Outside action

Finally!  Weather and circumstances combined to let me get outside.  It certainly has been a while. 

Discussions during the week suggested a trip to the east coast of South Ronaldsay, in the hope that a nice swell might be running.  This is my favourite bit of coastline in Orkney and I love it there whatever the conditions.  Having found some money in the house and having been given a fiver for boat transportation, I was able to fuel up Phyllis and off we went to the Sooth Parish.

There was indeed a bit of a swell running when we arrived at the kirk, although the bathymetry of the bay meant that the waves had lost all their oomph by the time they reached the beach.  Having clambered over the (apparently) smelly seaweed and launched in to some noisy, splashy but utterly harmless surf, off we set across the bay to what I think is one of the best 3km of coastline anywhere.

The Windwick coastline

Keen eyed observers will note that this photo has been taken very far away from the cliff (and therefore the whitewater).  This was because my companion is not a danger monkey and had no wish to crash into rocks.  As she was not coming to rescue me, I was duly banned from playing!  The smudges on the camera lens are my tears…..

Despite there being no danger of death, rockhopping, cliff  crashing or boat flipping, this is still a beautiful bit of coastline to look at. At times the swell was pretty sizable, up to 2m in places, but with no wind, it was lovely to be in.  There was enough clapotis around to make you stay alert, giving us a great paddle down to Windwick.

Heading for Windwick 

Given that I had found enough food in my house to cobble together a packed lunch (peanut butter and lettuce pieces!), there was no way I wasn’t eating it.  The surf was breaking on the Windwick beach and, because the tide was so far in, only the steepest portion was visible. We picked our spot and then I landed before catching my companion.  All was fine until the water went over her wellies (eugh!).  As we ate lunch some sizable sets came through but as high tide neared, the waves began to drop away.  The beach was covered in heaps of manky seaweed which meant a fun seal-launch over it and down the beach.  Seal launching a fibreglass boat is probably not the best plan but it leaks already….

Surf at Windwick

There was noticeably less swell on the return journey but the wind was now in our faces.  As we neared the beach and crossed the underlying skerries, the swell really picked up again but was harmless enough. 

Once we were close into shore, it was time for some wet practice.  I wanted to try everything I have been doing the pool while wearing 10 times more clothes.  I rolled, re-entered and rolled and self-rescued.  Then I was cold.

Roll

Ready to re-enter (those are cat’s ears on my hood)

Self rescue

Although we didn’t paddle far at all, we had a lovely few hours out and it was a suitably fine first proper paddle of the year.

Shortages

I am experiencing a number of shortages at the moment. I have a shortage of money and a definite shortage of time.  This is all the fault of a terrible addiction.  Over  the last four years I have spent all my wages and all my savings on kayaks, canoes, paddles and equipment.  Now I can’t afford to eat.

Although, even if starving, I can always still paddle, I have observed a number of issues with this plan. Firstly, if I can’t put diesel in the van, then I can’t get to the water and if I can’t get to the water, I can’t go paddling.  If I can’t afford any food, I can’t make my pieces and that means I’m going to get really cranky half way round a paddle. No one needs that.  Obviously at this time of the year, things are happening indoors, but they too are costly.  Right now I should be at canoe polo but I only have 87p…. (to last until Wednesday!).

Earlier in the week, before I withdrew my last £10 from the bank, I attended the Tuesday night KKC pool session.  Mackayak was banked based but had been dragged along for observation and chit chat.  After Watkeys asked what could be done with the coathanger, rubber duck and Playmobil Vikings on Sunday, it seemed only right to find out.  Duly I packed my bag and headed for the pool.

Toys

In truth when I say I had set out to find out what could be done with the coathanger, duck and Vikings, what I actually mean was that I set out to find out what Mackayak could do with said items.  As she was not in the water and I have the technical ability of a mouldy flannel, I was a bit stuck.  She suggested the coathanger be used for the ‘arms behind the back, one holding the top of the norsaq and the other holding the bottom’ roll but this would have resulted in my drowning so it wasn’t attempted.  We have another (pre-paid) pool session on Sunday, I shall get her yet…..

As KKC night is always busy, it was some time before I managed to get in a boat and when I did, I was only in for a short time.  I crammed in as much as I could, concentrating on rolling and self-rescues. 

I am still unhappy with my right side roll, it is working OK but just does not feel as smooth or efficient as the roll on the left.  A left side roll is what I automatically do, so I have to make a conscious effort to roll on the right.  Lately when I have rolled in anger, be in on the sea, in a river or out in the surf, I have always come up on the left.

Once again I tried the ‘release the towline and roll up’ manoeuvre which was no more interesting than it had been on Sunday.  My re-entry and rolls were successful and my self rescues seem to be getting smoother.  My new BA has a buckle bit at the top of the zip which is handy for attaching the spraydeck loop to and this certainly made getting up the boat easier.

My butterfly roll eluded me as ever, the first was OK, but the next few attempts were 90% ers.  If I could get any video editing software to work on my computer, I’d post a video for feedback.  However, at the moment I can’t. 

While I was practising in my sea boat, a veteran had arrived at the pool.  Discovered in an attic and apparently on the way to the tip, it had been paddled (and sunk) by at least two of my fellow coaches when they were just peedie lads….

Bat boat is resurrected

Warm water antics

Rolling in the pool is boring (unless you are Mackayak and can do it 20 ways).  Granted, my rolling is still pretty rubbish, but practising over and over and over again just makes me feel giddy.  I need new challenges. 

  Toys to challenge us

This year I have been working on my self rescues and my re-entry and rolls and I think they are coming on OK.  Each week, Mackayak and I think up something new to work on and try.  With talk of 4* in the air, this week we thought we’d try the infamous ‘capsize, release towline, roll up’ manoeuvre which has apparently been causing some consternation amongst 4* candidates.  We thought this must be REALLY HARD, perhaps even impossible.  We came up with a plan as towing in the swimming pool is not really possible.  I got my towline on and handed the end to Mackayak who sat on the pool side simulating a capsized boat (that tug you feel just as you think you’re about to clear the tiderace….).  I paddled off, the tow line went tight, I capsized…..dum dum dum……I pulled the toggle on my towline, released it, threw it out of the way and rolled up.  This was a bit of an issue because by this point there was still an hour and 20 minutes of the session remaining.  We needed another challenge.

As mentioned previously, the other day, my friend with gills was doing re-entry and rolls by putting on his spraydeck before coming up.  I thought this could only result in drowning for mortals without gills but was curious about the physics of the exercise.  I wanted to see whether by putting on the deck under the water, more water was kept out of the cockpit than by rolling up with it off.  I tried the standard way and made a mental note of the volume of water present once righted.  I tried again and this time put on the deck first.  I had a number of thoughts about this.  1) If you make an arse of getting your deck on, you’re liable to start running out of air.  2) If you start running out of air, you are likely to do a crap roll because you are rushing 3) To put the spraydeck on you have to let go of the paddle, this could end in tears.  Anyway, I rolled up and checked my water volume.  I think it was possibly marginally less than with deck off but not enough to make a blind bit of difference.

Doing my best to recreate outside conditions

I spent the rest of the session doing more self rescues and attempting butterfly rolls.  These were annoying me.  Last week they were clunky but worked, today they were 95% rolls.  Mackayak says this is because I have not be practising my static brace!  After a few more goes, watching the video and using the GP paddle, I still couldn’t get it so I decided to quit before I got knackered and frustrated.  Butterfly rolls will just have to be my challenge for the next session…..

I will post some video once I have edited it.

It’s nice up north

Last night I returned from my adventures in Shetland.  I’m not sure whether it is good to be home or not!  Despite my best efforts, I didn’t manage as much paddling as I would have liked.  The weather didn’t want to cooperate and most of my friends or I were busy on the days that it did.  Even so, me and my various boats and paddles did manage to get wet a few times and we certainly had fun when we did.

The boat from Kirkwall was late departing and there was quite a lot of swell on the way up. We arrived in Lerwick early in the morning not feeling at our best!  We were fortified by a breakfast in the New Harbour Cafe and later, while my friend (who’d worked a nightshift then travelled all day) went to bed, I went to seek out my friends for a surf.

Having been given typical Northern Isles directions (a vague placename), after much driving round and round in circles for about half an hour, I finally ran into my friends (almost literally).  The designated venue was deemed to be flat and the the alternative dumpy so one participant gallantly retreated for fear of getting minced in his bitch.  The remaining two thought we’d go and look at Gulberwick and decided ‘it doesn’t look that bad’ and ‘I’ve surfed worse’….

NK assesses the waves

Let’s just say there was a bit of power in them there waves, and getting out proved a challenge!  However, once I had got out, it was certainly fun!  My favourite part was when I paddled out over a wave and flipped backwards over my tail.  I must try that in my sea kayak!  Although I got a few good runs, I also got clattered onto the beach a few times and my boat is looking a little worse for wear!  My deck also kept imploding which was pretty annoying.  Having planted my head in the sand/pebbles a few times, thrown in a few rolls and with Jim announcing that he had destroyed a fin and his fin box, we decided that an hour of mashing was quite enough.  But gnarly or not, we had great fun!

Later in the week we gatecrashed the Shetland Canoe Club canoe polo training.at Scalloway pool.  The pool is tiny and you can only play 3 a side.  The goals are also just on the pool side which was a bit challenging having got used to suspended canoe polo goals.  We all tried hard and everyone had fun but those still learning the game were left a little confused in all the chaos!

Tearing it up in Scalloway pool (photo Fox Irving)

The main purpose of our visit was to go to Up Helly Aa.  This is a fire festival where groups of men dress up and parade with torches around the town, before burning a galley.  The guizers then go round the halls performing their routines.  One squad is the jarl squad who all wear the suits of Vikings.  My summary of the event is rather inadequate but you can visit the official website here.

The Up Helly Aa bill

The jarl squad parade down Commercial Street

The guizer jarl and his galley

Guizers amass in the park ready to burn the galley

The galley burns

Squad sketches

Later in the week, I also managed to get along to the Shetland Canoe Club pool session, where after a bit of a palava with the club boats, both The Shalder and Rainbow Brite got in the water.  I wanted to practise my right side rolling as it seems to have gone all a bit wrong lately.  I enlisted the help of a couple of friends, one of whom strapped a GoPro to my front hatch.  I will upload some video when I figure out how to deal with MP4 files!

The Shalder goes visiting

My left side rolls felt quite smooth and I did come up on the right side but it felt really clunky.  I have been looking at the video and it seems to look OK, but it really didn’t feel very good.  I feel like I’m really pulling down on the paddle and muscling myself up.  It works, but it ain’t pretty. 

Later I tried some self rescues which seemed OK too.  I’m keen to get outside and see if the method I’ve found that works for me in the pool also works in the sea when it’s cold and I am wearing 9 layers of clothing!  I’ve been practising in a wet suit with my BA on and radio and camera in my pocket, trying to make it as realistic as I can in the warm water but it’s not the same as the cold sea!

Next up were a few re-entry and rolls which I always do on my strong left side.  My friend was practising by putting on his spraydeck before rolling up, wheras I always come up without it on.  This has got me thinking and I think I’m going to try again tomorrow night with both methods.  I wonder if by putting on the deck you retain the air pocket in the boat and take in less water or whether it makes no difference what so ever!  I think he was just doing it because he could!  Having successfully re-entered a few times, I wondered what else I could try so I played in Rainbow Sprite for a bit doing some handrolls on both sides.  I tried to do a butterfly but got all in a tizz.  I tried to run away before anyone noticed the sand I had deposited at the bottom of the pool!

While I got back in the sea boat for a go at a few clunky butterflies, a friend had jumped into the surf boat to try it out.  There appeared to be some buoyancy issues but he looked like he was having fun….

Rainbow Brite goes for a roll 

Our last day in Lerwick was again glorious, but circumstances meant there was no paddling.  I felt a little aggrieved to miss getting out on the two best days, but we weren’t just there to paddle and I know I’ll be back up many, many more times. 

Dore Holm, Eshaness – on my ‘to paddle’ list

Oh, and if you ever wondered why my sea kayak is called The Shalder, it’s because……

Up helly Aa - part 2