Being stuck living in the whitewater mecca that is Sussex, it's safe to say I haven't got out paddling as often as I did last year when I lived in the Lake District. Frustrated at my how long it's been since I've been back in a boat, I took drastic action.
Having grown up and lived a few miles from the sea (and hundreds of miles from whitewater) most of my life, I have had a lot of people ask me why I've never been sea kayaking. I've never really had a good answer for those people, other than "I've never really wanted to" as well as "it ruins all your kit", "I get sea sick" and "it's boring" Okay, so I had a few answers, but I still thought I should give it a try.
As with most of my plans, it was a bit of a last-minute job. I wanted to go paddling and was trying to find someone to go with when I saw my friend Phil Smith (director of Fluid Adventures) was planning on taking his long-term students on a trip from Hayling Island to the Isle of Wight and back. So, being desperate to get back in a boat, I asked whether I could come along. His reply was "Not many people would do this as a first trip in a sea kayak". Perfect.
Phil, as he does for all his clients, sorted me out with the right boat for me (a Perception Essecence), a set of Werner paddles, a set of Werner splits and a PeakUK deck. We met up (thankfully not too early) at Hayling Island and set off for a great day of paddling.
Check out the short video I made of a whitewater paddler's take on sea kayaking
Having grown up and lived a few miles from the sea (and hundreds of miles from whitewater) most of my life, I have had a lot of people ask me why I've never been sea kayaking. I've never really had a good answer for those people, other than "I've never really wanted to" as well as "it ruins all your kit", "I get sea sick" and "it's boring" Okay, so I had a few answers, but I still thought I should give it a try.
As with most of my plans, it was a bit of a last-minute job. I wanted to go paddling and was trying to find someone to go with when I saw my friend Phil Smith (director of Fluid Adventures) was planning on taking his long-term students on a trip from Hayling Island to the Isle of Wight and back. So, being desperate to get back in a boat, I asked whether I could come along. His reply was "Not many people would do this as a first trip in a sea kayak". Perfect.
Phil, as he does for all his clients, sorted me out with the right boat for me (a Perception Essecence), a set of Werner paddles, a set of Werner splits and a PeakUK deck. We met up (thankfully not too early) at Hayling Island and set off for a great day of paddling.
Check out the short video I made of a whitewater paddler's take on sea kayaking