A Sunday Paddle.

From Port St. Mary to the Sound and back marked the welcome return of Lauren after her three month trip around South America. Jan and Terry were missing but turned up a bit later on a cliff top near the Chasms! I've no idea what they were doing there but it's always good to see those two. At the Sound I caught the last of the tidal race. Everyone else felt it was too tame for them and ate cakes and drank hot chocolate on the Calf instead.

What's "in" a website?

I first posted http://www.kayak.im/ about 5 months ago. It was conceived to allow fellow kayakers to view photographs I have taken during our Sunday paddles on line. I anticipated about 10 visits per week. I enjoy creating the site and I would still produce it if just 1 person visited per week.
Last month the site received 23,000 hits through 600 separate visits by 200 individual machines from various parts of the world. Though not a huge amount this is far more than I ever expected. Spurred on by this I am currently working on new content, still photo rich but with more text and facts. The site will evolve but it will remain non commercial and retain its amateur status and appearance.
Webmaster.

Joe's Leaving Paddle!

Joe is leaving the Isle of Man in about three weeks time to take up his University place. Tonight a paddle from Fort Island took place to see him off.
I have known Joe for about two years. During that time I have paddled on many occasions with him. His presence is always a source of great reassurance to us all. His skills certainly outweigh most of ours and I think we've all learned a great deal from him. Joe has a great sense of humour and I think we'll all miss his company whilst paddling.
Joe will keep in touch and and has agreed to contribute to this site with "Paddling News from North Wales".

Chicken Rock and Back!

The Adventure Club plus 1 paddled from Port St Mary to South Harbour on the Calf of Man today. I discovered soon after departure that I was to lead the trip. I quickly worked out the tide and off we went.
Looking out from the Calf of Man, and with some of Jan's excellent sponge cake in hand, I decided to paddle on to circumnavigate the Chicken Rock Lighthouse.
After a couple of roles at the lighthouse we paddled back to Port St Mary. Amongst the wildlife seen were a pod of porpoises and some basking seals.
It's always difficult taking the lead on paddles, especially when you are relatively new to it, and also when you're not expecting it. Suddenly your group awareness has to be amplified. This is more so when you have novices along on such a potentially extreme paddle as this was. It can become rather like a shepherd herding sheep. There always seems to be one determined to go off on their own. The need for eyes in the back of your head can completely change your perception, and ultimately enjoyment of the paddle. Still with 5 star looming, this is just what I need!

Corporate Kayak!

19 bankers, 3 groups and two locations led to some organisational issues at Laxey. Once under way and after a couple of spills, myself, Jan and John decided to group up and head South.

The group quickly got the hang of paddling allowing for an uneventful trip, returning to Laxey for the barbecue.

The Adventure Club are off to Chicken Rock today which, for those not familiar with it, should provide for excitement in the tidal races and whirlpools!

Trip to Ramsay.

With a day off from Kayaking, myself, Christina and Christian took a trip to Ramsay on the Manx Electric Railway.










It was the first good day of weather for a while and would have been ideal for taking "beginners" out in. Either way we stopped off at Ballaglas for a walk and picnic at Port Cornaa, before continuing to Ramsay.

Windy Day!

Force 5 gusting 6 Northwesterly pushes a Level 3 Sea Kayak coach out of remit. Even if you ignore this will a group of beginners enjoy battling away against the wind on a trip? Mostly they want to look at scenery and wildlife and understandably do not want 3 hours of non stop"skills" in a sheltered spot. The answer is obvious; cancel the session and rebook them! But then I'm not making my living as a kayak coach. When Keirron gets back I'll ask him what he'd have done. Any guesses? I'll let you know.
WELL, HE AGREED WITH WHAT I'D DECIDED!!!