Bespoke sea kayaking - a spectrum ...

Its been a busy week or two so just catching up with the last weeks paddling and what a lovely varied week it was.  Monday saw Zoe out on the water and with a f3/4 forecast Bardsey Island made so much sense ... so after picking Zoe up from Bangor station we headed down the Lleyn to the lands end of North Wales ...

The tide was on the flood and Pen y Cil race was working well .. Carreg Ddu, further through the sound look big ... we decided to stay play and soak in the morning ... 

 It was close set but we got a few good runs ... before crossing Bardsey sound, and paddling down the west side.  It was a cool morning with misty patches pushing through and the occasional local checking us out ...

The southern tip of Bardsey Island was still flowing at about 4 knots at what was supposed to be slack water, and there was no swell to assist climbing up the race ... it was just going like a train!!

We had some lunch, chatted and then headed back out, with heads down and paddles swinging!

We landed and then walked the short distance up to the Porters house, it was good to see Steve and his wife and briefly chat .. the wind was due to increase and it was clear that there was a lot going on "out there" today .. so I was keen to move on ..

It was a top day and great to see how far Zoe has progressed, within a couple of years ... an ice cream at Aberdaron and then a train to catch!!

Tuesday saw me out with Sarah and Peter.  Peter had bought a sea kayaking bespoke gift voucher for his wife's birthday and was joining her. We had a super forecast with light winds - Trearddur Bay it was and paddling North .. hugging the coastline and being really mellow, sea kayak rock pooling as we travelled.  The seas visibility was really magic ...

And a cave or two along the way ... with some spectacular rock structure.

It was Peters time in a sea kayak and to be honest if he didn't like today, he would never ...

Smiley faces and happy days ....

Roger

bespoke sea kayaking
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sea kayaking north wales

Introduction to Sea Kayaking - a Bank Holiday weekend ...

This weekends Introduction to sea kayaking saw Paola and Peter independently booking on the two days, with Glynis who has  paddled before joining us for the Sunday.

I was keen to begin with a calm surface so the West side of the Menai Straits was perfect, no wind blown swell, although boat traffic was busy and swell from them!  And below were going through a dry land assisted rescue.

Work on turns and forward paddling was the focus, and putting into a short journey ...

Day 2 and sunshine ... it was a F3 northerly wind with a bit of East in it so Cable Bay, was chosen again to reduce the swell and the main effect of the wind ... plus  access which was likly to be better and less Jet Ski's!!

We did some good down wind circuits using the stern rudder and in preparation for our return journey. Plus blending strokes from - forward power, sweep stoke to stern rudder and then back to power ...

The 2nd beach we landed at had a gentle swell pushing in which was perfect for us to use  ....with the aim of controlling a successful landing.  It was great to feel the sun but that Northerly breeze was cool!

We had our 2nd break and then we were back on a paddling round a headland to Cable Bay, where we had begun.  Certainly a mixture of conditions, ever changing, beautiful colours and one of the reasons I love sea kayaking ...

Roger

intro sea kayaking
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sea kayak north wales

This last week - IntroMediate Sea kayaking Course and 3 Star Assessment.

The week began with a 3 day IntroMediate sea kayaking course for Helen and Neil and we had just the right sort of condition, wind, sunshine more wind, some rain and then lots of sunshine coupled with a big Spring tide ...

Working with BODY and looking at being efficient and effective ... enjoy ...

Zoe joined us for a day as part of my commitment to those who have completed their 4 star leader training with Coastal Spirit, each person proving they are up to speed is entitled to a number of days observation and assistance on a Coastal Spirit course.

Llyn Padarn on the third day so we could really get a grip of the boats, various turns, static draws and on the move, plus more stern rudders ... and some fun and balance.  Great for tuning one into the pressure and movement of self/boat.
 

The final day was about putting it all into a new and more dynamic context and Puffin Island with light winds was looking good to really work ferry glides, eddy turns and some generally rough water handling ...plus checking out the locals ....

Great few days and super progress, well done to both Helen and Neil.

Friday saw me out with Nigel for his 3 star sea performance assessment and with a windier S night some swell was moving about and Rhoscolyn was our location.  That was after some tidal planning for Nigel ...

Some gentle warming up and working with stern rudders, on the edge of the bay ... and then moving into a moderate sea.  With 1 hour to go before slack water the far end of the Beacon was ideal and Nigel was working well and caught a couple of runs.

A paddle float self rescue in the calm and then into a couple of foot swell, and in the bag!

A roll in calm water, some towing and putting me back into my boat and a couple of other tasks, saw Nigel reach a good pass on his 3 star assessment.

Happy days ....

Roger

Intromediate sea kayak course
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3 star sea assessment

Summer Sunshine - Bespoke Sea Kayaking

It was good to see Paul after a month or so and see the changes he had made, through putting time into going paddling.  As he had never been out to Puffin Island we did a tidal plan first, taking into account the winds and then set off.  A broad aim of the day was around 3 star performance skills and abilities ...

We worked with eddy turns and a couple of ferry glides, before heading round the island.  The seals were pretty mellow and also enjoying the sunshine ...

There was a small swell so we took advantage and did a couple of rocky landings, just before lunch, which would also allow the tide to turn and generate some speed ...

There was the occasional bit f chop which provided good conditions and Paul, looked comfortable in the Cetus HV, its first outing since Ireland!

As we headed back to the start we had some wind against tide, which provided good conditions for a self rescue.  Paul went for a paddle float self rescue and managed this fine.

We headed back to Menai Bridge and sat looking back over a couple of video clips, working through an action plan for Paul to focus on over the next few months, before our next day out in October.

Roger

bespoke sea kayak course
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intromediate sea kayaking