Freya Hoffmeister is at it again. Arguably one of the most hardcore expedition paddlers, previous trips include her 15,000km, 1 Year paddle around Australia. This time she has set her sites on another Continent, South America. Her plan is to split the trip into 3 legs providing her with time for family and business matters.

The expedition will take in 12 different countries and 24,000 km of paddling which is mind-blowing. Her blog provides a wealth of information on the trip from route, maps, kit lists and other interesting bits and pieces. In addition, Freya is updating her blog regularly with reports on the trip so far.

Useful Links

Freya’s Blog – Updates on Freyas progress so far.
Expedition Details – Various pages explaining different aspects of the trip.

Elaine has been a keen canoeist for nearly 20 years, successfully combining a career as an outdoor pursuits instructor at SHARE with competitive involvement at local, national and international canoeing events. She is currently a British Canoe Union Level 3 Sea, Surf and Inland Coach and Aspirant Level 5 Canoe Coach.

The Canoe Around Ireland website states that:

The motivation for the trip is not only the 1000 mile challenge but also to raise much needed funds for Shooters place of work, The Share Centre. During 2011 SHARE will celebrate 30 years of providing outdoor activity programmes which promote inclusion between disabled and non disabled people.

Fundraising is of paramount importance to ensure this charity can continue to deliver its much needed work. In fact it was whilst taking disabled groups canoeing at SHARE that Elaine got her inspiration for this challenge and setting the target of fundraising £10,000. This money will be allocated towards a fully accessible bus which will ensure further disabled groups will be able to travel and enjoy an outdoor recreation experience on Lough Erne.

A great trip and worthwhile cause.

Introduction To Elaine & Her Trip

Useful Links

Canoe Around Ireland Website
Canoe Around Ireland Twitter Feed
You Tube Channel

Mobile Editing

Simon and a small team videoed the 400 or so participants as they took part in the event then Simon headed back to his Travelodge room and spent the night editing the video so it could be shown at 12:30pm on a large screen at the Paddle 2010 Canoe Show in Perth.

It’s a really enjoyable watch – not directly Sea Kayak related other than a few paddlers who used Sea kayaks for the descent but it’s a fantastic advert for the diverse nature of paddle sports featuring a huge range of paddle sports craft and a huge variety of paddlers.

It’s also brilliant to see how Simon, can use his knowledge and expertise filming paddlesports (and other adventure activities) to turn around a high class film in super quick time.

SCA Tay Descent from Simon Willis on Vimeo.

A few month’s ago I mentioned Simon Willis’s forthcoming book Scottish Sea Kayak Trail. The finishing touches are being made to the book as I type this and it is due to be published on June 8th.

Simon is updating his website and plans are afoot to include a forum to compliment the book allowing paddlers to add extra information such as updates on the route, local services and points of interest and so forth.

You can sign up for more information on the book and its publication on the Pesda Press website.

From the publisher:

Scotland’s west coast is an undisputed world-class sea kayaking destination. This book challenges the reader to kayak a 500km route, from the Isle of Gigha off the Kintyre peninsular, to the Summer Isles near Ullapool. It can be undertaken in four holiday-sized sections or as one long, glorious journey.

The emphasis is on practical advice; how to tackle tricky tidal passages; places to visit; where to source essential information; food re-supply; where to safely leave kayaks overnight; how and when to shuttle vehicles; and the accessibility of public transport. Although camping is an essential element of this journey the book does not identify wild camp sites or even picnic places. It gives sea kayakers enough information to seek out their own adventures and so spread the environmental impact.

The history of this country is inextricably linked to the west coast, from the Scoti to the Norsemen, the Lords of the Isles to the Clearances. An historical thread, woven through the text, tells ‘Scotland’s Story’.

There are useful photographs and notes to help identify wildlife without disturbance, plus practical recommendations on wild camping, from minimum impact techniques to Scottish access law.

For those who travel the trail in the comfort of their armchairs, there’s also the story of the author’s own journey. Together you will travel under big skies on imposing seas in the company of seals, dolphins, eagles and gulls. The Scottish Sea Kayak Trail is waiting for you.

When you mention the Coast to Coast, most people think of the walk/run/cycle from St Bee’s to Robin Hoods Bay. However, an trip due to start in March 2009 plans to do it a little differently!

Supporting a very worthy cause and a great trip to boot on a journey that crosses northern England from the Irish Sea to the North Sea. You can find out more about the trip and the paddlers involved on the Kayak Coast 2 Coast blog. If you’d like to support the trip with a donation, take a look at the trips Just Giving page.

Dorset paddler Mark Rainsley completed his attempt to paddle the entire West & North coast whilst Simon and Liz Willis completed their fact finding mission prior to writing the Scottish Sea Kayak Trail Guidebook.

Mark’s solo trip was hampered by poor wind conditions but despite a few shore-bound days and a flying visit back to Dorset for 1 day of work, he managed to complete more miles than hoped.

Mark made frequent posts on the UKRGB forum allowing people to track his progress and has a short write up on his blog.

My eventual progess was 557 miles over 25 days of paddling, with day paddles ranging from 8 to 35 miles. I’ve covered all of Scotland’s west and north coasts, which without a doubt offers some of the finest sea paddling to be had anywhere.

Meanwhile, Simon and Liz Willis finished their fact finding mission for the forthcoming Scottish Sea Kayak Trail Guidebook. They paddled a linear route along Scotland’s west coast, from the Isle of Gigha off the Kintyre peninsular, to the Summer Isles near Ullapool.

Simon made regular posts on his blog and is now busy working on the guidebook due to be published by Pesda Press in May 2009.

Congratulations to all involved and thanks for the inspirational, if envy-inducing, updates over the summer period.

The route has been devised by Liz and Simon Willis, who live and kayak on Scotland’s west coast, and whose preliminary research is based on day-trip experience. This summer they’ll paddle the whole route, emphasising minimum impact camping. Follow their progress from June at ScottishKayakTrail.com

“It’s really a virtual trail”, says Simon. “There’ll be no sign posts, and we’ll certainly not be telling people where to camp. We don’t want to concentrate kayakers on a few beaches. We hope this trail will spread the impact of sea kayaking along the entire coast”.

The Scottish Kayak Trail route will run from the Isle of Gigha, off the Kintyre peninsular in the south, to the Summer Isles near Ullapool. “It will be divided into four sections”, Liz Willis explains, “so visitors can either spend a month or more paddling the entire trail, or pick out the best sections for a two week trip”.

The heart of the book is accurate pilot information relevant to sea kayakers. The emphasis is on practical advice; the best state of tide to tackle tricky sections; places to visit; the availability of food re-supply in local shops; where kayaks can safely be left unattended; how to shuttle a vehicle around the trail; public transport. A more complex, historical thread is woven through the text as the author uses place names and sights, such as ruined castles, to tell ‘Scotland’s Story’.

Incorporating advice from Scottish Canoe Association and Mountaineering Council of Scotland, the book emphasises minimum-impact wild camping within the terms of the Scottish Access Code and Land Reform (Scotland) Act.

For more information please contact Simon Willis at Simon@ScottishKayakTrail.com