Justine’s Blog

It’s been a windy week in Scotland and we’ve only paddled 2 days in the Oban area. We had a fun paddle around Seil island 2 days ago, and a battle into a really strong headwind yesterday at Craigneish which was strangely satisfying. It took us an hour and 10 minutes to go less than 4km around 2 islands, and about half an hour to surf back! Other than that we’ve been walking and catching up with friends. Tomorrow we’ll be at the Scottish Canoe Show in Perth.

“This is the Sea 4” is being well received. I’ve had loads of positive comments about the New Zealand and Queen Charlotte island expeditions, in particular. If you are still making your mind up whether to buy it, there are a few more reviews out to help you make up your mind!

In English,

http://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/forum/

http://southwestseakayaking.co.uk/

In French,

http://www.expemag.com

In Norwegian,

http://www.qajaq.no/article.asp?id=75

Phew! Finally all the DVD pre-orders are on their way to distributors, shops and individuals. They should be in stock everywhere by next week at the latest, so not long to wait now! I’ve also spotted the first brief review of the DVD. Read it here.

I celebrated last night with an evening paddle on the Menai Straits. It was a 10metre tide – the last big tide of the year – so Barry and I went to the standing wave that forms at ‘the Swellies’ on spring tides. It was great fun, with the only snag being that the wave only forms for an hour or so twice a day and it happened to be when it was dark!! I didn’t take any photos – sorry – but I did get capsized and have to roll in the dark! Funnily enough, it’s just the same as rolling in the daylight, except that it feels a bit scarier!

Tomorrow we head north, to the Edinburgh Film Festival where I’m talking on Sunday afternoon, then to the Scottish Canoe Show in Perth the following weekend. We’ll spend the week in between paddling in Scotland and catching up with a few friends. DVD orders will still go out, usually within 24 hours of them being ordered.

We’ve added a new date to the UK premiere tour. On Sunday 26th October we’ll be on the Wirral in NW England, where Barry is from, to show the hour long version of ‘This is the Sea 4’. The event will be held at the West Cheshire Sailing Club in Wallasey at 7pm. It’s presented by “Let’s Go Adventure” It’s free but you need to reserve a place by emailing info@letsgoadventure.org.uk Barry and I will be there to answer any questions at the end of the film. We’re also hoping that one of the bands whose music are featured in the DVD, Reckless Elbow, will be able to play a few songs.

We also have a venue confirmed for the San Diego event. It’s at Aqua Adventures at 1548 Quivira Way on Thursday 13th November. There will be live music and burgers starting at 5:30pm and the screening starting at 7pm. Jen Kleck, the owner of Aqua Adventures ( and one of the stars of ‘This is the Sea 4’), is providing burgers and beer.
PARLIAMENT HOUSE CAVE A FEW WEEKS AGO

THE DAY WE DIDN’T PADDLE! CARMEL HEAD! ( thanks to Jake for the photo)

The launch date for “This is the Sea 4” is getting closer and I’m getting more anxious as everything which could possibly go wrong seems to be happening. It’s OK, the DVDs will be ready before the launch date but it’s going to be tight. Without boring you with all the details, the things keeping me busy in the month since I finished editing include an international courier (UPS) losing a set of master DVDs ( which are still missing), and everything in the UK taking several days longer than I was promised. So if you live in Australasia or Canada or some parts of Europe then there may be a slight delay in you receiving your DVD which I apologize for. The DVDs should all be ready for shipping on Monday so we’ll have to cross our fingers that the postmen are speedy! Please be patient if your DVD is a few days late or your local shop doesn’t have it for a few days. It’s coming!

There are 2 changes to the premiere dates in North America.

Due to the American election being on 4th November, we’ve moved the premier on Orcas island to the evening before, Monday 3rd November. Contact BodyBoatBlade for details, or look on my website here and the details will be updated once they confirm the venue with me.

The San Francisco event has also changed dates and is now on Sunday 9th November. The location is the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company. The beer garden has been booked for 3 hours, between 6 & 9 pm. There will be a small charge for the event as the organisers have hired the venue. There is a paddle during the day which Barry and I will be attending. The plan is to end up back at Half Moon Bay, grab some food and then head to the Brewing company. Contact Golden Gate Kayaking for details

In the UK, there are 2 new premieres –
On Wednesday 29th October, I’ll be presenting the hour long version of the DVD at my excellent local kayaking shop Surflines in Llanberis at 7pm. Entry is free and we’ll all go for ‘pizza and a pint’ afterwards.

On Thursday 30th October I’m at Brookbank Canoes new big store at in Stockport (Manchester). I’ll be giving a short talk about the New Zealand cirumnavigation and presenting the hour long version. 7.30pm. Entry is free.

The photos are from a paddle with Shawna Franklin, Leon Somme, and Jeff Cochrane around ‘the Stacks’ a week or so ago. Shawna and Leon came to stay with us for a few days which was great fun!

CURIOUS SEAL AS WE LEFT THE SKERIES

I’ve been working pretty hard lately to get this DVD finished and although I’ve been paddling and walking and other activities, I haven’t been spending as much time doing them as I’d have liked. Although I’ve still got lots of things to organise, this weekend was a chance to forget about work and do some dedicated paddling! On Saturday Barry, Axel and I paddled around Holy island on Anglesey – a 22 mile paddle which involves kayaking through some of the best Anglesey races ( North Stack, South Stack and Penrhyn Mawr), aswell as weaving through a shallow estuary to the ‘inland sea’, and paddling underneath 2 narrow bridges where the tide pours in and then out of the inland sea. Despite paddling on Anglesey for years, it was the first time Axel and I had paddled around Holy island and it was great fun. It was windier than we’d expected which slowed us down at times but made it more fun. It was quite exciting to paddle under Four Mile Bridge with the current, and then we stopped for lunch for 2 hours at “Stanley embankment” to wait for the tide to stop pouring into the inland sea. Barry even swapped his seakayak for a playboat and had a surf.

ME ABOUT TO GO THROUGH FOUR MILE BRIDGE

Today was a beautiful sunny summers day and we decided to paddle to the Skerries, a wonderful offshore island with loads of seals and birds. Except we decide to make it a bit more interesting so we paddled there against the tide. We eddy-hopped from Cemlyn to Carmel Head and then ferry glided across to the island. A great weekend to remind me what it’s all about!

BARRY AT STANLEY EMBANKMENT

Thanks to Axel for the photos