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BARRY AT SPRAY FALLS, PICTURED ROCKS
SARAH AT DEVILS ISLAND, APOSTLES
DAMON AT DEVILS ISLAND, APOSTLES

I’ve just got home to Wales after a fun week on Lake Superior. Barry and I were guests at the Grand Marais symposium, organised by Riverside Kayak Connection, which was a lot of fun. We spent a day before the event kayaking alongside the amazing Pictured Rocks – steep sandstone cliffs with a few fun caves to paddle into, through and under, with amazing multi-coloured stripes on the rocks where the different minerals have leached through. We paddled about 10 miles along the cliffs and then back. At the furthest point was Spray Falls, an amazing waterfall which cascaded off a sheer 40foot overhang, which we paddled under to get a powershower. Thanks to Sarah & Damon Smith and Danny Mungo for taking us, and to Kelly Blades for lending us some kayaks.
ME AND BARRY AT THE APOSTLES
DEVILS ISLAND CLIFFS
BARRY IN THE CAVERNS AT DEVIL’S ISLAND

We met lots of fun people at the symposium and gave a talk about our New Zealand trip on the Sat night. Then Tiffany and Pat from Riverside Kayak Connection drove us west to Lake Superiors Apostle islands for a couple of days paddling which we really enjoyed. Lake Superior is an amazing feature – it’s easy to forget you aren’t on the sea as its the worlds largest lake and it seems to go on forever – you certainly can’t see any land on the horizon. It was a nice change to paddle in freshwater without salt getting everywhere! The Apostle islands are a group of 21 sandstone islands in Wisconsin which is a great paddling destination with many options depending on the weather and time period. We headed out to Sand island and Devils island because they have fantastic sandstone caves, arches and caverns. There are loads of tiny little gaps that we could just squeeze through, and tunnels that we had to lean right back to travel through. We were grateful for a calm day so we could get in close. We camped overnight on Bear Island with Sarah, Damon and John before heading back via a couple of shipwrecks to Gail Green’s Living Adventures near Bayfield on the mainland. Gail and her husband Grant run seakayaking tours of the Apostle islands from here. It’s an impressive operation and thanks to them for putting us up for a night.

So now it’s back home and straight into editing ‘This is the Sea 4’. Well, OK, maybe I need to get a bit of sleep first but tomorrow I’ll be working hard to get the DVD finished by mid October. I’ll be updating the website soon with details of what you can look forward to seeing – and also writing a blog or two about the DVD in the next couple of weeks.

DOUG VAN DOREN HAS BEEN WORKING OUT FOR THE SYMPOSIUM
THE APOSTLE ISLANDS
ME FILMING A BALD EAGLE IN THE TREE TOP, APOSTLES

I’m in Scotland, filming the 3 Peaks yacht Race where teams sail from Barmouth in wales to Fort William in Scotland but stop off to send runners up the 3 highest peaks in Wales, England and Scotland. over 2 days in, I’m a bit sleep deprived having been on board one of the leading boats from Barmouth to Whitehaven, filming events as they unfold. We got almost 3 hours sleep at Caernarfon when the runners were racing up Snowdon, and very little last night as we filmed the lead yacht trying to leave and getting stuck on a sandbank at 1am, then really leaving (neck and neck with another boat) at 5am. Tonight, I’m at Crewhaven eating a pub meal before being taken on a boat in the middle of the night out to the Correvrekkan area where we hope to catch up with the lead boats in the early hours and get some shots of the battle for first place. I’m one of several camerapeople filming for “DreamTeam TV’ and the final programme will be shown on TransWorld sport.

Thanks to Arran Cartwright for the photo from the land.

BARRY AND I PADDLING THE DOUBLE TODAY

In June every year basking sharks are often seen feeding around the Isle of Man. These amazing creatures which can reach up to 12 metres long often feed on the surface with their dorsal fin and tail wiggling menacingly above the water. Thankfully they only eat plankton so there’s no fear of becoming dinner, just the exciting possibility of looking down upon one of these amazing creatures if they chose to swim up to your kayak. I’ve been hoping to get over to the Isle of Man to film them for a few years and finally on Monday evening, Barry and I flew over for a few days with our fingers crossed. Keirron, from Adventurous Experiences looked after us and tried his hardest to make us and the sharks meet but alas, it wasn’t to be this time. On the positive side, we had a lovely sunset paddle on Monday, and saw a lot of the beautiful west and south coasts on Tuesday as we walked the cliff paths, scouring the water for any sign of a black fin. Today was pretty windy, a force 6 SWerly was whipping the sea up so we decided there wasn’t much chance of spotting sharks and we’d just go for a fun paddle. Keirron took us to Port Erin and we surfed north to Peel Castle. Barry and I got to paddle the double which we paddled over to the Isle of Man from Anglesey about a year ago!

In a way, it’s good that the sharks are so unpredicatable and we can’t just plan to go and film them – after all the unexpected, untamable aspect is one thing I love about being out in nature….. but hopefully next time the sharks will give us just a little peak! “This is the Sea 4” needs you!
KEIRRON

KAYAK PLAY SESSION WITH KELLY BLADES

The Toronto MEC PaddleFest was a lot of fun with a few hundred people out on the water in canoes, kayaks, outriggers, dragon boats and everything inbetween. There was a really good atmosphere with loads of instructors teaching beginners through to more advanced strokes. My favourite session was kThe weather held out well until the last afternoon when a thunder storm and torrential rain had everyone off the water and running for cover. It didn’t dampen spirits and the final class of the day was back on the water briefly! Dubside was there impressing everyone with his rope gymnastics, slack lining and rolling, and I had the pleasure to meet some very talented canoeists including Karen Knight and Bob Foote doing an amazing freestyle routine which was like dancing on the water.

KAREN KNIGHT AND BOB FOOTE
Thanks a lot to MEC for inviting me to the event and to Dave, James and Erik at the Harbourfront Canoe & Kayak centre in Toronto for helping me out with various things including a pontoon boat and driver ( Erik!) for filming.
THUNDER STORM OVER TORONTO