Sea Kayaking Isle of Man - 250!

I paddled alone today. My usual partners made excuses like "I have to go to work" and "my car is broken - again". I planned to circumnavigate the Calf of Man but when I reached the Sound I was pleasantly surprised to find some fine surfing waves. There wasn't much flow in the race but there were some high energy, long wavelength rollers piling in from the west with a following wind. These hit the small amount of flow from the race head on and reared up to become tall, breaking surf waves. These were like the waves you get on a good surf beach, with the tidal race flow acting like the shallows of a beach pushing the wave energy upwards. They were great for surfing, effortless, and with no beach to spoil the effect. The above pictures don't really do it justice.
Of course we live in days of extreme political correctness and health and safety awareness. Soon it will be compulsory to wear a high visibility jacket the whole time, even around the house. Stairs will soon be banned and everyone, even children, will have to be police checked! So this blog posting comes with a disclaimer: never go into a tidal race alone! In fact never go in a tidal race at all - they are dangerous!
This is the 250th KAYAK.im blog posting!
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Isle of Man Kayaking - Learning to paddle again!

I took my new Mega Jester Trident out today in an attempt to familiarise myself with the new surf boat. After nearly 4 years in sea kayaks, I needed gentle conditions to get the hang of it, and to adjust the foot pads etc. But as I arrived in Port Erin the promenade flag poles were buckling in the force 6 to 7 winds! Simply removing the boat from the roof rack and carrying the ultra light carbon Mega to the sea proved difficult enough. And so it was a harsh christening for me and the new boat!
My first impressions were of how vulnerable I felt in this tiny, feather lite kayak. At the same time the infusion moulded carbon/kevlar structure felt rigid and strong, despite the pounding it received. The low profile means that you are mostly in the water rather than on it, until surfing of course. The lack of buoyancy bulk heads offering storage for safety gear such as flares and VHF means you have fewer options, especially when alone as I was. Emptying the boat, even on the beach, is not straight forward as there is no plugged drainage port. Self rescue might be a problem. However, rolling the Mega wasn't!
The waves weren't massive but the wind was menacing. This thoroughbred boat is so sensitive, twitchy and sharp that I constantly had to brace and paddle to stay upright. Its nothing like a sea kayak, and beach surfing is nothing like tidal race paddling. But after 30 minutes I got the hang of it. Being able to spin in a second to catch that perfect wave was a revelation. Once I abandoned the stern rudder and adopted a front "D" stance with my paddle, just flicking left and right as necessary, I got some amazing runs. However, I was surprised at how easily the bow buried itself on steep waves and I had to lean quite far back to maintain momentum.
I've still allot to learn about the boat and beach surfing. I also need to get a spray deck that fits, and doesn't leak and implode. But I think I've made a sound investment enabling me to paddle in virtually any weather conditions now.
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Sea Kayaking Isle of Man - Surfing Port Erin.

Surfing Port Erin, Isle of Man, Sunday 18th January 2009.
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Sea Kayaking Isle of Man - Surfing Ramsay.

The waves were half the size they should have been! The wind had shifted through 30 degrees and no longer opposed the receding tide. Still, most of us had driven the full 12 miles from Peel to Ramsay. As a proportion of the Manx national geography that's like driving from Los Angeles to New York and so retreating home without a paddle was unthinkable! Gerry, Steve, Stu, Ian, a young girl and myself took to the icy water for a fairly sedate surfing session. Having said that we all managed a few runs and I even rolled as I leaned off a breaking wave trying to squeeze a few extra yards out of it. You can view Steve's account of the session in video format here.
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