Welcome To Go Sea Kayak

Welcome To The Go Sea Kayak Blog...
This Blog is A Record Of My Personal Adventures And Wonderful Kayaking Lifestyle. It Is Also A Taster Of What You Can Expect If You're Adventurous Enough To Tag Along. Why Not Get In Touch And Join One Of Go Sea Kayaks Guided Trips On The Beautiful Mediterranean Island Of Sardinia, You Won't Regret it!

Thursday 13 March 2014

Can't See It, Can't Surf It...

Me & Noel were quite excited about today. We were off to Aberavon for some longboat surfing. The forecast was for 2-4 foot waves with a 13 second frequency & light winds. Perfect!
When we got there though we couldn't see the sea! admittedly the tide was out but even when we walked to the waters edge we still struggled to see much. If that wasn't bad enough the waves, from what we could see were tiny :(
Time for a plan B.
 We had drove to Aberavon in Noels car, mine was at Penarth so we decided to paddle from Sully to Penarth in the fog. We considered doing the trip via Flat Holm but it was far too foggy & we were equipped for surfing & had no maps, GPS, split paddles & Noel even omitted his tow-line.
The vis as Sully was much better than Aberavon but still foggy as in the image above Sully Island was still hidden.
 We launched on the West side of the causeway so as to paddle around the back of the island.
 It was lovely & calm which made me long for a paddle out to Flat Holm.
 Instead I got in close to the rocks & on them once or twice too (whoops).
 Nearing Penarth the vis worsened. I was very close in here but the cliffs are still hidden.
 We just kept following the shore till we reached Penarth.
 Where , you guessed it, it was foggy!
 Noel trying to hide from having his pic taken :)
When we arrived back at Sully, as if on cue the Sun came out & the fog started to lift...

Tuesday 11 March 2014

Project Nordkapp Part 7...

About 5 months ago I posted part 6 of this project & fully intended to crack on & get the job finished. Well 5 months between stages is hardly cracking on but I have got back to work on her.
In the previous instalment I had applied a fresh layer (2 actually) of gel coat to the top deck so this post is all about, (can you guess?), sanding. Lots & lots of sanding!
 The grey looking bits have had the initial sanding to remove the imperfections from painting the gel coat on.
 Whoops! I made 5 of these altogether & have now ground them out ready to fill with black gel coat.
Here you can clearly see the imperfections from the painting process. Gel coat is designed to be applied within a mould, I don't have that luxury so am doing it the hard way! 
I have now finished the initial sand & have ground out 5 spots that need filling. I'll do that tomorrow & maybe start the wet & dry process to to start bringing the shine back. Once thats done I can apply the deck seam tape & she'll be floatable if not completely finished.
Wonder how long till the next post?

Sunday 9 March 2014

Motley Crue...

Ok, so this is the same route as my last paddle. I was solo then but i'm definitely not solo today & have joined a Motley Crue of paddlers for the run out to the Holm Islands.
 There was nine of us in total, myself, Jules, Elan, Stuart, John, Gareth, Andy & Chris & Chris.
We all met up at the Captains wife in Sully at 0900 & were rather smug about the lovely conditions & warm sunshine.
We head off at 0930 & make our way across the causeway to the western end of sully island.
 Where Jules leaps a wave in the race!
 I too got a facefull was was soon past the island & heading out to sea.

 We leave the land behind & head off on a rough bearing into the mist as we cant see our destination at first.
 Flat Holm passes on our left but we'll leave that visit for later in the day.
 As Steep Holm is to be our first stop.
 That is if we can avoid the traffic.
 An hour & twenty minutes after departure we reach the Western end of Steep Holm & are nice & wide which means we wont have to fight the tide around the Rudder (an arch on the western tip).
 You can just see the light shining through the Rudder in this image.
 We paddle gently now along the eastern shore.
 Admiring the summer residents as they fill the sky.
 We land on the beach for a well earned rest.
Today I brought an Avocado for lunch as well as some cous cous & chick pea dahl :)
 The recent storms have undercut the steps & dramatically lowered the level of the beach revealing what I believe to be parts of the old pier that used to reside here during the first World war (maybe second?), I read history & then forget what I read! The level of the beach here does fluctuate with the tides but this is most certainly storm damage.
 Some communication cables were uncovered too.

After a well earned break & some banter with my home girls we push on for Flat Holm with twenty minutes of the flood remaining.
 Forty minutes later we reach Flat Holm as it's just a short three mile crossing.
 A terrible pic I know but this is one of a pair of Peregrin Falcons resident on the Island.
 After another break we push on for the mainland.
 Heading through the arch in Castle Rock.

 It was a tight fit with some tide running through!
 As we finally leave the island my watch reads 1300 & there's an hour of ebb tide running.
 But we're on neaps & its really not that strong.
We make good time for Sully due to a very shallow ferry angle.
Chris Evans hasn't swum today which seems strange given his previous record?
He evan pulls off some nice rolls & paddles the last 100 sat on his kayak, can this be a turning point for him???
Here's the route, about 14 miles roughly & a good day out :)

Wednesday 5 March 2014

Severn Triangle...

I'd have like to have stayed in bed this morning (just a little longer) but the unusual good weather coaxed me out of my slumber at 0500 to get ready for a dawn paddle across to Steep Holm then Flat Holm before returning to Sully.
 I arrived a little too early at Sully but that was fine as I hate rushing!
 The conditions were idyllic as I push off & make my way across the causeway towards the Western end of Sully Island.
 The sun was rising near to Flat Holm.
 I turn & pause for a moment to take in the sight.
 Then on to Steep Holm some 6½ miles away through the strong currents of the Severn.
I turned course for this image, my actual bearing was some way to the right as I'd set off at peak flow.
 It seemed to take ages to ferry across the tide but eventually I got here & made my way to the beach for a brief rest & a peanut butter & jam sarnie :)
 It was near to high water when I arrive & there wasn't a great deal of beach left to land on!


 I didn't hang around long, the tides were quite strong today so I headed over to Flat Holm in the last hour of the flood.
 I find the short distance between the islands can be a real pain when the currents ebbing strongly so I was glad I left when I did using the flood tide to get me there with just a little ferrying.
I aimed for the Western side to get to my landing spot on the Easter side & was holding a good 8-9KMH most of the way. A luxury after working hard  to hit 5½KMH on the first leg to Steep Holm.
 Again I chose to have just a short break here as the tide still hadn't turned.
I left in the last 10 minutes of the flood hoping to make ground towards Lavernock. I wasn't going to Lavernock, just using the last of the flood & slack water period to get myself upstream for when the tide turned so I wouldn't have to ferry so much on the way back to Sully.
 I pass the jetty heading for Castle Rock.
 As usual there a little tide here pushing me through.

 The only person I saw all day.
 Looking towards the mainland, still seems a long way off.
 I need to put some distance between me & the island.
 My early departure worked a treat! Often I struggle to hit the Wolves buoy on the way back from Flat Holm but instead I was well upstream at Lavernock Outfall buoy. Thats Sully Island just behind it.
 The tide had turned by the buoy so I change course & head towards Sully with the tide giving me a useful push. I hit 11KMH for a time :)
 Before I know it I hit Sully & land by the steps as the beach is still covered by tide.
I was glad I got out of bed after all :)