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As winter comes upon us and many of us are spending less time on the water, and more time wrapped up inside, I’m offering a fantastic 25% off “This is the Sea 3” DVDs for a limited time. If you haven’t got a copy, or you want to get organised for Christmas and treat a friend… now is your chance.

The DVD is packed with over 2 hours of great films – including the award winning documentary of Andrew McAuley and friends on a challenging journey down the Antarctic Peninsula, exciting action from the mighty Falls of Lora tidal race, Greenland style rolling with Freya Hoffmeister & Cheri Perry & a feature on the legendary Paul Caffyn – and more!

It’s yours for just £15, or US $22.50 with free shipping. If you want to pay in Canadian dollars, Euros or another currency then you’ll be charged the equivalent bargain price.  You can pay via credit card or paypal. Happy Paddling!

For more information about “This is the Sea 3” click here.

“This is the Sea 3” £15

“This is the Sea 3” US$ 22.50

Preparations for attempting to kayak around Tierra del Fuego are in full swing. As part of that we are gathering together all the gear that we’ll take on the trip. We’ll take a lot of tried and tested kit and we’ve also approached a few companies about sponsorship. Today our first goodie bag arrived – or rather goodie box!

I was recently introduced to Nakd and Trek bars by Sarah Outen, who fueled up on them while rowing solo across the Indian Ocean. I was very impressed with their yummy taste and with the fact that they contain only natural ingredients. Not a single E number or artificial anything in there. While on a remote trip with limited access to fresh food, I always try to “feed my engine” with as much healthy and unprocessed food as possible so these bars will be ideal. They also contain up to 11grams of protein, great for sustained energy.

In the words of the founder, “Most bars are drenched in sugary syrups, heavily processed and low in protein. That isn’t a recipe for sustained energy, appetite control or good nutrition. Trek bars are different. They’re a precise balance of nourishing wholefoods cold-pressed together for energy and replenishment when you need it most. NOTHING BEATS NATURE”.

We’ll take as many bars as we can fit into our luggage and pockets with us to Tierra del Fuego but we might just have to test them out a bit first in Wales. Oh, and did you notice in the photo that one of the bars arrived half eaten. I’ll have to complain about that.

So far, Valley kayaks, Mitchell Blades, Lyon Equipment (UK distributors of Ortlieb, Aquapac, Exped, Julbo & Petzl), Icebreaker, Kokatat & Reed are also on board as sponsors so a mighty big thanks to all of them.

One big bit of gear that we are so far missing for our trip is a satellite phone. We’ll have to call the Chilean & Argentinean Prefectura every day (when we are in their country) to tell them where we are so we need a sat phone, and lots of 10p’s for phone calls. If anyone knows of a company who might sponsor us with a phone then please let us know.

Sarah Outen has written a blog about our week of kayak training in Menorca. She’s extremely flattering about me, so to avoid getting a big head, I am remembering that she’s keeping me sweet so I keep her alive! (although she’s a very capable kayaker herself!)

Last weekend we found a dead blue tit in our workshop which was very sad. He must have been trapped in there for a while but we didn’t hear or see him until it was too late. That same day we were paddling and Barry spotted a starling in the sea. Amazingly this bird was still alive – just. We took it to the nearest beach that was in the sun, tried to warm him up in our hands and then left him in a little bed of dead grass. Who knows whether he survived but I’d like to think so.

We went round “The Stacks” on Anglesey twice in 3 days & I was reminded that one thing I love about seakayaking is that the same place is never the same twice! It was rough and dark on Friday and we always seemed to be paddling into the wind! The tide was particularly low and paddling through an unusually narrow gap under South Stack bridge against the tide was quite tricky in swirly water. On Sunday morning the sun was out, the wind was down and we had a great clean surf in South Stack outer race. That afternoon the sun was engulfed in cloud and a bitter wind picked up – reminding us winter is definitely on it’s way.

Almost 3 years after taking on the wild surf and unpredictable weather of New Zealand’s South island, Barry and I feel ready for another challenging trip in a wild and beautiful area of the world. Neither of us have ever kayaked in South America before but we both feel a pull towards the narrow channels of Chilean Patagonia, where we can gaze up at ice-clad mountains and maybe watch glaciers carving into the sea. We recently became aware that there is an island down there at the tip of the world, about the size of Ireland, with a tantalising mix of history, culture, wildlife, natural beauty and challenging conditions. “Tierra del Fuego” is part Chilean and part Argentinian, part steep sided channels and part exposed coastline. It’s a place where you can get 4 seasons in one day and where the wind doesn’t rest for long.

As far as we know, no-one has kayaked around Tierra del Fuego before, although Argentinian paddlers Agustin Garcia Albarido, Luis Garcia Albarido & Diego Lamas kayaked down the exposed east coast of Tierra del Fuego earlier this year as part of their incredible cycling and kayaking trip down the entire coast of Argentina. Marcus Demuth & Biff Wruszek paddled 2/3 of the way around La Isla Grande last year before being storm-bound for about 12 days in a row. They were running low on food and time and were evacuated by helicopter. We don’t mind if anyone has, or does, kayak around before us but we are looking forward to visiting this incredible area that has the ability to bring me up in goosebumps at just the thought of it!

We plan to fly to Tierra del Fuego in early January 2011 and will allow 2 and a half months for the 1,000 mile journey. This might sound like a lot of time, but we know we will have to satisfy the Chilean & Argentinean Armada’s that we have the correct experience and equipment before we can set off, and we know we will be weather-bound a lot of the time, waiting for the incessant winds to abate enough to go paddling.

Our Valley Nordkapps are already on their way to Punta Arenas by container ship and we are busy trying to secure the various permissions we need to kayak in Argentinean and Chilean waters, orgainse our kit, study the charts and the pilot & read up about the area. As always with these trips, there are lots of people behind the scenes who are already offering us help and support. Despite the fact we’ve only told a few friends that we are going to TDF so far, I’ve had emails from several people I don’t know offering help and advice. In particular, thank you very much to Marcus Demuth for sending us his charts and for always being helpful with information and contacts. Thanks also to local paddlers Kiko from Punta Arenas, & Marcelo & Monica from Rio Grande for their invaluable help in our correspondence with the authorities.

There is a bit more information on my website.