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We witnessed a spectacular storm on Tuesday night during our regular club paddle from Shadwell Basin to Temple Steps. The wind and rain made the conditions a bit more interesting than usual and we all enjoyed the unusually large waves resulting from the wind against tide as we returned through The Pool of London.
Twelve of us enjoyed a paddle to the South Bank just short of Waterloo Bridge last night. The tide was surprisingly strong given that it was only an hour before low water, so the outbound journey was relatively hard work but it did make the return very easy going. The Druids in the party even managed a stop off at the Founders Arms, by the Tate Modern, for a pint to celebrate the solstice.
Eleven of us paddled to Gabriel's Wharf last night, having crossed to the "Surrey" side of the river under Tower Bridge (we normally follow river rules and keep right). We had a brief rest on the small sandy beach that was exposed there, the tide being just after high water, and salivated over the smell of pizza from the two restaurants immediately above us.
The journey back seemed to fly by as we paddled with the current, or maybe it was just the new club paddles making things easier!
Christened the club's new plastic Avocet last night on a river trip to Greenwich. It was nice to paddle and felt very manoeuvrable, I am looking forward to trying the new Aquanaut too, maybe next week.