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Notice to Mariners (NTMs) – Upper Thames

Notice to Mariners - Upper Thames

Sardinia September 2011

9 (Instead of 11) Paddle Sardinia

Sitting at my desk, nursing a lemsip, reflecting on the first really chilly London day in December, I could swear that today, it actually started getting dark before it got light. It is therefore pretty tough trying to picture myself stretched out on the sand with a cold beer and a bunch of friends, watching the sun set over an idyllic cove in the north of Isola Maddalena. The photos, and the stories (one of which I was reminded of this afternoon in the pub, by Tim), convince me that it really did happen, less than three months ago, so I thought I’d share some of them to remind you that summer is real, it does happen, and there is another one just around the corner!

The first thing to mention was that it wasn’t quite as it should have been – Phil and Jacqui, whose inspiration the trip was, and whose hard work made it such a great trip, were not present. We missed them, it wasn’t the same without them, and not a day went by when I didn’t imagine what one or other might say or think of the sights and events we were experiencing.

So just 9 of us found ourselves at Camping Tavolara, on Sunday 25th September, making good headway into the expedition wine supply and having a gander at charts of the northwest coast of Sardinia, the Costa Smeralda, and the Maddalena Archipelago. Clark Weissinger, of Sea Kayak Sardinia, came to meet us at the campsite, with a selection of 9 excellent boats, and gave us a bit of a local lowdown over a glass or two of said wine, and a tune or two from Andy’s ukulele.

Day 1
Wind: F2 NE
Outlook: Sunny
Distance: 7 Nm (Andy and Richard 8Nm )
Set off: 1200
Broke Camp: 1600

A beautiful day to set out. Clark arrived to collect us at 0900 and after a pleasant shuttle in the van, listening to Christy Moore on the CD player, we were all down at the beach loading our kayaks (or drinking cappuccinos, for those who managed to cram a week’s worth of supplies into their boat first) against the dramatic backdrop of Isola Tavolara.

Our starting point was stunning – as we loaded the boats on the beach, the 5km x 1km limestone massif of Isola Tavolara sat temptingly in the near distance, with its highest point, Monte Cannone, beckoning us. We could have spent a couple of days just paddling this bay.

Loading up the boats before embarking on our expedition, Monte Cannone in the distance.

As soon as we got on the water, we paddled across for a gander, then headed to the spit at the western end for a quick swim and lunch, while Andy and Richard sprinted up to the other end of the island and back. Then we headed decisively off to get some distance under our belts. Until we saw the rusty orange wreck set beguilingly against the deep blue water on the near side of the bay, and we just had to have a little peek. Andy parked up and slipped into the water with his snorkel, a minor shriek from inside the upturned hull confirming that there was plenty of sea-life to see.

Idyllic flat calm conditions accompanied us alongside Isola Tavolara to the next headland, (lucky really, as we were spread out across the bay thinner than dripping on a wartime ration crust). We rounded the headland of Capo Ceraso. As the vast Gulf of Olbia opened up in front of us, we tried to establish the best crossing point.

Our Day 1 objective had been to reach the other side of the bay at least, and if there was time, press on round the next headland before camping for the night. My brain started doing neurotic sums. It was 1500, and the crossing would take at least an hour and a half, and we still had to paddle far enough towards the mouth of the estuary to make crossing the shipping lane as safe as possible. Then we had to find somewhere to camp, and we had absolutely no hints as to where potential wild campsites existed, bringing the total time before we could strike camp up to a possible 3 hours – half an hour after dark. Hmm. Just as my it’ll-be-fine holiday brain was telling my neurotic sum-doing brain to shut up the enjoy the paddle, Toons, who was leading for the day, announced a plan to start looking for a campsite immediately. (Ha. Neurotic sum-brain – smug grin).

Lucky – it took 45 minutes and 3 scenic little coves, with beaches all proudly displaying no camping signs, (one of which sported a shotgun hole), and 11 different threats in four languages, emphasising dire consequences, for us to realise that the best thing to do was ignore them.

Our first night's camp spot - ignoring the signs

We landed, Lyn made coffee, then we pitched our tents (waiting till it was nearly sunset in view of potential dire consequences) and sat around chit-chatting about the stars, the day’s events, and generally how wonderful it was to be there. Andy started up a chat about the day’s paddle, which gave everyone a chance to reminisce about the best points from the day, and some areas they would like to improve on the next day. We did a little planning over grappa and more ukulele strumming, and headed to bed determinedly not dreaming of Italian policemen waving truncheons and shouting “vietato!” Little did we realise we would soon be doing some on-the-water negotiating with the Carabinieri regarding our paddling intentions…

Day 2. Olbia to Punto Canigione
F3-4 NW
Distance 21.6 km
Set off 1015
Arrived 1645

We set of at 1015 after a night free of law-enforcement. (Unless you count the mozzies). John led a tightly formed 3 x 3 box formation across the shipping channel (in which we came across two boats). We crossed the bay of Olbia in 50min and crossed again to reach Capo Figari at 1215. We lunched on the beautiful Isola Figolaro.

Box Formation

A gentle 1.5m high swell rolled us towards the headland of Capo Figari. It was friendly, but still swelly enough for a bit of post-lunch exhilaration. The headland was eventually rounded and we all accomplished totally pro surf landings on a small beach (OK, a little poetic licence of hindsight, but don’t forget it has been a few months and things are starting to take on a bit of a rosy glow), in order for Mel and Toons to recover from their seasickness, and then paddle off to rejoin Cynthia who was happily bobbing about in the bay waiting for us.

We pressed on, looking for somewhere to land for the night, and sent out a scout group, who found us a really lovely cove, with a nice sheltered beach for camping, and a good sized lagoon which was perfect for a Sardinian CKC skills session. John, Richard, Andy, Tim, Lyn and I all splashed about practicing our rolling, rescues and generally showing off, before deciding we were too tired for any more and getting off the water for the usual evening routine. (But not before Tim managed injury #1 of the trip by “sneezing a rib”).

We dug out the wine, (which strangely didn’t seem to diminish, even though by now we had run out of water and several of us had run out of food). I enviously eyed up Lynne and Mel’s “Look what I found” meal, while my pasta cooked, but was pleasantly surprised by my fresh gnocchi with cheese and za’atar (courtesy of Toons’ travel spice dispenser). After 2 days, Andy’s one man ukulele journey (which begun on our first night at Camping Tavolara, until when the instrument had been completely new to him), had already become a musical odyssey, and while we quaffed wine with the waves lapping at our feet, the music was a real treat. Especially as he hadn’t put his mind to mastering “I used to work in Chicago” yet…

Day 3
F 2-3 NE
Outlook: Sunny Visibility Poor-Moderate
Distance 20.3 km Temperature 26C
Set off 1000
Arrived 1640

Having covered good ground the day before, we didn’t go crazy with early starts on the Wednesday. We did need to restock with provisions though, so our first stop was just 5Km up the coast, the Marina at Porto Rotondo. After nestling our boats surreptitiously in a corner of the rather smart beach, we headed past the immaculately-clad yachties in the pristine marina, towards the village supermarket. It wasn’t exactly awash with bargains, with tuna at €13 a tin, but we managed to get some good grub.

Mel and Lyn at our lunch stop

2 hours later, we set off across the bay, with a green domed peninsular as our destination, the white triangle at the tip eventually turning into a quaint whitewashed lighthouse. From there John and Cynthia in the lead set a cracking pace, and soon we were all well on our way to the next headland. After a couple of hours of blissful, quiet paddling over a broad, flat prussian blue sea, sparkling in the midday sunshine, Mel and Lyn answered a call from nature, which led us to a beautiful beach. It was lined with the flags of various nations, and had a smart white edifice in the middle, surrounded by sunbeds and parasols. We made for the secluded corner of the beach, where the shallow aquamarine bay was perfect for a quick dip – Richard jumped in, followed by Toons, who snorkelled up to the pontoon and found a shoal of brightly coloured fish. Lyn spotted some spiky sea urchins

– Tim: “Why did the razorbill raise her bill?”

– Cynthia: “So the sea urchin could see ‘er chin…”  Sea – ur – chin… Gerrit?


We set off with Richard at the front, and rounded the Capriccioli headland, heads down, and core muscles engaged, expecting to be hit by the NE F4 wind and some choppy water, but neither materialised until later, when we had just rounded a deceptively small peninsula.

Up till now we passed mainly green hillsides covered in sprawling mansions, but here it changed, with spectacular rock formations coming right down to meet the sea. Toons, Andy and John headed over for some rock-hopping – no-one else was tempted initially, but as we passed on the inside of a particularly stunning rock formation, Lyn was lured in for a quick go.

The Wreck

We continued North towards Porto Cervo. Rounding the Golfo Pevero headland we regrouped to make the call on whether to press on to Porto Cervo or head inland and find a camp spot. The Autumn sun was beautiful, and gave the seascape a silvery glow, but it was low in the sky, and making out any detail in the coastline was tough – hard to know if there might be any potential camp spots or not. Cynthia spotted a tempting looking beach on Isola Nibani, just off the coast, (later to be named Killer Mozzie Island), and she, Toons and Andy led an exploration.

Venturing slightly inland, the rest of us reccied the coast. To our left, only rocks. On the far side of the bay, tourist beaches, with just visible parasols. Cappuccinos, cold beer, calamari, spaghetti alla vongole (or “arselle” in Sardinia) and gelato miraged around our heads, and we gazed longingly towards the parasols.

Then the radio sprang to life with Andy’s voice:

“John, John this is Andy. Over.”

“Andy this is John. Over.”

“We have ID’d a site, safe landing, good camp site.”

“Andy this is John we are currently reccieing an alternative site, will advise. Over”

“Thanks. Will await further contact.”

“Andy, listening on 8, out”

The calamari-gelato mirage popped, and another perfect surf landing later, we were hoiking our kayaks up onto the steep beach of Isola Nibani, before pitching camp, while Tim repaired his tent and sustained his second injury of the trip (Calf Gouging).

After tea and chocolate, Lyn provided rosemary crackers and pecorino cheese, which we washed down with cold beer. Gazing out at the mainland in the near distance, the view was idyllic, with a beautiful rock formation bathed in the early evening Mediterranean sunlight. Punctuated only by shrieks of rage as Lilo Lyn discovered Andy raiding her floating sea-grass beer-fridge, as she bobbed around unsuspectingly on her lilo.

After Tim and I made a photographic tour of the Island, we all attempted to spend the evening in the communal area of our Nibani Island campsite, to dip into the wine stash and regale each other with the day’s stories. Sadly the swarm of mosquitos that arrived at sunset refused to leave us in peace, and most of the party managed a little “me time”. John, Tim and I bravely stayed up playing cards, drinking whisky and writing the journal but soon retired for a few quiet reflections on the day’s paddling.

Day 4NW 3-4 Easing in pm
Outlook: Sunny
Distance 29.9 Km

 

On the water for 0815. Big sigh of relief leaving the mozzies. We crossed NW toward the headland, just North of Porto Cervo, in moderately choppy water, and after an hour of paddling, a couple of Carabinieri motored up behind us.

– Carabinieri: “Bad sea, atennzione, atennzione. Where you go?”

– Tim: Chats cleverly away in his EuroTalian.

Carabinieri not too happy when we explained we were headed North to the Maddalena Islands, but Tim and Andy somehow managed to reassure them, and off we went. We subsequently discovered that three Welsh canoeists had been reported missing following an overnight trip on the South of the island that week, so the concerns were understandable, especially in view of the choppy seas. Happily the Welsh group were found safe and well.

Andy, John and Cynthia plan our route round to our destination on the northern aspect of La Maddalena

Andy’s calm reassurance to the Police officer regarding our sea kayaking prowess was still ringing in the air when Mel’s piercing shriek of “Aagh a wave” made us all jump out of our skins. Fortunately the law enforcers were well out of earshot, and Mel managed to remain upright, despite a large wave coming out of nowhere to break over her head, shunting her a few feet sideways. It turned into yet another lovely paddle, and at 1000 we had a beach break on Isola della Bisce, then headed across a beautiful calm open stretch of water, encountering a yacht race, a sailing boat floundering with a twisted spinnaker, and a catamaran, before reaching Isola Caprera and turning North East to head up the channel to the Maddalena Archipelago.

Paddling North Between Isola Caprera and La Maddalena

After 6 hours of paddling, we finally rounded the North aspect of Isola Maddalena into a beautiful quiet bay. With other priorities than finding a campsite, most of us headed to the beachside kiosk. Before joining everyone, I leapt into the turquoise water for a celebratory dip to wash away the salt crusts. Unwise as it transpired, as by the time I arrived at the jolly kiosk the beer was all gone! Aperol and prosecco spritzers made up for it though, after which we stumbled across the bay to find our spot for the night. Richard and I jumped in for a swim, and watched the stunning sunset from the water, through the golden blanket of sea, punctuated with little domes of dark blue-black fluttering through the surface. We looked up and saw Toons and Andy, silhouetted under a red crescent moon, chatting about Andy’s planned paddle to Corsica in the morning.

Paddling Until Last Light!

Day 5

The next two days were spent relaxing in the gorgeous islands. On Friday, Andy sprinted to Corsica, only to find it was shut. Toons and I enjoyed a lazy day, with a short trip round the coast, getting there just in time for a swim followed by a beautiful sunset paddle back to the campsite, to discover Andy relaxing on the beach after his epic journey. John led an energetic trip to the outer islands, (uncovering James Bond’s secret hideout) during which an exhilarating time was had by all. Mel, Tim and Lyn went for the trekking option, and hit the town of La Maddalena

Toons Paddling Back at Sunset

Day 6
NE 2-3
Distance 14 Km

Paddling back on the last day

The dawn broke over a brilliantly sunny sky for our last idyllic Mediterranean paddle back down to the mainland along the west coast. We made fantastic time – 6km/hr, due to flat calm conditions. After 5km of coastline we started looking in earnest for a spot for a quick swim. We were astounded when we reached La Maddonnetta del Pescatore, a little church right on the edge of the water. Andy moored his boat, and, well, see the photo for details…

Andy Summits La Madonnetta

We eventually found our swimming beach, before rounding the south aspect of the island into the busy shipping channel between La Maddalena and the mainland, which we crossed without incident, past all the ferries going in and out of Palau. We parked up at the end of a beautiful sea lido, and skipped up some stone steps to a restaurant for a celebratory meal of pasta, red wine and fish before being scooped up by Clarke and driven back to Tavolara.

Arriving at our final destination - the beachside lido in the port of Palau!

Once there, Tim, Andy, Toons and I sped down to the beach for a last cappuccino and ice cream, to find that the beachside restaurant was boarded up, with the proprietor stacking up chairs inside ready for the winter. He smiled and shook his head, and with a dismissive wave of his hand, suggested, “l’anno prossimo!”.

L’anno prossimo it is…

Miranda

October 31st, 2011 | Category: Touring | 3 comments

Wat’er Way to Learn

13 October 2011

Last night Chelsea Kayak Club held its second water skills session at Brockwell Lido and, despite the cold water and diminishing sunlight, was a huge success.

Geoff was kind enough to not only organise these two-hour pool sessions, but to also load up the CKC trailer and bring the Club sea kayaks south of the river.  With help of members, we cleaned the boats and then set them afloat in our dedicated half of the swimming pool.  With some people bringing their own boats, we had another 15 people on the water last night going through some of the basic – yet essential – safety skills we often avoid when on the not-so-clean Thames tideway.

Knowing that this would be a ‘wet session’ people didn’t hesitate to get stuck in and were soon dangling from their boat underwater either practicing or learning how to roll in a sea kayak.  With coaches bobbing between these small groups of paddlers – both CKC members and guests from other London clubs – it wasn’t long before people were pushing themselves and attempting self-rescues and re-entry rolls.

Regular practice of these skills is essential and incredibly useful when we head off on sea trips and expeditions, as you never know when a wave might take you by surprise and tip you over (or out).  The regular pool sessions at the likes of Brixton and Fulham (see FAQs) are good for learning the skills, but they tend to be in smaller river running boats, so this was a great opportunity for doing it in the bigger, more buoyant, sea kayaks.

With the light fading we all had to jump off the water at around 7pm, but with the full intention that at the first available opportunity we’d be back again and running another session, especially as it ended with us heading to the ‘Lido Café’ for nice burger and pint.

The Brockwell Lido will be closing for repairs in November, so we hope to start up regular skill sessions with them, when they re-open in the new year.

October 13th, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Category: Safety, Training, Weekly Sessions | 3 comments

I must see Old Harry from Dorset again

7th – 9th October 2011

My adventure began on Thursday 6th October and I still get a strong heartbeat every time I see a photo of Old Harry – I definitely must see him again – soon!

It all started in Lot’s Road Pub that Thursday evening, when 10 enthusiastic sea kayak paddlers met in order to plan the last details of our trip to Dorset the following weekend.

The weather forecast was quite bad – strong winds from west (F5>7 Beaufort) was expected and the planned route from Swanage Bay to Kimmeridge Bay might be too big a challenge and too dangerous in these weather conditions.

The route had  to be picked carefully because even in calm wind it can be a difficult and exposed trip with a quite strong flow going east on the flow and west on the ebb.  And once past Duriston Head, there is no stopping and often no landing until Chapman’s Pool.

So we had a very interesting, instructive and loud discussion around the table! Everybody’s opinion was heard – the brave and experienced paddlers as well as the more inexperienced or faint hearted  (me) :-).   And I must admit that I changed my mind several times during the discussion, when new views came  into consideration ;-). 

But at last we decided to pick a route along the east coast that would be relatively protected against the strong wind.  And this route passed by Old Harry Rocks!

Friday late afternoon I left Bromley – with my beloved kayak on the roof rack, all the shopping for the weekend in the trunk and a brave passenger next to me (he was supposed to show me the way and ensure that I wasn’t lost in traffic as I usually am :-)  Thank you so much, Jonny!). 

Approximately 4 hours later we arrived at the wonderful Bungalow that we had rented for the weekend. Almost everybody had arrived and we had a lovely evening together – eating Chinese takeaway and having a couple of drinks, before heading to bed.

The next morning we woke up to an irresistible smell of bacon, eggs and toast, prepared by Jonny and Alastair who had been up since 6 o’clock watching a Rugby Game :-). 

At 9.30AM we arrived at a carpark on the hill at Studland Beach, where we had quite a carry down to the beach (we didn’t see the slipway down to the water’s edge where we could have dumped the kayak’s before parking ;-)). So we were perfectly warmed up when we launched the boats heading for Old Harrys Rock, Swanage Bay and a play around Peveril Point if the weather conditions allowed it. 

 

  

For the next 3 hours I was in another world! Enjoying the bright clean water, the strong wind and the beautiful, beautiful views of the chalk cliffs! I will never forget the first view of Old Harry Rock – strong, proud and steady – It was breath taking!

We spend an hour playing around in the caves, exploring the cliffs and trying to get through the narrowest arcs we could find. But then Stu’s stomach started to roar and we headed towards Swanage Bay and the best Fish and Chips along the east coast (according to Stu) :-). 

On the way we almost lost our Chef (and Birdsman) when he caught sight of a young Perigrine Falcon, sitting in its nest on the cliff – crying after the parents, who was out of sight. Paul was determined to stay until the parents arrived – and he talked so very touchingly about this bird, which is the fastest creature on the planet – it can dive at over 200 miles per hour!

After a perfect and sunny lunch break in Swanage, we headed towards Peveril Point.

It was big fun to paddle in the lovely unstable waves and to feel the smooth swell that came from far away. The cliffs were beautiful and rough and everybody enjoyed being so close to this fabulous coastline. We spent some time exploring the rugged cliffs and I had the feeling that nobody really wanted to leave the wonderful place again.

But the clouds were accumulating and the wind was getting stronger, so we decided to call it a day and head home again. With the wind behind us we were almost blown back to Old Harry and we only had to fight against the wind the last bit from Old Harry Rock to Studland Bay. Back in the Bay we still had some energy left, so we spend another hour playing – on and in the water – some doing rolling exercises and others just fooling around :-).  

Saturday evening was gorgeous! Playing fresbee and drinking tea (or whatever :-)) until sunset and then everybody was occupied by cooking the most fabulous dinner I’d had for a long time! Paul was in charge of producing a fantastic Fish Pie and Fiona brought apples for a delicious Apple Crumble Recipe! And I trust that I wasn’t the only one who could hardly eat anything the next day.

Sunday morning the wind was a lot stronger than the day before, so we decided to split the group. Michal, Alastair and Martin went for a bigger challenge near Kimmerige and the rest of us went to launch at the more sheltered Studland Bay in order to do the gorgeous trip from the day before once again.

That was a good decision, because we had a very different experience this time due to the strong wind. It was a nice but strong paddle against the wind and some of us would definitely have had troubles coping with the conditions on the other side of Peveril Point! So I think everybody was happy with their choice of route and we had another enjoyable day on the water!

At 4 o’clock we were back at Studland Bay where we again spend some time on doing rescue and rolling exercises (thank you for coaching, Stu!) Finally we finished a perfect weekend with having a swim in the cold but lovely sea before we loaded the trailer and the cars and headed home again!

On the way home I was continuously dreaming about my new love, Harry. I felt high and happy and would definitely have burst into singing, if it wasn’t for my poor passenger, who had quite a hard time already, keeping me and the car on the road!

But I can’t wait until I will see Old Harry again (in November?)!

Thank you Fiona, for an excellently organized trip!

Pia (The “Danish” :-))

October 10th, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Category: Club, Equipment, Safety, Training, Trips | 5 comments

What a lovely lot of kit I got

For all of you who didn’t make it down to the open day at Cremorne Riverside yesterday, where Desperate Measures (the canoe shop) had loads of kit for us to play with (and buy), you’ll probably want to click here to read up on what you missed.  But in a nut shell, there was lots and lots of kit fondling on one side of the deck, while the Friends of Cremorne Riverside and Kayaking London teams put on a whopping BBQ on the other, to make sure we needed to try on the larger sizes!

I for one am sure stoked with my new Sweet helmet, Palm buoyancy aid and Teva water shoes 🙂 and unless I’m mistaken, Geoff had his eye on one of the new breed of sea kayaks they had there to demo… but I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

It seemed to be a great success and, hopefully will be the first of many visits by the guys at Desperate Measures – so make sure you come along to the next one.

Judes

October 9th, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Category: Cremorne, Equipment, Socials | One comment

VHF Marine Short Range Radio Course

Four CKC paddlers today picked up their ‘VHF Licence’ after a full-on day at the Timuna Sea training centre Canary Wharf, squawking “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday” in to a range of short range radios.  The course, endorsed by the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) is required for anyone who wishes to use a Digital Selective Calling (DSC) radio or VHF when on the water or at sea.

Although, as sea kayakers, we’re unlikely to be using a fixed digital station or even a digital handheld (there’s currently only one available, the Standard Horizon HX851E) it was still good to understand the principles and know what to do if ever we found ourselves in an emergency situation.  And of course, it’s important for our own club’s safety that people can use the analogue VHFs that CKC uses when on trips and on the river Thames and to understand the priority of distress calls and how to make them.

The course covered all the basics of operating various VHF units, understanding aerial range and likely shore and boat-to-boat pick up, as well as identifying correct channels and the importance of ProWords (the radio lingo). So, should there ever be a Mayday, Pan Pan or Securité alert we should know what to do – rather than just gawp at the speaker and think “I thought they just said that in the movies!?”

This was the first in the latest round of bespoke VHF training courses tailored for sea kayakers set up by our training officer, at considerable discount to CKC members – the next will take place at the end of the month.

John

October 9th, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Category: Safety, Training | One comment

IC-M33 Radio Charging Problems

Recently my VHF radio stopped charging.  The charger flashed orange when the handset was put in to charge and after a 4 hours had not charged at all.  UK Rivers Guide to the rescue again.  The flashing orange means there is a charging error (not actually made clear in user manual).  A quick clean of the connector with some fine wire wool (I actually used a pan scourer) fixed the problem.

Someone I met during the IOW Sea Symposium had trouble with the ICom Radios before and advised me to put some vaseline on the center connector before going out on the sea to prevent corrosion.  This advice I promptly ignored, only to find on my next trip the battery was dead.  So I thought I’d pass on the wisdom as I know it’s our club radio of choice.

Toons.

October 9th, 2011 | Category: Equipment | One comment

Paddler’s Poo Protocol

Whether you’re planning on ‘changing your shoes’ or ‘taking your trowel for a walk’ there’s no getting away from that call of nature when you’re out in the back of beyond on a paddling expedition – no matter what you call it.  Admittedly those are two of the more polite terms we’ve had knocking around Chelsea Kayak Club in the past few years whenever we’ve been on extended wild camping tours – but when it comes to the crunch, there are no toilets on these barren coastlines so you’re basically pooing in a hole behind a bush somewhere!

This probably isn’t the blog you want to read whilst eating breakfast, but I thought it would be educational for many a paddler anyway, so here goes, the CKC guide to shitting in the woods*:

  • Get yourself an easily identifiable dry bag, which is exclusive for this purpose, for your essential hygiene kit (toilet tissue, water-free hand sanitizer and wet-wipes) – small and bright would be my suggestion, so that it can pack into a day hatch easily and can be seen better when you’re fumbling around your tent in the middle of the night.
  • A tough yet compact and light trowel should be either in or connected to the bag.  It’s customary to bury your business, so as not to spoil the local scenery (and to aid decomposition), so a trowel for digging your initial hole in dry, rocky soil is preferable to using your hands.
  • Keep it clean – the last thing anyone wants to do is carry kit that smells of you know what, so, when you’re done squatting; fill the hole back in using the excavated debris. Note that your trowel doesn’t actually ever come into contact with any poo.
  • Mark your loo spot.  You’ll be out with other paddlers who, like you don’t have the luxury of a tiled bathroom or ceramic toilet to sit and do the crossword on, therefore if you’ve already found a nice, discreet spot with a stunning view – chances are they’ll be heading in the same general area too, and nobody wants to be digging up what you left behind!  The standard ‘good practice’ is to stick a twig into the ground where you’ve been, so that it stands out like a little flag pole, failing that, pile a few stones/rocks on to each other.

I’m sure that there’s lots of science behind exactly where you should go (above/below the water line) and how deep you should dig – but it really all comes down to how desperate you are doesn’t it? Remember that we’re there to enjoy the environment, landscape and scenery – not to spoil it for others, so keep waste to a minimum and be considerate of those who will visit in the future.

*There’s actually a lot of thought that’s gone into the official guide to defecating in the wild, but ours is more real – and what actually happens.

John

October 2nd, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Category: Equipment, Expeditions, Touring, Trips | 3 comments

Thames Festival – A Paddling Party

Chelsea Kayak Club got into a celebratory mood this Saturday for the The Mayor’s Thames Festival when we took part in a massive parade of boats down the river, amid cheers from the crowded banks and bridges.

The annual Thames Festival celebrates everything special about this great waterway, but this year something special happened; the Port of London Authority hosted a flotilla of boats – both manned and powered through the heart of the capital. Boats with bells, whistles, trumpets, Dixie and brass bands heralded the arrival of the 100+ flotilla and called the people to the riverside to watch the precession go by, which included a massive water-jet boat, spraying high into the air.

In truth, despite being impressive in its own way – this was nothing but a watered-down rehearsal for The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant next year when a thousand boats will be loaded with well-wishers and decorated with flags and streamers to pay tribute to Her Majesty in celebration of sixty years as our monarch.

This is the second rehearsal that I’ve been lucky enough to help out with – the last one was specifically a kayak rehearsal – but this time, all the pieces were put together, to see how it would pan out on the big day.

Of the 11 kayaks taking part in the Thames Festival flotilla, an impressive eight of them were Chelsea Kayak Club members with a couple of people from Tower Hamlets and KayakingLondon making up the numbers. We met at Cremorne Riverside early to receive a briefing from Darren Knight, PLA’s Operations Coordinator, then jumped in the boats and paddled up river to the Hurlingham Yacht Club’s Broomhouse Pier – which was our designated muster point.

We were to join at the front of the precession, after the main ‘Belfry Barge’ that chimed its way towards the sea and after the rowing boats – which to my surprise weren’t sculling sixes or eights but old fashioned cutters – with little canopies! When we finally got started it soon became obvious that these pretty-but-bulky boats didn’t have the manoeuvrability to keep tight formation and our nimble solo sea kayaks soon shifted ahead to follow the marker vessel which was cruising at a comfortable 6 knots over ground.

Thankfully, the lessons learnt from the last rehearsal had been headed and the longer delay between high-tide and starting out meant that keeping the 6 knot speed was pretty easy, thanks to the ebbing current. So much so, that we were even able to orchestrate some off-the-cuff synchronised paddling moves – including high speed end-boat crossovers to mix up our neat line of boats bobbing along abreast of each other.

It was with big smiles on all of our faces that we first encountered the gathering crowds in the centre of town. All along the South Bank; bands, stalls and performers were entertaining Londoners and, as we followed the Belfry under the bridges we waved back to the people, whooped and spun our paddles to make them cheer. Although in honesty I think we were only small-fry compared to bigger boats that were trailing behind us.

The majority of people we saw were gathered around Tate Modern and on the Millennium Bridge, just as the river was getting that much choppier and chunkier to paddle – but even so, we held our formations and waved to the watchers. It was shortly after that we heard the cries of “Rescue, Rescue” from the fast approaching rowing boats behind, as they tried to get the attention of the safety RIBs to either side of our little collection of kayaks. It transpired that a small three man open canoe, which was part of the ‘rowing’ squad had not been so lucky with the large breaking waves under London Bridge and the paddlers were now swimming in the Thames – oops.

It goes to show how easily the waves can pick up on this stretch of tideway and local knowledge and experience, as well as appropriate boats are a must. It wouldn’t be seemly to have people in the water (or falling under HMS Belfast) when The Queen is in attendance next year. Being regulars on this river, we all knew what to expect and maintained our tight group as we passed beneath Tower Bridge and onwards to our get out at Shadwell Basin.

We started our paddle-proper by the London Helipad at Battersea and, over the course of an hour covered 11km – or so I was told by the man with the GPS as we sat in the Prospect of Whitby drinking a couple of pints to another great day sea kayaking and to being part of the London celebrations.

For The Queen’s Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant they’re hoping to have ten times the number of sea kayaks taking part in the flotilla on 3 June 2012 – as yet, none of these spaces have been allocated. Anyone who wants to take part needs to apply via the website before 31 October to be in with a chance of being selected. It should be an awesome day and, one that will only come about once, so make sure you send off your details asap.

John Mayne

September 11th, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Category: Club, Hot Topics | One comment

Isle of Wight Symposium

August Bank Holiday Weekend, 2011

Six of us from the Club (Jac, Toons, Miranda, Debs, Ann and I) attended the inaugural Isle of Wight Symposium which took place over August Bank Holiday weekend.  The Symposium, organised by Isle of Wight Sea Kayaking, was put on to to fill a bit of a gap given that the Jersey Symposium will most likely not be happening anymore.    

45 sea kayakers and some of the UK’s top sea kayaking coaches descended on the island for a long weekend of wet and dry workshops including practical navigation, open water tidal planning, incident management, rolling clinics, expedition skills, 4 Star Leadership Practice, boat repairs, forward paddling and intermediate handling skills. 

This was my first symposium and to be honest I’d always been a bit reluctant to go on one before because of a perception that they’re a bit “cliquey” or perhaps more appropriate for the seasoned sea paddler.   But I have to say there was a great atmosphere over the three days and everyone was very friendly and approachable.  

The first day (Saturday) saw most of us from the CKC contingent doing practical navigation in the morning from Fort Victoria – it was certainly interesting conditions out on the Solent – it certainly was shifting!   Miranda and I were in a group with James Bachelor who used white-water analogies to get the group, each taking turns to lead, to navigate over to Hurst Castle Spit.    After a bit of discussion the group decided that getting back to Fort Victoria may be a bit challenging so it decided to ferry glide through the tide race into Colwell Bay to be shuttled back.   In the afternoon we did a 4 Star Leadership session with Kate Duffus and James Bachelor out in Freshwater Bay in conditions approaching the top end of the remit.

  

Whilst all the sessions I attended were good, I have to say that the one of the best sessions was the boat repairs workshop led by the great Howard Jeffs.  Lots of great handy hints and tips – I believe Miranda may be writing a blog up on this soon (so watch out for that!).   Valley were also on hand and they helped us fix one of the Club boat’s skegs.  

Bank Holiday Monday saw most of us split up into different workshops and I did an all day incident management session with Jeff Allen and Phil Hadley which was excellent.   Miranda and Toons opted for the open water tidal planning course and Jac fell in love with a set of wings after her forward paddling session.  

The symposium was organised not just for us paddlers but also to help raise money for the Freshwater Independent Life Boat Service.  

The event was felt to be such a success that Isle of Wight Sea Kayaking already plan to organise a second one at the end of August next year.   It will then alternate tnereafter every other year with the Skye Symposium which will take place in 2013 (or that is the plan anyway).  

Phil

August 31st, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Category: Club, Hot Topics, Safety, Socials, Symposiums, Training | One comment

Kentish Sea Paddling the Return

Saturday 13th August 2011

In sea paddling terms can the Kent coast be compared to say Cornwall or Pembrokeshire or even Dorset for that matter?  No, possibly not but in its own way it is unique and even has some great paddling gems if you go looking for them and you get your tidal planning right.   Given our London base you’d think the Kent coast would feature as a regular trip destination – in reality though the Club had only previously paddled along sections of it twice before.   The previous paddles saw us paddle out of Sandgate (near Folkestone) to Abbot’s Cliff and meet Mungo Francis (quite accidentally as it happens) last summer and more recently in April we paddled 5 miles out and back from Herne Bay to the wind turbines.    I was responsible for planning and organising both those trips and as I have a bit of an affinity to Kent (I am after all technically a “Kentish Man”) I thought it was about time another was organised.  

For some time I’d had it in mind to organise a paddle along the eastern most tip of Kent from Ramsgate to Margate (or vice versa) – ok those locations are not particularly great but the coastline between the two takes in the seven sandy bays of Broadstairs.   Each bay has its own character – the northern most of these bays is Botany Bay and is famous for its chalk stacks, Joss Bay is a popular surf beach and more importantly Kingsgate Bay has a chalk arch (which can be paddled through if the tide is right!).   

After checking some local knowledge with Rob Davis I set about planning an outline trip – which was a 14km paddle round North Foreland from Ramsgate to Margate or the other way from Margate to Ramsgate with the aim of getting to Kingsgate Bay around high tide (or thereabouts) to go through its arch.  I then set about looking at the tidal information (tide times and tidal streams) for the best date – and Saturday 13th August it was with Ramsgate as the launch location!   The tidal streams were not completely perfect and after discussing things with Keith we agreed we had to be past Foreness Point by 2pm to avoid paddling against a significant current to the finish at Westbrook.   The weather was the other factor – the forecast was for SW winds at the top end of a Force 4.    If the weather and conditions got too bad during the trip the route had plenty of “pull off” locations.   Plan B was a skills session if the weather really kicked up! 

After a very early start we all eventually managed to rendezvous at a large carpark in Ramsgate (just north of the marina).   There were nine of us and as it happened it was also Mel’s first time on the briney blue and Abdul’s first ever Club trip.   The usual faff ensued as boats were unloaded and packed, etc and the drivers dashed away to do the shuttle – consequently we were about three-quarters of an hour late launching than planned.  It was also pretty miserable – cold, raining and overcast.   

We were launching into moderate surf with SW Force 3 winds (yep, Keith got his wind meter out to check).   I launched first through the waves to an area beyond the significant swell and each person in the group followed one at a time with Keith being the last to launch.   Although several white knuckles and interesting facial expressions were observed the launching was “incident free” and we were off heading northwards (rather quickly as it happens with the tide and the wind).

The coastline sped by and as we moved northwards the sea settled down and the sky became increasingly blue!   Paddling effortlessly we reached Joss Bay and saw the Kingsgate Bay chalk arch ahead in the distance.   Olwen and Keith checked out the surf in Joss Bay whilst the rest of us paddled on – fingers crossed I’d timed it right so we could pass through the arch – and luckily I had!

After agreeing the hand signals and setting up “lines of sight” most of the group took the opportunity to pass and re-pass through the arch timing the swell accordingly – a great bit of experience for several in the group.  

Paddling on we passed the famous chalk stacks of Botany Bay and looked for a landing site for a lunch stop – ideally one that would be less prone to significant surf.   We decided on an area just to the north of Foreness Point.   Richard, Jac and Keith also decided to have a bit of a swim having been enticed by the clean sea and shining sun.  

As we had around an hour to kill Keith proposed a skills session involving deep water rescues, self-rescues and rolling.   It is easy to forget that skills such as these will diminish over time if you do not regularly practice them and the chance to do this in warm clean water was a welcome opportunity that could not be passed up by most in the group.

The group rounded Long Nose Spit and headed west to the finish point at Westbrook (just beyond Margate).   Keith and I knew that we would have a bit of a current against us – nothing compared to what the group is used to as they all paddle regularly on the tidal Thames.  What we hadn’t bargained on was for the wind to kick round more to the west so the journey to the finish was a bit more of a slog than we’d thought.   But then Tim did say that the paddling had been way too tame up to that point – that’s karma for you I guess! 

Off the water we got changed and loaded the boats onto the trailer as quickly as possible and most of the group headed back to Ramsgate in search of fish and chips – which turned out to be amazing and to quote Jacquelin the “best she’d had since she’d been in the UK” – before heading back to London. 

Phil

August 15th, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Category: Club, Safety, Trips | Leave a comment
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