On canoe trips there are certain items which you should bring in order to make life more comfortable for yourself. Its all pretty basic stuff that you probably have knocking around your humble abodes already.

This years well dressed up and coming canoeists are wearing the following type of gear.

WARM stuff and lots of it. We cannot emphasise how important this is. Bring loads of layers with you. No one (and I mean no one!) will object to you stripping off if you get too hot. It is however hard for us to magic extra fleeces for you to put on at the bottom of some deep gorge in the arse end of nowhere.

SYNTHETIC clothing. Man made stuff is so much more comfy to wear when you are wet. It also dries quicker than cotton. Don’t even think about wearing jeans, they are hell when wet. If you are wondering where you will find synthetic gear from have a look in your wardrobe. Lots of modern clothing is man made eg football shirts, those nice tracky bottoms hidden in the recesses of your drawer. Most people have couple of fleeces these days – wear ‘em they are great. If you’ve got thermal stuff bring that along as well as it keeps you nice and toasty.

OLD TRAINERS. Not your new Nike Air Max Turbo Fantastic Specials but your shitty Asda own brand jobs (for an example of these have a look at Bob’s feet he firmly believes that cheap is sweet). Try not to wear anything too bulky as they are not as comfy when you are locked into your chosen vessel.

BORROWED STUFF. Lots of old club members have extra bits of kit lying round ask them if there is anything you can nick. Have a look around the pool and think about it, all those fat bastards must have loads of stuff that they can’t squeeze into any more.

All of you must have this kind of stuff. If you’ve got any specialised canoeing or watersports gear (eg wetsuits) even better. Just remember the secret is to try and stay warm if you can do that you’ll enjoy yourself a whole lot more.

At some stage you’ll probably be want to buy some gear of your own if so have a word with Bob who works in a canoe shop and he’ll be able to advise you on how best to spend your cash. He’ll also be able to work out humongous discounts etc for you.

OFF THE WATER

Always have a change of clothes with you.

Again this stuff should be nice and warm.

A towel is useful.

A jacket is nice when you are knocking around windswept areas trying to load, unload boats etc.

Its been traditional for members of the club to bring snacks for the minibus drivers on trips away. This year I have a feeling that the drivers will be rather partial to blue berry muffins and nacho cheese Phileas Fogg tortilla chips – bear this in mind on club trips.

Sleeping bags are nice.

So is food.

Booze.

Sense of humour.