Justine’s Blog

  • Cackle films on the Nautical Channel

    Haida_Gwaii_west_coastIf you have access to the Nautical Channel then you can switch over and watch some of our adventure documentaries . 7 sea kayaking and canoeing films have been packaged into a series called “Kayak Diaries”.

    They have been airing for a while now – here is the schedule.

    the Kayak Diaries will go on air every Sunday at 21.00 from the 5th of May. Please find below the first airing times.
     
    ANTARCTICA  05/05/2013
    HAIDA GWAII 12/05/2013
    ISLANDS OF FIRE 19/05/2013
    SOUTH ISLAND CIRCUMNAVIGATION 26/05/2013
    THE MOUNTAIN RIVER 02/06/2013
    RANNOCH MOOR 09/06/2013
    THE MOOSE RIVER 16/06/2013
     
    Below the runs of each show:
     
    Sundays 21.00
    Mondays 02.00, 08.00, 16.00
    Tuesdays 00.00, 09.00, 18.00
    Wednesdays 07.00, 15.00
    Thursdays 05.00, 11.00, 23.00
    Fridays 06.00, 14.00
    Saturdays  05.00, 15.00, 22.00
    Sundays 17.00

    If you don’t have the Nautical Channel then you can buy downloads of all these great films – and more – for as little as £1.99. Or you can buy the DVDs that they were published on – This is Canoeing – This is the Sea 4 and This is the Sea 3. These are available as DVDs or you can save money and buy the whole DVD package as a download.

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  • “Personalities Drive the Action” – ACKs ‘This is the Sea 5’ review

    TITS5_ Coastal_kayaker_review1

     

    TITS5_ Coastal_kayaker_review2This thorough review was published in Atlantic Coastal Kayaker. If you want to know more detail about what’s in the DVD then read on! If you haven’t seen it yet then you can buy the DVD – or download high definition versions of the films you like the look of. Individual films start at just £1.99 (approx. $3 or 2.50 Euros). The downloads are priced in UK £, but the films play in all regions on your computer or TV. If you prefer a DVD then click here for the UK/ Europe / Australia store – and here for the US/ Canada / South America / Japan store.

    And remember at the moment, we are giving away a free sea kayak keyring to people who buy 2 or more DVDs from the store.

    Happy paddling – or viewing – or both!

     

     

  • Free Kayak keyring with 2 DVDs

    Screen Shot 2013-08-11 at 13.59.08Kayaker and Ocean rower Marin Medak recently got in touch about a new keyring that he’s made that’s shaped like a kayak. Made of PVC and stainless steel wire, they are  9cm x 1cm – 3.5″ x 0.4″. They have great attention to detail, with decklines and hatches.

    You can check them out in his store here. Or we have 9 of them to give away to the next 9 people who buy 2 or more DVDs from our UK/ Europe / Australasia webstore.  Retailing at 6 Euros, it’s a great free gift for 9 lucky people!

    So look at our selection of kayaking DVDs in the store – we have 15 different ones to chose from.

    Thanks to Alan Drummond and Kingdom Outdoor Products, the US distributor of the Keyhob, we also have 5 of these unique keyrings to give away to the first 5 North American customers who order 2 or more DVDs from the Cackle TV Store. If that’s you – click HERE for the store.

  • Let’s go Surf-skiing now!

    justine_surski2

    Since filming a surf-ski section in ‘This is the Sea 5‘, I have wanted more! How can you not embrace the concept of downwind paddling!?  I love that after 17 years of paddling, I can still be a relative beginner at something and have a steep learning curve. And well – there’s not much that’s more fun than surfing.

    Although I’ve never been especially slow, my paddling technique could certainly be a lot better and I’m motivated to improve that, get faster and more efficient and catch more of those waves! Ultimately – for me it’s about setting myself a challenge and going on a journey and I’d like to do the Molokai race between 2 Hawaiian islands.

    justine_b4_surfskiraceNot many people have surf skis near to me in North Wales, so I decided to drive down to a race in Devon to meet a few advocates, have a go and see what it’s all about. I was really nervous about the race – even though I’ve only tried surf skiing about 5 times in Tarifa, I can’t help being competitive! Ivan Lawler (multiple world champion) of Ultimate Kayaks lent me an Epic V8. This ski has revolutionised surf skiing as it’s much more stable than the knife-edge skis that you see the best guys using – yet it’s still pretty speedy and catches waves. That competitive side of me wants to get good enough to use a faster, tippier ski but it was the perfect choice for me in my first race.

    justine-surfski1The course was a 17km downwind run from Combe Martin to Lynmouth. It’s a beautiful cliffy section of coastline, although you can probably tell from my gritted teeth in the photos that I was too focussed to take it in! I did respectably – about 2/3 of the way down the pack and I’ll definitely have another go. The next race is in Poole on 7th September  – skis can be rented from Ultimate Kayaks – maybe see you there!?


    You can check out the GB Ocean Ski website or facebook page. I ‘borrowed’ these photos from their facebook page (thanks) and there are  lots more photos and info on there. You can see how the good guys do it (and get a sense of the fun) if you buy the 11 minute surf ski film that I made as a download for just £2.99 here (with optional subtitles in French, Italian or Spanish). Or start by watching this film featuring Ivan Lawler for free!