Thanks to Penelope Sienna for all photos
The inner silliness of many of our members came out at our Christmas party on Saturday 5 December which was held at our clubhouse.
We dusted off our old canoe polo bats and had a game of canoe polo on the river in front of the clubhouse. Vince Cross researched the rules of this game and gave us a brief rundown before playing. We are not sure if we actually played according to the rules but we had a great time anyway. Canoe polo bats are very short, stumpy canoes with not a lot of room to squeeze into. I somehow squeezed into one. I tried an eskimo roll and got stuck upside down. Normally I would just fall out of the craft I am in in this situation. However in this little craft my backside refused to leave its confinement. There was a momentary panic but I found the ramp quickly and pulled myself up and Vince came to my assistance. I received a gash on my leg when I pulled myself out. Vince Cross, Richard White, Gary Lee, John Hennings, Bruce Taylor and myself all took part in the game with Chris Allen assuming the role of referee.
Chris Porter devised canoe versions of egg and spoon race, blind man’s buff and 3 legged race. In the egg and spoon race Barbara Davies took part in her K1 racer. It was no match for the polo bats because it couldn’t turn around the buoy quick enough in our 100 metre course. In the blind man’s buff participants separated into pairs. One member of the pair placed a paper bag over their head and was guided in a paddle race. Thankfully no one ended up at Coraki. The 3 legged race was basically 2 canoes held together somehow and one paddle. Participants came up with a few solutions to make this work.
The rest of our club members looked on all this stupidity with much amusement. We all joined in lovely shared meal. It was great end to a fantastic year at Far North Coast Canoe Club.
