This might be my last post for a while, as I have a lot on in the next few days, and next week I’ll be off in the Isles of Scilly.
How do you actually write a sea kayaking guide? Well, I have a system of sorts. 95% of the work is done on dry land at home. The above photo is from our trip to Scilly in 2003(?) but is a fair reflection of what my desk looks like these days. At home, I can correlate info from a large pile of hefty books, look up obscure nitty gritty facts on the internet and drink large amounts of tea. For instance, I’ve already written outlines of the four(ish) chapters on the Scilly Isles, with extensive tidal data, map references, coastguard details etc. etc. included. Now, I need to go paddle there, so that I can then write up the route description with it all fresh in my mind. Obviously I also need to take lots of photos, because no one ever actually reads books these days.
Boring technical details … my laptop joins me in the boat unless it’s just a day trip, safely (ahem) sealed in a Watershed dry bag. This allows me to type up chapters in pubs or even in the tent. My SLR camera lives in an quick-seal Ortlieb bag in my lap, and will almost certainly fall into the sea and die one day soon. I also carry a second waterproof camera for when the seas get lively. All of this entails dragging around a mass of batteries, memory card recharging units and other random logistical paraphenalia, not all of which relishes living in a kayak hatch.
Back soon.
