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| Reviews & Photos | Gower Trip October 2004 | |||||
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What do you get if you mix Halloween costumes, a night of random shots from the bar, and four men and a woman riding an electric whale? Thrown out of the bar! Or in this case a University of Sussex Canoe Club trip!
On Halloween weekend the University of Sussex Canoe club visited the Gower peninsula in south Wales. The Gower kayak surf trip happens annually and is the first trip of the academic year, a chance for freshers and newcomers to experience an alternative method of surfing. Each year we stay in tents and chalets in a campsite in south Wales not far from Llangenith beach. Llanennith bay is the most famous surfing spot in south Wales, it has regular swells produced from the Atlantic Ocean. The beach is over three miles long with stunning surrounding hills of welsh countryside and sand dunes. The Canoe Club arrived late Friday evening and got up early for a full day of surf. Saturday was a bright crisp October day, the waves at Llanennith were small but clean and had force to them. The advantage of being in a kayak rather than on a surf board is that you take off far easier, meaning the size of the wave is not as important. Kayak surfing is faster and straightforward to learn, it’s great to give you a taste for canoeing and make you crave for more! Canoeing is not the only reason you get hooked with the club. The canoe club has a regular, fast pace social schedule. Saturday night on club trips is, without fail, always a BIG ONE! Three of the chalets had fridges full of beer (this was just an appetiser), they were rapidly consumed before dinner. Many of the club dressed up in Halloween costume ranging from devil masks to crazy gynaecologist outfits. Then the club went to the local pub for a warm and tasty meal followed by approximately 10 rounds of the random shot game. The random shot game is a canoe club tradition and the pub had a gigantic wall of unknown spirits to try. It was a superb night! Sunday’s surf was non-existent, and although in a kayak you can surf almost anything- the sea was flatter than the field some of us camped in! Luckily the more experienced canoeists lead us to a river an hour away which was suitable for beginners. We drove slightly north to the river Usk near the Breakan Beackons for some white water paddling. The river Usk is grade 2-3 and has a few speedy rapids, the water level was high perfect for an exhilarating paddle. This trip had it all! White water kayaking, surf kayaking and an incredible night out. |