Just 5 volunteers turned out for the working party. It seems the other 80 something couldn’t spare the time, but we realise that’s the nature of clubs and volunteering. We ask you to bear in mind though, general upkeep of the club is still needed even when the reservoir is low and even if we haven’t windsurfed in a while. And some jobs are best done when the water is low.
We’ve made significant progress over the last 2 to 3 months using tree popper tools to lever up saplings without leaving roots behind. We’re working to clear a 200 metre length of the headland to the West of the car park. There are still some very small saplings and quite a few much larger stumps too. Fred and Mark have perfected their technique with straps, chain and a winch to pull out the stumps, but it’s slow work and a lot of it.
In the photo below the strip between the wheelbarrow and trees was covered in trees, many around 4 to 8 feet tall, while others were just a few inches.
Branches have been lopped off the trees below ready for the stumps to be winched out. See also the 'dead hedge' of offcuts against the bank - this is over 150 metres long!
Some stumps are too big to pull out, but we hope to use a chainsaw on them otherwise they'll quickly regrow
Stumps to be winched out. Looking back to where Norbert is working, perhaps 1/3 of the total length
