Christina and I arrived in Vancouver, Canada 24 hours ago after a journey from the Isle of Man which took the best part of a day. We've not been here long and so it's too early to judge Vancouver. Also the weather so far has been horrendous with constant rain. However, Vancouver reminds me of many of the cities I've previously visited in Australasia. It lies in a stunning setting, nestled between high mountains and surrounds a large natural harbour. It clearly has undergone a massive amount of recent development with ultra modern office blocks, marinas and extremely expensive flats dominating the central harbour area. We've yet to find a soul to this city. This doesn't mean that there isn't one and it could just be a reflection of the brief time we've spent here so far. Of course we have discovered Vancouver's gem - the stunning Stanley Park.
We're off to Victoria on Vancouver Island tomorrow but we will return here later.

Sunday Paddle?

Photo by Janet Taylor.
Less than 24 hours after saying that I wouldn't talk about work in this blog here goes. I work in the local hospital as a Consultant Anaesthetist. It's Sunday morning and I've been on call since 9 am Friday. I finish at 5 pm Monday! However, before you get too alarmed, apart from my routine duties on Friday and Monday I only need to respond to emergency calls from the hospital. So far I've not been called. Resident in the hospital is a Staff Grade Anaesthetist. They can do most things on their own. This means that if I do get called in it's because things have become really bad. Either there's a very serious case, or it's just very busy. The Staff Grades will have undergone 7 changes of shift by the time I finish! However, potentially, and it has happened, I could have to work solidly for 3 to 4 days with little or no sleep. Not this weekend however; it's been so quiet I keep checking that my phone line is still working.
So what's the point of telling this to a bunch of kayakers. Well none really - it's just another poor excuse for why there's no kayaking news in the blog again.

That'll teach me ............ I've just been called!!!!!!

Above: Lauren.(photo:Andy Wheeler)

There is another kayaking blog available apart from this one! Well, in reality there are loads of them. However my first statement is not far from the truth as his is by far the best. It's much more angry, slightly more opinionated, very thoughtful and certainly longer than my own blog. Perhaps that's why he pushes 2000 readers a day? I've added a link to it. One thing his blog has taught me is that kayaking blogs should not always be about kayaking. That would suggest that kayakers do nothing else. There may be a few people like that, but I think most of us have other facets to our lives. Indeed some of us even have proper jobs although I wont be writing about that.

The point of these comments is to warn the slightly fewer than 2000 readers a day I get that they may well encounter posts here only loosely linked to kayaking on occasion. If this should occur don't worry, I'll lessen the pain with some kayaking pictures from my archive.

Housekeeping.

Well, due to work and other commitments, I’ve not been able to kayak this week. So instead here’s some housekeeping that needs to be done.

I am increasingly receiving emails through http://www.kayak.im/ with questions regarding kayaking on the Isle of Man. Many of these questions are from visitors or beginners wishing to try out the sport for the first time. I am often asked to recommend a commercial kayaking company. Some readers will know that I have coached for a Peel based company on the Island. However, in the interests of remaining impartial and maintaining the complete independence of www.KAYAK.im, I am not able to advise any potential paddlers on which commercial kayaking company to use. I can point out which ones are available however. There are some links from my website to local companies, although these do not include a link to the company for which I have worked, as the owner prefers not to link between our web sites. If I am able to provide impartial advice on any other subject related to kayaking on the Isle of Man, I am more than pleased to do so.
I have also been asked why is the www.KAYAK.im difficult to find on some search engines? Well, different search engines use different algorithms to rank listed web sites. Google has over 75% of the search engine market. They overwhelmingly rank a site according to the number and quality of external links feeding to a particular web site. Google call this a “word of mouth” recommendation and feel that it more than anything else indicates the relative importance of one website over another. The more links from high quality web sites that you have, the higher up the Google listings the site will be. Relevant word content is very much second to external links with Google. This means that a site which may hardly mention for example “kayaking” and the “Isle of Man”, but which has masses of external high quality links could be ranked above one which has 20 pages solely devoted to this subject. Search engine ranking is a highly competitive area particularly if, unlike myself, your living depends on your website ranking. Consequently it can be difficult to persuade others with well established web sites to link to your site. This could easily help one site to displace another from that all important top Google slot. Despite this traffic on http://www.kayak.im/ was up by 50% last month compared to the month before. Clearly, it can be found but maybe with a little difficulty. I would like to thank all those who have visited, and a special thanks to those who keep returning. I would also like to thank those who have supported http://www.kayak.im/ by linking to it, and finally to thank those who have contributed to it’s content.

Indian Summer 2.

The unexpectedly warm and sunny weather continued as the group met at Port Erin for a paddle to the Calf. There was an exceptional turnout today with 16 sea kayaks lined up and ready to go.


Briefly, Port Erin Bay was chaotic with seemingly kayakers everywhere! Already overheating in our dry suites, rolls and other wet trickery spontaneously erupted as we all struggled to stay cool.


On reaching the Calf Sound further wet work continued. Although I have no problems completing a simple re-entry and roll, I have previously struggled to re-entry and roll and include replacing my spray deck whilst inverted underwater!!! The Coach says it's about mind over matter and telling yourself that you're not really about to pass out with hypoxia. In reality the key to this is to use a preformed neoprene spray deck as opposed to the floppy aquatherm ones the rest of us have been using. Unfortunately I can't re-entry and roll and replace my spray deck underwater whilst taking a photograph and so you'll have to take my word for it.

Indian Summer.

A few weeks ago we were told that Summer was over. Sure enough "lead" sky became the norm until today. On a glorious sunny but crisp morning Christina and I set off for a walk around Sulby Reservoir .......




..... and past an uninhabited house that we like.

Tomorrow we have the afternoon intermediate paddle out of Port Erin. However, later on there is an intra-mediate paddle for the first time. This concept has crossed over from the UK. Intra-mediates, so I'm told, are somewhere between beginners and intermediates. But I'm not sure what an intermediate is? I think I've been one for a long time. On the other hand I could be an advanced paddler, but then there are people more advanced than me. Perhaps I'm an inta-advanced paddler? As so often with this blog it's all questions and no answers!

Turning Points!

I have discussed night navigation trips in this blog before. I struggle with it mainly because my vision really suffers at night. This statement of the obvious is not quite what it seems as I have poor vision anyway. Consequently trying to read a map or the numbers on a compass, even with the use of a torch is challenging for me.Navigation is all about gaining enough information from your environment to plot position and course. At night such information can be scarce. Never the less bearings, way points and transit lines can usually guide you to you desired destination. There may be times when the number of visible landmarks is low and uncertainty about where you are and what direction to take can creep in. At other times suddenly an obvious landmark or definite transit will line up, and you know your exact location and what direction to take. I reached the latter point last night - I knew exactly where I was and where to go regarding a particular issue. Cryptic so far to some I'm sure!

An extract from http://www.westcoastpaddler.com/ :-

This site is done just for fun. We do it because we like to and that's the only reason. It's not a job, it's not a business, it's not even an obligation. It's more like a hobby -- a hobby that hopefully will provide some content that you'll find entertaining and informative.The concept for this site was developed in mid 2004 after recognizing that no websites existed specifically listing paddling locations in British Columbia. A website such as this could be a good resource to those looking for new places to paddle -- there was definitely a niche that needed to be filled.There are a number of guide books for local paddling destinations and as useful as they are, there is something missing in practically every one of the them -- they don't offer many photos. This website is not intended to replace guide books or their importance, but perhaps instead, as a complement to them. Always exploring and looking for new paddling locations, we realized that we've taken thousands of photos on numerous paddling trips -- this website would be a perfect way to show other paddlers some of the great destinations. Thus began countless hours of reviewing photos and roughing out a plan for what this website would contain.And so continues the adventure...

The above site is written and constructed by 6 paddlers in the Vancouver area. I think that their site represents an ideal model for a non commercial kayaking website. I haven't asked them, but I doubt very much that they encountered hostility directed towards their efforts.

Below, Peel Inner Harbour at dusk ......