The Derwent Canoe Club (DCC) was established in the 1970’s and was incorporated in mid 90’s. Membership is typically around 120. The club is affliated to Canoe Tasmania, which is in turn affiliated with Australian Canoeing. The DCC serves all the southern areas of the state and is based in Hobart.
The Derwent Canoe Club caters for Ocean Racing, River Touring, Slalom, Wildwater Racing, Canoe Polo, Flatwater Paddling, Freestyle (Rodeo) and Multi-Sport Racing. Canoe education is actively pursued in conjuction with Canoe Tasmania and many members are qualified instructors and coaches.
The Derwent Estruary and Browns Rivulet in Kingston are used to host weekly races for boats of all shapes and sizes. People typically paddle ocean skis or multisport kayaks at these events. The Browns (Rivulet) Races are typically handicap races and people paddle boats of all shapes and sizes, for current information check out the clubs facebook page. The Twilight Race series on the Derwent Estruary are held in various locations with the location chosen to maximise down wind runs for the ocean ski paddlers, for more information goto the Southern Paddlers facebook page.
Probably the most popular whitewater site used by the club in summer is the Broken Bridge rapid on the Derwent River. This is a rapid formed between the pylons of a bridge destroyed in a flood in the 1960’s. The rapid is a fast grade 2 shoot with small waves and big eddies either side of the shoot. During Summer the water is quite warm (very swimmable!) making it an excellent place to start the progression from flat water paddling into moving water. Many of the club’s novice paddlers also take off in Summer to camp at the Forth Slalom course for the superb learning opportunities the site offers.
Also during summer many members head for the hills on a few weekends to enjoy camping and paddling at the Brady’s Lake Slalom course. This course is an advanced course used for top level Slalom competitions and general recreational paddling. (A Rodeo involves surfing and doing tricks in a recirculating water feature called a stopper. Brady’s lake has a superb stopper for Rodeo’s). The lake at the bottom of the course is great for novices and intermediates to play in the current entering the lake. Camping is generally good but due to the fact that the elevation is 800 metres it is either very hot (sunscreen essential) or very cold with snow not being out of the question.
During the Winter and Spring River touring is at its peak with many rivers having good flows. The water is of course colder in winter but many paddlers still manage to get some great paddling in. After good rain Tasmania is nothing short of a paddlers paradise. Popular river trips in the south vary from easier rainforest trips such as the Picton through to extreme river gorges such as Butlers Gorge and the Nive. Many members also often travel to the North and North-West of the State for other fantastic rivers. A forward calendar does have river trips listed but due to the fickle nature of Tasmanian weather many trips are organised on the spur of the moment by telephone.
A series of open and flat water races are held during winter for people who enjoy paddling long skinny kayaks such as Ocean skis and multisport kayaks.
Competition has been a major part of the club since its inception although many members only ever compete for fun. However there is always a small dedicated group training for either Slalom or Wildwater Racing (Down River Racing) and more recently Rodeo, Sprint Canoeing, Marathons and Multi-Sport events. Broken Bridge has been developed for Slalom training and has numerous slalom gates hanging throughout the summer months. Numerous paddlers have represented Australia at International and Olympic events. Tasmania also hosted a major World Cup competition in 1992 at Cataract Gorge in Launceston.
Various slalom squads exist to assist paddlers achieve their potential. Tasmania’s success has been principally due to the excellent training facilities and rivers which develop good whitewater skills. The club typically enters teams and participates in the organisation of local Canoe Polo competitions held at Clarence Pool between Autumn and Spring each year.
Meetings are advertised on the DCC Paddle Flash message board, when held, they are on the first Thursday of any month (no meeting in January) at the Derwent Sailing Squadron, Marieville Esplanade, Sandy Bay. Club members will be emailed to vote on significant decisions/matters.
The Club has numerous boats for hire at a good price for members. Boats include river running kayaks, play boats, creek boats, a double (Topo Duo) and plastic Wildwater Racing kayaks (Wavehoppers). Boat hire is for members only AND an annual membership carries an entitlement to 3 free hires per year.
Easiest method to join is to download a membership form, fill it out and take it along to an event. Otherwise post the form to GPO Box 25, Hobart TAS 7000 or email it the the clubs email address and transfer the required amount of money into the clubs bank account.
Please go to the ‘Join the DCC’ tab on the homescreen menu for all membership information.