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!

Sunday 18 September 2016

Severn Sea And The Holm Islands...




I filmed this video as part of a kayaking DVD that I was working on but luckily for me I found a wonderful lady thats been distracting me with fab adventures and two summers on the sunny island of Sardinia. This made the making of a 'Best of British' DVD a tad tricky to film as I was hardly in the UK, so I'm putting them out there for you to watch and hopefully enjoy :)
I'm currently living in Sardinia and running trips along the spectacular coastline here, enjoying the warm waters and exploring the many islands and towering sea cliffs!
Take a look at my website to see what your missing then get in touch to book your trip!
Hope to hear from you, Taran :)




Friday 26 August 2016

Here's a wonderful blog post about one of our camping trips seen from a clients perspective!
I really love my job! :)
This really is a very special place to paddle so if you would like to experience sea kayaking why don't you get in touch and book a camping trip with us. 
It's easy to book and only €200 for a two day and two night trip and flights are very cheap at the moment too, so get in touch at www.goseakayak.com 
Why not follow us on Facebook too? 

We look forward to hearing from you!

Saturday 20 August 2016

Wild Camping Sardinia...

Some of the journeys we make in life are quite special and stay in your memory forever. This is one such journey, just two days of my life but they were an awesome two days and I was working too. This trip is the story of a two day two night camping trip with some fab clients. I do love my job!
 We started the journey as with many others, with a trip too the supermercato for supplies. Then we drove the short distance to La Aprerra to load and launch the kayaks. La Aprerra is a small beach in a small and beautiful bay. There are boat moorings there too so it makes the perfect launch spot for the journey we were undertaking. The weather was grey when we launched so I didn't take many pictures, I was just content to be on the water knowing that the best pictures were still to come.
The above image is taken at a small beach I know at Porto Rotondo, where we stopped for coffee and lunch.
 After lunch we launched into the beautiful blue sea,
 occasionally passing the craziness of the regimented brollies and deck chairs,
 before leaving the beaches and holiday homes far behind and finding our wilderness!
 The coast here is low lying with amazing rock sculptures, in sharp contrast to what we'll see on the morrow!
 Settling in to camp life :)
 After a much needed coffee and some melon the tents went up and we could relax and absorb our surroundings, which were pretty damn good!

 Come morning I amble out of bed and start the day with a swim and a coffee. I even got to see a full and orange moon set over the hill that I live on. Magic!
We had a lovely lazy morning before getting back in the kayaks and I was pretty excited as I knew just how amazing the days paddle was going to be!
 Did I mention the sea is very clear!?
 As we left camp we soon left the low lying landscapes behind and the scenery became a lot more grand and impressive as the limestone cliffs rose high from the waters edge, reaching for the blue skies above.
 We stayed in close to really get a feel for the height of the cliffs.
 In some places they would overhang you completely by quite a large amount! Looking up here was very special and it also provides some welcome shade from the sun.
 Limestone is known for caves but there aren't that many here? This is the best one that I've found and I can never resist going in!
 The clients had a go too :)
 Slowly Capo Ceraso comes into the distant view and I saw that we were reaching the tip of Capo Figari.
 The landscape begins to change again and become more gentle.
 As we pass the high cliffs of Capo Figari we soon spot Isola di Figarolo where we plan to camp for the night.
 This is a Corsican Gull, a bit of a speciality in this area and very beautiful too!
 We went around the island and headed out to the fish farm in the hope of seeing the Dolphins. It was all very quiet there but we were to have more luck in the evening.
 Our very lovely camp site on Isola di Figarolo. I've been meaning to camp here for a while and it really was as good as I expected. Even in peak season it was quiet in the evening with just a handful of yatchs moored offshore.
 A lovely sunset accompanied with Dolphins leaping from the water! I chose to enjoy the moment so didn't get a picture this time.
 Moonset in the morning.
 The best way to start the day, Cafetière on the go :)
 As we leave camp for the final short paddle to our pick up point I was unaware of the very special final treat that this journey was about to bless us with!
 This was the real highlight of the trip for me! Seeing the wild Mouflon on Isola di Figarolo! These were taken in the morning but we also saw them in the evening too, but to get pictures as well, Wow!
So that's another journey done and dusted and I really won't forget this one in a hurry! The clients really enjoyed it too which also makes me very happy :)

This really is a very special place to paddle so if you would like to experience sea kayaking why don't you get in touch and book a camping trip with us. 
It's easy to book and only €200 for a two day and two night trip and flights are very cheap at the moment too, so get in touch at www.goseakayak.com 
Why not follow us on Facebook too? 

We look forward to hearing from you!

Saturday 6 August 2016

Isola di Tavolara Circumnavigation...

Hmmm, back to Tavolara again and I couldn't help dwelling on what a fantastic sea kayakers paradise I've gone and relocated myself too! Paddling a sea kayak is fun pretty much wherever you are but the coastline around Olbia is something else and I'm particularly found of Tavolara! Be it in a sea kayak or on foot hoofing my way up to its summit. Though even the foot option involves kayaking to get there so its a double bonus for me! :)
Today I was with Chris, paddling from Carla Finanza, out too and around Tavolara. Its a long trip at just over 13 miles (20KM) so I don't take novice kayakers around the island, but Chris is experienced so we were able to go right the way around this behemoth of an island!
Leaving Cala Finanza, a nice quiet natural harbour that makes the perfect launch site.
We were up reasonably early so the light was still lovely as we headed out onto the open sea.
We took a small detour out to a wrecked fishing trawler just for the fun of it!

We stopped on the West side of Tavolara for a little rest before continuing. We weren't tired but from here there is nowhere to get out until we complete the circumnavigation. This is partly to do with the vertical cliffs but also the fact that the military own the island and only allow access to the western side.
That summit you can see is 565 metres (1854 feet) high and the island is 3 miles (5KM) long and 0.6 miles (1KM) wide! It really is an impressive piece of Limestone!
The size of the cliffs are deceptive and make the distances look shorter than they really are? In reality the far end takes a lot longer to paddle to than you think it will. You'll be paddling nearly 7 miles (11KM) before you can land again!
There is a beach on the far end of the island but its home to some military buildings that control the ariels that are used for contacting submarines.
The far end of the island is every bit as beautiful as the rest of the island and has a wonderful surprise too!
A huge limestone arch known as Ulysses Bow.
When you put a kayaker in the picture the scale becomes obvious.

Carrying on and another surprise is just around the corner.
Theres a small cave that is accessible when the sea is calm.
And I just love caves!!!
Turning onto the South coast and things become very huge making you feel very small indeed! Just look at how small Chris looks in his little kayak!
This didn't stop him from jumping out for a snorkel though :)
And apparently it was bloody amazing!
After a couple hours of paddling we made it back to the beach we first stopped on before beginning the circumnavigation. Then we had it to ourselves but now it was bustling with tourists soaking up the sunshine that arrived on the regular tourists boats.
After a quick lunch we pack up and begin the short paddle back to Cala Finanza, tired but very happy :)
This really is a very special place to paddle so if you have some experience of sea kayaking why don't you get in touch and book a trip out to Tavolara. If your not experienced don't worry, we have many trips for novice kayakers too and you could use these trips as a stepping stone to building the experience you need to paddle to Tavolara with us!
Its easy to book and only €80 for a full day trip and flights are very cheap at the moment too, so get in touch at www.goseakayak.com 
Why not follow us on Facebook too? 

We look forward to hearing from you!

Friday 29 July 2016

Five Days On The Maddalena Islands...

I have to pinch myself sometimes, well often in fact as my life seems pretty good! I turned my back on the material things in life and have managed to replace them with experiences. And I think experiences and memories have far more worth than material wealth!
This is the brief story of one such experience in my life, with my wonderful lady Melissa :)
Aptly named for the start of our trip :)
 Our convenient start location, literally the bottom of the hill from where we live!
 On our way and passing the sheltered harbour of Portisco.
 Entering Carla di Volpe, (Wolf Bay).
 New ground for us as we pass the million pound homes of the super rich!
 But luckily the Costa Smerelda also has areas of stunning beauty that are untouched by man.
 The camping options were limited on our first day as we pass the super rich and super touristy, so we paddle late to reach the isolation of Isola di Bisce.
 And finally reach it shores about 20 minutes after sunset.
 Our fab camp on super springy grass was just what we needed after the long day before! It was an interesting night with many rodent visits. At one point I looked through the fly mesh of my tent to be face to face with a lovely rat who was stood on his hind legs leaning his front paws on the mesh :)
 We were in no rush so had a lazy morning with swimming, eating and drinking tea before packing up to leave,
 Just needed a few more images first!

 From Isola di Bisce we did a short open crossing to Isola di Caprera and wow was it a beautiful place!
 We found this perfect idyllic and sheltered bay at about 2pm and seriously considered stopping for the day! 

 Sadly we thought it was just far too early for setting camp so we pushed on around the north of the island.
 Playing in and around the many beautiful rock formations;
 that this place is known for.

 And even spotting some of its wild inhabitants :)
 By early evening we were getting a bit tired when I spotted this lovely bay hidden behind a narrow entrance. Perfect location and timing! The tent was coming out!


 The following day we chose to paddle south between Isola di Caprera and La Maddalena. In fact we decided to do a figure of eight around these lovely islands.
 The rock formations got weirder and more mysterious!
 And the water got even blue'er.

 We passed meadows of sea grass, a very important habitat for sealife but also a very fascinating plant too! The sea leaves huge quantities of this grass on the beaches that can be several feet thick! These deposits are left there as they are an ecosystem in their own right and wonderful for the small Earthlings that call this place home! The grass also gets tossed by the sea creating what the locals call Neptunes Balls, these can vary in size a lot with the largest being the size of a large fist. The roots are often seen floating on the sea or stranded on shore too but most interestingly is the fact that the grass fruits and you can see these floating on the surface around April time.
As we reach the south of La Maddlena the town of the same name comes into view and with it the boat traffic and ferrys making their way in and out!


We were soon past the hustle and bustle of the town as we didn't need any supplies, so we just kept paddling!
Very quickly the scenery returned to tranquility once more and the rock formations became a stunning playground to be explored.


The scene of the crime! Italians I find are rather rude when it comes to the concept of personal space! We were looking for a suitable lunch spot when we saw this rocky beach to rest on. We parked the kayaks as best we could on the tricky terrain and spread out our lunch and bits and bobs ready for a peaceful lunch when an Italian lady turned up and plonked here towel down within a metre of our lunch just so she could steal the shadey spot that we landed for! Its not the first time this has happened to us either! Maybe us brits are just too polite as we just moved a little?
  Not far after the lunch incident we found ourselves the perfect camp again and I busied myself with the usual camp duties and collecting of firewood so that we can have the perfect evening :)

Day four and we were paddling around the North of La Maddalena. I had a booking enquiry very last minute so we were aiming to get back home within two days! This became a goal and fun challenge!
We were sticking toi our figure of eight route around the islands so we were soon back on the shores of Caparera and very beautiful it was too!
As is our habit we found yet another perfect lunch location and there was no chance of being disturbed unless invaded from the sea :)
From our lunch spot it all got very exciting indeed! We were paddling open seas in choppy conditions to reach our island camp for the night. If the conditions weren't enough to excite us then almost getting run over by a super yatch being pursued by a police helicopter certainly got our attention!
The yatch was travelling very fast and straight for us whilst we were far offshore! A police helicopter was circling it, often very low and hovering in front of it to try and stop it. We decided to paddle as fast as we could for the shore!!!
Luckily for us the yatch did alter coarse a little to pass behind us. We made it to shore and watch the action as the helicopter peeled off and was replaced with two police jet ski's and a rib that eventually got the super yatch to turn around. I was just glad we made it safely to the beach!
And what a beach! We were back on Isola di Bisce and set camp on a beach that we spotted on our first night. It was almost dark then when we had landed so we missed this beach, but this time we knew it was there!
Moonrise <3
Camplife. Feeling totally at peace and chilled out :)

Salty sea dog!
Wild onion me'thinks?
Fifth and final day and a long one at that as we prepare for the paddle back home. But we leave pretty early so we don't arrive in the dark like the first day when we did the route backwards!
Of course you need a helicopter for a boat this size! In fact there was another helicopter in the garage as well!
We may be heading back but the landscape is still captivating and continues to make the paddling very special!
Almost there. Familiar landmarks come into view and we can see that we're making good time too get home and prepare for work the following day! Oh, and that work is another five day camping trip, this time with clients. Guess that will be another wonderful experience to add to the tally :)
This really is a very special place to paddle so if you have some experience of sea kayaking why don't you get in touch and book a trip out to Tavolara. If your not experienced don't worry, we have many trips for novice kayakers too and you could use these trips as a stepping stone to building the experience you need to paddle to Tavolara with us!
Its easy to book and only €80 for a full day trip and flights are very cheap at the moment too, so get in touch at www.goseakayak.com 
Why not follow us on Facebook too?