Welcome to my Sea Kayaking (b)log
The deal was to meet at the Lighthouse cafe at 10:00. Due to someone forgetting their drysuit, then getting their partner, in mid hair dyeing mode, to drive halfway and meet with said drysuit, two of the party were, ahem, let's say a little late. Chris Fisk and I proceeded straight to North Landing to...
The photos below say it all really. Andy and I arranged to meet at 10:00 am at Cable Bay (Porth Trecastell in Welsh). Setting off from home at 6:00 am it was a chilly -2 C. The temperature didn't change much on the trip to Anglesey. Needless to say it was pretty cold.On the...
Meeting up at Anglesey Outdoors early on Saturday morning, we split ourselves into groups depending on the weather/swell/tides/conditions and what we wanted to do. I Paddled with Jimski, Graham Cooke, Sue Couling, Dez Watson and Alan Riggott. Jimski lead the trip. After the overnight storm, there was lots of swell and fairly lumpy...
Day 1 Skills with Roger Chandler. We paddled from Cemlyn bay and did skills on Harry Furlongs tidal race before heading towards Carmel head. I saw some Dolphins over lunch and thought I was seeing things. Roger later identified them as Risso Dolphins. This was a tough day with me making mistakes as...
The weather forecast for North Wales was very poor, with high winds and rain for much of the day. So Michael Hargreaves in his new boat and I decided to meet up on the Menai Straits at Moel-y-Don. This allowed us to paddle up with the tide towards Menai Bridge, have lunch and come...
Once again, my now annual trip around Kerrera on the Oban Sea Kayak Race. The sit on tops or Surf Ski’s, as their owners like to call them, probably outnumber the traditional Sea Kayaks these days and most people paddle with Wings (nothing to do with RedBull - although I suspect a few of...
The Skerries off Anglesey, is one of those magical places in our world. It's not easy to get to, especially from a kayakers perspective as it is surrounded by strong tidal streams. But it is well worth the effort. Especially when the Terns are nesting. I have to say, I have long admired Tern's...
Both my paddling chum and I were both very keen to do this paddle. The wildlife, cliffs, and caves make this an excellent trip. The forecast was for sun, sun , sun, with winds f3-f4 SE, strengthening later with 1-2ft of swell. Setting off from South Landing we were soon rounding Flamborough head in...
Setting off from Oban Harbour on pan flat seas, I decided to circumnavigate the island of Kerrera. I've circumnavigated Kerrera three times in the Oban Sea Kayak Race, but this time I would take my time and enjoy the sights. This day was the lull before the storm, with high winds forecast for the...
Setting off from Oban harbour, less than a hundred meters from our apartment, this 16.5 miles solo paddle proved to be a great days paddling despite the weather not being at its best. The wind dictated my direction as it was blowing F4-F5 from the South East. Also the tide, for once, was on...
This years 2015 Oban Sea Kayak Race was a bit of a classic, with very rough conditions. For the first 10km, it was into the wind and ever increasing swell. At the south end of Kerrera, conditions became very poor. Nine people abandoned here and a couple ended up on the rocks! Personally, I...
Saturday 18th April Once again after a very early start I arrived at Anglesey Outdoors for 9:00am on a Saturday morning. This weekend, organised by Sabina Neall, saw twelve "East Coast Sea kayakers" meeting together at Anglesey Outdoors for a coaching weekend with Olly Sanders. It was a big tide weekend and we were...
On the drive up to Filey, early on Sunday morning the weather looked really promising. The sunrise was spectacular, lighting up the scenery to the point that if you had taken a photograph, people would say it was photo-shopped, the contrast and strength of the light was so strong. What also made for a...
Monday morning saw my paddle buddy and myself meeting with Phil Clegg (of Sea Kayaking Anglesey) at Anglesey Outdoors and deciding where to paddle. After lots of discussion and referencing of tide tables, guidebooks, weather forecasts, surf/swell forecasts etc, a good mug of tea and using Phil's expert knowledge of these races, we decided...
The 2014 Oban Sea Kayak Race took place on Saturday 23rd August 2014, with more than 70 paddlers taking part. Covering a distance of 20km, the race circumnavigates the beautiful and rugged Island of Kerrera, beginning and ending in Oban on Scotland's beautiful west coast. For best viewing crank up the Quality to 1080...
Having not Sea kayaked since May due to illness, I decided there was only one way to find out if I was now fit enough to return to sea kayaking... Meeting up with my paddle buddy at Four Mile Bridge and leaving a car behind, we set off to Porth Dafarch. The plan was...
Having had an email from Mike Robson forwarded to me by Sabina Neall, about a forthcoming paddle from Whitby to Robin Hood's Bay and back this coming Sunday, I was all set to travel up to Whitby. The only trouble was as I looked out of my window on the Saturday evening, it...
Following a quick chat with Gareth Jones on Facebook, we decided to meet up at Bangor Services for 9:00am. The forecast looked ok, with N/NE winds forecast, so we decided to do Moelfre to Puffin Island. Having met Gareth in the services and watched him devour a full English, we set off to run...
This was definitely a weekend of two halves! The Saturday was a glorious day, but the Sunday was a complete change with gales of force 7-8! Someone suggested to me earlier in the year that I join Liverpool Canoe Club, as unlike my local club in Nottingham HPPCC, they are very active on the...
During our previous couple of paddles together, Rob and I had been talking about doing this race. And so on the August Bank Holiday weekend we both travelled north to Oban for the forth Oban Sea kayak Race. It is said by some that the Oban Sea Kayak Race is 20km of sheer fun!...
