Water Activities at Manor Park 2007

Bad weather plagued our paddling activities this year with nine cancellations in June and July and there were some very disappointed Guides and Brownies. On one occasion I had all twenty Brownies seated in the bell boats complete with buoyancy aids and paddles listening to the safety brief before we left the pontoon. I happened to turn around to look across the lake, the sky was black and very threatening and then a flash of lightning lit up the sky. Brownies and leaders very quickly had to abandon the boats and make a run for it to avoid getting very wet. They spent the rest of the evening playing games in the club house. This was the second time this unit had attempted an evening at Manor Park and on the third occasion when we finally managed to get paddling we were caught out at the far end of the lake in a storm! Fradley Brownies tenacity was rewarded however on Bell Boat regatta day when they won their races and took home the trophy. Well done!

On Tuesday 26th June I arrived at the lake to be confronted by floods. The road was completely under water and a river was coursing through our container. Ivor James accompanied me as we waded knee deep along the road to check on the boats. We could just see the tops of the picnic tables above the water. After we secured the bellboat and trolley to stop it floating away we opened the container to be met with an assortment of objects floating in the water. There was nothing to be done except tidy up as best we could and shut the doors until the water receded. All sessions were cancelled for the rest of the week.

As a result of the force of the water rushing past the container into the lake it left the bell boat launch area very steep making it difficult to recover the boats. Work is in progress to construct a concrete slipway in time for next season.

Despite all our stormy evenings we had a total of approximately 900 visits in 2007 with all sections being represented. Seven Guides from Whittington took part in a sailing course in July in very wet weather and gained an RYA Level 1 certificate.