Week 10 update – GB Sea Kayak Circumnavigation

Since the first main expedition update 5 weeks ago, steady progress has been made up the west coast and along the north coast of Scotland, and the expedition is now heading south down the east coast toward the border with England.  There has been a major change in that since mid-june I have been paddling solo again, and will continue to do so for the duration of the expedition.

Week 6

For a few days at the end of May the winds restricted progress around the Mull of Galloway and the Mull of Kintyre.  These headlands are notoriously exposed to the winds and strong currents, meaning it was all the more important to approach them when conditions were not too rough.  Once up into the Sound of Jura, progress quickened with the shelter from the Inner and Outer Hebrides, coupled with a long period of high pressure; we were also joined by veteran trans-Atlantic rower Nat Spring who paddled with us for a few days before heading off to lead an expedition in South America.  Needless to say the passage through the sounds, with the amazing west-coast wildlife and scenery, was breath-taking.

Weeks 7 and 8

After the first week of June, the scheduled support driver was forced to withdraw, meaning that the expedition continued without the support van for two weeks.  Joe’s departure from the expedition at roughly the same time meant I was then paddling solo and without any dedicated land support, which increased the importance of making sure the coastguard always knew of my location and ETA.  Strong winds struck whilst on the Isle of Skye.  In total I was wind-bound for 5 days, though the support from the local community was tremendous – especially from those people who were themselves sea kayakers.  The reason for going around the west coast of Skye rather than straight up the east coast, despite the extra miles and the weather being typically rougher, was in order to complete a full circumnavigation – not just of the British mainland, but of all places to which it is posisble to drive.  Having previously cycled the length and breadth of Britain, from John O-Groats to Land’s End, and from east coast to west coast, my intention had always been to include Skye in the sea  kayak circumnavigation of Britain, becuase of the road bridge at the Kyle of Lochalsh.

After crossing back to the mainland from the northern tip of Skye, progress up the northwest coast was steady, if a little slow.  Mileage per day was still reasonable, though paddling solo and without the support van I took a much more cautious approach in order to avoid paddling late into the evenings, especially given the rather erratic weather conditions at the time.

Weeks 9 and 10

The support van returned whilst I was wind-bound in Kinlochbervie, which is the last town before Cape Wrath.  Once the winds eased off, there was only one day remaining before neap tides, and I’d wanted to pass through the Pentland Firth on neaps.  I then decided to paddle almost continuously for two days, with just 3 hours sleep at Armadale, and covered 92 miles from Kinlochbervie to John O’Groats, with the last few miles through Pentland Firth in thick fog.  After rounding Duncansby Head the following day, the long journey south began.

After a single day off in Wick to recover from the long hours over the previous 3 days, I headed south to Helmsdale before crossing the Moray Firth in a single hit.  General advice a few months ago whilst planning the trip had been to consider crossing the Moray Firth in two stages via Tarbat Ness, but conditions on the day were reasonable and having been stuck for a few days in bad weather in north-west Scotland I was behind schedule.  True, I was round Duncansby Head and heading down the east coast, but there were still 1500 miles to go, and the end of June was fast approaching, so I opted for the 8 hour crossing direct to Lossiemouth from Helmsdale.  Steady progress eastwards followed, around Rattray Head and then south past Peterhead and Aberdeen, before bad weather again hit at Montrose.

Words and Images Jame Bonell

I set off from Portrane beach on the 11th of June with fantastic weather and the company of a good friend David Lonergan.

David and I began paddling together about 10 years ago and it was great to have him there for my first day of the journey. We headed south and I set up camp for the night on Dalkey Island. I awoke the next morning to two fishermen offering me tea and muffins!! A few muffins and an hour of chat later I packed up and began paddling towards Bray and down along the coast to Wicklow town. Waiting here were two friends Fionn and Ciara. Hot shower, lovely dinner and most importantly a comfy bed were all well appreciated! On Friday after a week of heading South my compass started pointing west and I rounded Carnsore Point that afternoon. Next stop was Kilfarrasy beach in Waterford. I pulled up on the beach exhausted after a long day and was still sitting there in my Kayak when a couple came over to chat. As it turned out they were kayaking enthusiasts themselves. They offered to cook me dinner and drop it down to me on the beach, half an hour later they came back with their daughter and invited me back to their house for the night, another well appreciated bed!

After a good night sleep I headed back to the beach and met up with a friend, Bernie, who joined me for the day paddling. We paddled on to Ardmore where we were put up by Ronan O’Connor of Ardmore Adventures.

The next day Ronan surprised me with a spa day, a nice massage and a day of relaxation was just what was called for. Next day I had plenty of company for my day of paddling with Ronan, Bernie and Will joining me as we headed across Whitting bay and towards Cork. So far it’s been a fantastic trip and I’ve met some amazing people.

Baz Coscoran

How to prolong the summer paddling time as a European paddler? Right ,you go for the Mediterranian Sea in spring or autumn and enjoy the real summer at home. This spring we went for Corsica with a Cetus and a PE Capella.The scenery of the “ile beeaute” (island of beauty) is breathtaking. Mountains, caves, arches, stacks, buildings with history at every corner and an extreme clear blue sea….

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There’s nothing quite like waking up to a cup of well-brewed coffee while on expedition.  For me, it’s not a luxury, but a necessity for jump-starting my morning.  As with all my menu choices for sea kayaking trips, I try to strike a balance between ease of preparation, weight savings, minimal clean-up, and taste.

Since I’m a stickler for a good cup ‘o joe, I’ve tried just about every imaginable method for brewing coffee in the backcountry.   Here’s a quick run down on how to get the best possible caffeine fix on your next multi-day trip.

Click here to read how…

This proved to be a challenging 182 mile adventure over 8 days using an historic trading route linking urban life with rural and seafaring culture. Crossing northern England from the Irish Sea to the North Sea, the trip started in mid March at Crosby Beach at the Mouth of the Mersey Estuary. The team were interviewed and filmed for a BBC news programme before setting off into blustery conditions on a very choppy sea.

At Runcorn Jean, Glen, Liz and me, (Jim Krawiecki) spent the night on a narrowboat moored beside the Kayaks North West shop and P&H offices before heading for Manchester through the rolling Cheshire countryside along the picturesque Bridgwater Canal. Over the next few days there were dozens of locks to portage as the route followed the trans-Pennine trading route along the Rochdale Canal and the Calder navigations.

Amongst the hills and dark satanic mills of northern England, spring was springing and wildlife was abundant. The natives were friendly too.

A gang of boisterous lads wielding bottles of WKD became worryingly inquisitive of the kayaks and equipment. But the paddlers were soon released in hearty fashion once a sinful watering of grog was sunk and the continuing voyage duly toasted!

Reaching the Humber Estuary at Goole was a great relief. No more locks! But the next day provided a gut busting a 30 mile paddle dodging ferries at Hull before spending the night in a lighthouse with a shoal of fish, several cats and a mad artist. On the 8th day all that remained was an 18 mile paddle down tide to Spurn Head and a tremendous welcome ashore by the lifeboat crew that lives there.

The Kayak Coast 2 Coast team would like to express their thanks to Kayaks North West, P&H kayaks and Peak UK for their help with equipment for the trip. Thanks also to everyone who helped along the way, and helped to raise over £1600 for the RNLI Lifeboats via www.justgiving.com/kayakcoast2coast. We updated the Kayak Coast 2 Coast blog each day so that is worth a read but, there will be a more detailed trip report in a forthcoming issue of Canoe & Kayak UK magazine

Cape Farewell – The Southern Tip of Greenland

As explorers mapped the worlds Oceans and coastlines they discovered certain major headlands that were formed by countries and continents extending into great oceans. These headlands became known as ‘Capes’ and around the world there are a few that stand out – Cape Farewell is one of these. The southern tip of Greenland can be an inhospitable place and heading south into the Atlantic from it the next stop is Antarctica. This mass of water, frequent storms and ice have sculptured Cape Farewell into a formidable line of cliffs, mountains and turbulent reefs and skerries.

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After producing the award winning film Pacific Horizons in 2007, everyone kept asking “so what are you doing next?” This is always a difficult question to answer right after a big expedition, film project, or trip, but we had an idea brewing. Lise-Anne and I were keen to come east and document the maritime culture, great sea paddling and people of the east coast. So we started to brainstorm destinations and people to film. Everything from Florida to Newfoundland was on our radar and eventually we honed in on several key locations. With the gracious support of several sponsors and lots of logistics coordination, we had what we needed to hit the road and start filming our next adventure sea kayaking DVD. Eastern Horizons was born. Starting with a trip to Newfoundland to paddle with the icebergs, followed by a 2 month long road trip from North Carolina to Quebec, we were blown away by the hospitality, wildlife and scenery along the way. Here are a few details from the journey and information on the film to come!

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In late spring me and my friend Sebastian went for a trip along the German west coast. Our route was always changing between the chain of island in front of the coast and the inner wadden sea. We where quite lucky with the weatherкомпютри втора употреба except a three days period of thunder storms. Here are some pictures of that trip. My boat of choise was the Quest with it´s high volume for long touring and nice beahvior in more interesting waters.

Read more about that trip here: http://liquidmedicine.blogspot.com/

ore here: http://www.liquidmedicine.de/html_data/Touren_HTMs/seekajak_o/nordseekueste2007/Nordseekueste.htm

I drove with my two friends Cathrin and Carsten up to northern Norway. We spent 9 days paddling in a fascinating sea of mountais. A truely amazing place! The only paddlers we met where from Britain! Liz and Simon Willis…

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