Cold Weather Paddling

During the ISKA Symposium 2009 I attended the rescues workshop. This would have been towards the end of October and the water was beginning to get colder. I had my Reed ChillCheater semi dry and after being in the water for a while I started to feel the cold. The people at the workshop who were wearing drysuits all seemed comfortable and it was then I swore I was going to get a dry suit for all further winter paddling. I spoke to a number of people who had got Lomo Renegade drysuits and they were all very pleased with them. I ordered one for £275 direct from Lomo and so did a number of others in our paddle group. So far I've done a few rolls and rescues and they are bone dry with no leaks at all through the cuffs or neck seals. However one huge bonus is with the latex socks you don't get your feet wet wading in the water when launching. I use the ChillCheater transpire fleeces under the suit and it keeps me nice and toastie.

However warming the hands is a different story. I got some regular kayaking gloves from Lomo but found they gave no grip on my Greenland paddle when wet. I searched around for different types of gloves and found these CrewSaver Open Palm Mitts which allow skin contact with the paddle. So far I've used them on a few trips and they work great with Greenland paddles and keep the hands warm. You can also slip your thumb and fingers out of the gloves without having to take them off and that can be handy at times.

So now I'm sorted with body and hands the last thing and probably most important is the head. I hate when cold water gushes into my ears so for this reason I prefer something that covers head and ears. Its also handy if you can get something that wraps around the back of the neck as well. Currently I use a neoprene hood with Velcro neck strap. Its sort of midway in design between a skull cap and balaclava. The big downside is you can't wear it when paddling as its difficult to hear when its on, so its really only worn just before a wet session etc. I was looking for something which could be worn more often and notice the ChillCheater Aquatherm hoods are only 1mm thick. You can also wear them as a neck cowl which is a handy feature on windy days. They claim to provide the same insulating properties as 2mm neoprene.  I've ordered one of these so should be able to provide an update in a future post.

Tuskar Trip

Tuskar Rock is one of the more challenging locations off the South East coast. The weather had been calm for the past few days and it was decided to give Tuskar a go. The trip planning is different from the usual direct out and back approach since this would bring you over The Bailies which is an offshore reef between land and Tuskar. Instead you need to slingshot and head East from Rosslare beach and then drop South to Tuskar. Its all outlined in Oileain and this formed the basis of our trip plan. Slack water at Tuskar was 10:00 so the plan was to leave Rosslare beach at 08:30 to arrive Tuskar around 10:00.

The group consisted of six paddlers and we met in Rosslare at 07:30 to allow time for a briefing on the trip. It was a beautiful morning and I was relieved to see the absence of mist or fog.

We planned to head due East for about 6km (about an hour paddling) and then a SE bearing to Tuskar. I had a small GPS to to check distance and speed. Leaving Rosslare beach you need to ensure you don't drift South to Greenore Pt as this has overfalls and strong currents. We paddled straight out and that brought us to the Calmines marker. Continuing past this puts you in the shipping lane so we kept an eye out for any ferries departing Rosslare. An hour had past and a bearing of 150deg took us straight to Tuskar. There was no drift from this bearing so we had the current directly behind us. Average speed to Tuskar was about 8.5kph. We did a deep water landing which involved getting one person ashore first who then helped to steady boats while the rest landed and scrambled over rocks. We landed at about 10:20 the delay due to hauling boats up on to rocks.

Tuskar is a well maintained lighthouse and its light is on during daylight. I suppose this is due to the volume of shipping in the area. The seals were very curious and a large number gathered outside the landing area to check us out.
After a short tea break enjoying Ann Quinn's pecan flapjacks (containing rum I'm told!) and a walk around the rock we departed at around 11:15.

Heading back we kept to a bearing of due West with the intention of the building NE flood pushing us clear of The Bailies. I stopped occasionally to check our drift on the GPS and found when we left Tuskar the drift was NE at 0.8kph but it had risen to NE at 2.1kph by 12:00. This higher current was confirmed by checking out some of the fishing buoys and seeing how they were being pushed with the current. It was interesting to see the eddyline caused by the current at Greenore point and there was a definite acceleration around here. Once we crossed the eddyline things settled back to flat water and we put ashore.

Looking back on the day, we picked probably the best day of the year to do this trip. We were close to a neap tide and the sea was flat due to several days of calm weather. I certainly wouldn't like to venture out on spring tides or rougher conditions. Overall distance was 22.9km

Grannagh to Dunmore East

The tides were favourable to do this paddle on Sunday morning. High tide was at 0940 and this meant high tide Waterford Bridge at 1040. We planned to be on the water in Grannagh about 1015 to arrive Waterford Bridge at slack water. I checked the eddies under the bridge the previous day and they do need to be treated with respect when the river is on full flow. We did the obligatory car shuttle to Dunmore East and the place was chock a block with cars as there was a sailing regatta so we ended up parking a distance from the slip - this meant when coming ashore later we would have to carry boats if the large crowd was still around.
When we got back to Grannagh we put in at about 1045 and went under the centre span of Rice Bridge at slack water around 1110. It was a great feeling to finally paddle down through our home town! We had never seen Waterford from this perpective and I was amazed at the size and number of boats moored in various locations along the river. Later in the trip as the current picked up we clocked 11km/h at one stage without even trying. We had two stops along the way - Cheekpoint and Fornaght Strand near Creadan.
As we rounded Creadan the wind had picked up a bit and we kept our heads down paddling to make Dunmore East around 1545. The regatta had finished and we did have to carry our boats some distance to the cars. The trip in total was 31km (as per GPS) which makes this our longest paddle to date.
One of our more memorable trips and the conditions were perfect!

Visit to Rockpool Kayaks

Myself and Paul always admired the design of these kayaks and it was on the shortlist when I bought my Aquanaut. I've since regretted not having bought an Alaw instead and so decided to ring Rockpool to try them out. Mike Webb (owner of Rockpool) said he could accommodate us at any stage if we came over for some paddling.
And so it began...Steve and Paul's Big Adventure! We had an early rise (4AM) to catch the Irish Ferries High Speed departing Dublin at 0845. We arrived in Holyhead around 1045 and Mike collected us from the terminal and brought us to the workshop where the kayaks are made. We got the guided tour and met the lads who actually craft everything. Mike also went into detail of the fittings and design of the Alaw. He has some really innovative features - an example being the skeg which doesn't kink the cable if you forget to retract it coming ashore. I was amazed at how light and well balanced the kayaks are to carry. We got changed and Mike dropped us off at Trearddur Bay for some paddling. Conditions were windy with on onshore F5 and this gave us a chance to see how the boats handled in the wind. Performance was very good and the edging was impressive. I also liked the hanging thigh braces and this gave a good secure feeling when edging and bracing. We tried all 3 boats - the Alaw Bach, Alaw and the Menai. The Alaw Bach is the low volume version of the Alaw and this boat fitted me the best. Paul preferred the Alaw. The Menai is a longer boat mainly for expeditions and was very stable. The picture shows the Alaw Bach (blue), Alaw (white) and the Menai (yellow). The only difference between the Alaw and Alaw Bach is the raised deck in front of the cockpit to give extra leg room.
Mike collected us after the paddle and showed us some of the very scenic Welsh coastline. We then had a cuppa with the lads back in the workshop and talked more about the boats.
I've ordered an Alaw Bach and over the next few days will decide on color and deck graphics. Theres various choice of patterns including the hallmark starfish, seaweed etc. Its harder doing this part than picking the boat.
We got dropped back to the ferry and were home in Waterford at around 10PM.
My boat will be ready the first week in April and I'm really looking forward to its sea trials! Many thanks to Mike Webb in Rockpool kayaks for being so welcoming.

Great Island Kayak Race 07

This is the second year that the lads in Cork have organised the kayak race around Great Island. The course is roughly 25km and myself, Pat and Mick have entered our names (not as serious contenders!). We've been looking forward to this since before Christmas and despite the recent wet and windy weather it was a bright day with winds F2/F3 forecast. High tide was just before 10AM so the organisers scheduled the start to coincide. The elite racers got off to a flying start and the rest of us paddled along at various rates. Top finishing time was 2hr 15mins and we came in some time later (I won't say how late!). Suffice to say we weren't first and we weren't last. We had a BBQ back in Marlogue Inn followed by presentation of prizes. We really enjoyed the day and a big thank you to the lads in Cork for organising the event. Looking forward to doing it again next year.

Christmas Paddle 07

Well, its the time of year again for festive paddles. We met up with some other groups (Comeragh paddlers and Celtic paddlers) in Dunmore East and headed off to Ballymacaw, where we stopped for lunch and mince pies. Niall Durnan brought along some mulled wine and that went down very well! Since the day was so nice it was decided to continue paddling towards Brownstown Head but some of the group needed to return home early and they headed straight back to Dunmore.
On the return trip we passed on the shore side near a rock outcrop close to Falskirt rock where some large waves were breaking. Normally this rock tends to provide shelter on the inside but since it was only almost submerged it was acting more like a reef and churning up lots of surf. We thought we had avoided the worst but it seems we were caught there during a set. I saw a wave coming towards me from the side. When I looked up it started to peel and break. Given that in a kayak you're about 3ft high, I reckon the wave height was about 6ft. This was the first time I was side on in a breaking wave where all I could see was a wall of water and not the far side! I clearly remember saying "Oh shit" and then all went snowy as I got tossed under in the wave. I tried bracing but no effect. With the shock and awe effect I didn't feel any cold when I submerged and was a bit disoriented so I didn't manage to try a roll. John managed the incident from a distance and Ciaran did the rescue. The same wave also had hit John but he managed to high brace on the wave and didn't go under. John joked this was about the only good thing the Nordkapp ever did for him!
This is my second trip in my new Aquanaut and I'm very pleased with how it handles. The back band is another story. I had no support and ended up using my tow rope swivelled round my waist to lean back on. I'll definitely need to get some foam for outfitting.
Next paddle is the Great Island Race in Cork and this should be a bit of craic.

Paddle to Hook Head

We've been hoping to get some good conditions to go around Hook Head and the day finally arrived. Neap tide, slack winds and slack water gave us an ideal opportunity to head for the Hook. The previous day started very foggy and I thought this would be repeated today but fortunately visibility was good so we headed across. We got over in about 50mins and conditions outside the Hook was calm. However there were breaking waves close to the rocks and these needed some watching. We noticed some divers climbing ashore above an inlet and decided to investigate further to see if it was a possible landing point. On entering the inlet we discovered it wasn't as calm as we thought and instead found ourselves in crossfire of incoming waves from different directions. The waves weren't big but combined with the surge and scend of the inlet and the lack of manoeuvrability led to one of the group surfing unintentionally. This led to a BDF moment (be da f**k) and being tossed out of the boat. He is now the only one who can boast about going swimming at the Hook! With some careful timing we left the inlet and headed out to calmer water before heading back after some refreshments on the water.
We all got home nice and early - good to have a family friendly paddle occasionally.