Venue: Mill House (CM3 4BG)
Meeting: 6pm
Briefing: 6.20pm
Finish: c.8.10pm
Level: Strong, competent river paddlers

Has to be said we don’t have the greatest forecast tonight – it’s certainly going to be windy and it’s quite likely we’ll get rained on to begin with. But we’ve seen worse, the skies are predicted to clear later, so we’re going for it anyway: and SUP Club is heading back to the gravel at Mill House, maybe in less than ideal conditions! We’ll be going out upstream against a gentle flow, but with wind gusting over 20 knots it’s likely to be tough going at times – and likelihood is we’ll be setting up in the rain too. Definitely not a week for everyone: capable, up-for-it paddlers only. Hopefully the roadside’s not too bad, but parking and pumping are never too pretty at Mill House: so be ready to dodge the puddles by Church Road.

So, parking at Mill House by c.6pm (https://w3w.co/fitter.ideas.transmits) ahead of a 6.20pm briefing at the launch. We’ll aim to finish soon after the 19.53 sunset. Then we’ll be off for dinner and drinks at our favourite local pub – numbers with a show of hands at the briefing.

Paddlers on the Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation must be licensed: get or renew yours via www.waterways.org.uk … we have a few simple codes of conduct for SUP Club (eg; all paddlers must wear a leash) that you can find on our main SUP Club page.

All competent paddlers (by which we mean comfortable and confident standing-up and paddling strong, non-stop for 90-minutes, able to steer, stop and turn around effectively – and not in need of a lesson to do so, which of course we offer via www.supsect.com/learn-to-sup) are welcome at SUP Club. This week we need to know that everyone can paddle strong against some pretty windy wind. And isn’t allergic to a bit of rain!