Welcome to my Sea Kayaking (b)log
End of day 1's 16 hour Outdoor First aid training. A quick blast to Bute was in order from Toward Seasports Club. Toward Seasports Club graciously allowed me to park my camper van on their car park for a couple of nights, whilst attending the course near Dunoon. It is a lovely spot. Annoyingly,...
The weather forecast for Saturday morning was looking not too bad, despite gale force winds of 50-80mph forecast for later on Saturday evening into Sunday. Storm "Dave" would be making itself felt across much of Scotland. Looking at the various forecasts, I knew if I was going to get a paddle in, I needed...
A sneaky training paddle out in the Taran, seeing as the weather was so nice and Mrs T had gone paddle boarding on Loch Lomond. Bumped into the Rosneath Castle Bay Coastal Rowers rowing their St Ayles skiff. A good bit of exercise against the wind and tide on the way out and positively...
Tuesday 17th March 2026, was a very windy stormy day. Looking out at the sea from my kitchen window it seemed improbable the forecast weather of light winds, rising temperatures and sunshine for Wednesday 18th March was very likely. I dillydallied all day about paddling on Wednesday, about where I should go, and indeed...
Another training paddle out in the Taran seeing as the weather was chucking it down! I love paddling in heavy rain when the water droplets are plopping all around you. A good bit of exercise on an otherwise wet drab Saturday afternoon. 6.2 nm 1 hour 35 minutes GPS track...
Another training paddle out in the Taran seeing as the weather was set fair. I'd been thinking about paddling to Kilcreggan for a while now, but this was the first day where the weather made it possible. With next to no wind at times and with hardly a cloud in the sky, it was...
Training paddle out in the Taran. Taking a break from chopping down the jungle and taming hedges with my chainsaw. I hadn't really decided on where I was heading and let the wind and swell decide. With the wind blowing from the SE it made sense to plod down to Helensburgh. Fab 7.5 nm...
Training paddle out in the Taran. Started off looking pretty miserable but turned out to be a really nice enjoyable paddle. Out and about in Gare loch Fab! 6.5 nm 1 hour 36 minutes GPS track...
During the Loch Lomond Helensburgh Canoe Club trip on 27th December, we bumped into another kayaker, Phil Smith, who had driven to Scotland, all the way from Portsmouth. Phil was desperately trying to bag the Loch Lomond Islands to rack up as many points for the 2025 "Performance Sea Kayak 1000 Island challenge". Coming...
A nice between Christmas and New Year paddle with Helensburgh Canoe Club - Gordon, Steve and Stuart. Not only was it my first trip with the club, it was my first time on Loch Lomond and my first trip on fresh water in my NDK Romany Surf. We paddled across to Balmaha for coffee,...
First trip out in my new boat “Irn-Bru”. A Romany Surf with an orange deck and blue trim, as per the IRN-BRU colours. I have to say I am quite pleased with it. Especially seeing as I have never paddled one of these boats before, even before buying it! Thankfully, and as expected it’s...
My plan was to paddle across Gareloch to the house, opposite my house, and then head south towards Rhu Narrows, around to Kilcreggan, across to Helensburgh and return. Except, once on the loch I realised the wind was somewhat stronger than forecast and heading south for me was not going to be a good...
A week on from moving into my new house, I finally managed to get out on the water. It was most odd kitting up in my driveway, before walking with my trolley a few meters to the slipway to get access to the loch. I guess I am so used to packing the car...
Solo kayaking in my Taran from Whitby to Staithes - and back. Although due to a file corruption error on the GoPro Max, I only have footage of the Whitby to Staithes section and a little clip on the return leg. Conditions were not easy, due to large sets of swell coming in every...
After such a brilliant time in Looe yesterday in the Taran, I wasn’t ready to head home just yet. I booked into a campsite for two nights, giving myself a full day to make the most of paddling before driving home early Friday morning – and crucially, avoiding the dreaded Friday afternoon traffic. Eddystone...
First Date with a Rockpool Taran I’ve had a bit of a hankering for a Rockpool Taran for a while now — probably made worse by scrolling through the blistering times that Taran owners post on the Performance Sea Kayak pages. For the last few years, I’ve been paddling a Tiderace Pace 17 Tour...
A nice little trip around Bardsey Island (Ynys Enlli). I've been eyeing up Bardsey Island for a while. Now I was staying in Aberdaron and the weather was looking good, I had my chance. I had looked at the tides and studied various tidal stream atlases. But I had another parameter to account for,...
With temperatures set to soar well into the mid-30s in the East Midlands, we decided to head for the coast—somewhere cooler, with a nice sea breeze. Five and a half hours later, we finally arrived at the end of the Llŷn Peninsula in Aberdaron. There had been a bad accident on the M6, and...
Friday 6th June A quick paddle from Helensburgh Leisure centre. At first, I didn't have any plans on where I would head too. But on getting into my boat, I decided to head into the wind and against the ebbing tide. Low Water wouldn't be for a few hours so at least I would...
Monday 6th May I was up in Whitby visiting an old friend, with also the cheeky intension of getting a sea paddle in. Having looked at the forecast before setting off, I decided to take my surf boat along, as well as Tiderace Pace Tour 17, AKA "the Carrot", just in case the conditions...
