View topic - LONDON CANOE CLUB

So today i joined the london canoe club and paid to store my canoe at the boat house i was involved with the canoe club back in the 90s i even sat on the board the club is in a sad state when i was talking with the membership person today i was told this could be the last year for the club it went from a club with over 2000 members to this year she thought they had maybe 100 all this is because of the state of the thames river and the springbank dam not working for many years . they do have paddling though its at sharron creek conservation area that is a 20 min drive from london i asked why they never approached fanshawe conservation area the answer was fanshawe lake is to busy i dont know fanshawe makes more sense to me it has a city bus route that goes there in the summer from what i remember we had alot of members that didnt drive so locating to a place that you have to drive to get there just makes no sense

The London Canoe Club was a vital organization which provided an excellent service to the community. Its headquarters was left high and dry after the fiasco involving aborted renovations to the Springbank dam. The London Rowing Club shared the location, but it has subsequently re-located its base of operations to Fanshawe Lake. The Rowers have a much different mandate, history, and funding structure, however. It's sad to witness the decline of the Canoe Club. For years I've paddled countless days on both Fanshawe and Sharon Creek. I rarely go to Fanshawe Lake nowadays, mainly due to the near-constant presence of algae blooms, often blue-green algae blooms, which effectively spoil the paddling experience for me. The constant noise from aircraft taking off and landing at the adjacent London Int'l Airport doesn't help. Neither does the rattling, humming, and beeping of trucks at several quarry sites adjacent to the reservoir. These features alone would make Fanshawe a tough sell to canoeists, kayakers, and SUP paddlers. Rowing, sailing, and small-motor traffic are also heavy, especially in the summer and on weekends. Sharon Creek, on the other hand, has treed banks, fewer eyesores and noises (but yes, the 402 passes adjacent to the site, and it makes its presence known especially on days with northerly and easterly winds). Unlike Fanshawe, there are no user fees at Sharon Creek. Sharon Creek Reservoir definitely faces its share of challenges, but it has become my go-to place for a 1-2 hour local paddle. Both sites, Fanshawe and Sharon Creek, have a surprising amount of wildlife, with the return of eagles being perhaps the biggest success story. They can be sighted most days at either reservoir. Perhaps someone in the London Canoe Club will read this and can better explain the challenges faced by the club.