Norway Expedition - Reindeers in Paddler's Heaven

You can catch up with all the news  about Jeff's current trip in Norway by following him at http://expeditionpaddler.blogspot.com/

Small boats and big seas

I went for my first paddle since returning from Ireland a couple of days ago, I was trying to hook up with my daughter who was leading a group out on the Roseland Peninsular, but I had not been paddling for more than an hour when my hands started to play up. The blisters left over from what ever affliction occurred on the trip had started to react to the salt water and were stinging, this was a bit uncomfortable, but worse than this, the pain in the bones of my fingers, which I assume to be bruising, was really quite aggravating. This ailment, along with several other aches and pains, must all have been masked by the constant application of pain killers through out the last three days of our paddling. I have to say this is all a little bit disconcerting when my departure date for Norway is only a week or so away!

Anyway on to another, far more interesting subject, I have just got off the phone with Patrick Winterton-Patrick has another project in the offing, an open crossing by sea kayak, from Shetland across to Norway, hoping to leave with Mick Berwick and Ollie Hicks, in or around the 18th July, good luck guy's I wish you luck. For more on Patrick http://www.patrickwinterton.com/

Staying with Patrick at the moment is Chris Duff.

I first met Chis in Anglesey about ten years ago, when he was doing a presentation on an expedition around New Zealand's South Island, an inspirational talker, his words set my feet on fire and prompted me to go to Japan to conduct a journey of my own.

Chris Duff is probably America's most experienced expedition sea kayaker with circumnavigations not only of NZ to his credit, he has also paddled around Great Britain, Ireland and Iceland as well as an 8,000 mile solo sea kayak trip around the eastern third of the US and Canada which kicked his whole expedition lifestyle into play in the first place.

Chris is now about to embark on another adventure, still in a small boat and still crossing through big seas but this time he will be rowing, his journey will take him from John O'Groat's in Scotland, across to the Orkney Islands, then on to the Shetland's, the Faroes and finally a 250mile crossing to Iceland.

This will be a fantastic adventure to follow guy's and you can do so by looking at his website: http://www.olypen.com/cduff/Frames.html and then following his blog from there.

Anyway I shall be heading back over to Norway soon folks and hope to be able to keep you  updated as I go

cheers for now

Jeff

Moving On

It has been an interesting few months since Harry, Chris and I began to plan our 'Around Ireland' expedition, sadly Chris didn't make it due to personal reasons - maybe next time mate. We had a great time training and planning the journey and what a journey it was - both inside and out.  It's amazing how far we travel on journeys such as these and the things we learn along the way - I always feel it's a privilege to share time with a friend on such a journey, there's no hiding yourself and you see both the best and the worst of the man or women you travel with, both a privilege.

My wife said to me the other day that I was hard to live with after returning home, more than usual, she said it was to do with the wind? 'What the early morning wind, whilst sitting on the loo?' I asked. Not amused, she replied

'... I meant the wind in Ireland, all that energy that you absorbed is still with you - your body won't rest until it has passed through you'.

She's right; I've found it harder to settle this time than ever before. So with the Irish wind still soaring through my veins, I'm thinking of heading back up to northern Norway in a couple of weeks to try and get around Nordkap and finish off the Northern part of Norway, so I can crack into the overland section next spring, with Nick Arding.

All of my usual paddling partners are otherwise engaged so I guess it will be a solo journey this time. From now on, I shall be updating the Expedition Paddler blog and archiving the 'Around Ireland' blog. So you will be able to read about our preparations for 'Around Britain' from there and about Harry's antics up on the Thames. You'll also be able to read about Vaughan’s trials and tribulations in making the DVD 'Into the Wind' as well as other such adventures that team Expedition Paddler will be getting up to.

Our next post will be at http://expeditionpaddler.blogspot.com/ where we shall hopefully share a journey or two with you once more.

Jeff

'Into the Wind' DVD trailer



Hey there folks, Vaughan Roberts from Romany Productions has just sent me a short trailer for the DVD he is producing on the 'Around Ireland 2011' expedition. The DVD will be titled 'Into the Wind' and you can view the trailer by clicking on the image above.

The DVD will not only be about the expedition but will also provide an insight into Vaughan's own journey around the Emerald Isle.

At the moment, the Romany Productions' web designer is creating an order page for the web site, but if anyone feels as excited about this project as we are and is enticed into watching more then you can place an order direct by emailing Vaughan at: romanyproductions@gmail.com           

In team Expedition Paddler's endeavour to support the Ovarian Cancer Action charity, Vaughan has agreed that £1.00 from every DVD sale will go direct to the OCA charity.

The DVD will be going on sale at £19.99



        

Fuelled up

During the 'Around Ireland 2011' expedition, fuel was paramount. On a small paddling day we were burning just over 3000 calories and on a long one in excess of 9000. How were we going to be able to keep on going when we were trimmed so close to the bone - in fact we both lost about 2 stone in weight over the 25 day period. 

Off the water we were using a combination of 'Look what we found' meals and pasta, where possible supplemented by a pint or two of the black stuff - in the morning it was porridge. Harry and I also had regular intakes of a hydration supplement.

On the water however, our diet consisted of practically just one item - we were eating 'Mule Bars'. These were devoured with relish, half a bar each, every hour and you could feel the energy value kicking in as it was chomped down. When I became hypothermic it was energy shots and mule bars which kept the inner fire fuelled and helped us land.

It was last year that Jim Frampton, my paddling partner in Scandinavia discovered these energy bars as a fuel source and it was in the cold Arctic North that these little nuggets of nutrition were tested; and as soon as we started to plan for Around Ireland, I approached Mike at Mule Bars like Oliver - bowl in hand.

Mule bars are the perfect pit stop either of us had experienced, in fact back in Ireland on one of the odd days where we came ashore to rest for a while, Harry and I popped into a local store and purchased several Mars Bars and Snickers to add change to our dietary routine and found that the fuel efficiency, or lack of, was instantly noticeable. 

I have now decided to carry two Mule Bars in my PFD along with one energy shot to serve as emergency fuel for that time when either I, or one of my paddling mates runs out of fuel and struggles to get home. 

Gear reviews - Epic and Lendal Paddles

The Epic mid wing

Several years ago I started to mix and match my paddles on an expedition, different paddles = different paddling styles/techniques = different muscle groups; so being able to vary paddling styles also facilitated rest for various muscle groups. 

When I started the Scandinavia expedition I took a pair of wings, the tried and well tested Lendal kinetic touring and a Greenland stick.

I have to say that I was most impressed by the wing blade, especially in calm to moderate waters, whenever it got really rough or technical I would invariably swap back to my Lendal.

The wing blade has such a positive catch that after using a wing and then changing back to any other blade type the flutter on the blade becomes more than noticeable, in fact controlling the blade through the water after using a wing really becomes a bit of a chore. 

So when Harry and I got together and started preparing for Around Ireland we decided that a wing blade would become our main source of propulsion. We tried various wing paddles out but one design which stood out head and shoulders above all others was the Epic mid wing, a really high quality product which is exceptionally light, has a very positive catch and an ultra smooth action through the water, this paddle soon became both Harry and my own, favorite paddle. 

There were only two days on the entire journey when we both changed over to our spare paddles and then it was comfortable to know that our Lendals were there, both Harry and I have paddled thousands of miles with a Lendal blade and we know its characteristics intimately. On both of these days we faced winds which were gusting in excess of 40-45 knots and we both felt that for the dynamic changes in blade angle which would be needed beneath the water, an asymmetric blade would work best. 

This combination worked very well for us and I have no doubt the partnership between asymmetric and wing shall continue to be a feature for future expeditions. 

A part of our own personal action plan for the 'Around Britain and Ireland' expedition will be to improve upon our forward paddling stroke, Harry maintains that I have the most agricultural style of paddling he's ever seen and looking at some of the video footage I am afraid I have to agree, so if there is anyone out there who happens to be heading down towards the south west, who fancies giving me a few top tips, please do get in touch, you'll find me all ears.....

Jeff & Harry

Home time blues

We have been home several days now and it's great! Well sort of great - lovely to see family and friends, familiar places, but some things are missing. Numb fingers and toes have turned to pins and needles and as the adrenaline in our tissues has diminished, the pain is surfacing -  reminding Harry and I where we were just a few short days ago. Our Taran's have returned home to North Wales and not having one nearby feels strange; not that we could paddle them, doctors orders - rest and keep the hands dry until our blisters heal. The aftermath of an expedition which was so all consuming, is trying to nestle back down into normality again, the truth is I think Harry and I both wish we were still out there paddling.

I suppose the only thing we can do is to plan another expedition, I have to return to Norway and try and get my self around Nordkap, so I have that to look forward to but Harry and I are just starting to enter into the planning stages of an 'Around Britain & Ireland' for 2013. We have an idea that we may be able to combine both land masses and still possibly better the record which stands at 80 days for around Britain, but we are not sure what the record for both is - does anyone have any ideas?.

In the mean time I had better start working on my forward paddling stroke, meanwhile Harry leaves sunny Cornwall today and heads home to London; tomorrow he will be paddling on the Thames once more, dreaming of distant shores.

Espie - Harry's girfriend pulling Harry out the pub...again

Gear reviews-The Rockpool Taran

Gear reviews for Around Ireland Expedition 2011

The Rockpool Taran

As mentioned in a previous post, we said that over the next few days we would get our selves squared away and then, whilst Vaughan gets to work on the trailer for the ‘Around Ireland DVD’ Harry and I would look at the gear we chose for the expedition and the reasons behind those choices

First of all, before we look to the gear, let’s look at what the original aim of ‘Around Ireland 2011’. 

Aim: Our aim was quite simple, to break a record which had been established some 21 years ago, back in 1990 by Dermot Blount, Brian Fanning, Karl Heery and Mick O'Meara, the record was 33 days. 

For both Harry and I, sea kayaking has for the most part been about the journey, exploring new coastlines, cultures and experiencing the richness and excitement of being within a dynamic coastal environment. But over the past few years we have started to find that inside of us, we had a desire to see how far we could push ourselves, physically, mentally and emotionally, in hind sight this was still very much a journey, in many ways a journey that was every bit as rich and rewarding as previous journeys, only this time it was a journey within.

So when Harry suggested we team up in a speed attempt around the Emerald Isle, it hit a chord deep inside, one which was to become every bit as absorbing, if not more so, than any other journey we had done before……the only condition was that we declared up front and let people know what we were planning and allowed ourselves no ‘easy way out’ if we chose along the way, not to go for it.

The Rockpool Taran:

To facilitate a successful conclusion to this speed record attempt we needed a fast boat, the boat that was making all the noise at the time, as well as establishing a whole series of new records was the ‘Rockpool Taran’. Designed and paddled extensively by John Willacey and built by Mike Webb of Rockpool. the Taran has an aggressive and distinctive look about her, very similar in many ways to a white water racer, the difference with the Taran is that she is very much a sea kayak and it turned out, an exceptionally good sea kayak. Another of it’s design differences is that the bottom of the hull is almost perfectly flat, this was really quite radical. Round sectioned hulls are considered to be the fastest shapes through the water, so why was the Taran so fast? I think Harry may have hit upon the answer. Harry, prior to sea paddling, had a lot of experience in sailing and he figured that the flat section hull created a lot of surface tension, which helps to hold the boat down in the water, this means that the water line length remains constantly down in the water which is ideal for into the wind and off the wind paddling, yet when running downwind the flat section also allows the kayak to plane, and boy does it plane. There were going to be other characteristics which would not necessarily lend themselves to being an effective ‘rough water expedition kayak’, for instance to plumb bow, not ideal when landing on a steeply shelving beach, or the fact that the kayak comes with a rudder, what if the rudder goes wrong?

Wild water kayaks have plumb bows and they are forever bouncing off rocks and many modern sea kayak designs also have plumb bows, this effectively means that the overall length remains in action and this equates to speed, speed is a major factor when considering sea worthiness/safety. Especially when having to gain rapid exit off the water or operating in tight weather windows.

The rudder:

Should I use a rudder or a skeg? This has been an endless debate, we chose to use a ruddered kayak because it facilitates speed. Every stroke is a forward stroke and when running down wind the micro adjustments available enable you to link swells repeatedly. The rudder is basically an adjustable skeg and suffers no greater threat of damage than a skeg, both can jam or break and when they do, it affects the handling of the kayak. The important aspect for both Harry and I was that we familiarized ourselves with the handling characteristics of the Taran when the rudder was not in use. We did this and we also carried spares just in case.

Speed:

We seldom got to use the Taran downwind, it’s optimum speed direction, but we found that the kayak would happily maintain a 4.5 knot average in all directions, even in a cross wind/slightly up wind direction, into the wind, as with all sea kayaks the speed would drop in relationship to the strength of the wind.

Comfort:

The comfort rating of the kayak, in all conditions was excellent, we spent upwards of 20 hours per day in this kayak, often in advanced conditions and it felt more comfortable than any other kayak we have paddled before.

Build quality:

The kayaks came to us in a high quality state of build and after several months of heavy use, showed little weakness in the construction methods used.

Mike asked for feedback on the way in which the design can be enhanced for expedition use and our only feed back was for the addition of a bow/stern toggle. A slightly larger fore hatch, a recessed day hatch, a couple more recessed deck fittings on the foredeck, also possibly the addition of a recessed compass housing.

All in all, both Harry and I felt that the new Rockpool Taran, is probably the most exciting thing to happen to sea kayak design in the last 10-15 years and we have already signed up for a new kayak.

Laying down the Gauntlet

Mick handing over record 'trophy' 

We were just in the process of checking out of the Cliff House when the receptionist said there was a call for us. It was Mick O'Meara, calling us up to offer his congratulations and to invite us over to his home in Tramore for a celebratory beer or three.

Mick was part of the four man team who set the record some 20 years ago. Mick is a big friendly bear of a man with a touch of craziness - we all hit it off the moment we met, I could see that Harry and Mick were probably chopped from the same block. Mick treated us to a fish and chip supper then took us home to meet his wife and three young children, the latest addition to his family was four week old Dermot, who according to Mick was already being groomed to paddle around Ireland in under 20 days.

We unloaded one of the Tarans for the guys to look over and Mick instantly fell for the lines of the Taran. Mick holds numerous records for paddling, the Liffey Descent, the Irish Sea crossing from Rosslare to Pembroke as well as having won the DW race four times. The guys all started to arrive and we wondered into town for a beer - more and more people wandered in and settled round the table; the Guinness flowed almost as fast as the Liffey River.

On the way around Ireland, Harry and I had discussed together the speed of paddling the coast and figured it could be done in sub 20 days if the weather is good - this became a topic of conversation around the table, when suddenly out of Harry's corner came a roar 'well come on boys, do it!' - out of the eleven paddlers sat around the table - ten had successfully circumnavigated the country. The gauntlet was laid and twenty two eyes were glued to it,  everyone roared into laughter and the Guinness started to flow once more...

Laying down the Gauntlet..

Penguins on Bicycles

Well here we are sitting in the Cliff House Hotel, Ardmore, feeling rested and semi recovered from our race around Ireland. We apologise for the lack of information from the last three or four days; only because we had some massive obstacles to endure.

The weather Gods did not smile on us for this expedition, but because of this it does seem to make the achievement of having completed our,aim so much more satisfying.

Harry and I were sat in Kilkeel just north of the border with the Republic when it occurred to us that we may not make it back to Ardmore in time for our families who were arriving to welcome us home, always a gamble when the wind is around.

I said to Harry,

'We just need to do the maths mate and then see if we can dig deep enough to pull it off'

To which he replied,

'Well its about 340km from Kilkeel back to Ardmore and our families arrive on Sunday, to meet us at the finishing post'.

We set out from Kilkeel knowing we had to put in maximum effort; this was hard to envisage as the whole trip so far had been about pushing ourselves hard so how could we dig deeper at this point?

When we arrived in Bray, Harry had to help me out of my kayak and into my bag - because of low blood sugar levels and hypothermia. as we crossed Dublin Bay. We thought this leg into Bray was going to be our longest day at around 120km, but this was soon to be topped. We had 230 km left to do.

Over the next 54 hours and 15 minutes of paddling we had only four very short breaks. Once when we met with Vaughan to pick up our dry suits and get some Red Bull drinks to help keep us awake - which proved to be a valuable investment.  In Rosslare we had too much tide against us to be able to paddle through the channel so we pulled our kayaks onto the granite blocks and waited, 45 minutes later a steward was telling us to get lost as we shouldn't be there and there was a ship coming in. We made it through the channel and entered the south coast.

We stopped at Kilmore Quay, we were so drained by the wind and tide,  that a coffee and cake beckoned us. Our final short stop was on the beach at Ballyteige Bay, northeast of Keeragh Islands where we slept in turns for the next 60 minutes in case we didn't wake up. We now had 82 km left to go. We were both feeling more exhausted than we had ever felt before and felt we had to look at a contingency plan, we started to discuss options. Looking over Harry's shoulder I saw the white caps on the water start to diminish, the wind was dropping and the tide was turning and running south west of the Keeragh Islands,

'Harry, we're going home' I said.

Things for once looked in our favour, so we launched and before long were off Hook Head. We paddled into the night and we started to move in towards the shore, we hit strong tidal flow beneath the cliffs to the East of Ballyvoyle Head and it was here we also started to encounter serious problems mentally.  

Harry paddled over to me and said he couldn't focus anymore, he had a Penguin on a bicycle bothering him, I told him not to worry stay close beside me but don't interrupt me, I was trying to negotiate surfing my sea kayak through a bus shelter of old folks and kids, not quite understanding why my bow was able part the tarmac - we were both seriously hallucinating!

Looking back it was funny; in reality it was probably our most dangerous time of the whole journey; because nothing now was for real - including the football fields to our left, where I said to Harry we could land if the Penguin didn'nt leave him alone.

At first light the hallucinations diminished as the sun rose, but the coastguard appeared because no one had heard anything from us and we were 7 hours over our eta so Vaughan had triggered a search in case we were in trouble. Harry convinced the coastguard we were fine and we continued on towards Ardmore Head. Neither Harry nor I had any idea how long we had been in the boats for and everything seemed very surreal; the slog now to Ardmore seemed to take for ever. More hallucinations returned in the last few miles but as we hit the last stretch, these were pierced by the sudden intervention of bag pipes playing and people cheering. We suddenly realised we were home.

We have had an amazing journey and we will be continuing on with this blog for several days for those that are interested. We will be doing short reviews about the equipment we chose to use and Vaughan, who as you know will be making a DVD of the whole adventure, he will get a small trailer, to wet your appetites, together over the next few days.

Finally we have some huge thankyous to make....

Firstly to our sponsors, all who donated to Ovarian Cancer Action and to all the people we met, who assisted us in some way on the journey - Thank you.

Secondly to our families, Kathryn, Sally (my Mum), Betty (Harry's Mum) and Harold -  especially Harold, for being a chauffeur for the ladies and standing vigil during the night, endlessly searching for our arrival; and Betty for keeping order and everyone smiling through the many hours of waiting.

They do say when you really respect a person, you might want to thank their parents. I am not sure what you did with Harry in his formative years, but you bred into him a quality I have seen in few men - he was the perfect paddling partner, a good friend and is made of strong stuff.  Thank you.

Thirdly to Vaughan - you've followed us around the Emerald Isle, a 1000 mile adventure of your own no doubt, cheers for doing what you did for us over the last few days to make things happen and for supporting our families when they arrived in Ardmore. It started as an unsupported trip, but this changed on the day we arrived in Bally when you had to help Harry get me into my sleeping bag and then through to the end, good to have you around mate. Thank you

Fourthly to my wife, Lizzie, you helped us out from day one, obtaining sponsorship, food etc, supported and developed my training programme and also updated the blog daily from short indecipherable emails sent from my I phone in the wee hours you managed to update and keep people informed, Thank you, I love you very much and yes I will get my beard trimmed before I get home. Thank you.

Finally Adrian, from the Cliff House Hotel, you are a star - with no prompting at all, you made us welcome, even though we were complete strangers, you didn't know if we would succeed or not, but you dangled a very strong carrot our way in offering to host us at the end.
On the final few days you openly welcomed in our families in and treated them like royalty, a really big thank you to both you and your amazing staff.



I am sure I will have forgotten someone, please excuse me if that is the case, I will remember and make amends.......we are now off to meet Mick O'Meara and Dermot Blount for a few pints.

Jeff and Harry

P.S. I did forget, a very big thank you to Karel our weather man. Karel has been supporting sea kayak expeditions world wide for several years now, so we were very happy when he agreed to support us. You were rarely the bearer of good news Karel and we are sorry you couldn't get through to us the last day or two. Your information regarding that small weather window when we were on the South coast of Donegal Bay allowed us to move, if we hadn't our time would most certainly have been in excess of 25 days. Thank you.

DAY 25 : The boys did It!!

They arrived in Ardmore at 4.15pm to a big crowd and the sound of bagpipes playing. They are both very thin, knackered, covered in blisters and sores like you wouldn't believe -  but both delighted. It was pretty emotional, especially with the pipes playing on their arrival - incredible.

When Jeff and Harry arise from their well earned 5 star beds at The Cliff House Hotel, they will post a blog.

p.s. A message for John Willacy - Jeff say hi and will call you later

DAY 25: The last night is always the longest.....

Confirmed sighting of the boys (not in pub). All is well. Four hours to destination. Pretty sure this time.....

DAY 25: Thin Air

Last news from the boys was at 8pm last night, we got a call from Jeff, saying that they had made it around hook head and they were on route to make it home in 5 hours-ish. We have heard nothing since. We will update you as soon as we have any news. Waiting. Waiting.

Day 24 continues...

Hi guys, all we can say is sorry for anyone who turns up tonight at the Cliff House Hotel. We never made it. The moral of this story is 'never count your chickens, before they've hatched!'

We have however just completed our longest day. It’s been a hard 29 hours of paddling, leaving from Bray at 10 am yesterday, we have battled our way towards Ardmore, violent squalls, foul tide and now today,  strong headwinds have hampered our progress back to our finish point. We have just landed through dumping surf on the beach
Opposite Keeragh Islands, it's 1540 pm and we are 15 kilometres short of Hook Head, not sure what the distance is so I shall let the guys who sponsored our longest day measure it out,. I asked Harry to land further up the beach than me Des, so yes, he did go a little further than I did. We hope to make Ardmore tomorrow, but the weather isn't looking good:( going to sleep now as we are shattered
Jeff and Harry

So near, but yet so far!

The winds, true to form for their trip, show no sign of helping the boys on their last leg.

Just spoke to Jeff and Harry - they are pretty tired, worn out, but continue to maintain high spirits. They are expecting to arrive at midnight/one in the morning after almost 36 hours and 250km on the water.

With the utmost respect to you both.

Once again thank you to Andrian at the Cliff House Hotel, luxury for the lads arrival will be most welcome.

Vaughan

p.s. Jeff is due to be interviewed by BBC radio Cornwall at 7.40am

DAY 24: DAWN AT ROSSLARE

Paddled thru to 4.30 but couldn't get past Rosslare as the tide is too strong so hauled out and waiting on the harbour wall for the tide to turn and then will carry on - about 120 km to go.  Having coffee and panini's back in Bray yesterday morning seems a long time ago now. Still going strong thanks to the Mule bars and Red Bull and confident we shall make it for 7pm ish, if anyone's interested in joining us for a beer, come along, most welcome.

Jeff and Harry

DAY 23: SURPRISE UPDATE FROM VAUGHAN

The boys left from Bray this morning at 10 am - destination Ardmore in a oner, said something about some guys paying money for kilometres covered. Hope you've checked your bank accounts guys, this may be expensive!

Jeff and Harry would like to extend an invitation to anyone who wishes to join them for a drink at the Cliff House Hotel, Ardmore somewhere between 7 and 9 p.m. tomorrow which is when they hope to arrive - let's hope they make it!

DAY 22 A COLD END TO A LONG DAY

We met up with Oisin Hallisey from Tollymore outdoors in Kilkeel and shared a few jars as well as yarns till close to midnight. Dropping us off at our exclusive Des-res at the docks he presented us with two bags of scones which served us well at breakfast time. Cheers Osh, great to see you.

We left Kilkeel into the same head wind of the previous day.  We are sure you are bored with hearing about the wind but it seems to be the third expedition partner in this project and certainly dictates our daily pace. We crossed the mouth of Carlingford Lough and then went straight into a longer crossing of Dundalk Bay, pulling our kayaks up a small beach besides the small fishing harbour at Clogher Head mid afternoon. Starting to eddy hop the beaches as far as Balbriggan, we got caught in several squalls and started to feel the pressure of tiredness creeping in. We ran our boats up the beach, part inflated our Sea02 vests and had a quick power nap slumped over our foredecks. This worked amazingly for me and as we entered the Skerries we started to pick up tide and a following wind and we flew down the coast.

Lambay Island which had been a feature on the horizon for most of the day was left in our wake, passing Irelands Eye we stopped on the north east corner of Howth and called Vaughan who we hadn't seen for three days now. We arrange to meet with him at 1am in Greystones but as we pass Dalkey Island to the east I started to feel the effects of hypothermia and we headed into the nearest set of lights which turned out to be Bray. By the time we had landed I was feeling pretty bad and if it hadn't been for Harry’s encouragement for the last hour of the journey and constant resupply of mule bars and energy shots I'm pretty sure I would have gone downhill rapidly. Anyway sat here now on the beach at Bray about to embrace the day. (By our rough reckoning about 125 km yesterday).
Cheers
Jeff and Harry

DAY 21 Running for the Border

 We left from the comfort of Will's luxury abode and started paddling at around 7am. Will stayed with us till halfway across the mouth of Strangford Lough, he pointed out the new turbine in the neck of the Lough as well as St Patricks split rock. It was great to see Will and to meet his lovely wife and children, albeit briefly. 

 We hoped to make the northern end of Dublin Bay today but the wind gave us no respite and within an hour we were pulling into Ardglass searching for sustenance in the form of a breakfast, which consisted of deep fried sausage, fried egg and bacon between two pieces of toasted soda bread, washed down with coffee. Why am I telling you this? Well we were about to get well and truly nailed going straight across Dundrum bay into a force 5 occasionally 6 headwind and we needed that extra food, our bodies are hungry for fatty foodstuffs. In fact Harry has lost well over a stone in weight in the last three weeks, I'm not sure how much weight I've lost but I can just about see my feet now!

 We crossed straight over the bay quite by mistake, I was picking my way through the rocks at St Johns point and turned to come out when a large swell threatened to put me on the shore, Harry thought I was turning out into the crossing and turned too. I looked at Harry turning out to sea and thought 'bold boys going straight across, that's a bit hard core' so turned and followed, it wasn't until 3 1/2 hours later when we crawled, broken, out of our kayaks like whimpering kittens that we realised what had happened-'why on earth did you chose to cross against the tide and wind Harry?' I replied - 'I was following you'

 Anyway we are now sat eating fish n' chips in Kilkeel. Fat and carbs (Guinness) is the order for this day we think.
 
 Jeff and Harry

DAY 20/21 : Open Invitation

We left from Donaghadee about an hour after we were forced off the water by the wind yesterday afternoon. We made use of the last of the tide,  accompanied by fishing boats from Copeland Island, also heading south. Tired and lacking a big old thumper in the engine room, we were forced to search out eddy lines. 

Blown off the water at Donaghadee

Will Brown, a chap I met recently at the Tollymore Paddlefest had contacted me early in the day via the blog and offered both Harry and I a bed for the night. We jumped at the chance, so Will met us as we landed through small surf in the dark at Knockin Elder. Cheers Will, the pasta was great fuel for today, I'm sorry I deserted early to the kindly offered bath, but I'm sure Harry kept you more than amused. Will is going to be joining us on the water today as we head towards Dublin. Harry and I extend an open invite out to anyone else who wishes to join us over the next few days. We are hoping to complete by Sunday/Monday, although the wind seems to be doing it's best to hold us back from our goal. 

p.s : I am afraid that neither Harry and I can accept any responsibility for paddlers who join us on the water, we are starting to feel the pace now and although  slowed down by the wind, the Taran is quite capable of holding a five knot pace in the right conditions, so please be prepared for that. Otherwise, company would be fantastic.