Art in the Park

Chin ups today and a good work out in the pool, had a "road to Damascus" moment in the park before training. The piece of work is by Anish Kapoor in the photo above. Looking at my reflection made me think of the reality of training and focusing on the trip, while I am getting on and building fitness both Jeff and Chris are doing the same but in completely different environments. Lots of work and training to do as well as sorting the kayaking facility I manage here on the tidal Thames in the new year. Lets hope the pubs around the Irish coast don't turn into art gallery's, ( due to the melt down of the Irish economy) as I doubt I would ever get out of them with my new found love of art!

Harry 

Boat ,pool and bar but not a beer in sight!

Yesterday was boxing day and it was cold, i did 2 x 6 mile paddles both against the tide, out with it and back against. on the first paddle the temperature was so low that the beads of water off the paddle tips were freezing on the fore deck , when I got off the water the whole rear deck had a coating of ice from the rear of the cockpit to the stern. At least I had a option today the 27th and headed into the pool to train, I like cross training especially in the pool. Over the past few weeks my swimming fitness has been getting better and today i took hand paddles along with my pull buoy and training fins. crawling for 1 km then using fins and kick board and finally finishing by using the hand paddles, after an hour in the pool I felt I had done a good work out. I have moved away from using wings in my kayak however swimming with the hand paddles feels very similar to a work out in a kayak with large wing blades. After a  shower I headed to the bar not for a pint but to do some stretching and chin ups on the out door gym in battersea park. Tomorrow it will be warmer and I will get back into the boat.

Harry

Training contrasts and the Taran

I just thought I would mention something about the contrasts in all of our training locations, I've got to say I'm rather envious of Chris, here Harry and I are, both freezing our butts off to get on the water, when in fact Chris is mentioning about the amounts of fluid he loses during a training session. Anyway I've just got back from a surf session in the Taran, I was going to do some endurance work but the surf was peachy clean and way to tempting. Size was about a surfers 3 occasionally 4 ft. Longer swell faces, so not so steep as the other day and easier and longer rides which were picked up well outside of the surf zone, giving me rides of 200meters plus. I used my Lendal paddle this time instead of the wings, also I made sure that the rudder didn't jam with pebbles before heading out, a different state of tide meant no dump to negotiate. The Taran catches the waves very easily, the rudder works superbly to lock the flat mid section in place, especially on the longer gentler sets and maintained steerage either side of straight by about 10 degrees. Altering the body position and leaning back releases the fore foot considerably, leaning forward and it grip well then tracks both ends, release the rudder and the stern slips down wave.
Without the rudder I would occasionally slip out off the wave because of the flat mid-section but this may well change with a heavier ladened boat.
I started to experiment with the rudder, thinking if it was up when bongo sliding this would help protect it if I hit the beach, but the wave action tends to crank the rudder over and then this served to hold me on the wave and I ended up surfing backwards at 45 degrees on several occasions (any tips from anyone with rudder experience here would be most welcome), in this instance the best way off the wave for me was to capsize with the wave, so next few runs I left it down and this then gave me a degree of control whilst bongo sliding and I could maintain diagonal runs much easier in the white. As I approached the beach I'd have to jam the shaft of the paddle under my stomach and brace one handed whilst lifting the rudder blade for protection. When the stern is free of the wave and your still biased towards the face the flat bottom works really well and you can just drop the chine to determine direction. I have a bit of a bad back at the moment so I didn't work on edging to much but its certainly stable enough to edge with confidence (next time).

I can't wait for you guys to try this kayak out, I hope you have as much enjoyment as I've had today out of it. Yesterday I went out and did the measured mile between Pendennis point and Fraggle Rock and at a strong expedition pace I managed to do it in a little over 10 minutes. I'm impressed.

My personal assessment is that there is still lots for me to learn with this boat, especially the rudder, which definitely improves this kayaks performance. Today I probably had one of my best surf days, ever, the boat is very impressive.

Anyway back to you Chris, seems like your living the hard life, I hope you don't mind but Im going to post those photographs of the training hardships your having to endure. Final shot is one for the ladies

Start and finish point Ao Chalong Bay

Turning mark

Chris returning home, it's a hard life

Training in Thailand

Tuesday 21st: Went for a training paddle today in my trusty Nordkapp , wishing it was a Taran or as it was calm maybe Harry's Rapier a very sharp looking boat. I paddled from the house across the bay and around Koi Lon then crossing to Coral Island for a Coke and a rest, setting off again,  getting hot now the sun is fully up-it's 1100hrs and I am sat in a puddle of sweat, going into melt down- around Coral Island and back to Koi Lon and finally back home , now a bit sun burnt as I did not bother with sun block (big mistake i should know better). Standing in the shower in the garden i realy wish i was with Jeff upside down in a Cornish wave (bet that was cold). Chris

Images to follow  

Surfing the Taran for the first time

As mentioned in a previous post, I managed to get out in the Taran at the weekend and test it out in the surf for the first time. Watch me getting nailed by Neptune during the session at Swanpool Beach.

Video courtesy of Simon Osborne- Sea Kayaking Cornwall

Different boat-different day

It's cool today, I spent a lot of time slipping and sliding on my way in on the bike but I finally got to the boat shed.

I Paddled the Rapier to London Bridge and back and it was rather cold.

It took 74minutes to paddle the 4.5miles against the tide and came back 

on the flood. The Rapier is a difficult kayak to paddle well, it feels like 

you use a lot of abdominal muscles to edge the boat and wash hanging is

completely different than in the Knordkapp. Anyway I am off to the pool 

now to warm down and get in a 1km swim.   

Harry Whelan

Team to meet at the Kayakathon

It looks like the first chance 'Team Expedition Paddler' will have the opportunity to get together will be at the London Kayakathon. Chris signed up for the event over the weekend and shall be joining Jeff and Harry there.

The London Kayakathon’s founder Simon Osborne started the event ‘Kayaking For Cancer’ in 2002 and has since raised over £30,000 for Leukaemia Research in memory of his brother Mark. 

The London Kayakathon  is an event whereby participants will be able to paddle the full distance of the London Marathon on the same day as the road race is performed, raising money for charities of their choice. For more information on this event go to: http://www.londonkayakathon.com/

Homegrown surf and the Taran

I couldn't believe it when I received a text from Roz this morning (Simon's girlfriend) to say that she had repaired a hole in my wetsuit and that the surf at our local beach, Swanpool was looking good. There's nothing better than a bit of homegrown surf rather than having to travel far. So this gave me the perfect opportunity to grab the Taran and get out for a wee ride or two.

It was bitterly cold so I didn't stay in for long, but long enough to say that I was very pleased with the boat, I wanted to try the rudder out as well but the first wave that dumped on me managed to jam the blade so I didn't get to use it at all. I was not so pleased with using the wings in the surf, I should have taken my Lendal's, still we live and learn, that's why we carry spares, it wasn't that they let me down in any way, I think I was just on sensory overload, new boat, different paddle and chunky surf, which is unusual for Swanpool but we had a strong easterly wind blow in over night, but by the time I arrived at the beach it had switched off shore and was now holding the faces up nicely. I hope to get some video edited and a link up soon so you can take a look for yourselves. Happy Christmas guys, hope you all have a good one:)

First time in my new Taran

I took the Taran out today for the first time, sea was flat as a Dab and hardly any wind, just had to get it wet though, my son Ollie is home for Christmas and he came along to, still waiting for the surf, maybe Monday.

New boat to play with

A good day

Its always a good day when you get a new boat, today I picked up the Rockpool Taran Which I shall be using for our Ireland trip. I am very happy indeed, Mike is a fantastic craftsmen who obviously knows his job, both inside and out.

Now am I taking a bit of a gamble here? I am an SKUK sponsored paddler, so why am I in a Rockpool Kayak?

I am stepping away from a boat I have sworn by since 2003. The SKUK Explorer has always been to me, a well tried, proven and trusty steed! Truth is I still think, as an all round expedition sea kayak, for 99 times out of 100 uses, it fits the bill, trouble is, this trip is about that 1% that I have never really explored...........Speed & Racing.

Nigel Dennis as yet doesn't make an 'Ocean Racer' and Rockpool does. 

So do other manufacturers I know!        So why the Taran?

Well it has something to do with having the right tool for the job.      Is it the right tool?       Well time will tell and so to will the Cornish Surf when I get home.

My choice of tool in this instance, does also have something to do with its designer- John Willacy.

John and I first met when I was supervising the sea safety for the Hebridean Challenge adventure race several years ago.  A highly motivated and superfit racer who pretty much ruled the event, certainly the paddle-sport activities. He mentioned then, that he was developing a race boat, so I kept my eyes and my ears open.

Almost a year later I heard how John had been steadily working his way through a whole series of established records in and around the Irish Sea. So earlier this year when Harry asked me if I fancied having a crack at paddling around Ireland with him it was too much for me to bear and curiosity killed this cat.

So a couple of months ago, I gave Mike a call and asked him if he would let me test out this new addition to the Rockpool fleet.

Meeting up with Mike, we took two Taran's out from Rhoscollyn Bay on Holy Island, Anglesey and then headed up through the inside of the beacon, towards Treardhur Bay, a steady swell from the nor-west and a good surface chop bought about by the steady force four wind blowing across the tide. Perfect conditions for the job of seeing what all the fuss was about I thought?

 Anyway the first thing that impressed me was the speed which John took off at, wait for me I thought.... the second thing that impressed me, only minutes later, was that in my efforts to keep up with him(I'm no racer yet!) I didn't have to once, think about the stability of the kayak, which, with so many race boats is a definate factor to consider.

This stabilty factor is really essential, especially for what we are planning, as you need a solid platform to maintain good technique and drive.  Did I say I had good technique? Well I thought I did, until John gave me a wee bit of coaching in using the wing. My apologies, I know I'm now digressing a bit,

We spent a good hour paddling out and back, we took on a couple of rock gardens, we ran a few gulleys and entered several caves, I wasn't expecting this, the boat manouvres exceptionally well, with or without the rudder, John was obviously showing me that the boat isn't just a speed machine.

 I have never really used a rudder too much before and had chosen to try the return leg without it, it handled exceptionally well considering the following seas, the boat surfs a treat, in fact it was an absolute thrill, long, long rides- rudder is still going to take a bit of getting used to though.

All in all, its been a good day, now let's see about that surf?

Web work, feeling like a spider

Web thingys!
Just trying to sort out the web site and blog account, feel like a spider, every time a thread is woven, I change my mind and re do it, anyway slowly getting there I have been asking Harry for a bio and an image for several days now, but being the humble chappy that he is, he's acting very shy, or he's out on the beer, latter option no doubt. Webs sort of up and running, just got to get some new images to replace the previous expedition images. Chris is out in Thailand, training hard, going to need to start training soon myself, and Harry, well he's always paddling hard (Catholic paddling as he calls it). Still need an image or two Chris if you happen to read this mate?

Test Blogg

Here we go guys, good luck with your training