Tag: Sea Kayak

Sea Kayak Sailing – Enhancing The Seafaring Experience

On July 24, 2016

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South Pembrokeshire

West Coast of Ireland

Sea kayaks enable their users to explore and play on life-affirming journeys. Part of the challenge is to safely utilise the currents, swell and winds. The direct energy of the wind has been largely unused by most modern sea kayakers. In recent decades sailing rigs have become far more manageable to use on sea kayaks and their distribution/availability outside of Australia and New Zealand is only now becoming a reality. This exciting development is opening up brand new sea kayaking opportunities and challenges for all. From downwind coastal runs to traversing huge exposed island chains, like the Aleutians, sea kayak sailing is putting bigger smiles on people’s faces and aiding in epic journeys.

Tropical beach on Caldey Island

Windy day at Cadnant Bay Menai Straits

History

Kayak sailing was invented in 1865 when John “Rob Roy” MacGregor designed and built a sailing kayak for his 1,000 mile journey along the inland waterways of Europe. Those early Rob Roy Kayaks subsequently evolved into the huge variety of kayak types that we know today. Sail equipped kayaks remained popular into the 1930s. In 1934, Alastair Dunnett and Seumas Adam (“The Canoe Boys”) used their sail equipped Lochaber kayaks on an impressive and pioneering journey to explore the west coast of Scotland.

Kayak sailing also became popular in continental Europe during the 1920s and 1930s. In 1928 Franz Romer kayak sailed across the Atlantic from Lisbon to Puerto Rico. He attempted to continue his journey onwards to New York but went missing, presumably killed, in a hurricane. Oskar Speck’s similarly epic seven year kayak sailing trip from Germany to Australia should have been widely celebrated as an amazing achievement. However, arriving at his destination in September 1939 he was interned for the duration of the Second World War.

Kayak sailing subsequently went out of fashion in Europe. Towards the end of the twentieth century sails were beginning to be developed for use on modern sea kayaks by Australia and New Zealand-based kayakers. Sea kayak sailing is now commonplace in these countries and is beginning to take hold in Europe and North America.

Skerries Lighthouse, Anglesey

Surfing in Ireland

Surfing near Stackpole

Why sea kayak sail?

Speed/endurance/fun

Maintaining the top displacement hull speed is easier when sea kayak sailing. It is also much easier to get your kayak planing in swell and tidal rapids. This is particularly useful when attempting to catch less steep waves. In essence you will catch more waves, considerably increasing your speed and range. Average speeds of 7 knots with planing top speed runs in excess of 10 knots are not unusual in conditions where it would be considerably more difficult for conventional sea kayaks to plane and maintain average speeds of more than 3-4 knots.

When the waves become too steep it is best to stow the sail away as it will no longer enhance the experience and will, most likely, become a liability.

Enhanced safety

The sail appears triangular and conspicuous from afar and/or in overhead rolling swell.

The exposure of paddling along coastlines with less frequent safe landings is reduced if the wind and sail combine to add to the kayaks propulsion.

Caldey Island tiderace

Getting into sea kayak sailing

Equipment

The main airfoil sail available in Europe is the Flat Earth Kayak Sails range of airfoils. They are designed and manufactured in Australia by Mick MacRobb. Other airfoil sails are being manufactured for sea kayaks but they are far less common in Europe.

Sea kayak manufacturers

Many composite sea kayaks will need strengthening in order to accommodate a sail mast. You can assess this by pressing down on the deck near the compass recess and gauging whether there is much flexibility in the deck and hull. Most kayak companies will strengthen your kayak by special order. Plastic kayaks tend to be more robust in taking a sail mast.

Since 2012, P&H kayaks have produced all of their composite kayaks with enough strength to accommodate a sail mast. Their plastic Scorpio MKII range of sea kayaks has been designed with sailing in mind. It easily accommodates a Flat Earth Sail and handles superbly well when sailed.

Have a go/purchase

Scotland – Karitec are the main UK distributor of Flat Earth Kayak Sails and have a range of demo boats to try out under sail.

http://www.karitek.co.uk/

England – P&H have demo kayaks fitted with sails and attend many sea kayak symposiums.

http://www.phseakayaks.com/

Wales – Sea Kayaking Wales (SKW) are based on Anglesey and have a range of P&H sea kayaks and Flat Earth Kayak Sails to try out. SKW also run sea kayaking (including sailing) courses in Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire, Llŷn and the Gower. Flat Earth Sails are available to purchase from SKW.

https://seakayakingwales.com/

More Information

http://seakayakphoto.blogspot.co.uk/ – An excellent blog written by, Douglas Wilcox, one of the most enthusiastic proponents of sea kayak sailing in Europe.

http://www.flatearthkayaksails.com/ – The most popular airfoil sail in the UK at present.

Tenby

Geth

www.seakayakingwales.com

Handa Island – New boat, custom colours and perfect light.

By Doug Cooper

On April 14, 2016

In Reviews, Trip Reports

The Cetus MV was, yet again, my boat of choice to meet all my coaching and personal paddling needs for this year.; whether it is introducing aspiring sea kayakers on sheltered waters, running 5 Star courses in the Pentland Firth, away on expeditions around Scotland’s amazing coastline or playing out at the Grey Dogs, for me, it just does it all. It also gives me a real stable platform for on-the-water-photography when doing my books, articles and sponsors’ photos; with an expensive SLR digital camera in my hand, and the opportunity to capture that ‘perfect front cover picture’, that’s pretty important!
So, when my latest Cetus MV arrived the other week, as always I was excited to get it out on the water, but this boat was just that little ‘more’ special; PeakUK have updated the colours on their sea range of kit this year, and knowing this, it seemed rude not to have a boat to match! With some helpful collaboration between PeakUK and P&H, the colours were matched and that allowed P&H to do their ‘magic’ in customising the perfect boat for me! As you would expect, they really went to town on it and not only was the boat colour matched, but all the trimmings (decklines and bungees) as well – brilliant!!

With the perfect boat from P&H and the awesome kit from PeakUK, a suitably spectacular venue was required for its first outing, along with some great light to get the photos to show it off; the North West Highlands of Scotland were the destination and the amazing Island of Handa was the prime spot to visit. If you’ve not been to Handa yet – go… It offers towering cliffs, caves and arches aplenty, along with the enormous ‘Great Stack’ of Handa. All this is guarded by thousands of sea birds, with the raw force of the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the relative shelter and beaches of the Sound of Handa on the other. It’s easily accessible to paddle around, yet once there you will feel on the edge of the world in a very exposed way!

So, with some careful weather watching, some great evening light was found to paddle around Handa Island and ‘wet the hull’ of my rather unique boat – may she see many more such great trips in the months to come… thanks to all the P&H team for making her so brilliant!!

The North Sea Crossing

By P&H Custom Sea Kayaks

On August 17, 2015

In Expeditions, Trip Reports

I have dreamed. I have prepared. I have trained hard. I have crossed the Southern part of the North Sea by sea kayak on the 30th and 31st of July 2015; man powered and alone, no support or pilot vessel, no support whatsoever. I have paddled during day and night. I’ve been exhausted, excited and happy, all at the same time.

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This is my story.
I have had this dream to cross the North Sea for years, and finally the weather conditions were perfect; so I planned, made calculations to counter the tide and prepared myself mentally.

The crossing!
On Thursday 30th of July I said my goodbyes to my family. Right before starting I sent a message to both the Belgian and British Coast Guard to inform them of my plans and estimated route. At 21:30 hours sharp I sat in my sea kayak and paddled to open sea. I waved to my family one last time when passing the pier. I was lucky, after sunset I still had some light due to a full moon; the downside was the current, a full moon means spring tide! Up until I reached the Trapegeer buoy I had the tidal stream in my favour, after that point (fully calculated in advance) I had to paddle 6 hours against a strong tide. At 04:48 hours I arrived at the DY1 buoy; it was slack at that point, but the tidal current should change direction soon. I had radio contact one last time with Marc, the friendly radio operator from the Belgian Coast Guard (Ostend Radio) to give him my current position and state. He was in close contact with Sylvie (my wife and support team) to keep her informed. After that point I was on my own until I was in range of the British Coast Guard. I paddled on, with the current in my favour this time, to the Ruytingen SW and Ruytingen NW buoys. In the meantime the sun was rising which made the crossing of the international fairway a bit easier. According to the Coast Guard almost 500 sea ships are passing through that lane every single day; I had to keep watch in order to stay as far away from those big ships as possible. I doubted that they would even spot me!

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I paddled as hard as I could, having a strong tidal current on the my side. I managed to get over the shipping lane, along the buoys Sandettie WSW to the South Falls without troubles. I only spotted 4 big sea ships but I passed them at a distance, and after that I changed my course and diverged from my planned route to a secondary planned route in order to counter the very strong tidal current that was pushing very hard from my right. Eventually I arrived at the East Goodwin light ship, where I established radio contact with the Dover Coast Guard; they we’re already fully aware of my intentions and also in touch with my wife, informing her of my position and state. The crew on the radio were very friendly towards both me and my wife.

IMGP6677 Goodwin lichtschip

The East Goodwin ship is an unmanned lightship that brings the very treacherous Goodwin sand banks to the attention of ships; dangerous for almost every other vessel but ideal conditions for a seasoned kayaker. With almost no wind at all there were waves between 0.5 and 1 metres in height! In that area I saw numerous seals, wonderful!! The sand banks were the last piece of the crossing; after that I headed towards Ramsgate harbour. The tidal current was now pushing on my left side so I had to compensate heavily in order to reach the harbour. I reached the slipway of Ramsgate harbour at 15:06 hours (Belgian time). I was so far ahead on my estimated arrival time that my welcome party had not arrived yet; luckily I was prepared for that, I had dry clothes and plenty of food and drinks with me. After a few hours my lovely wife and kids arrived, it was a happy reunion!! We took the ferry back to the mainland together.

Aankomst Ramsgate

I wish to thank my wife Sylvie for her constant support in chasing my biggest dream, the North Sea crossing, as well as in all my other so called foolish plans regarding sea kayaking! I want to say thanks to Marc, the radio operator from the Belgian Coast Guard – Ostend Radio for keeping an eye out for me up to the DY1 buoy, and to the friendly crew from the Dover Coast Guard! To those people; your help is very much appreciated both by myself and my wife!

We hope that this crossing will put Belgian sea kayaking on the map, and a big thanks to my other Northseakayak-members for their continuous support!

Technical data:
The full crossing was correctly registered by GPS.
• Total distance: 106,7 km
• Total time: 17 hours 36 minutes
• Average speed: 6.1 km/h
• Maximum registered speed: 13.5 km/h
• Craft: P&H Scorpio LV (Polyethylene)
• Paddle: Vertical Element Explorer Aircore Pro Full Carbon
• Full safety gear including two VHF radios, a Personal Locator Beacon, flares, etc.

You can watch the video below:

P&H Hammer Vs “The Shubie”

By chrislockyer

On October 16, 2014

In Reviews

We just had Canadian Thanksgiving last weekend and what better way to burn off the turkey then to head out for a paddle. Not just any paddle but a paddle on “The Shubie” tidal bore.

There as no bore on this day but the tidal range was around 49 feet and it would be the first time I would use the hammer.

“The Shubie” tidal bore is a world class sea kayak play sport. It bore runs on a river called the Shubenacadie River located at the top of the Bay of Fundy. This video was shot on a tidal range of 49.3 feet. The river is a magical place and the hammer has to be in the top 3 boats I have used on the “The Shubie”.

Once the hammer was up to speed I was able to do cutbacks, bottom turns and surf waves for 2 to 3 minutes at a time. My fears were eased after the first small set on the river. The hammer picked up the waves quickly.

I was once told the hammer was to slow for “The Shubie” but after paddling it I would have to say it was one of my best days on the river. In this video there was no Bore wave to speak of but depending on the conditions there is a great front leading wave that forms a fun play wave and once it does up the river it leave us with plenty more things to play on. come to Nova Scotia.

You will be glad you did. There is a full writeup about “The Shubie” in ThePaddler online magazine

I hope you like the video