Comprehensive Greenlandic Paddling Skills Workshops

Comprehensive Greenlandic Paddling Skills Workshops

Cheri and Turner are sole partners in Kayak Ways, a venture based on the notion that the traditional kayaking skills of the Inuit seal catchers offer valuable lessons for the modern day recreational kay- aker. For the last six years we have been going far and wide teaching these uniquely consistent and practical kayaking skills.

Explore the elegance and ease of Greenland strokes: canted, sliding, vertical, bow & stern sweeps, Bow & stern rudders, sculling draws. Learn the Balance Brace, sculling Brace, and chest scull, as well as low, High, and deep Pry brace recoveries. Engage the Extensive Greenland rolling repetoire: layback forward, and sculling rolls with the pad- dle, norsaq, Hand, and more!

Cheri and Turner have mentored skinny stick skills all over the world. Cheri competed in the Greenland National Kayaking Championships in both 2004 & 2005. She is widely regarded as one of the best Greenland- style kayak rollers in the world. Turner is one of those rare paddlers outside of Greenland who began paddling with a traditional blade. He competed in the 2005 Greenland National Kayaking Championships in Paamiut, winning six Gold Medals.

Cheri & Turner will be giving all Day Group sessions in the UK ...

May 19th & 20th-We'll be at Llyn Padarn, North West Wales. Please contact cheri@kayakways.net for sign up.

May 26th & 27th-We will be at a location TBD around the Loch Lomond area. Please contact Bruce Jolliffe to sort your spot.

June 2nd & 3rd-We'll be running courses through Sea Kayaking Cornwall. Please contact either Jeff or Simon to reserve a place in the sessions.

Maximum number of students is 8, so book soon ... to avoid missing this rare opportunity.

4 star leader sea - further training & development

Coastal Spirit is now offering a new and exciting programme, to assist and support aspirant 4 star leaders towards an assessment.

4* Leader Sea - Further Training & Development Weekend

Cost: £160

Date: 21/22nd July

This intensive two day refresher provides an excellent opportunity to address your action plan, with direction and focus, meet with other like minded paddlers and network. Plus have the opportunity to work with leading real students of 3 star ability. Gain further feedback on areas of personal performance, leadership, rescue and develop further your action plan.

The course will also provide an opportunity to look at current ideas, techniques and practices. As well as raising questions and hopefully dismissing any fears concerning assessment. The precise structure remains flexible to best suit individuals needs.

We also offer two further options to assist and support you towards becoming a 4 star leader sea. 1) join our mentoring and coaching programme for Sea Kayak Guides or 2) contact our sister company Coaching for Life and develop time measured goals and gain targeted telephone support.

On the weekend group size will be kept small, so that you gain more, hence places are limited. So come and join other like minded paddlers, network and move a stroke closer to that elusive assessment!

For further information or to book a place contact me here

roger chandler

www.coastalspirit.com

sea kayaking north wales

4 star leader training sea - Anglesey sea kayaking, North Wales

Jon and Gary began the course with the coastal navigation & tidal planning day, with 50% inside going through planning a route and then going out and navigating a course. With the Straits just over the road, this made it very easy to get some active time on the water.

We wrapped up the day in the Victoria, going over weather and setting a task for the following morning.

Andy & Colin joined us for the next 2 days and with a F4/5 Southerly, Borthwen Bay, Rhoscolyn was our destination. On arrival it was clear that we would get a moderate sea and some!!

Personal skills: We worked the bay, going over top tips and handy hints, running down wind, with skegs, no skegs, stern rudders and landing a group through surf.

The small channel just on the edge of the bay was ideal and channeling the swell, plus giving some shelter from the wind and we looked at position and maximum use, as a leader.

Deep water/assisted rescues, anchored tows and gully rescues, from the easy to the more complicated incident management. Before finishing the day with a variety of self rescues. The importance I felt was to ensure their was understanding about what was in remit for personal skills and as a leader of 3 star paddlers.

Sunday saw much lighter winds of F3 S. So after a brief planning discussion we were off to Cemais Bay on the north coast of Anglesey, with a plan to paddle to the brick works and back. I was also keen as a couple in the group had not experienced tidal flow above 2knots, to ensure they did!

Today was about journeying, navigation, appropriate route choice and positioning, so it split nicely into two sections each. Bearings while afloat, transits and we were soon out at Middle Mouse and a tricky piece of current close to W top end of the island and provide a super opportunity to consider various options.

It was a much warmer day to day and we saw a number of porpoises, love them and fulmars, doing their super gliding show.

Some eddy turns and then back to the coast to find hells mouth, for some lunch. Here I went through leaders kit and then on to the brick works were from here on each individual would get a scenario. We had a go at in line towing and then tandem and considering the roll of the leader. Swooping over we then looked at Rafted tandem towing and also assisted rafted.

The sun was attempting to brighten the day it had that spring feel to it. As we travelled back towards the bay as an informal group, each person had the opportunity to have a go at a contact tow (push and pull) and even a swim for some!!!

Back in the bay Gary was given an all in rescue to manage, which he did very well and then we had a short time to cover any items in particular before finishing. Colin kindly capsized so that I could demo a rescue of an incapacitated paddler and then it was time to load the trailer once more.

Back at Menai Bridge the Liverpool Arms, just a short walk away provided a warm venue to reflect on the course and importantly work through individual action plans.

Big thanks to all for their enthusiasm despite cold temperatures on Saturday, for getting stuck in and making it another super course!

roger chandler

www.coastalspirit.com

north wales sea kayaking

something different completed ... for now!

Some of Sonjas photos of her recent journey by bike from North to South Wales, via the coast due to snow and minus temperatures on the higher ground ...

Sleet and hail coming in ... :(

Aberdovey ...

A happy girl ...

Even closer to the coast, ice was a challenge on some sections of road!

Her trusty stead ...

The final destination for the moment ...and then a 12 hour train journey back!! A BIG well done and great use of time, with some cold but super bright sunny days.

Inter-mediate sea kayak course - keeping active over the Winter

As i watch the forecast go from a gentle blue sky f3 to a wet and windy f5-7, I was at least pleased it was our Inter-mediate sea kayaking course and its aim is to work in rougher conditions and assist people in becoming more self sufficient. Keith, Andy & Tracy were up for the Saturday and a run on the Straits from Y Felinheli to Caernarfon and back with the ebb, so some wind against tide action and then get the flood and use the wind to move back up. Its one of the great points of Anglesey sea kayaking, we can often avoid the worst and fine what we want, a lot of the time, despite the weather.

Good progress was made up against a f4 wind, which at times had some stronger gusts ...and at least it kept us warm!! Andy & Tracy above.

We took a break in the small harbour at the base of the castle, re fuelled out of the wind, before getting back on and pushing the last hour off the tide. Tracy looking on, with Keith in the background ..

Keith passing Caernarfon, with some good wind now on his back ;)

We were soon back to our starting point in about 1 hour, so with time to spare we paddle on to get another down wind 2k push and on towards the A55 bridge and the Swellies. We were a few days off Neaps and taking a few eddies and ferry glides added a new dimension to the day. We were soon back at the boat yard and carrying the sea kayaks back into the boat yard. Big thanks to Keith for driving me back to the van.

Sunday morning North Wales generally was looking much brighter and warmer and Anglesey, well its not known as sunshine island, for nothing! After some planning and a coffees, Trearddur Bay was the location with a paddle towards Rhoscolyn Head and back and with a winds NW f4/5 and then dropping to f4 and further decreasing as the day progressed. We would pick up on some good swell, left over from the previous days strong winds and some tide as we paddled out of the bay, making it interesting ...

Paddling towards Ravens point and beginning to pick up on the swell ... with the winds were f3, fantastic and some lovely Winter sunshine!

Doing a couple of across swell and down wind circuits before becoming more committed, to the next bay. Rhoscolyn head in the distance.

After a good ride towards the white arch, an adapted plan was discussed and we worked our way back, taking a short break in one of the small bays.

Heading back in after a super day out on the sea and comfort zones having been stretched and skills pushed that bit further, which often helps to underline what we need to do in other parts of our lives, so as to maximise the short time we have on the sea.

We headed to the Trearddur Bay hotel to reflect on the day and wrap up the course.

www.coastalspirit.com

sea kayaking anglesey

roger chandler

Something different continued ... St Davids - Pembroke

Just to update Sonja is now in St Davids Pembroke, having changed her plan back on Sunday when it was snowing and getting really cold South of Bala. She headed for the coast and reached Tywyn for the night. Making around a good 40 miles/70 k a day and a couple of scary moments South of Aberystwyth, with lorries going past, but other than that enjoying the blue skies and settled weather.

Days tend to be finished around 1500, mainly due to temperature beginning to drop and time taken to warm up again or a hostel is reached. Outline plan now is to reach Cardiff and either get a train or ideally a coach back up to Bangor.

Sorry no current photos, will upload when Sonja has finished ... ;-)