Join us

Metalman Paddlesports Club Waterford is open to new members.

Metalman Paddlesports Club Waterford is a Canoeing Ireland affiliated paddlesports club based in Waterford County.

Joining will give you access to:

Canoeing Ireland’s Race Calendars.
Canoeing Ireland’s Training programmes.
a reduced fee to MPCW’s race and peer paddle programme.
International events such as World Championships.
a reduced fee to MPCW’s surfski courses for intermediate paddlers.

Our ethos is racing and fitness paddling.

We paddle on the sea primarily but also do lagoon, lake, river paddling, canoe polo and SUP.

In Waterford county we paddle on the sea based from Tramore beach and pier, in Waterford city based on the Suir and in Bunmahon on the Mahon river.

Our primary craft are ocean skis, fast sea kayaks and marathon or river K1s.

At present most of our membership have their own craft.

We support Watersafety Ireland’s Waterford Surf Life Saving Club’s training.

We also have applied for an OSCAR grant for 6 trainer surfskis. This will allow us introduce competent paddling adults and over 12s to surfski paddling and racing in summer ’22.

In 2019 and 2018, we organised the Suir Descent K2 30km race from Cahir to Clonmel.
In 2021 we organised the T-Bay Surfski race attended by over 30 racers from all parts of Ireland.
In 2022 we plan three Waterford based Surfski races and the Suir Descent.
In 2022, we do not at present have the equipment nor manpower to support complete beginner classes. We do not provide children’s lessons.

If you are a beginner and wish to try paddling, please contact a commercial provider such as PureAdventure in Graignemanagh or Copper Coast Kayaking Tours based on the Copper coast for introductory lessons. Thomastown Paddlers Canoeing Club also supports children’s beginner lessons.

If you have achieved a Canoeing Ireland level 1 qualification or equivalent competence in paddling, and are a competent swimmer, and have your own kayak, please contact the club for membership.

You need to be a competent swimmer before you begin canoeing. Basic standards would be able to swim 50m in order to river paddle and 200m before you consider sea or lagoon paddling.

We are affiliated with Canoeing Ireland which provides structure, access to races, beginner instructions and safety standards.

We race the domestic Ocean Racing Surfski calendar found below:

24 April	Limerick Marathon	Limerick	Canoe Marathon Event
2 May 2022	ORCI Med/ Advanced Downwind.	Wind depending	ORCI Committee
14 May 2022	Malahide Estuary Marathon	Dublin	Canoe Marathon Event
28 May 2022	Ocean Warrior Race	Sligo	Aisa Cooper
29 May 2022	ORCI Safety and Skills Course	Sligo	ORCI Committee
4 June 2022	Ocean 2 City	Cork	Ocean 2 City Website
12 June 2022	Race 1	Waterford	Metalman Paddlesports Club Waterford
9 July	ORCI Women in Surfski event	Clare	ORCI Committee
14 August	Race 2	Waterford	Metalman Paddlesports Club Waterford
21 August	ORCI Safety and Skills Course	Cork	ORCI Committee
11 September	Irish Coast Paddling Championships	Dublin	ICPC website
18 September	Race 3	Waterford	Metalman Paddlesports Club Waterford

We race the domestic Irish Marathon Canoeing Calendar found here including the Liffey Descent and Irish Coast Paddling Championships.

We race International Canoe Federation Events events including Surfski European and World Championships.
We have peer paddles based from Tramore Pier on Wednesday evenings in the summer at 1930hrs.
We have a joint training session with Thomastown Paddlers in K1 boats in Bennetsbridge on Thursday evenings during the summer on the Barrow river at 1930hrs.
We plan to arrange regular Saturday Training sessions.

Tramore is a fantastic training ground for surfski paddling. The prevailing SW blows off the Metalman headland into T-Bay so paddlers can get a challenging 3km downwind matched to a similar upwind sheltered by the cliffs. This environment can be accessed from Tramore beach or from Tramore pier. Hazards are typical sea hazards, cold water immersion, rough sea etc. However it is a safe environment as the prevailing wind which provides the best conditions are also most likely to blow a paddler and craft to shore.

Bunmahon’s Mahon is a fantastic training ground for river racing with shallows, eddies, trees, portages and a small wave train at low tide. Access is at the public car park in Bunmahon. Hazards include shallows, hidden rocks, one road bridge which can be low at spring high tides, one weir which can be unpassable and an unpaddlable low bridge above the pump house. Above the pump house are numerous small drops. There is a frequent tree hazard, often blocking the entire river. When clear and in suitable water level, a brilliant 20km paddle from Kilmacthomas to Bunmahon is possible.

Tramore’s Back Strand or lagoon is a fantastic training ground for marathon paddling with a 20km loop available at high tide, wide enough to allow group dynamics and sand banks for portage practice. At low tide there is always enough water to allow training but it becomes more of a river environment. The main hazard is the lagoon outlet where there can be strong flow comparable to a fast river with eddies and boils. Competent river paddling skills, good fitness in a suitably fast craft are necessary when tackling this area of the lagoon. The open nature of the area means it is susceptible to wind chip. While for the most part very shallow ie knee deep, there are many deep tranches in the lagoon. There can be significant wind against tide conditions and sea swell can travel up the mouth. However for a competent paddler with both sea and river racing experience, the environment is simply fun and adds to variety of a training session. It is accessed via the Saleens beach car park.

Tramore’s Back Strand lagoon at high tide at low wind also provides an excellent Olympic sprint training course. The course is along the dam wall positioned at the north of the lagoon. It is exactly 1km which is the longest Olympic distance for kayaking. It only works on high water. It works best in low wind or north/ NE winds. It does not work in the prevailing S/ SW winds. There is however a 500m course that works in the SW/S wind along the broken Old Tramore Race Course wall. It is accessed from a small lane around 1km east of the Mícheal McGrath monument.

The Suir can be accessed at multiple points along its length. One should be mindful that the Suir is considered one of the highest flow rivers in Europe- for instance its flow is double that of either the Barrow or Nore. It is also tidal for a huge portion its length up beyond Carrick on Suir. `
Above Carrick, it can be access via the excellent Suir Blueway access points. Below Carrick, Polerone quay provides and excellent access. The main hazard is the exceptionally fast river flow.

Club members paddle on the Nore – Kilkenny to Bennetsbridge – or Bennetsbridge to Thomastown and on to Inistioge are regularly paddled routes in overstern river K1s.

We also paddle the Barrow usually upstream from Graignemanagh as far as Goresbridge. This allows a great downriver run over multiple weirs and through the famous rapids at Clashganny.

If this sounds like the right fit for you, then please click below to join the club!

Our ethos is racing and fitness paddling with a focus on downwind and sea racing. We are a competitive club. We do not currently support complete beginners. We do not support meets for fundamentally dangerous craft such as sit on tops or inflatables which can place people in dangerous situations. Should you wish to try paddling, please attend one of the many commercial providers for a trial first before joining the club.