Author: Justine

Yesterday I paddled to the Skerries with Barry & Nick Cunliffe. It was an exciting ferryglide against the tide, with the wind behind us. Great for getting over jet lag! The return journey was even more exciting as the tide was in mid-flow and there were definitely a few breaking waves that we tried to avoid.

Today I am back at my desk catching up with paperwork. If you are in North Wales, don’t forget there is a free screening of “This is Canoeing” tonight at 7.30pm at Surflines. 

You can see a condensed version of the DVD – an hour of the best stuff. Nick Cunliffe & Matt Giblin will also be showing a couple of chapters from their new kayaking DVD, Kayak Essentials.

Bring a friend and a beer?

What a busy few days! Canoecopia followed by a paddle on Lake Michigan & a flight home yesterday. It was fun to paddle alongside downtown Chicago with Alec Bloyd Peshkin, Bonnie Perry & Paul. It was a bit chilly at the start so we played a spot of frisbee to warm up. Once on the water the air temperature wasn’t too cold but the water was pretty icy! I evolved a paddling style which kept my hands away from the waves as much as possible! We explored Lake Michigan’s ‘caves’ (under the pier), and did some ‘rock hopping’ (alongside the harbour walls). It was amazing how the sound of traffic and the city faded away just a few hundred metres away from the shore & if you looked away from thebuildings, you could have been anywhere. The fresh breeze helped with that.

When we got back from the paddle, Alec & Paul did a roll in the Lake. Brrrr – rather them than me!

I got home yesterday morning and managed to stay awake all day to try to fight jet lag. I even did some work. Thanks to Alec for some of the pictures. Check out the BP blog for more.

 What did I do today? Went kayaking!!

 I’m in a kind of daze from 3 busy days at Canoecopia, the biggest canoe & kayak trade show in North America with around 20,000 people usually coming through the doors, excited about the start of the paddling season, wanting to spend hard earned cash on new goodies and to listen to a range of inspirational and instructional speakers. Saturday was madly hectic – good for business I’m sure, and good for catching up with people. Of course, I kept forgetting to get my camera out so here are a couple of photos from about 30mins before it closed, & some of the Kokatat crew 30 mins after it closed! I’m pretty tired so won’t write much now – I’ll just say I enjoyed seeing friends again, meeting new people & listening to some of the other speakers at the show. It’s an amazing gathering of talented and interesting people. Thanks to Darren Bush & his family for hosting me and thanks to everyone who came to one of my presentations, and/ or bought a DVD. There was a big pile of “This is Canoeing” DVDs on Friday and there weren’t many left in the pile at the end of Sunday so that’s also a great thing.

I’m staying with the Bloyd-Peskhins near Chicago again tonight ( thanks to Tom Bamonte for the lift back), and we’re going paddling on Lake Michigan tomorrow, before my 5.30pm international flight! Nothing like packing it all in!! Should be fun.

“This is Canoeing” is coming to a place near you …. if you live near Madison in Wisconsin, Llanberis, Queensferry or London anyway.

Today I’m putting together last minute preparations for my presentation about ‘behind the scenes of “This Canoeing”‘ at the huge trade show that is Canoecopia, which takes place in Madison this weekend. I fly to Chicago tomorrow and will stay with the lovely Boyd Peshkin family  overnight, before we all head up to Canoecopia on Friday morning. 

On Friday & Saturday I’m giving a presentation about my circumnavigation of the South island of New Zealand by seakayak. On Saturday night I’ll present the premiere of ‘This is Canoeing’ at the High Noon Saloon, the same place I launched ‘This is the Sea 3″ three years ago. It’s a lively bar and there is a DJ afterwards.

For those people who would rather snuggle up in bed with a cup of coccoa on Saturday night, there’s another chance to see clips from the film on Sunday when I am giving 2 presentations about the making of “This is Canoeing” (fortunately the first one is at 11.30 am so I shouldn’t be too bleery eyed!). I’ll show slightly different footage from on Saturday night, but there will be some overlap, and I’ll talk a bit about what filming kit and tricks I used to get the shots.

I’ll be at Canoecopia all weekend, no doubt rushing around with my laptop to the various venues, catching up with friends, seeing what new gear is available and mingling so if you want to ask me anything then you should be able to find me! One of the sponsors of “This is Canoeing”, Kokatat are also one of the sponsors of Canoecopia, and I’ll be at their stand a couple of times to sign copies of “This is Canoeing”, or the “This is the Sea” DVDs, all of which will be available for sale at Canoecopia with their regular discount.

I fly home on Monday, hopefully after a nice paddle with the Boyd Peshkins. Then on Thursday 18th March, Barry & I will be at Surflines, our local kayak shop in Llanberis to present an hour of footage from “This is Canoeing”. Nick Cunliffe & Matt Giblin will also be there presenting an extract from their new instructional DVD, Kayak Essentials.  

On Tuesday 23rd March, I’ll be present a showing of “This is Canoeing” DVD at Let’s Go Outdoor Adventure Centre at the National Waterways Museum, South Pier Road, Ellesmere Port. Doors open 7.30pm, film showing 8pm.

On Thursday 25th March, I’m venturing to the big city for my first ever talk in London! The event will be held at Brookbank London and I’ll have more details next week.

You can keep up to date with any events that I’m attending on the Events page on my website.