The occasional spot of rain didn’t stop anyone from having a great time down at Ulverston Canal Open Day. The event was organised by The Ulverston Canal Regeneration Group. There was a steady stream of visitors to the canal throughout the day where they could stroll amongst a variety of stalls set up around the basin. I thought it was one of the most scenic places to hold an open day and I'm sure many would agree with me. There was the odd pirate to be seen as Jack Sparrow made an appearance with his craft Whimbrel.  
DCC’s stall was set up on the bank of the canal close to the launch point. Folks of all ages queued up on the foot path waiting for their chance to paddle on the canal as its not every day anyone gets the opportunity to do so. Even the Mayor of Ulverston took his turn in waiting to have a go.  He was determined the rain was going to spoil his fun as he’d brought a brolly to cover his chain of office. A great time was had by all and through donations made by those having a paddle, DCC collected just over £50 for the Ulverston Canal Regeneration Group. The day was a great success and it was a welcome sight watching craft paddle up and down the canal once again. Congratulations to UCRG for another brilliant event.

​June 4th was DCC’s Open day at the Docks. It was a fine warm morning and so began the transformation of the dock site ready for the fun to start. Areas were allocated so that everyone could be greeted, sign in and then get kitted out at the water’s edge with out to much hassle in a safe environment.

Thoughts soon turned to putting together the dreaded Gazebo’s only this year Cari had purchased  a couple of extra large ones and so it was with some intrepidation that everyone approached them. To their surprise it turned out not to be as difficult as first thought and soon they were in full use as one was used for the games area and the other as the place to sign in as well as a show and tell area. Rhianns GB kit and kayak were on show and Brandon, Harvey  and Rhiann made themselves available to answer any questions about GB selections and the trip to Nantahala USA.  

At this point it might be worth mentioning that it’s a good idea to weight the legs down of any large gazebo as half way through the day the whole thing decided it didnt want to be a gazebo anymore and launched itself into the air to become a paraguilder. This event was definitely not planned for the day. Not a good thing to happen when your sitting underneath it. Luckily It was caught before it could get very far and firmly pinned back down again.

There was a steady stream of people down to the docks that day. Many were families or individuals who were willing to try something new. A few DCC members brought their parents down to see what goes on of an evening down at the docks and they to ended up on the water. Some folk came to the docks just for a look around as it’s not normally an area many get to see. They were surprised by what they found and stayed for a while making use of the facilities and having a cake and cuppa while chatting with other visitors. Many were impressed by what the club had achieved.

Face painting was on offer as well as an assortment of games such as Hook a Duck, Shoot a ball while on the water, Bran Tub etc. There was abundance of cakes and biscuits. One lot of cup cakes came complete with little chocolate paddles though with it being warm some ended up looking like Johns presentation paddle but no one minded as they tasted great.  Everyone was spoilt for choice.

In the afternoon there was raft building where the adults had as much fun as the youngsters trying to sail across to the other side of the dock and back before it fell apart. This was soon followed by the obligatory jumping in off the dock side.
Again this was another successful day for the club and a great day out for all of those that attended.
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The next open day will be on August 24th where everyone will be able to try out championship event boats. This is the “I am team GB” campaign which is being run nationally in conjunction with ITV and the National Lottery. There won’t be any face painting etc but if you feel the need to come along with your face already painted we won’t stop you. See you then.