As some of you eagle-eyed Scottish paddlers may have noticed, a new bilingual logo has appeared on the Scottish Canoe Association website this week: www.canoescotland.org

The SCA, like many organisations, has now adopted a bilingual logo in order to reflect the increasing use and visibility of Gaelic in Scotland and the fact that the language is intrinsically linked to the paddling world – you only have to look at the names of so many places, lochs, rivers and falls that we paddle in, under, past, over and around!

For someone like me, who’s a Gaelic learner, this is a very welcome and positive move; as they say in Gaelic, tha e math dhà-rìribh!


> An comharra ùr aig an Comann Curach na h-Alba.

I’m happy to announce that I have received formal confirmation that my UKCC Level 2 Coach assessment has been validated; just waiting for my BCU and SQA module certificates.

So, drum roll please, having passed my practical assessment back in May 2011, I’m finally a fully-fledged BCU/UKCC Level 2 Coach; bring on the 2 Star assessments!!

Next job, continue with 5 Star prep. and work towards moderate water endorsement…so much to do…

Just a quick post to say that a friend of mine, Steve MacKinnon, had his set of blue Werner Sidekick paddles stolen two weeks ago on a Level 1 coaching course at the Muirtown Basin, Inverness.

The paddles are pretty specialist as they were custom-made for him and feature a zero degree feather (i.e. they’re unfeathered). They also have a glass neutral bent shaft 194cm and, as Steve describes, are have ”very pretty bright blue blades that match [his] eyes so well”. As far as we know, there are no other cranked, unfeathered blue blades like this in use in Scotland, athough Zac in Aberdeen has a blue straight shaft set.

If anyone turns up to the river with paddles like this or tries to sell them to you, please let Steve know. He says that a reward will be given! I know of no other unfeathered blue badles like this in use in Scotland, though Zac in aberdeen has a blue straight shaft set.

You can contact Steve on: macksteve@btinternet.com