Justine’s Blog

“WOW!” is the best way I can describe Stromboli! I was excited to see this active volcano and that it erupts roughly every 10 minutes but what I saw blew all of my expectations out of the water ( or more literally, ‘into the air’)!

Climbing 900 metres up to the top of Stromboli was the highlight of a 4-day tour of Sicily’s Aeolian islands. This really is a beautiful paddling destination with incredible rock formations, warm clear water and easy access to great food. You can camp on the beach or at campsites, or you can stay in hotels. But for me the thing that really makes these islands special is the volcanic activity. As Francesco Petralia, the symposium organiser put it, “the islands are alive”! Stromboli is the only continually active volcano in Europe –  reliably giving a loud, gassy eruption.

We started the tour in Vulcano, crossed 2km to Lipari and paddled most of the way around Lipari, the main island in the group, stopping at the old pumice mines. The next day we crossed 10 miles to Panarea, where bubbles shoot up from a rift in the seafloor. The next day we paddled 14 miles to the port at Stromboli. The sea was mirror calm in the morning and a slight headwind developed later. After a brief rest and a bit of carbo-loading we headed 920metres up the volcano to get a view of the erruptions. We left about 4.30pm and arrived at the summit just as it was getting dark. The first indication we got of the eruptions was the noise. Every 10-15 minutes we heard the rumble of thunder and suddenly when we got near the top we could see what looked like the top of a gigantic red firework shooting upfrom the crater below. We climbed to the top of the ridge and could look down on 2 red glowing areas which were fizzing and spurting, shooting out small amounts of red-hot lava. Francesco explained that the pressure of gas in the molten rock is continually building up and every quarter of an hour it builds up enough that it’s released in a gigantic explosion, like a champagne bottle popping it’s cork. When we saw the full explosion, it was incredible. Red fire must have shot up over 200 metres into the air. I thoroughly recommend the hike up the hill to experience this. In fact, I recommend the Vulcano symposium and 4-day tour of the islands. It’s a lovely way to spend time in an amazing paddling destination. The symposium and tour will be happening again next October – see the website here.

Good luck to Roger and Sonja from “Coastal Spirit“, who were working at the symposium and are now planning to circumnavigate Sicily, starting next week. And if you want to learn to roll, or to develop new rolls, I can recommend doing a course with Cheri & Turner from KayakWays, who Barry and I enjoyed hanging out with again this week.

Having a great time at the MAREMOTU seakayaking symposium on Sicily’s Aeolian islands. How can you go wrong with a setting like this! This is the view from the top of the active crater on ‘Vulcano’ island. Barry and I have run sessions on ‘fun and balance’ and ‘rock gardening’ but the emphasis here is really on fun and relaxation with some learning and kayaking thrown in. oh, and did I mention eating and enjoying a few drinks. Cheri Perry and Turner Wilson are here teaching rolling and it’s been great to hang out with them. Also Roger and Sonja from ‘Coastal spirit‘, a seakayaking company 5 minutes down the road from us in Wales. It’s great to see more of them than we usually do, despite living so close. Roger has been running BCU 4 star and 3 star courses.

now we are going on a tour of the islands for 4 days, aiming to end up on Stromboli, the other active volcano in the archipelago. It emits lava regularly and we’ll climb up the volcano in the evening to see the red lava being spat out at night. There was a kayak race yesterday – barry and I competed covering the 3.6 miles in under 45mins – I forget the exact times but Barry came 3rd ( after 2 people in epic 18 racing kayaks) and I came 4th so we were pleased.

better go and get my breakfast before packing my kayak for the tour!

The latest review of “This is Canoeing” is published in Hong Kong! Here is X-Life magazine‘s take on it! I’m sure it’s all good and it certainly looks pretty! And they spelt my name right, which is more than some ‘English’ magazines do!

The DVD was also reviewed recently by Australian magazine, “Outer Edge“, which I find easier to understand! I particularly like the last line, “If it doesn’t leave you wanting to hollow out a log and set off into the wilderness, there’s something dead in your head“!

“This is Canoeing” and all Cackle TV DVDs are available from the Cackle TV store. I don’t think  they are on sale in Hong Kong but in Australia, they are also available from “Expedition Kayaks“.

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!