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 :)

www.goseakayak.com

www.facebook.com/GoSeaKayakOlbia

Tahe Marine Revel Mini LC First Paddle...

What more perfect way to get ready for a paddle than by unwrapping a new kayak!

This kayak is one of two that I've bought from Tahe Marine and this is a Tahe Marine Revel Mini LC and I have to say that I like it. Some of the fitting are basic but well thought out. The seat and backrest is very simple but works very well, in fact I wish other kayak brands that I like would adopt this system. The thigh braces are part of the kayak moulding and look cheap but they work brilliantly and lock me into the kayak very well. The hatches are very tight but I guess these will soften, especially in the Sardinian sunshine.

Handling wise she's lovely and edgy and feels quite playful? I need more testing conditions to verify this. I did find some tide race action on the Rannys and managed to bury the bow to the front hatch on a steep wave and she seemed to like it. I'd have like to have played more but my fellow paddlers were getting out of there, can't blame them, it was chilly. I got a few surfs on some passing swells too hinting at the fun to be had.

In a straight line she seemed plenty quick enough keeping up with the glass boats though Chris did have a hangover!

As for the paddle well I was with Chris and John and we went from Penarth to Flat Holm Island, five miles offshore in the Bristol Channel. A regular paddle for me but probably my last in the UK for a while as I'm driving to Sardinia in two weeks time :)

So there you have it, not a conclusive test but a few hours of fun on my local patch. I look forward to playing with this boat in some bigger conditions as I reckon it'll be fun!

Just gonna leave you to enjoy the pics now, ciao XXX

Breaking In A New Recruit...

Hmmm, Flat Holm again! A familiar but still pleasurable paddle for me but a new and exciting location for my lady :)

It was a perfect day as we arrived at Sully for the launch and we were both keen to get going!

Melissa seems well at home in a kayak. She is experienced in racing the super twitchy K1 and K2's. We've also both paddled along the Isle of Wight as well as Sardinia. Good training for today.

First we pass Laverknock Spit south cardinal.

Flat Holm arrives soon and its fab for Melissa to see it so close as she had previously only seen it from Weston Super Mare.

Must have cave shot!

Our steeds at rest.

Hmmm, I think Stuart Yendle has something to do with this???

A super friendly local!

One of the rare plants on the island, can't remember what it is though and can't be arsed googling it!

Nice bit of tide at Castle Rock!

Looking back at a familiar but much loved location. Fab day out!

Severn kaleidoscope...

A last minute get together this one thanks to Sean for putting the feelers out to see who was free for a paddle. As it happens it was quite a few of us who turned up at Sully for the regular paddle out to Flat Holm island & we set the Severn free from its muddy brown norm to a kaleidoscope of multicolour with so many kayaks & garish drysuits!

All together & ladies first we had Paul Neale (AKA Dusty!) & Laura Hau. Making up the male contingent was Moi, Stuart Yendle, Gareth Jenkins, Noel Blakeman,Christopher Evens, Chris Kitch & Sean Hurrel.

 Ready to launch at Sully.

 If they ever stop talking that is?

 Paddling the very calm race of the back of Sully Island as we head out.

 Always nice to see new buoys. This ones Lavernock Spit that I regularly paddle past but never got this close before.

 It got a little choppier near the island but not much.

 A quick rest & re-group by the lighthouse.

 The resident Gulls are back for the summer :)

Was too cold to take many pics so this one is Chris passing the Wolves Buoy on the way back to Sully ;)

Missy Duckypoo's...

Just a quicky this, was planning on meeting Chris & John for a wee paddle out to Flat Holm Island. We postponed saturday due to the weather & re-arranged for Sunday but Chris pulled out due to a bad back. That left me & John free for a paddle in what were lovely conditions :)

 Was awesome to be back on the water after about a month on dry land!

 We left from Swanbridge in Sully doing a loop of Sully Island before starting the 4.5 mile crossing to Flat Holm in misty conditions.

 The island was hard to see for most of the crossing till the sun briefly shone & burnt off some of the mist :)

 Time for lunch as we have an hour & a bit till the ebb starts.

 Back on the water & its time for cheesy selfies ;)

 And more selfies with Rannie Buoy. The slats were damaged on the buoy & I was surprised to see that they were made of wood?

 The mist reappeared as we neared Sully again.

 Ans we bumped into Chris whos back seemed better.

 And was carrying a stowaway? Chris car picked up a stowaway too but thats another story!

The light was wierd when we landed at Sully & the camera has totally failed to capture the cool blue skies we saw!

Frosty Dawn On The Holms...

So heres how it is, I fancied a frosty dawn paddle out to the Holm Islands whilst Stuart, Eurion & Elan were off to Weston Super Mare & planning to met up later than I wanted to so we arranged to meet up at Steep Holm for me to join them to Weston, well that was the plan?

Noel joined our group too & decided to paddle out with me so we met up at a very cold Sully car park & got ready to hit the water for 0800, half hour later than planned, ooops, I was so slow getting ready!

 The crisp pre dawn light was started to kick in so we left the head torches behind.

 And push off into some very calm seas.

 I love being right & setting off at pre dawn was proving to be a very good idea indeed :)

 Our destination of Steep Holm is 6.5 miles offshore & in the middle of the image. Just behind Noels boat is Flat Holm, we'll be visiting that later. The lump of rock between the Islands is Brean Down, I know it looks like an Island but its actually part of the English mainland, a continuation of the Mendip hills & made of the same rock as Steep Holm.

 One of life's special moments!

 About 80 minutes after launching we reach Steep Holm & the Southern side is bathed in gorgeous dawn light.

 We head for the beach to wait for Stu & the others.

 What I didn't know was that there was a message on my phone (back in my van) asking us to meet the boys at Weston as they were bypassing the Islands (whoops!)

 By 1100 we figured they weren't coming & decided to push on, not for Weston but Flat Holm. We were now fancying a lazier day :)

 We take a little break in the lee of Holm Middle Buoy as theres still some tide running.

 Does the camera never lie? It looks warm & sunny here but trust me, it isn't!

 Would be rude not to paddle into the cave :)

After a pleasant walk around the Island we start our paddle back to the mainland after a pretty awesome day out!

 It was now lovely & warm at Sully so I was Me & Noel were in no rush to leave! We bumped into our mate Chris too so sat on the wall chatting.

Eventually these muppets showed up after there channel crossing and they all had a pretty awesome day too :)

Our Route...