As we head into autumn we had a great (if blustery) paddle on the last weekend of October. We also got to celebrate the engagement of one of our members and decorated our boat accordingly, but we would recommend that you remove balloons from your boat before getting on the water. We ended up having to paddle across the lake to retrieve one that went rogue!

Our training exercises today included evolution paddling which is a great way of perfecting technique. First you paddle with just your arms, then you add rotation, then you add a reach, and finally in comes the kick. The difference in the speed of the boat at each stage is remarkable.

We were also treated to fly-bys from several herons and white egrets.

After our paddle we had cake (of course) and a few members helped the Dorchester Sailing club to clear brambles as part of their maintenance day .