Solent Sea Kayaking » expeditions

Trio Of Expeditions

Duncan — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 21:35:36 +0000

Justine And Barry

I’m getting the feeling that 2011 is going to be a bumper year for expeditions. So far, there are three juicy ones that have caught my eye.

Firstly Justine Curgenven and Barry Shaw are several days into their latest adventure, a Circumnavigation of Tierra Del Fuego.

As ever, the trip is proving to be eventful. After various ‘red tape’ delays navigating both customs to retrieve their shipped kit, then the Navy/Coastguard authorities for the correct paperwork before departure the duo departed. Within days, however, injuries to Shaw’s wrists caused by over-tight drysuit seals enforced another period of rest. However, all seems to be going a little smoother for the pair now and Justine is posting regular updates along with some great photos of their progress. Check out the map of their progress and all Justine’s blogposts on the the Cackle TV Blog.

Jeff Allen

Secondly, Jeff Allen, Harry Whelan and Chris Millington known collectively as Team Expedition Paddler are training hard for an attempt at breaking the record for a Circumnavigation of Ireland whilst raising money for charity Ovarian Cancer Action. They hope to raise £3000, this sum chosen as the route they will paddle is 3000 miles. Donations can be made on their Just Giving page.

They have been logging their training progress at the Expedition Paddler Blog with updates on the attempt itself being posted on the Round Ireland 2011 Website.

Freya Hoffmeister

Finally, September 2011 will see the start of Freya Hoffmeister’s next big adventure. Following her successful circumnavigation of Australia, Hoffmeister has now set her sights on yet another huge goal – South America.

Her plan is to split the trip into 3 x 8 month stages to take place between 2011 and her 50th Birthday in May 2014. You can track the planning and preparation for this mammoth undertaking on Freya’s Qajaqunderground website.

Belated Congratulations

Duncan — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 10:22:11 +0000

Over the summer period a couple of ‘big trips’ were successfully completed, both along the Scottish coastline.

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.

Isle Of Wight Sea Kayaking

Duncan — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:54:39 +0000

Isle of Wight Sea Kayaking are the South’s Specialist Sea Kayaking Centre; but that’s not all as they offer the widest range of courses in the South – with Sea Kayaking, WW, Surf and Canoe as well as the full range of BCU coaching awards and personnal performance awards. One of the guys heading up IWSK is Owen Burson, one of the very few coaches in UK able to run the full range of the new BCU/UKCC coaching awards. He is a trainer of new coach/leader trainer and assessors and works for the BCU in various capacities.

Isle of Wight Sea Kayaking also operate Island Kayaks; they supply all the main brands including Palm, Werner, Lendal, Dagger, Wilderness Systems, Perception and many more. They have in the last year taken over the South Coast’s main dealership for Valley Sea Kayaks and have almost a complete range of demo boats to try out.

Email: enquiries@iow-seakayaking.co.uk
Website: www.iow-seakayaking.co.uk

Phone: 01983 752043
Fax: 01983 209471

Isle of Wight Sea Kayaking
The Sandpipers
Freshwater Bay
Isle of Wight
PO40 9QX