To All

We have recently had a warning from Woodmill that some of their paddlers have caught Weil’s disease, and they think that it may have been caught from the River Itchen. In light of this the committee has taken the decision to cancel the river session TOMORROW (23/11/11). If you have already signed up then there’s no point turning up as no one will be there I’m afraid. We keeping up to date with Woodmill and we hope the water to be safe again next week. Pool sessions and the social are going ahead as planned yay!

Weil’s disease (Leptospirosis) is spread by animals (mainly rats) urinating in the water, and the bacteria is spread to humans. This occurs through open cuts, ears, mouth nose being exposed to the water with the bacteria in. Unfortunately for us paddlers who are rolling/swimming in the water we tend to expose ourselves quite a lot (no pun intended!). The risk of getting Weil’s disease from moving water (the Itchen is tidal) is even quite unlikely but there is a small risk still there.
The symptoms for Weil’s disease are very similar to that of a cold or flu (high temperature, vomiting, coughing ect.) and usually occur within 7 to 14 days after paddling on the water. If you get these symptoms within that time scale then we advise that you see a doctor and tell them you’ve been kayaking recently. If you did catch it and went to a doctor, they’d give you some antibiotic tablets which would fix you within a week. The only real danger is if it is not caught in time, this can lead to serious symptoms such as organ problems and can even be fatal!

How to avoid it…
Cover any open cuts with a waterproof dressing/plaster, try not to drink river water, try to wash your hands with soap before eating, and make sure you wash after paddling.

This isn’t meant to scare you but as you’re all becoming better paddlers you should start to become more aware of the risks involved with the sport (even if they are small). We’re expecting the possible bacteria in the water to be gone within a week (after the tide has been in and out a few times). We’re keeping in contact with Woodmill Canoe Shop who first flagged up the risk and are keeping us updated.

So anyway don’t let this scare you off, this is a quote from the NHS about Weil’s disease: “In England and Wales the rates of leptospirosis are very low, so there is no reason why you should not participate in freshwater recreational activities, such as swimming, sailing, water skiing or windsurfing”.
“An expert in leptospirosis has estimated that the risk of contracting a leptospirosis infection by taking part in these types of activities is as low as 1 in 10 million”.

If you do want a bit more information then see http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Leptospirosis/Pages/Introduction.aspx

See you all at the social on Wednesday!

Stabby Joe x
Safety Sec

If you’ve not found it already, check out the SUCC Freshers Facebook group and Canoe Club page set up so that we can all share pictures, stories and videos from our trips and socials. It’s also a great way of finding people that you’ve met on a session or contacting somebody who might have a quick answer to your question. Don’t forget, you can also email the committee if you’ve got a query that you don’t want to share with the world and someone will get back to you when they can.

See you on the river!

This Saturday 5th November, our local friendly canoe shop, Woodmill, will be holding a ‘Freestyle Fun Day’ that will take place just upriver of the boat hard (by the weir).

For those of you who are now wondering ‘What on earth is freestyle kayaking?’, well read on. Freestyle kayaking, or ‘Playboating’ as it is more commonly known, is the ability to perform tricks on both flat water or on a wave/weir – I’m sure you have all seen some of the more experienced kayakers spinning their boats in an unholy manner and thinking wow, I wish I could do that…

( Still confused, check out this video by our very own Team Strutter, don’t panic, it won’t be quite this extreme at the weekend, there will be a lot of flat water play boating too)

Whether you are a complete beginner to freestyle or have been doing it for a few years, there will be classes and lessons to teach you what you need (bought by the experts from Jackson Kayaks!)
The day will also feature a BBQ, music and rodeo event (freestyle competition on the Weir!), so even if you don’t fancy paddling it is well worth coming down and watching, chilling out, chatting to other kayakers, taking a look around the shop, eating hot dogs etc.

Do not worry if you don’t think you are good enough, there will be beginners classes too, all that we ask is that you have done a spray deck test with us already (ideally you will have practiced T Rescues at one of our river/pool sessions or done our introduction to moving water session, but if not, come down and have fun anyway! You can still get on the water)

The event will run 10:00-15.00 on Saturday, details of where/when to meet will be sent out to those that express interest.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COME TO THIS EVENT, PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL AND FIND MATT’S EMAIL ADDRESS
OR CALL/TEXT YOUR NAME AND NUMBER TO
07828 647130
PLEASE DO THIS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, YOU MAY MISS OUT!