Sea kayaking only has one essential skill; the ability to judge when a trip is good to go, and when it is not.
Archive for November 2007
Forecast 1 comment
Good Question 3 comments
At work today, a Sixth Form student approached me and asked me to answer a simple question for a survey she was carrying out, ‘For what reasons do you do your chosen sport?’
Pier Pressure Leave a comment
Bournemouth Pier and Boscombe Pier both date from the nineteenth century and are fine examples of our seaside architecture heritage. They are only a mile apart. Bournemouth Pier is the bustling centrepiece of Bournemouth’s continuing economic success story; the tourist resort has reinvented itself as a banking hub, conference centre, foreign language student community etc. [...]
Annotation Leave a comment
The superbly clear, accessible and accurate maps in Pesda Press’s guidebooks are produced up in Scotland, on the Isle of Bute. Don Williams of Bute Cartographics has won awards from the Society of Cartographers. I’m quite excited to say that he’ll shortly be commencing work on the 50 or so maps for South West Sea [...]
1100 2 comments
Way back, I did a rough guesstimate and figured that the book covered about 972 km of paddling. The actual final figure is … well, I can’t be bothered to go through the chapters and add it all up right now, life is too short. For a bit of work avoidance this morning (as a diversion [...]
Thanksgiving 3 comments
We have plenty to be thankful for. We could be living in Liechtenstein.
Long to Reign Over Us 1 comment
Tomorrow is a truly auspicious day; the 60th Wedding Anniversary of Her Majesty the Queen and HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Congratulations, good for them! No, I’m serious, our Monarchy is a Good Thing. If we get rid of our Head of State, then what’s the point of being British? We may as well all put [...]
Tall Story 2 comments
It’s been some weeks since I touched a boat, so it was pleasant today to get out on the water. We were joined by John Gilmour, whom we haven’t seen since before the summer, when he got a proper job. Our normally busy local waters were unusually empty and quiet, it being November and all [...]
Bargain 2 comments
Kevin Francis, millionaire.
Xanthoria Leave a comment
It’s a lichen. It’s yellow.
Cowper Leave a comment
‘I do not think the Bristol Channel at all suited for the amateur cruiser. The tides are too strong, the harbours but poor ones, and the traffic too busy. The prevailing winds also blow up and down, and the seas are choppy and heavy’ – from Sailing Tours Part IV, Land’s End to the [...]
High and Dry Leave a comment
As the winter’s river paddling seems to have failed to materialise (due to a complete lack of rain in the South West), I’ve got an excuse to spend the weekend working on the book, again. This’d be the book I already finished, some time back. I keep finding myself re-visiting things I’ve already done. One [...]
Don’t Mention the War 3 comments
Tor Bay in Devon is an odd place from the environmental point of view. There are plenty of interesting coastal landforms here, but also sprawling holiday resorts like Torquay and various unwelcome concrete encroachments on the coast. However, the area has just received Geopark status, a UNESCO designation. This will hopefully protect and preserve Tor Bay from [...]
Sent to Coventry 2 comments
No seafaring this weekend. We spent it celebrating my Dad’s 60th birthday. He is going to try and walk 60 miles on his actual birthday this week, good luck Dad! This was all happening three miles from England’s most inland spot, at the house where I grew up. I actually learned to paddle on canals, with [...]
The Catch 3 comments
Newlyn is located in Mount’s Bay, South Cornwall. With a fleet of over 100 working boats, Newlyn is the largest fishing port in England and Wales. 9500 tonnes of fish are landed annually, only 30% of which are eaten in Cornwall. If you are masochistic, the daily landings and auction can be watched at around [...]
