It was with a feeling of sadness that I read recently that Simon Willis has decided to draw to a close his series of podcasts over on Sea Kayak Podcasts.

I know that a great many people have enjoyed Simon’s series of interviews with some fascinating Sea Kayakers and covering a wide range of topics. For me personally they have had a huge impact on my life.

It was listening to one of Simon’s early podcasts that sparked a conversation with my Wife about the fact I had almost dropped out of paddling completely due to work commitments and geographical location. That conversation continued for a day or so on and off and led to us deciding to relocate to the coast. Three weeks later we had moved our, at that time, new family into a new house and I’d started the Solent Sea Kayaking website.

I dropped Simon an email to thank him for the podcasts and shared this story which prompted a swift reply of thanks and proved to be the start of a ongoing friendship.

Thankfully, Simon intends to keep the library of podcasts archived online for folks to discover and continue to enjoy.

I’d like to take the opportunity to thank Simon for all his hard work putting the podcasts together and knowing Simon, am sure there will be another project in the pipeline soon!

Having listened to the podcast, I did some investigation on paddling on the Thames and came across this interesting slideshow by Natalie Maderova of a paddle between the Isle of Dogs/Richmond and Tilbury.

Two videos deal with Sea Kayak maintenance and safe loading of boats. The remainder look at some of the P&H range and take a close look at the new Corded Skeg System fitted to newer P&H Sea Kayaks.

Here, we see Doug introduce himself:

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

Covering a range of topics, such as equipment, routes and history this is a must listen for all Sea Kayakers. Shows can be subscribed to via iTunes or listened to on the actual pages of the website.

The Sea Kayak Routes website also has a range of useful links to other projects Simon is involved in and is a great resource, particularly for Scottish paddling routes.

As an example, one podcast interviews an expert from Werner paddles and would be worth downloading if you are in the market for some new blades. Possibly a must listen for all Sea Paddlers is the episode interviewing the Coastguard which provides an insight into how they work and how we, as responsible paddlers, can best help the coastguard should we need to call upon their services.

Look out for information on Simon’s latest project in a future article.