and lucky for them over the stopper. Got away with that one. We paddle on and with no further incident, we arrive at the last drop, only a few feet down but with a meaty stopper. Guy, after watching everyone, set up a throw line just in case. The route was down the right but earlier in discussion the left had been mentioned. Garry was putting this route about, sabotaging everyone I reckon. Therefore, with right right, being shouted each in turn everyone dropped over the weir. This is when with so much skill Kyrstie made the very first eddy, which unfortunately, was running back into the stopper. A look of shock on Kyrstie's face said it all 'Get me out of here!' Guy duly obliged, he was fed up with rescuing swimmers. We get changed and head to Waimes a small town with a bar.
SATURDAY
After another night of drinking eating and snoring, we were spread out over large area of the hostel by now it was time to paddle again. This time the Salme was the river of choice a long but ever changing beautiful paddle on grade 2/3 water. This was an excellent paddle. Sam Cook having missed the Warche feeling unwell was back on the water and raring to go. Unbeknown to me, he had passed on his cold, but that didn't cause a problem today.
Shuttle sorted we were off and yet again Steve was entertaining, one hundred metres and he was pinned on a rock. Attention seeking I think, either that or his glasses belong to someone else!
This paddle seemed to last forever, not a problem as the scenery changed as did the type of water every few clicks. A few more inches of water and the Salme would have been out of this world. Owing to low water levels, our choice of rivers was in short supply and we could only be grateful that this river had good variety. The trip was uneventful finishing on the Ambleve, a large river that flows through a place called Coo just down river. ​
In Coo is a large waterfall that really has no warning to poor old canoeist that it is there. We paid a visit to inspect possible routes down it but who where we kidding. Instant death, though, I'm sure it passed Sam Amps mind to give it a go.
Setting off back Garry passed more bars than necessary so it was with some concern, that 1 tried to get him on the phone only to get my sister Penny, who though being miles away, knew that I had been paddling so soon after my operation. It turns out Garry, my brother in law, is a supergrass as well as being blind to drinking holes. Oh the shame! Recalling him through Tim, he returns to town where I had picked a particularly nice establishment, small, smoky and with a nice bar. Here we whiled away a few moments with a glass of Jupiler. Heaven! Back to the hostel, food and more beer yay!
​
SUNDAY
Its two rivers day with the L'Ourthe Occidental first, then a return to the Warche. I'm a sicky today so no paddling for me but I will be the Shuttle bunny for the day. Setting off a little later than normal we head for the L'Ourthe Occidental to meet up with some Belgium paddlers, Joe and Claude a couple of whom Garry and I have paddled with before. The water is low but off they go down the river. Sam Amps has decided to give the river a miss as he is worried about stamina!!!! At 17 years old? Once again, Steve entertains, well loosely put. Coming across a tree blocking the river he grabs hold of Katie's boat and turns her upside down to give himself support as he limbos under the tree. Poor old Katie from the Wirral has to swim. What a rotter this level 3 coach is! Apart from that, it is reported to be a gentle quite paddle and is soon over.
Next its off to the Warche for a mad dash. Back to Butgenbach for the put in. here it turns out is a WWR comp in progress but such is Guy's standing in the paddling world we are allowed to paddle with a warning that the water will be switched off very shortly. Therefore, it is a mad rush to the water and off they go. I head for a place called Weywertz with a bridge across the river to get some photos. Soon they pass through and it's off to Champagne, the get out point. Waiting here, it's pouring with rain now and it's looking promising for tomorrow.
Soon the guys and girls arrive with the drop to do, I'm smiling in anticipation, do they remember the way down? This time it's Oisin's attempt at the top eddy and he makes it with the inevitable draw into the stopper. Once again, Guy stops a swim. Tom who has done well so far this weekend decides he is too warm and swims at the bottom of the drop!
Paddlers in the group are still considering Garry' s route down this drop. It was suggested by Tim that perhaps Garry's reading of the water was perhaps dyslexic.
Time to change and this is when Sam Amps showed what a gent he was by getting changed in the car and leaving poor Katie outside in the rain, shame on you Sam! Now Sam Cook is about to go for the record in time taken to change. I take Steve and Oisin back to Butgenbach to collect the cars and return to find Sam still only half dressed. Back to the hostel but not without stopping at Waimes for a drink, not the same bar as that's closed. Sunday is very quiet in Belgium.
By the time, we get back everyone is tired and thinking about packing to go home in the morning.. In bounds Guy, hey the river water is up on the Lesse, how about it. Not me says Garry, not me says Steve. Tim and I are up for it and soon Steve changes his mind followed by Garry who realises being left out would be sad. So plans are made early start then off the river straight to Dunkerque. Sam Amps does his washing and kicks Kyrstie's clothes out of the tumble dryer wet so he can dry his!
MONDAY
Monday morning and getting everyone going is not easy, we have to pack get paddle kit ready and get breakfast and be gone by 8am. Kirsty and Kate bless them still manage to get the packed lunches done.
We are to meet Guy at his home in Mormont before heading for the Lesse, some miles west of Champion. It's still raining and Guy is excited as the water levels have risen to a level promising an excellent paddle. We arrive at the put in and it's all go. Guy is doing the shuttle as our cars are more than full. A nasty incident is narrowly avoided as Guy does a U-turn across the path of two oncoming cars. Now that would have spoilt the day! On return, we find everyone on the water champing at the bit ready to go. This river is a tight grade 2/3 tree lined river that meanders its way through the Ardennes. This run was to prove exciting and eventful and as Guy put it, "La cerise sur le gateau" translated "The cherry on the cake".
Steve started with a pin, well what would a trip be without a pin? Tim got pinned looking back checking on a shout. This almost ended in a swim but a determined Tim wasn't going down without a fight. A grade 3 drop coming up with windy bends so Garry and Guy went ahead. Garry thought sheep dogs would follow down the rapid if called by whistle. Trouble is we couldn't really hear the whistle so we ran the rapid by leaving enough space. We survived. Another grade 3 drop and this is where Kyrstie decided to play mermaid on a rock, well it was an adventurous route down and I wondered why she chose that line. Despite the position and being stuck, she managed to free herself and re-establish some grace in her paddling. Things were hotting up with a drop when Garry and Guy went ahead to get pictures below a drop. Waiting in an eddy, we became aware of boats upside down, both Garry and Guy had swum on the same route down the drop. Was this a lemming act, I'm sorry to say but it seems that way especially as Tom decided he had been in his boat too long as well and took to the water.
This was the first of two swims for Tom as he threw himself out of his boat on the next drop as well. This is where Oisin also took a tumble but failed to get up from his roll. Still hanging in and taking a T rescue saved face. I haven't mentioned Oisin too much but this man is now king of surf, he will surf or try to surf anything and everything. It's just the way he knocks others off the wave to make sure he gets his way, seems a bit much. Soon it was all over and with goodbyes to Guy, it was time to head for Dunkerque.
Surprise, surprise we all made the same boat, congratulations to Garry on getting his team to the right sailing.
The crossing was a little longer than should have been, giving us time to debrief the trip. It appeared that only Sam Cook and myself had a trouble free paddling weekend on the water. Mind you, how else would I keep my kit dry while paddling?
Only to say now a great weekend with a great team and many thanks to Garry and Guy for making it all possible. Roll on next year!
THE TEAM
Garry Andrews, Oisin Kelly, Fred Welham, Tim Harrington
Steve Woolmer, Kyrstie Hall, Sam Amps,
Kate from the Wirral Mike Dodd, Tom Cook, Sam Cook.
And from Belgium
Guy Dachelet
All the best and see you on the water Mike Dodd
Newsletters from the past
These were on our old site, but they are so beautifully and passionately written, they deserve a permanent home.