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What a beautiful summery day on Sunday!

I fancied a visit to Penrhyn Mawr tidal race to try out the Gemini SP kayak but Barry was going to the Skerries with a group, which is always a lovely spot to visit when the sun is out. While weighing up the 2 options, it occurred to me that I didn’t have to chose! So Axel and I headed to Penrhyn Mawr for a surf, then about midday we turned and pointed North(ish) & headed out to the Skerries – hoping to be there in time for lunch.

We had a pleasant surprise in the carpark at Porthdafach – Marcus Demuth had come out of his hibernation  (well, he hasn’t exactly been sleeping as he’s been busy getting a masters degree & building a house, but he has been largely absent from the Welsh sea for quite some time)! So there Marcus was standing looking at the sea with his Nordkapp ready to go. All 3 of us set off into a bit of a swell & very little wind, hopeful for some fun at Penrhyn Mawr.

The waves could have been a little bigger but it was great to get out and surf. My first impressions of the Gemini SP are good – the kayak is incredibly manoeuvrable & really easy to turn on the waves. I would like to return in some larger waves as I think (and hope!) that the Gemini would really excel here.

After an hour of surfing Marcus returned to the beach & Axel and I decided to go to the Skerries. A chocolate bar provided an engine top up & we set off around the Stacks with a good amount of tide giving us a helpful push. Some playful waves in the outer race at South Stack distracted us from our mission for 5 minutes, but I think Axel’s tummy was rumbling so we soon turned around again and pointed at the red & white stripes on the little island in the distance!

As we set off, I was wondering whether I’d regret paddling almost 10 nautical miles in one of the shortest sea kayaks on the market & was telling myself it would be good fitness training!  Actually the Gemini SP didn’t feel slow at all. We made good time and arrived at the Skerries 1hour and 40 mins after leaving Penrhyn Mawr.

We joined Barry and quite a few other folks for a sociable lunch (Thanks for the jelly tots Steve & the flapjack Claire!). Once we’d refuelled we paddled around the island before heading back to Porthdafarch. We didn’t have much tide with us to start with but the flow gradually picked up. Once we thought we were safely past Holyhead harbour, a fast ferry appeared on the horizon, zooming back from Ireland. We soon realised it was going to pass much closer to North Stack than we had expected & we were directly in it’s path. We stopped (OK, so I back paddled a bit aswell!) & waited with the VHF at the ready in case they changed course at the last minute.

We landed at 5.30 after a brilliant day out!

I wore a heartrate monitor/ GPS for the trip. although the battery ran out just after we left for the return journey so the statistics for total distance etc are wrong – it was between 25-30 nautical miles by the time we got back. I think the track is still quite interesting though. (The route shows us getting back as far as South Stack because I revived the GPS for a few seconds here to see our speed).

Axel’s blog about the day (with more photos) can be seen here.

I’ve neglected my sparkly new Atlantic LV recently, in favour of the sleek & speedy Rapier. So I took my glittery green girl out to the Swellies wave during the big Spring tides we’ve just enjoyed. After quite a few hours in the racing boat, I wondered how I’d find jumping onto dynamic water & having to edge & manoeuvre a kayak without the Rapier’s rudder.

In fact, I had my best ever surfing session on the Swellies. It turns out that trying something different doesn’t make you forget your original ways. In fact, I felt like time in a different sort of boat has made me more aware of how the water, the kayak & I interact. Edging the playful Atlantic LV was delightful after trying to go fast and straight in the Rapier. Conversely, back in the Rapier on Wednesday night, I found myself better able to edge while using the rudder to get across eddy lines. I had previously not been sure whether to edge, or not, and how much, but somehow it felt like I got the right balance after a return to the Atlantic LV.

Kayaking is such a wonderfully versatile & diverse sport. There is always something new to try & something you can improve at. It’s sure keeping my attention.

I should mention that if anyone in the UK wants to try an Atlantic LV, or other Northshore & Valley boats – they are running a series of demo days around the UK – see the advert below (that I scanned from Ocean Paddler magazine – thanks Richard!)

For a few months, I’ve been joining a group of paddlers for the ‘evening sessions’ on the Menai Straits. On Monday’s and Wednesday’s we race each other around the bridge pillars, the house on the island or various other features. We usually set off staggered so that the fastest paddlers go last & have to try to catch the ones in front. I was really nervous the first time I went – probably in part because I didn’t want to be beaten! But I soon slotted into my place within the group & have been working on improving my technique, speed & stamina ever since. It’s fun to push myself & concentrate on a different aspect of kayaking. I enjoy it being on the tidal waters of the Straits because there is always some current to take into account, so tactics come into play. I also found it was a great way to get over my nerves of crossing intimidating eddylines in my Rapier 18. When I started racing, I somehow forgot to be nervous as my competitive nature took over and I powered through them! Now I feel pretty confident in the Rapier in choppy or tidal conditions. And very occasionally I get to beat John Willacy & Aled Williams across the finish line (if I conveniently forget that they started after me)!

I’ve got into it sufficiently to want to try wing paddles & tonight was the virgin outing for my new Epic small mid wing. The different shape felt a bit strange to start with but after 90 minutes I was enjoying using it & Aled thinks I was faster. I’m looking forward to using it more & working on rotation! If anyone lives near the Straits & fancies joining it, then come along on at 6.30pm on Mondays or Wednesdays.

I am in Copenhagen ‘on my way home’ after my first kayaking trip to Sweden. The location was the pretty small island of Tjaro in Eastern Sweden. 250 people took a short ferry ride or kayaked  over to attend the 3rd Tjarofestivalen. The 3 day event was organised by Outside & Paddling magazines in Sweden with local & guest coaches including Gordon Brown, 12 times world champion surf ski racer Oscar Chalupsky & Jon Turk, who just won ‘Expedition of the Year’ at the Canoe & Kayak Awards in the USA for his epic first circumnavigation of Ellesmere Island.

The event was well organised with delicious food & a big tent where everyone could gather. Smaller tents littered the island, with some people camped inches from the water on bare granite rocks – a sight that always reminds me of Scandinavia – although I’d only seen it in photos until now. There isn’t much tidal range here so there are no worries of suddenly finding yourself sleeping in the sea!

Jon, Oscar & I gave talks in the evenings & a band played on the Saturday night.

Thanks to Nicolai for lending me one of his Arrow Kayaks for the event – I enjoyed paddling the Play LV. Thanks to Ulrika for running a ‘girls session’ with me – hopefully we shared a few skills & brought a few smiles! I also really enjoyed having a go on an Epic surf ski & got a few tips from Oscar. It looked like I had a long way to go to get great technique!

If you want to read more about the festival, or see more photos, then click on this link. At the bottom of this blog is a list of about 10 different blogs with photos and descriptions of the event.