Author: Justine

Valley seakayaks are making a new kayak & Barry and I have been lucky enough to try out their first prototype.

The idea behind the new kayak is to “introduce a new strain of DNA into the Valley range, one that is a little more contemporary both in style and paddling feel”. While I can think of a lot of very experienced paddlers who would never be seen in anything other than their trusty Nordkapp, there are other people who don’t get along with the Nordkapp. This new kayak aims to provide an alternative “contemporary sea kayak suitable for expedition style paddling whilst still fun and nimble enough for day and weekend work”. If you want to hear more about it in Valley’s words then visit their website here.

So what’s it like? Barry’s taken the kayak out 4 times and I’ve taken it out 3 times. We tried it on flat calm water, in chop, in a moderate tidal race and in a force 3/4 wind. Our initial thoughts are very positive – the kayak is a good length, it feels very stable & it seems to surf well. The cockpit shape has been changed so that there are pocket for your knees and thighs which is an improvement for me. The first prototype felt a little big for both Barry and I but we are at the bottom of the size range it’s aimed for.

We (and the other testers) have passed on our feedback to Pete Orton, the designer at Valley and he is already working on the 2nd prototype. I’m excited to try it! Watch this space, we’ll let you know what we think!

I paddle on Anglesey most weeks and love it’s beautiful coastline. However I’ve noticed that the amount of plastic rubbish floating in the sea seems to be increasing – unless I’m more observant as I get older!?

A few months ago we saw a razor bill on the sea struggling to take off and noticed it had got wrapped up in a piece of string from a balloon. Barry managed to remove the string from underneath it’s wings. There was a bit of blood but hopefully he recovered and was able to take off eventually. I’ve always removed bits and pieces of trash from the sea and beaches, but since then I’ve started to stop and remove any pieces of plastic that I see floating in the sea – usually a few pieces every time I go out. A month ago I picked up a plastic canoe barrel, completely in tact – all I need is a new lid and a canoe adventure.

Last weekend Barry and I took this a bit further and we filled our back hatch with a small number of the plastic bottles that have washed up in the back of Parliament House Cave under North Stack. I wonder how many visits it will take to bring them all back and put them in our recycling bin?

Fighting a losing battle? Perhaps, but if everyone collected a hatch full of rubbish every now and again then our oceans would be a nicer and less hazardous place for wildlife.

I love the sea. I love her ever changing moods, that salty taste to the air, the  freshness of the breeze & the excitement of bouncing up and down on the waves.

This weekend I had the pleasure of meeting another woman who shares that passion for the salty oceans, although her preferred method of traveling on it is usually by rowing boat. In fact Sarah Outen has got a few world records under her belt having become the only woman and the youngest person to row across the Indian Ocean last year.

You’d have thought that she might be happy to hang up her oars after that remarkable feat but instead she’s decided to up the ante and circle the globe using nothing but “Sarah power”. Next April she’ll start out from London, kayak down the Thames and across the Channel before picking up her bike and cycling all the way to far East Russia! She’ll kayak and cycle to Sakhalin island and Japan & overwinter in Japan before rowing the Pacific to America or Canada. She’ll bike and kayak across North America before rowing across the North Atlantic back home.  Phew – what an adventure!

Sarah has done a fair bit of kayaking before  but she’s asked me to join her on some of the paddling sections (across the Channel to France, and from Russia to Sakhalin, then from Shakalin to Japan), plus we are heading to Menorca in October to try to circumnavigate it as part of her training. As you can imagine, I didn’t take much persuading! Today she came up to Wales and we went on a paddle to Rhoscolyn.

Sarah is seeking sponsors to help fund the expedition & provide equipment. Ernst & Young, Rockpool kayaks, Aquapac and many others are already on board supporting this exciting journey.  Check out Sarah’s website for more info.

I realised yesterday that I have a great responsibility. We phoned our great friends Shawna & Leon of “Body Boat Blade” on Orcas island and Leon told me off for not updating my blog recently. Leon is a bit computer-phobic, much preferring kayaks to big screens but he told me that he does read my blog and it’s one of the few ways he has of seeing what other kayakers are doing out there! So Leon, this one’s for you! xx

I’ve been playing around with the Go Pro Hero camera on my seakayak and am pleased with the results so far. I’m getting used to the camera but think it has great potential and the quality of the video is fantastic ( when you can get the drops off the lens)! More about that in a future blog.

So here’s a round up of recent news and events….

I just received my copy of the new Pesda Press guide book to paddling in the Scottish Outer Hebrides. It’s a beautiful book with gorgeous photos and dozens of suggestions for paddles in the wild islands. I’ve been there twice and I’ll definitely go back as it’s a sparsely populated and beautiful area, with many islands making it perfect for seakayaking. And I still haven’t been to St Kilda, something which I’ll have to fix. You can buy the book here.

You can hear a podcast from the authors talking about the Outer Hebrides book on Simon Willis’ podcast website. My favourite line from the podcast  is ‘there are only 3 “Outer” places in the world – Outer Mongolia, Outer Hebrides and Outer Space, so it is ‘out there’!

There is also the first of 2 podcasts with Marcus Demuth talking about his recent circumnavigation of Britain.

Barry and I will be going to Sicily in October for the 2nd international Vulcano symposium. We went last year and had such a good time that we’ve accepted another invite to return. To be honest, although we were ‘working’ it felt like a holiday. The emphasis is more on recreation, relaxation and definitely on FOOD and wine. And the location is beautiful – warm turquoise waters, volcanic islands and the symposium is followed by a 4-day tour around some of the islands…. need I say more. If you fancy combining a fun, friendly holiday with some seakayaking then come along! Click here to find out more and see a video from last year.

Unfortunately the Sicily symposium is at the same time as the Welsh open canoe symposium so I won’t be able to go to that, but I’m sure it will be a fantastic event for those people who can make it. I had a great time at the Scottish canoe symposium last year. Details are here.

Canoe & Kayak magazine are holding their first readers choice awards this year. You can vote for the padder/ expedition/ boat  and FILM of the year. If you enjoyed “This is Canoeing” then please vote for it in the survey. The link is here.

So Leon, I hope you enjoyed your snippets of news! what… you’ve gone paddling for 5 days… how dare you?