Stacey Warner reports on the night:

Having been a paddler for a reasonably short time at Paddle plus, the six months or so that I have spent becoming accustomed to the ways of the river has been quite amusing. I can definitely say the Full Moon Paddle was no exception. I'd been quite apprehensive to participate in the paddle as I'm not a big fan of paddling In the dark, In fact I'm not a fan of the dark all together! But after being roped into doing the paddle for Children In Need, I could hardly say no, could I?

Paddling off into the darkness of the night, it became apparent that it was going to be a really long night. With a large amount of paddlers joining us, there was a lovely atmosphere, which soon became dosey and silly by the lack of sleep. By the time we got to Thurmaston Lock, I'd been told off countless times for moaning! "I'm cold!!!", "I'm Tired!!!" "I'm still cold!!!" So I drank some Lucozade, then some Blue Charge.. and this is where the fun began... for me anyway! With an exciting array of songs performed by yours truly and Flick also, our spirits were high, and our temperatures low... and possibly also our speed. Poor old Likko was stuck babysitting us all the way at the back, to which I am pretty sure he was not amused by.

Andy pushed me, Flick and Joe in our boat over it, and we ended up going backwards over some minor rapids. Derek and Likko kindly accompanied us the rest of the way of the river. We were so exhausted that we were actually beginning to hallucinate. I dropped of a number of times and nearly ended up tipping the boat over as I jolted awake. It was quite amusing to say the least. As the paddle ended, relief flooded over me...only to realise that we had to haul our huge open boat up a gigantic hill!

So after receiving a huge amount of sponsors to complete the paddle, I set about to complete the task at hand. I invested in a nice shiny new head torch. So heading down the river towards Birstall weir, using my dads 'perfect' paddle, I set off with my best friend, and paddle partner, Felicity. I was quite excited and in a great mood... for all of five minutes that is. The head of my paddle decided to fall off, and every time the 'J' stroke was put into practice, it would do so again!! So in a bid to repair the broken paddle, I instructed Flick to attempt to steer from the front, only inexperienced as we are, we went straight through a huge branching tree to where I was mauled by a spider the size of Aragog and was so preoccupied with my Arachnophobia, I failed to notice that the tree had stolen my lovely shiny new head torch.

As we approached our first stop, in Cossington, many of us were dropping off in our boats; the cold was starting to get to some of us, including the one member of the party that accidentally capsized in an arcadia! I did feel mighty sorry for him. Upon the half way stop at The Boat House pub in Barrow, many of the younger paddlers, including myself were starting to feel the lack of sleep. It seemed that the night would never end. Every stretch of river seemed to wind on and on and on... As we approached a small, rocky bridge, our boat became pinned.

But tired as I was, I was proud of myself too for achieving the length of the paddle throughout the middle of the night! AND, even better, Flick and myself managed to raise £217 for Children In Need! When we got back to the centre, we ate a lovely cooked breakfast, (- Thank you Marie and Maggie). Overall, the paddle was a complete success and the atmosphere was lovely! I myself had a great time and can only hope I can be a part of the club for many more years to come!
Stacey Warner

Photos : Ian Nutt.

Pudsey Image : BBC Children In Need

If you missed the Hot Potato paddle this year then look out for the date for next year, which will be announced late summer 2010, or join us on the Cold Turkey Paddle, Summer Solstice, or Hot Potato Paddles.