Month: June 2013

East Coast Kayaking

On June 12, 2013

The East coast is alive with paddlers. Christopher Lockyer www.committed2thecore.com

Well it has been a busy spring for all the P&H team members. I have been fortunate to paddle in the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and the Bay of Fundy in the month of May.

South Island Sea Kayak Association http://www.siska.ca/

I had the pleasure to work with SISKA on a number of paddling sessions while I was in Victoria. It was great to have 30 plus enthusiastic paddlers out on the water during the sessions. I got to see some great paddling area, Baynes Channel, Trial Island and Race Rock area. Team Member Matt Nelson and I went out to Trial Island for a fun paddle.

Matt Nelson and I hit up Trial Island for a nice little paddle in Victoria area

Great bald eagle.

Trial Island Lighthouse

Pacific Paddle Symposium http://www.pacificpaddlingsymposium.ca/

Right after working with SISKA I was off to the Pacific Paddle Symposium. This is a new paddle symposium on Vancouver Island. It is the newest symposium for Paddle Canada. Janette and her crew sold this event out in a little over 12 days. The event took place at Pearson Collage. The area had so many options for an event like this. Race Rock one of the most exposed tide races on the Vancouver Island was going to be used by plenty of the session during the event. We had plenty of fun during the event. Friday was a coach update fun day, Saturday and Sunday were a mix of sessions on and off the water.

End of the day review

Matt Nelson taking it all in

Fun and games in boats

Instructor development day.

A talented coach and an up and comer for sure. I will be back on Vancouver Island in October and I can’t wait to see the pacific in Fall mode with a little more energy.

MEC Paddlefest Toronto and Halifax

MEC has been running Paddlefest for many years. It started in Toronto and has spread across the country. I was invited by Erik to take part in the Instructor development program that would run at Harbor Front on Friday. We had a great turnout of 20 or so Paddle Canada instructors. The aim was to share some new idea about SUP, Kayaking and Canoeing.

I was only able to attend day of of Paddlefest but it turned out to be a great day. Plenty of eager students and people walking around looking at gear and boats. The P&H crew was there Kelly Blades, David Johnson and Erik Ogaard. The event was very well organized. MEC Paddlefest will be in Halifax on June 16^th.

SUP portion of that instructor development day

CN Tower with David Johnson

Coastal Adventure Kayakers Meeting

After jumping on the plane at 8:00 pm in Toronto I got home repacked and headed down to Tangier Nova Scotia to take part in day two of the Coastal Adventures Kayakers meeting. After hearing the stories from Day one I was kind of glad to have missed the driving rains and winds they experienced. We spent the morning working on skills development and then heading out for a little rock hopping session in the afternoon. The swell was kicking up which provided a great deal of energy for us to play.

Watching the swell – photo by Ryan Brake

photo by Ryan Brake

Sea you out there

Christopher Lockyer – Committed 2 the core Sea Kayak coaching We need the sea because it teaches us.

Sea Kayak Expedition Gathering

By Jim Krawiecki

On June 11, 2013

In Trip Reports

Friday evening traffic was kind enough to allow me a jam free journey to the north Yorkshire coast for the Sea Kayak Expedition Gathering. On my arrival I was greeted with a hot meal and a beer (Always a good start). As night fell on Friday evening there were tall tales and ghost stories round the fire just to make sure we all slept soundly in our beds.

In the morning everyone split into different groups for workshops on trip planning, fishing and foraging for wild foods.

At lunchtime the organisers laid on a fantastic spread of food cooked freshly on the beach. Fried fish, malt loaf fritters and stewed fruit re-replenished our energy reserves for the afternoon incident management sessions. The local RNLI lifeboat crew from Staithes joined us to try different techniques for rescuing kayakers.

After dinner I showed pictures and footage from last years expedition to east Greenland finishing off with the film Gino’s Greenland. After that there were workshops on emergency boat repairs by Howard Jeffs and navigation & trip planning by Kim Bull.

Sunday was more about journeying with everyone splitting into smaller groups focusing on boat handling and navigation on the move. As we entered Staithes harbour we were once again treated to freshly prepared food before completing the final leg to finish in Runswick Bay.

Many thanks to Ang, Steve, Sophie and the rest of the crew at East Barnby Outdoor Education Centre for a terrific weekend. I’m already looking forward to the next one.

Aries 155 – Review by Olly Sanders

By P And H Sea Kayaks

On June 10, 2013

In Reviews

A review of the Aries after a years coaching and playing with Olly Sanders.

Coquet Island Race 2013

By Kate Duffus

On June 9, 2013

In Trip Reports

The sun shone as paddlers descended on the Braid country park in the Northumberland town of Amble. The race is a five mile route down the river, out through the harbour and round Coquet Island.

Here paddlers are assembling before the start. I’m the one in the dark boat in the far background. Conditions are about perfect and the seals and terns are ready and waiting to ambush us in the vicinity of the island.

This is where we went.

I couldn’t take pictures during the event, but this is the prizegiving afterwards. I won the women’s prize paddling my lovely lightweight carbon kevlar Cetus LV but I think I’m going to have to do a bit more training before next time as there wasn’t much gap between first and second.

Scottish Sea Kayak Symposium

By Kate Duffus

On June 1, 2013

In Trip Reports

Last weekend saw around 250 paddlers descend on the Sleat peninsula of Skye for the Scottish Sea Kayak Symposium. The weather was kind to us and it was good to see so many folks enjoying the sunshine, the coaching, guided trips and just general banter.

The first session I attended was on forward paddling technique.

Next was a session all about balance. Gordon Brown led us in a range of crazy stunts that had us soaking wet, but by the end of the session, very much more balanced in our boats. Here I am proving how stable a Cetus LV is.

And here’s Kevin trying out a Cetus HV.

And here’s me again, paddling SOT style.

Greenland rolling was a popular session with many people wanting to explore traditional skills.

This was a session on self rescues.

More rolling practice.

After the main event, there were four days of guided journeys. Rowland and I led this group on an otter spotting journey from Kyleakin towards Plockton and back. Sadly we didn’t see any otters but had fantastic views across to the distant Cuillin.

Found an adder lurking in the grass of an abandonned village.

Always a magic moment when an otter sits still long enough to take a photo.

On Thursday, Rob and I led a group on a journey from Elgol into Coruisk and then round the island of Soay before returning to Elgol. The scenary was stunning and the weather couldn’t have been better.

This was a great chance to put my new Cetus LV through its paces and I’m pleased to say it paddles just as well as it looks.