Blog

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?

So no-one makes an open canoeing DVD for years and suddenly there are 2 produced within 4 months of each other!

If you are reading my blog then hopefully you are familiar with my DVD “This is Canoeing” which came out in March.  If not click here!

You may also be aware that the people who make “Lunch Video magazine” in the States have also made a canoeing film called “The Canoe Movie” which came out last month. I don’t think the DVD is very widely available outside of North America so I am selling a limited number in my UK/ Europe /Australisia store. The price is £19.99 with free shipping so if you don’t need any  more convincing then click here to buy it now!

If you want to know  more about the DVD then it’s plugged as a look into the passion and pride that is the whitewater canoeing community, paying homage to some of the original innovators in the sport, and giving recognition to the passionate ones who live for it today. Not to mention, some of the best imagery and largest rapids run in canoes, ever! From the “Ain’t Louie Fest” in March 2010 with the 100+ people from across North America, to the waterfalls of the Rio de Oro in Mexico, this film taps into the pulse of the whitewater open boat spirit and will undoubtedly leave you with a longing to pick up a t-grip and leave your skirt at home.

I’ve watched the 35 minute film and the 35 minutes of extras and enjoyed the insight into some of the pioneers of whitewater canoeing with engaging interviews with some of the key characters. My favourite bits were the whitewater action sections with some very impressive rapids being run, including class 5 rapids in a double canoe. There is also great footage of running beautiful and scary looking waterfalls in Mexico – there are some really jaw-dropping drops there. Eli Helbert, Dooley Tombras and friends have got some guts!

So if you want to check it out, watch the trailer and/or buy a copy of the DVD, while stocks last.

I enjoyed discovering ski touring ( back country skiing) last winter. My friend Mike Austin is half way through his training to become a ski guide and he kept me safe on a multi-day trip in the Ortler Alps. In return, I recently helped him to make a short film about his passion for skiing, which will hopefully help him to win an award towards his guide training. I didn’t film that much on my ski trips but there are some of my shots in the film.

On a separate note, it’s the last day of the special offer in the Cackle TV store – buy 1 DVD and get one half price. Any 2 DVDs for £30 or $45. Visit our webshop and scroll down to the offer.

Click here to go to the UK/ Europe/ Australasia store. Click here to go to the US/ Canada/ Japan store.

On  Sunday we paddled to & around Puffin island. The seals were as friendly as usual – this one spent about a minute howling at my stern toggle. I don’t know if she was frustrated by the toggle on the ‘Atlantic LV’ being on top of the kayak, rather than dangling down like on most kayaks. I enjoyed the attention, whatever the reason. Another seal ( or perhaps the same one) took a real interest in my paddle – maybe she liked the colour blue?

We also saw 5 puffins so hopefully they are making a comeback on the island since the rats were exterminated. And 2 black guillemots which we don’t see very often around this way.