Welcome to my Sea Kayaking (b)log
1st April 2013 saw a good days coaching with Roger Chandler of Coastal Spirit. Also it was my first day on the sea in my new "podless" Valley Etain 17-7I met Roger for a coffee and a chat about what I needed help on and then we decided where to go. The weather was a...
A days 1-2-1 coaching with Tony Hammock of Seafreedom kayak. Seafreedom are a mobile sea kayak resource based near Oban, on the West Coast of Scotland. They provide sea kayak instruction, coaching, guided day trips, tours and rental. They can also offer superb "paddler friendly" bed and breakfast accommodation near Oban We paddled from...
The 2011 Wet West Paddle Fest (WWPF) was a bit of a turning point for me. Whilst I was happy paddling the Etive and other rivers in Scotland, the River Moriston had been playing on my mind for some time. This was due to all of the epic's I had experienced on this river...
I love the outdoors and particularly love sea kayaking, as you will no doubt see from my B(log). Having lived near Nottingham for most of my working life, I've recently retired (Retirement no2) and have moved to Scotland, not far from a lovely town - Helensburgh. There were some benefits to living in the...
Whilst I was replacing my out of date (when did you last check yours?) standard flares (a red pinpoint and orange smoke), I came across the PainsWessex Compact Distress Signals Miniflare Mk8. The lightweight, Pains Wessex Compact Distress Signal pack contains 3 red aerial flare cartridges and a penjector firing mechanism, all enclosed in...
I was recently very fortunate to be lent a Valley Gemini SP, by Valley in Nottingham. As you can see from the pictures below it is a lovely looking boat with a blue glitter top and a funky white stripe. The Gemini SP is at the opposite end of the length scale to my...
Whilst I was at the Anglesey Sea Kayak Symposium, someone demonstrated one of these new electronic red distress ODEO flares MK3. ODEO stands for Omni Directional Electrical Optical signal. I was so impressed, I decided to buy one. They cost around £100, but I think are well worth the money; they last so long...
Anyone still in need of Christmas ideas for their sea kayaking partner, I would definitely recommend Howard Jeffs Sea Kayak Navigation Aid or SKANA. At around £15 plus postage these are available direct from Howard Jeffs at http://www.howardjeffs.com. They are big enough to measure distances and yet being flexible they are able to be...
For me, choosing between a waist mounted towline and a deck towline was an easy choice; having had a prolapsed disk in my lower back my past, there is no way I am letting my back take the strain when towing someone. It is much easier to let the boat do the work and...
I've owned it since buying it new in May 2019. It has a red top with white hull. I bought it to do my leadership training/awards in as I needed something a little more agile than my Valley Etain 17-7! I've replaced the deck lines with reflective deck lines, filled out the area behind...
Update 19/12/2015: I've just sold Lolo and waved her goodbye!! But it had to be done. All due to my replacement knee! Knee long story short : I caught Letospirosis/Weils disease in early 2014 from paddling on the WW course on the River Trent in Nottingham. This was not long after having had a...
Now sold!!...
I use to carry my spare paddles on the rear deck. I have now since moved the paddles to the front deck, so as not to get in your way when performing Cowboy self rescues. I also ditched the tubes for commercial paddle holders, such as the ones from Reed Chillcheater or North Water...
I had been thinking for a while I needed a nice graphic for the bow of my boat, but I couldn't really decide exactly what I wanted. I thought about having something like the Turnbull coat of arms, but that idea didn't quite sit right with me. Maybe it was the Viking genes in...
Select the tag to filter the results: LeaderAssistant LeaderledTraineeSoloPeerRacing 0 (No Wave) Glassy 1 (0.00 – 0.10) Calm 2 (0.10 – 0.50) Smooth 3 (0.50 – 1.25) Light 4 (1.25 – 2.5) Moderate 5 (2.50 – 4.00) Rough 6 (4.00 – 6.00) Very Rough 5 Nm5 Nm to 10 Nm10 Nm to 15 Nm15...
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If you have ever fancied giving Sea Kayaking a go there are plenty of opportunities to give it a try, all around out coasts, even inland! You don't need any previous kayaking or canoeing experience. As for equipment most can provide you with all of the kit you need. Just get in touch with...
Fancy trying out sea kayaking, or want to progress your skills further, or maybe do some guided trips? Then take a look at these providers, all of whom can provide the best training, wisdom, guiding and lots of fun! These guys are the best and are all highly recommended....
I've put together some screens on Incident Management that I gained from Sea Kayaking Cornwall's Incident Management Training, October 2017. I hope you will find this useful and maybe you will learn something new. Click on the links to the right find out more....
I am often asked how I get my sea kayak on the roof of my Fiat Ducato based campervan. Here is a video I've made on how it is done. First of all I had better mention the I am using the rectangular Thule roof bars (called square by Thule) with the following fitting...
