OCA East

Hello and welcome to the Eastern Regional group of the Open Canoe Association in the UK.

We are here to encourage and promote activity within the region and to act as a focal point for local paddlers to share ideas and activities.

Area Covered by OCA East

OCA East broadly covers the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire

Where we paddle and what do we provide

Eastern Region covers a wide area so trips you may see during the course of a year could typically include;

  • Regular trips to the Norfolk Broads including weekend events based at Barton Turf Activity Centre
  • We have several members who frequent the River Nene
  • River Cam
  • Great Ouse and channels around Huntingdon
  • Norfolk rivers such as River Wensum and Yare
  • The Waveney from Scole through to Beccles
  • Little Ouse from Thetford to Brandon
  • River Stour on the Suffolk/Essex border
  • Tidal estuaries such as the rivers Orwell, Deben and Blyth
  • Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation
  • We have several members who are also into wooden canoes and are members of the Wooden Canoe Heritage Society.

At the moment we don’t run any courses or training but if there is anything specific you are looking for we can look to put something on.

 

Local Hints and Tips and River Licences

If you are a member of British Canoeing then your membership covers you for the Broads and all of the rivers and which require a licence such as those managed by the Environment Agency. British Canoeing offer more detailed information.

If paddling on the Cam through the centre of Cambridge you need to display your membership number on your craft so it is visible from the bank. This is so a member of the Cam Conservators, who own the navigation rights (through an Act of Parliament), can see it from the bank.  It is a criminal, not a civil, offence to paddle the stretch from Mill Pit to Waterbeach without a licence which can result in a hefty fine. More information from the Cam Conservators.

It is possible to purchase separate licences for the different waterways but this normally works out more expensive than BC Membership.

Waterways Not Covered by BC Licence

You will need a separate licence for:

Key Contacts

To keep in touch please join our Facebook Group

The OCA East Facebook Group is an active community where local trips are planned.

OCA East on Facebook