Wetherby District Water Advisor
* means updated after 21 Sept, last update 2 November 2002
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Wetherby District Water Advisor* means updated after 21 Sept, last update 2 November 2002 |
The purpose of the paragraphs below is to provide advice and information on water activities to Groups in the Wetherby district. This page is always under construction !.
Advisors.
County Canoeing Advisor - Martin Wilby Aldwark.
County Sailing and Powerboat Advisor - Denis Bainbridge.
Wetherby District Canoeing Advisor - Bill Oldroyd, Scout Leader, 1st Tadcaster. 01937-836078
Aldwark is the Central Yorkshire water activities base. It is located at Aldwark Bridge on the River Ure. Basic canoeing and sailing are possible activities. Training courses are also run there.
Boat registration.
All craft used for scout activities that are owned by Scout Groups or scouts, or which are on loan to them, must be registered with the District and must have had an examination as to condition and suitability in the 12 months prior to being used.
The following groups have crafts registered by the district :
To register craft contact Bill Oldroyd or Paul Bulmer (see District Directory).
Bouyancy aids and life jackets.
As a rule either a bouyancy aid or a life jacket must be worn for all water activities. The precise requirements are covered in the factsheet on Water Safety. (An HTML version.)
British Canoe Union - BCU.
BCU (0115 982 1100) : the national governing body for canoeing and rafting, with separate associations for Wales and Scotland. :
British Waterways.
(index)British Waterways manage the country's canals and some river navigations. The Scout Association has a concession giving free access to some navigations (this includes the Ure and Ouse) for scout registered raft. Canals need a license, but BCU members have an automatic licence to use canals as part of their membership subscription. (There is a factsheet (FS120617) describing the arrangements in detail.)
The BW website has good quality maps. More local information from :
Burrs.
North Yorkshire Navigations, Naburn Lock, 01904 728229.
South Yorkshire Navigations, Doncaster Wharf, 01302 340610
Aire & Calder Navigations, Lock Lane, Castleford, 01977 554351
An activity centre with an artificially constructed set of rapids on the River Irwell, useful for basic instruction on moving water. There are also other adventure activities, a climbing wall and a campsite. Burrs is located at Bury, Greater Manchester - 0161-764-9649. email
Canals.
Canals are usually either C or B1 waters. A Form W is required for the use of canal narrowboats. It may be possible to hire canal boats through the Community Boats Association. The Training for Group Leaders provided by the CBA is sufficient for a Form W.
There is a canal barge available for use by Scouts in Yorkshire but I don't have details.
Information sources for canals :
Canoe Clubs.
(index)From which you might be able to get help and advice.
Canoeing waters.
(index)These are local waters which have been used for scout canoeing. You need to refer to the water classification to see if you can use these waters, and also to respect any access agreements.
This is a monthly magazine available on order from newsagents. Details of the current issue and subscriptions. Apart from general news and articles on canoeing there is at least one route guide for a journey along a British river, waterway or coast. This has built up into a comprehensive guide to canoeing in Britain. (I have quite a comprehensive back collection of Canoeist.)
Centres.
(index)
Activity centres undertaking water activities :
Collingham Bridge (River Wharfe). (index)
(No dispute over access.) Access from the car-park on the old railway line near Collingham Bridge. Walk canoes to the river by the bridge. Canoeing upstream from this point to a small rapid. In moderate water this can be a difficult paddle upstream but good practice in ferry gliding. The rapid is washed out in high water - but you would probably not be able to paddle up to it anyway. In low to medium water it is good simple fun with a single stopper wave at the top on which to play. Helmets must be worn. The leader needs experience of moving water.
Classification of waters.
Water Classifications have been revised due to a change of approach to the classification and use of Class C waters. As an interim measure all former C waters in Central Yorkshire have been classified as B1. Districts are to recommend local C class waters to the county canoeing advisor.
Before undertaking water activities on open water you will need to check the classification of the water to ensure your craft are suitable and that the leaders/instructors have the right level of authorisation. All waters are classified in the National Directory of Waters. A new version of the Directory (August 2001) is now available for £4 from the Scout Info Centre. (Catalogue for Water Activities).
Previous water classifications for Yorkshire classifications. To be updated shortly.
County Water Activity web sites.
This is a list of web sites provided by various scout counties. They provide quite a lot of useful information.
Factsheets.
(index)The following factsheets concerning Water Activities are available from Scoutbase.
Hypothermia.
(index)Cold water immersion can result in cases of hypothermia at any time of the year. You should take particular care in the summer when scouts have a tendency to turn up with only t-shirt and shorts to wear. A set of training notes for hypothermia.
Illness
The factsheet on Water Safety contains a very comprehensive description of the various illnesses and pollution situations which need to be avoided when undertaking water activities. Illnesses covered include Leptospirosis (Weil's Disease) ( Update 2/03), Blue-green algae, Cryptosporodium, Hepatitis A, Stomach Upet. (An HTML version.)
In hot, dry summers, blue-green algae has been reported in the River Wharfe between Wetherby and Tadcaster. A notice is posted on the river banks if this the case. But in Wetherby there is a notice posted permanently at Scaur Bank. In autumn, spring and winter, with the current flows of water found at these times of year, the presence of blue-green algae is unlikely.
It is also useful to be aware of the risks of Lyme Disease. Although this isn't a water born illness, it is possible that canoeing may require you to pass through high risk environments - damp, shaded woodland and grassland.
In farmland with cattle, there may also be a risk of e-coli as this is a bacteria that lives in water supplies.
Giant Hogweed is another danger of the river bank. Contact with this plant can cause a serious allergic reaction. Giant Hogweed is large: 2 to 3 metres tall and looks like giant cow parsley. Known infestations include the River Ure, upstream of Aldwark and at Boroughbridge.
See also : Hypothermia.
Launching sites
This website, Boatlaunch, is potentially a very useful website. However it currently lacks information on a number of useful local launch sites, e.g. in York.
Risk assessment.
All water activities require a Risk Assessment by the leader responsible for the activity. There a factsheet for Risk Assessment: FS120000.
For example, a general set of operating procedures and risk assessment used by 1st Tadcaster for water activities. We do not have a regular loacation for water activities, so there are no standing rules. (I would appreciate comment on these operating procedures.)
River guides.
River guides can be found in a number of places :
Rule of the road.
(index)On the river the general rule is that vessels move to the right when there is danger of collision, their left hand (or port) sides passing "port to port". However, as canoes have a low draft and can go almost anywhere it is normally best to just get out of the way as quickly a possible, usually towards the bank.
In terms of priority, large craft with a large draft (depth) will keep to the channel and will ignore the "port to port" rule if necesary to prevent running aground. Power gives way to sail. Pleasure craft give way to commercial craft. At bridges, bends and and restricted channels give way to vessels moving downstream or moving with the tidal stream. Such vessels are not as easy to manoeuvre as those going against the current.
Vessels on inland waterways will also use sound signals to indicate what they are about to do. (* Old rules, but signals may still be used.)
Rules.
(index)Rules for Water Activities are laid out in the Scout Association's Policy, Organisation and Rules, which can be found on Scoutbase. An extract of the relevant rule (as at December 2000).
Royal Yachting Association (RYA)
For information about windsurfing, sailing, cruising and power boating - the RYA.
Boating safety on reservoirs, lakes and gravel pits. Guidelines for sailing clubs and associations.
Severn Cruise
Details of the proposed canoeing cruise down the River Severn in May 2003, including the programme, arrangements for training and links to sources of information.
Shops, suppliers, chandlery etc..
These are "local shops" : Swans.
Robin Hood Watersports, 152 Leeds Rd., Heckmondwyke, 01924 444888.
We draw your attention to swans as a hazard when canoeing on the river or lake. Swans are a protected species therefore do not chase or harass them in any way.
Large flocks of swans are rarely any danger and will swim away from you over long distances. Eventually, they will take off and fly away. If they take off towards you, it is quite daunting to have 20 swans flapping in your direction, struggling to get into flight. However many years experience suggest they always manage to be well clear of you by the time they are in the air.
The dangerous swans are nesting pairs, in the months of spring and early summer. Usually you can only see one swan because the other one is on the nest. These pairs have a territory around the nest and will defend it strongly. Obviously, do you best to keep well away from the nest.
The male will usually signal his annoyance by raising wings, dropping the head and body low in the water and making darting moves through the water. He will not usually attack as you approach, but will wait until you are starting to pass the territory. Then he will come flapping towards you at water level, stopping a few yards from the canoe and attacking with wing or beak.
The best approach is to keep together in a large, compact group. Turn and face the attacking swan and if necessary fend them off with a poke from your paddle. Having suffered many attacks on scout trips, no one has been injured. However, it can be quite frightening to those who haven't experienced an attack.
Swimming Pools
Tadcaster Swimming Pool
(index)25 metre pool and training pool. It may be hired on a Friday evening from 8pm for swimming and canoeing (equipment provided). You will need to hire the services of a life-guard(s) or have your own qualified instructors. (The Lower Wharfe Canoe Club also use the pool for training on Sunday evenings.)
From time to time the Pool runs a RLSS "National Rescue Award for swimming teachers and coaches", which is the basic qualification required for scout instructors to supervise swimming and canoeing in the pool. Tadcaster & Boston Spa have leaders with this award.
Details of activities in the pool should be recorded on this form.
Tides
The time of the day's high tide at Scarborough and Hull is normally given on the Look North television news (BBC1) at 7-55 am each weekday. The time at Dover is normally printed in papers such as the Telegraph and the Times. Times are also often shown at harbour offices and tourist information bureau.
Tide tables are also published. These will not only give the times of high and low tides but also the amount of rise and fall of the tide and any specific local variations such as second tides or differences in the durations of the ebb and flow. Known sources for tide tables are :
Use the table of tidal differences below to work out the tide at other places, or from a known point such as Dover or Hull. Note tide times are usually expressed in terms of Greenwich Mean Time - but check. Add one hour during British Summer Time.
| Place | Difference | From | Notes |
| Naburn Lock | +4 hrs | Hull | Flood at hw +2. |
| Selby Lock | +2 hrs | Hull | Flood at hw. |
| Hull | -5hrs 4mins | Dover | - |
| Goole | +1hrs 5mins | Hull | - |
| Scarborough | -2hrs 9mins | Hull | - |
| Bridlington | -1hrs 41mins | Hull | - |
Normally there are two high tides a day, approximately 12hrs 25 minutes apart. The time of the morning or afternoon high tide will advance by approximately 50 minutes per day. Low tide will be approximately 6hrs 10 mins after high tide. But note that these times are affected by local conditions and the time of the lunar month. Flood conditions in a tidal river will also affect the times considerably, e.g. the Ouse.
White Water Rafting.
(index)
White water rafting is fun but it is a dangerous activity. There are 3 centres which offer it as an activity :