The paddler 35 Late Spring issue 35

PADDE PD DLR LER The International digital magazine for recreational paddlers

ezine

BLOODVEIN Ray Goodwin Episodes from the

WATER LEVELS explained – Andy Holt

Alps

SHOUT, reach and wade Chris Brain

CORRAN’S Airblunt

Issue 35 Late Spring 2017

SPRINT KAYAK Alan George

Rejuvenating a

CONTN TENTS

The Bloodvein, Canada by Ray Goodwin Editor

Peter Tranter peter@thepaddlerezine.com Tel: (01480) 465081 Mob: 07411 005824 www.thepaddlerezine.com

Advertising sales

Anne Egan Tel: (01480) 465081 advertising@thepaddlerezine.com

Covers

Kayak: Nouria Newman by Gautier Boudat Salty: Ross Murray-Jones & Mark Coronato Canoe: The Bloodvein by Ray Goodwin

Thank you to: Phil Carr, Robert Carroll, Helen Carroll, Trudi Carroll, Aidan Egan Tranter, Massoud Tabatabai, Adrian Harkin, Christine Pinsonneault, David Joos, Adrian Tregoning, Gautier Boudat, ,Nicolas Fayol for all your help in putting this issue together.

Not all contributors are professional writers and photographers, so don’t be put off writing because you have no experience! The Paddler ezine is all about paddler to paddler dialogue: a paddler’s magazine written by paddlers.

Next issue is Early Summer 2017 with a deadline of submissions on May 20th. Technical Information: Contributions preferably as a Microsoft Word file with 1200-2000 words, emailed to submissions@thepaddler.ezine.com. Images should be hi-resolution and emailed with the Word file or if preferred, a Dropbox folder will be created for you. The Paddler ezine encourages contributions of any nature but reserves the right to edit to the space available. Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publishing parent company, 2b Graphic Design Limited. The publishing of an advertisement in the Paddler ezine does not necessarily mean that the parent company, 2b Graphic Design Limited, endorse the company, item or service advertised. All material in the Paddler ezine is strictly copyright and all rights are reserved.

Reproduction without prior permission from the editor is forbidden.

Issue 35 Late Spring 2017

006 Iconic paddlers: Mike Jones

By Steffan Meyric Hughes with Dave Manby

008 Testing, testing

Plenty of kit reviewed by our contributors

020 Sprint kayak rejuvenation

By Alan Georg

030 Canada

Bloodvein by Ray Goodwin

044 Interview

Ross Murray-Jones and Mark Coronato

054 Palawan, Philippines

Circumnavigation by Ross Murray-Jones/Mark Coronato

068 Norway

The coast of Helgeland by Kathrine Olufsen

078 Iran to Oman

Crossing the Strait of Hormuz by Dimitri Kieffer

092 Ireland

Inishowen Sea Kayak Symposium by Hugo Dale

102 Coaching Safety Series No.7 Shouting, reaching and wading by Chris Brain

116 Coaching moves

The great Airblunt by Corran Addison

122 Chile

Pucon by Steve Brooks

132 Southern Africa WW highlights4 Zimbabwe by Luke Longridge

142 Coaching whitewater

Alpine water levels explained by Andy Holt

146 France

The Pyrenees Buddies Race by the PBR Team

156 Nepal

Chapter 1 of ‘Riding the Tears of Everest’

by Darren Clarkson-King

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I C O N I C

P A D D

Dr Mike Jones

N o . 7

STEFFAN MEYRIC HUGHES

L E R S

It is one of the eerier twists of kayaking history, noted by Blackadar biographer Ron Watters, that the two leading expedition kayakers of the 1970s were both doctors, who both died in their boats in the same year – 1978. Aside from that, there was not much in common between Dr Walt Blackadar, solo king of the American wilderness, and Dr Mike Jones, the Yorkshireman who conquered Everest.

Unlike Blackadar, who took to kayaking late in life, Jones started aged 14 with a run down the River Wharfe in a canvas folding kayak on a cold winter’s day.After spending much of the day swimming, he joined the school kayak club and, over the course of a few weeks, learned to roll in a school swimming pool.

were joined by Dave Manby, John Gosling, Roger Huyton, John Liddell and Rob Hastings.The film, shown on British prime-time television on Boxing Day 1976, showed the British viewing public for the first time what whitewater expedition kayaking was all about, in the same way that Blackadar had thrilled American audiences that decade with his exploits in the American wilderness.

As soon as the spring rolled around, he was running local rivers like the Wharfe (including the dangerous Strid rapid), Ure, Swale, Nidd and Lune, then further afield to the Welsh Dee, and taking up slalom, reaching the top division a couple of years later. His first big expedition was in 1968, in the form of a trip to the River Inn in Switzerland to run the hardest 80 miles, much of it previously not run, with some of it considered unrunnable.

The trip, covered by Chris Bonnington no less, then working at the Daily Telegraph, was a success.

The Everest expedition is now seen as the template of modern kayaking expeditions, and has probably been seen more than any other paddling film. The equipment and approach seems amusingly quaint by today’s standards: wooden paddles, 13ft GRP slalom kayaks with moveable footrests and small cockpits designed and built for the trip by Graham Mackereth’s Pyranha Mouldings, and ribbed orange buoyancy aids. One shot in the film shows the team on a bridge holding black umbrellas.

Two years later, he was on Chris Hawkesworth’s first British expedition through the Grand Canyon of the Colorado and a year after that, in 1972, made a hair-raising trip to attempt the Blue Nile in Ethiopia with Mick Hopkinson, a river that had killed many who had thus far attempted to descend it. As the world tuned in to watch the first ‘canoe’ slalom events to be held in the Olympics at Augsburg, Mike and Mick were facing repeated attacks from ‘giant, 20-foot crocodiles,’ which they warded off with WWI Webley officer issue revolvers and non-waterproof ammunition, while paddling huge whitewater, particularly in the 30mile ‘grade six’ section below the thundering Tissisat Falls.To add to the fun, they came under fire from locals while paddling the section.

The achievement is rivalled by little else in kayaking history. From the start, the river’s source on a lake on the Khumbu Glacier, nearly 18,000ft high, the team had to deal with altitude sickness, leeches, snow blindness and dysentery.The upper sections were fast, freezing and uncomfortably shallow.The lower sections were highly technical, boulder-strewn and at times, pretty monstrous, even by today’s standards. In the end, of the dozen boats the team took with them, only two made it back, such was the fragility of even the strongest glass-fibre layup when confronted with the Dudh Kosi.These days, the idea of running a river with frequent stops to tape your boat together again, is unimaginable.

The expedition that Mike put together to paddle the river that drains Everest in 1976, the 80-mile Dudh Kosi, has become, simply, the best-known of all kayaking expeditions undertaken. He chose as his ‘second in command’ Mick Hopkinson, and they

The journey there and back – 15,000 miles in a Ford Transit – is a story in itself. The camera on the boats weighed 3.5 kgs and was converted from clockwork to electric. If running at super slow motion - which gave the best footage - the cassette ran for about 30 seconds so you had to

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Further reading/viewing: Canoeing Down Everest (Mike Jones), Many Rivers to Run (Dave Manby), Dudh Kosi: Relentless River of Everest (DVD – dir Leo Dickinson).

And, though only of peripheral relevance to this, the whole film of the first British Grand Canyon kayak expedition of 1971 is available to watch for free on YouTube

Available from www.davemanby.co.uk

Available from www.adventurearchive. com/product/dudhkosi-relentless-river-ofeverest/

paddle out into the middle of the rapid let go your paddle with one hand reach behind you and turn the camera on. Leo Dickinson did not want the (bulky) switch in the shot! They created footage that set the standard in film-making – in fact, it’s considerably better than the GoPro footage of today – not bad for cameras once attached to Hurricanes as a gun cam in WWII! A year later, Mike and four others travelled to Venezuela to paddle the big-water Maipure and Apure Rapids of the Orinoco River, a place that, like the Blue Nile and Dudh Kosi, barely exists in the imaginations of paddlers today.

Queen’s Gallantry Medal

A year after that, Jones died while trying to save the life of fellow paddler Roger Huyton (of the Dudh Kosi trip) on a major expedition to paddle the Braldu, the river that drains K2 in Pakistan.

Huyton survived, but Jones, it is thought, was swept under a low overhang and drowned. His body was never found, and he was posthumously awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal.

The reverberations of Mike Jones continued long after his death and continue to do so even now.

After Mike’s death, his parents set up a memorial fund in his name. For 10 years Dave Manby organised and ran the Mike Jones Rally in Llangollen, North Wales to raise money for this fund – older readers might particularly remember the cardboard boat challenge! The fund, now known as the Mike Jones Award, is to promote kayaking and exploration, and is now administered by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts.

Recently, expedition paddler Ben Stookesbury returned to the Dudh Kosi to tick off some of

the sections the original team portaged, and one day, a complete first descent is a possibility, although it would be at the limit of possibility given the difficulties involved.

The trip that Mike led is responsible for much of the way we view kayaking today. One very nasty pinning incident that led to the famous Mick Hopkinson swim (the boat partially broke apart to free him) led to a popular theory that persisted throughout the 1980s – that these new-fangled plastic boats are dangerous because they won’t yield when pinned to release the paddler. These days, much has changed of course – kayaks are heavy, have dropped from 13ft to 8ft in length and we don’t regard them as consumables because they are indestructible. Paddles are light and technique has moved on, too.

Warmth, bravery and enthusiasm

Mike himself will be remembered for his bravery and his enthusiasm. “His overwhelming confidence in what he did or planned would first of all convince everyone he spoke to that he was completely mad… when you realised he was serious, you became so enthusiastic that you would find yourself bending over backwards to help him”, remembers Roger Huyton.

“Mike’s escapades a lot depended on all traffic lights being green – or at least amber,” said Dave Manby.

Whilst Graham Mackereth said, “He was a whirl of energy who captured everybody's imagination. He had a photographic memory and the ladies adored him. A very special man.” He will be remembered by those who knew him for his warmth, bravery and that enthusiasm.The rest of us should thank him for launching what would become, over the next two decades – the golden era of expedition paddling.

Dr Mike Jones remembered…

by Dave Manby

“Mike Jones, whose good friends call Rupert for an unknown reason, performed the job of tea boy with alarming vigour,” was the introduction that Chris Bonnington gave the 16-year old Mike when covering the 1968 British trip down the River Inn, Austria for the Daily Telegraph magazine. Mike maintained that Chris Bonnington was only filling column inches and there was no truth in the statement, but from then on the name stuck and so Mike reckoned that Chris owed him several favours.

It took four years for Mike to start pulling in these favours. Chris had been the journalist on Blashford-Snell’s attempted descent of the Blue Nile in the totally unsuitable Avon Redshanks and he remarked in his text that kayaks might have been a better craft to have used.That was enough for Mike to go ahead on and he immediately started extracting his pound of flesh.This was the first trip that Mike led and it became typical of his trips: conceived in a bar, planned on a beer mat and organised whilst in the middle of something else (this time his medical degree course at Birmingham University).

As was often the case with Mike’s escapades, a lot depended on all traffic lights being green – or at least amber. Mike was not put off by the fact that Chris Hawkesworth, the cameraman/paddler fell victim to Mike’s publicity drive and pulled out – crocodiles and cataracts were fine, but trigger happy bandits was going a little too far. Mike bought a 16mm camera and borrowed a book from the library, ‘How to shoot 16mm. film’ and proceeded to undertake the filming of the trip as well.

The river lived up to its reputation: halfway through the trip Mike had his 21st birthday and Mick Hopkinson was the only member of the team left on the river to share the celebration.

That night they were camped above a serious stretch of white water. In the middle of the night, Mike woke Mick up saying that he was sure that he had heard bandits in the bushes; they drew their World War One revolvers and sat back to back hoping that their sodden ammunition had dried out sufficiently to work. The following morning Mick opened his eyes to find Mike fast asleep and that he was staring down the barrel of Mike’s loaded and cocked revolver with his

finger still around the trigger! Four days later the two of them, having no real idea of where they were rounded a bend to see the Portuguese Bridge and the Reuter's reporter – by coincidence, they were exactly on schedule.

I met up with Mike in 1975 when I got invited on a trip round the Austrian Alps and Mike came out to join us after the first week. He was literally in the middle of his final university exams – we had to get Mike back to Birmingham a fortnight later in time for his last psychology paper. It was a typical Mike Jones trip: in one day it was not unusual to run three sections of serious white water, rush back to the campsite, cook a curry that included everything that was to hand and then down to the bar for some serious drinking.

We got reprimanded for leading the British Youth Team astray at Lofer slalom, destroyed the Swedish and Dutch slalom teams at Augsburg in back to back boat races of ½ litres each, got Slime to pay the bar bill at Landeck to cover his embarrassment, and still managed to paddle all the top runs of the time. At this time the Everest trip was being talked about and this I suppose was the start of the, ‘18 months of planning.’

Two years later Mike decided to head for K2 and the Braldu River in the Karakorum. He drowned whilst rescuing a friend. He was 25.

Life around Mike could only be described as ‘hectic,’ but he also had the charisma and basic common sense which enabled him to persuade all but the most staid of institutions, that his idea was not only feasible, but also worth backing. He had millions of acquaintances and many friends: I think I was friend of his – he certainly was a good friend of mine. I owe him a great deal.

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Testing, Sevylor Alameda

www.sevylor-europe.com

By Robert Carroll Video: Aidan Egan Tranter

The Alameda was launched in 2016, based on the successful Hudson model.

Now we’ve never paddled the Hudson but we did review the Sevylor Madison last year (https://joom.ag/JeqQ/p156) and whilst there are still many similarities, there are also some very pleasing improvements.

The most obvious is the new seat design. On the two-seater Madison, the seats were inflatables that were anchored to the floor of the kayak via Velcro strips. No problems with that, as the seats were very stable and stayed in position. With the Alameda, the seats are still inflatables but have a new improved way of attaching to the kayak’s side chambers.

https://youtu.be/WE6Tf8QioRE

d d from f The Alameda three seats are suspended the side chambers rather than touching the floor, an improvement that gives many benefits: l Your backside isn’t now making an impression into the floor of the kayak, meaning the Alameda has less drag than its predecessors. l If water enters the kayak, the suspended seats allows for a drier paddle, keeping your derrière dry. l As the seats are now more elevated, it’s a far more comfortable experience being able to reach over the side chambers.

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testin

Most paddlers will buy inflatable kayaks because of issues with space and it’s fair to say that inflatables like the Alameda will save you space, even more so when you consider the Alameda is a three-seater. When deflated it fits back into the very useful carry bag that can be used like a back pack but also sports paddle holders, a roll top and drainage plug.

nte of i

If the Alameda is a very good three-seater, then it is an excellent two-seater, where leg room now comes into its own, with plenty of space after the removal of the middle seat. It goes without saying that the Alameda can be used as a very spacious single seater.

e will b nd it ed a iew rev uct od

Alternative configurations

dd lers - email us: review s@thep addle rez ine

m .co

In our case we had two larger adults with a smaller adult in the middle, all in all coming to just under 190 kilos and well below the Alameda’s stated maximum of 210 kilos. After the first hour’s paddle, we all disembarked and altered the seating to give my aunty a little more leg room in the middle. This was achieved by moving the front seat two notches forward and the rear seat one notch backward and proves that versatility is one of the Alameda’s strengths.

Then we set off again for another 90 minutes.

res t to pa

The Alameda uses hooks that fits into the webbing alongside the side chamber. Think of how most house window curtains are hung and you’ll get the idea. Because there are so many notches in the webbing to hook into, the seats can be spaces to suit the occupants with an inch-by-inch adjustment. We also found that the tighter you adjusted the seat back rests – the more comfortable and supportive they were.

ou want yo ion. If y u stat rp st r

Whilst we are on the subject of seats, they can only be described as being very good, with the padded lumbar on seats one and three, giving excellent support. They’re also easily adjustable with the inflatable base allowing a very comfortable padded paddling position. The back of each seat also has a mesh pocket for water bottles, etc.

The Paddle r ez ine te

Inflating the Alameda isn’t too much trouble either. We tested the non-premium model and therefore you have to inflate three separate chambers as opposed to the single chamber in the premium model. Sevylor uses two-piece Boston Valves that allow inflation without leakage. All in all it takes five minutes to inflate with the manual pump (electric pump as an option) to the recommended 1.5psi that’s easily readable on the supplied pressure meter. One important point that will save a lot of hassle is to remember to fit the supplied attachable skeg before inflation - it’s way easier!

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ThePADDLER 10 So how does the Alameda perform on the water?

The Alameda is aimed squarely at the leisure market, so obviously it wouldn’t be ideal on whitewater conditions above Class II rapids. On straightforward calm river water, the Alameda is extremely stable and I would say near impossible to flip over, making all occupants feeling safe and secure.The raised bow with the built-in spray deck makes for an excellent defence against small waves and choppier water, leaving the inside of the boat relatively dry.This makes the Alameda ideal for navigable rivers and coastal kayaking.

Tracking and gliding with the attachable skeg and built-in directional strake is excellent for an inflatable.The underneath with its strong dual skin made by Decitex®, provides a smooth, waterproof surface to travel over the water, offering very good protection against sharp objects. In fact, overall from the construction to the materials used in the Alameda, this is one tough cookie!

Paddle clearance has been improved due to the more elevated seating position that means the

paddles clear the side chambers more easily than before. On the top of the chambers are paddle holders on both sides that also double up ad carry handles to complement the other handles both fore and aft, which make the Alameda so easy to pick up and carry. A spraydeck is attached to the bow, with webbing for loose items, ties the whole package up very neatly.

Drying out

After paddling, the Alameda deflates in seconds but if water has managed to enter the hull, be careful to make sure you empty as much as possible as water can tend to get trapped beneath the side chambers. The kayak is equipped with a drainage plug to aid this. The one thing you do not want is to stow the kayak away for months on end to open the bag up to a smelly mouldy mess. After arriving home I always tend to take the deflated kayak out and lay it out in the sun if possible to completely dry it out. If that’s not possible, then take a towel with you and dry the kayak as much as possible before bagging it up.

marketplace. To top it off, it is also a perfectly strong, well balanced and paddleable boat. How can you go wrong?

Features: l

Wide shape offering excellent stability.

Boston, Mini Boston and Mini Double lock valves for easy inflation and deflation. l Easy inflation manometer: check pressure easily during inflation. l Highly effective drainage system. l Integrated large spray decks at bow and stern; spray deck at bow with bungee cord storage. l Two fabric covered seats with foam backrest, taller base, storage and the innovative webbing suspension. l Removable seats – easily turn the kayak into a three or two-person boat. l Removable fin and welded-on directional strake for excellent manoeuvrability. l New moulded handles on side including double function as paddle holders. l Dry-N-Store carry bag. l Removable fin. l Repair kit. l Owners manual.

Cost: Approx £350; €450 l

Conclusion

All in all, Sevylor have hit the nail squarely on the head with this inflatable, where the main selling points are convenience and fun days out on the water at a reasonable cost.

The quality is excellent, roomy and lightweight, whilst being easily transportable and opens up so many possibilities to the recreational paddling

https://youtu.be/_Urt24MavMs

https://youtu.be/MuodsUeD1lU

https://youtu.be/36AmqI8gHkk

PakCanoe 170 in the Arctic

Folding PakCanoes are the perfect craft on remote wilderness rivers. With rugged reliability and excellent performance in demanding conditions, PakCanoes have proven themselves on countless remote rivers all over the world. Designed for expeditions, but also happy to take your family for a spin closer to home.

www.pakboats.com p iinfo@pakboats.com 603-632-9500 6

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Fusion StereoActive

www.fusionentertainment.com/ watersports

By Peter Tranter

Last August we were invited by Fusion to their PR event to announce the StereoActive.We were impressed then and still impressed now. Backed by parent company Garmin, the StereoActive is an impressive floating music machine with built-in Bluetooth streaming, USB audio playback and AM/FM radio.

Music on boats, kayaks, boards, etc may not be to everyone’s tastes, however, music doesn’t always have to be loud and even if it is, the SteroeActive’s excellent directional speakers ensure the sound is pin-pointed towards the paddler and not in every direction. I think you could hate music on the water but still come to love the StereoActive.

That’s because it isn’t a device that’s just excellent on the water but camping, boating, sailing, barbecuing, in fact anywhere where you need a rugged device, which, very iportantly, can also be used everyday in the home. It is so versatile and in our case, has been used every single day. It is now the office sound system!

It’s solid, rugged and built to take what the outdoors can throw at it. The outside of the unit is protected by a UV resistant rubber surround giving strength and protection.

The high visibility controls have been purposefully designed to be operated by the blade of a paddle, so you do not need to be within touching distance of the unit. All you have to do is give them a touch with the paddle edge and your command will be followed, you can’t miss!

A flat mounting surface has been designed on the top to allow for the mounting of a camera just behind the controls.

Before switching on the unit requires its batteries to be powered up. This takes around three hours but in the meantime download the FUSION-Link app to your phone or your Garmin smart watch if you have one.

Switch on

Push the on/off button for a second or so and the built-in voice prompt will let you know the unit is active.The Bluetooth button next door toggles between AM/FM and Bluetooth, which by the way is a doddle to setup.The rest of the buttons are relatively straightforward and standard including playlist shuffle and two radio presets.

Once paired with your phone, the StereoActive can stream anything whether it is your playlist, Spotify, or one of your favourite online radio stations. You can also listen to MP3 music tracks via a USB port next to the charging connector made waterproof by a screw cap.

The StereoActive attaches to your kayak/board by way of a flexible slide operated locking puck mounting system. Once attached then believe

me, this unit is going isn’t going anywhere – it is locked tight! The puck itself is attached to the surface via an extremely strong adhesive – this is definitely not one of your cheap suction cup jobs but a system into which a lot of thought has been gone into. Add to this that the optional Fusion RAM and Railblaza pucks, which are also designed to integrate the StereoActive with their families of mounting solutions and you have the full house of attachments.

At the PR event in London I had the pleasure of meeting Marcus, one of the designers of the StereoActive, where he pointed out in the briefing, that the locking puck system was one of the most important items on the design list and central to the idea of the StereoActive being a take anywhere device.

The IPX7 rated waterproof design combined with the ability to float in water are the obvious benefits to taking the StereoActive out into its natural habitat.

Marcus explained they wanted a product that would be able to stand up to the elements and usable in a wide variety of situations but also easy to use – especially if you use a paddle for propulsion as he does himself.

I’ve used many similar, cheaper water-resistant Bluetooth speakers but the sound is no comparison to the StereoActive. The Class-D amplifier, speaker drivers, internal volume and passive radiator system delivers, crisp, quality music reproduction.

The dual 2.5” 40 Watt custom-designed directional speaker system produces excellent quality sound and the genuine 20-hour battery life allows an all day performance.

Fusion ActiveSafe

The ActiveSafe can be used as a standalone waterproof safe for your valuables or can attach to you StereoActive via Fusion’s puck system.

https://youtu.be/6Kcgr_2WuZU

ThePADDLER 14 Like the StereoActive, the ActiveSafe has the same IPX7 rated waterproof design combined with the ability to float in water. It’s large enough to hold the largest of smart phones pus keys, credit cars, loose change, etc.

Prices:

StereoActive: ActiveSafe: StereoActive: ActiveSafe: StereoActive: ActiveSafe:

£294 £79 $299 $99 €349 €99

The obvious benefit is the ability to lock your phone away, keeping it safe, whilst streaming your favourite music via the Bluetooth connection – makes perfect sense.

Conclusion

All in all the StereoActive has already provided many hours of entertainment and been in use every day since arriving. It can be a little heavy but then again it is so well made and rugged, you will soon forgive that. The unit is so easy to use and with summer arriving, we will take the StereoActive out more into its more natural environment of the outdoors and on the water.

The huge bonus is afterwards it will be sat in the office knocking out great tracks. Perfect!

Specs:

Sources:Bluetooth/USB/AM/FM/iPhone/ Android/Weatherband (Weatherband available in US only).

Tuner: AM/FM (Japan, Australasia, Europe, US) + Weatherband (Weatherband available in US only).

USB format: FAT 32.

USB audio format: MP3 (maximum 250 files per folder and 250 in the root directory).

Made for iPod and iPhone: Apple IAP2 Lightning. Connector products: iPhone 7/Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 6s/Plus, iPhone 6/Plus, iPhone 5/5c/5s, iPod touch 5th/6th gen.

AOA Android open accessory: Android open source protocol.

Speaker size: 2 x 2.5” custom design plus passive radiator.

Amplifier output: Class-D / 40 watts (2 X 20W stereo).

Battery: Up to 20 hours. Dual internal rechargeable high powered lithium ion cells.

Charging requirements: 110~220 volt AC wall charger charges within three hours.

Water resistance rating: IPx7/floats Chassis: Polycarbonate with TPE overmould FUSION-Link remote app - Bluetooth control via: Apple (Lightning connector products) and Android.

Garmin smartwatch app via ANT: Garmin smartwatches (VivoActive/HR , Fenix 3/HR,Tactix Bravo, Quatix 3, D2 bravo) - requires FUSION-LInk app via Garmin Connect IQ store.

Voice prompts: 12 unique multi-language voice prompts available in English, French, German, Dutch, Italian and Spanish.

Mounting: Standard FUSION puck mount supplied with screw, adhesive pad and puck protective cover for use when the StereoActive is not attached.

Dimensions: 236mmx82mmx139mm.

Weight: 1.3 KG.

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Watershed Ocoee

https://drybags.com

By Phil Carr (unsponsored.co.uk)

Carrying gear safely and keeping it dry is a perennial problem for paddlers – having the right kind of waterproof storage container is therefore critical.

Carrying a DSLR on/near water poses a number of additional risks. The risk of water damages or bumps/knocks is pretty high. Water protection cases or carriers must help protection against these dangers. However, the case/bag must also be easy to carry, not be too heavy and probably equally important fits easily within my boat. As you can imagine there will be trade offs.

In the past I have used a large Peli Case for my camera, but my new Nikon D500 has a 18105mm lens that makes using the Peli a little impractical. So over the last year + I have been using a Watershed Ocoee dry bag with a Watershed padded liner. I tend to place the bag in between my legs when I am sat in the boat and clip it in to the drinks holder area. The dry bag has two D rings at each end which are perfect for this.

The bag come supplied with no additional padding. The padded liner and dividers are additional cost! The Ocoee and its padded liner fits the camera well and I don’t find that there is much movement once the bag is fastened up.

The dividers have definitely been worth the money. With them in place I can carry my Nikon

with lens (hood in place), Black Rapid Strap, 50mm lens and a few batteries and Mount Star mount for my GoPro. If I wanted to carry any other kit I’d have to look at getting the next size up which is the Chattooga.

The best part of the bag is strangely its worst feature. The waterproof closure of the bag is created by two interlocking rubber strips. These strips are pressed together to give a waterproof and air proof seal. This system is really effective but can difficult to get open especially when you have cold hands until you get the hang of it. You also need to be careful to ensure that the seal is fully home when you close the bag up. It’s not difficult but you do need to keep an eye on it to make sure that it is done correctly. It would be fair to say that this is the same with all systems.

I’ve made sure that the seals are well looked after to ensure that my kit remains dry.

The material the bag is made with feels very solid and appears (subjectively) to be tougher than any other dry bag I have owned. I have read reports of folk using Watershed bags for years without any issues of the material wearing out. I have used my bag for over a year now and it’s used as the main way to store my camera and a few other bits and bobs both on and off the water. Despite being dragged, thrown, sat on and more, the bag and its contents have been great – no damage or issues at all.

The seal has become a little bit easier to use but still remains as watertight as day one. If you can get past the costs (see below) the Ocoee still remains one of the best options for carrying camera gear. The Ocoee has a good range of robust clips, straps and D-rings to ensure that everything is held in place snuggly and is easy to clip into your kayak.

The cost of the Watershed Ocoee is on the face of it pretty steep. You can find them in the UK for around £60. It will cost you £30 for the liner and another £25 for the dividers. But then again you will probably be placing several hundreds pounds worth of camera equipment in it. So as a long term investment, I think the Watershed Ocoee is a good deal.

Specs: l Weight: 1 lb 7 oz (0.65kilos) l Capacity: 900 cubic inches (15 litres) l Dimensions: 9”x16”x8” (23x40x20 cms) l Opening size: 13” (33 cms) l Closure type: ZipDryt RRP: £94.99; €128.24; $112.00 Liner RRP: £29.99; $29.00;

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2017 new kit Ainsworth Canoe Play www.ainsworthpaddles.co.uk

(Poly Carb) carbon shaft This blade is a powerful spoon shaped dihedral, ideal for open canoeing, playboating OC1 and whitewater tandem use. It delivers a huge amount of power with a large surface area to brace off.

For 2017 Peak UK have revamped their classic Freeride jacket with bright new styling and a new X3 ripstop nylon fabric, which is tough, breathable and waterproof to 20m.

The Freeride has been a longstanding favourite in Peak’s whitewater range with the neoprene neck and tension band offering a superb alternative to latex. Double latex/aquaout wrists and a double waist, along with an articulated cut, which offers total freedom of movement, make the Freeride one of the most comfortable and reliable jackets on the market. Check out www.peakuk.com for more info.

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Blade length: 50cm Blade width: 21.5 cm Minimum weight: 750g.

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Ainsworth Canoe River (Poly Carb) carbon shaft

This tear-drop shaped blade is for open canoeing, river running and touring paddle.

It is designed to move smoothly through the water but still give enough power to be effective in the rough stuff A great paddle for both whitewater and traditional boating. The blades are made from a polycarbonate composite combined with a carbon shaft, which makes a lightweight durable paddle that will cope with all situations.

Blade length: 50cm Blade width: 21 cm Minimum weight: 700g.

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K1 SPRINT

Touring floats rejuvenate my ageing

It is nearly 50 years since I first sat tentatively in a wide beam slalom canoe plucking up courage to leave the river bank. Many a keen canoeist will remember those early days of initial trepidation and then, confidence building at an amazing pace and eventually nothing was beyond reach. Today I have the honour of being classed as a veteran in the sport of canoeing but enthusiasm can no longer overcome current challenges so easily. With the passage of time my canoeing aspirations have inevitably changed from adrenalin driven down river and weir descents, long distance marathons and short sprints, to more sedate and picturesque river journeys.

By Alan George

KA K AY A YA Y AK

With a break of nearly 20 years and suffering with reduced balance, my requirements for a suitable boat to return to the sport have also been revised from my existing ageing craft. The happy days of sprint competitions, marathon races and slalom are now fading into the realms of nostalgia and retirement has brought on thoughts of more sedate and relaxing river paddles, so maybe my K1 sprint kayak, still hanging from the garage roof, will not be the right vehicle for future adventures. I also have two slalom canoes but have never seen these craft as long distance fast tourers. With the memories of paddling the K1 over long distances using minimal effort and in a perfect paddling position I still hanker after such a craft.

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ThePADDLER 22 Replacing my K1 would not be an easy decision. I have visions of having to sell it for a few pounds and then have to fork out another £1,000 on a replacement craft suitable for touring. I did consider a surf ski, as a perfect tourer but with a starting price of £2,000 and going up to £4,000 it was a very brief thought process!

My main requirement was for good stability, a long hull to make a good fast straight line tourer and a rudder for manoeuvrability. So with the dilemma circulating in my head my wife said, “Your boat needs water wings,” whilst said in jest it did provide an interesting analogy of the problem. Water wings are worn by children as a safety device to support them in the water when learning to swim. She had unwittingly made a very astute observation and this was to be the start of the solution to improving the stability my existing K1.

The K1 has all the attributes of a fast tourer except for the stability. How difficult could it be to integrate the principle of ‘water wings’ to improve my K1’s stability? So that is how the process began, and this article reflects on some of the ups and downs of that journey.

Design criteria

My solution for improving the stability of my K1 was to add additional buoyancy to the sides of the boat to resist its tendency to roll. There are a number of canoe/kayak outriggers on the market that I could have chosen but they require a strong deck to attach to and they make easy access to the kayak from the river bank and transportation a problem due to their width.

Outriggers were not the solution I was looking for; I required a more integrated approach. My design criteria for the additional buoyancy became: not to impede the narrow paddling stroke (so any support had to be aft of the cockpit), the buoyancy was to be close to the hull, minimising the overall increase in hull width, the design of the floats had to be as low drag as possible and the solution had to be detachable to allow easy transportation and possible reversion to the original shape.

The design option consisted of two detachable floats of tubular form with round ends to reduce drag in the water attached to the side of the K1. In deciding the amount of buoyancy I opted for half of my body weight of positive buoyancy split between the two sides. This allowed for the

buoyancy to be only partially submerged in normal operation to reduce drag.The materials came in the form of two six-inch diameter plastic ventilation tubes, each measuring one-metre long.

Two canisters of spray expanding foam were required to fill the tubes providing the buoyancy and four six-inch diameter half spheres of expanded polystyrene to finish the ends. The two floats would be contoured to fit the side of the K1 with industrial Velcro pads providing the temporary attachment. Support points would be made from aluminium strips pop riveted to the plastic tube to take the Velcro pads at front, middle and aft locations on each float.

Making the floats was a relatively easy process consisting of cutting the plastic tubes to fit the side of the K1, and adding aluminium supports to maintain the tube shape and allow attachment of the Velcro strips. Finally the modified tubes were filled with expanding foam and polystyrene end caps attached to the tube ends.

Drag

Initial trials with the floats mounted two inches below the deck line and aft of the cockpit proved very positive. The K1 was extremely stable but the floats were immersed a little too deep in the water. As the K1’s speed increased, the forward motion caused water to flow over the top of the float’s domed ends. Raising the floats to deck level helped the water to flow around the fronts of the floats and reduced drag.

With the floats attached, stability increased significantly enabling me to sit confidently in the K1 in a very relaxed manner. Secondary buoyancy when healing the K1 was excellent and provided similar stability to a slalom boat.

However, the drag became significant when picking up speed, as the water did not flow smoothly around the float fronts, and this water disturbance detracted significantly from the relaxed paddling experience.

To rectify the drag from the front of the floats, tapered fairings were shaped from expanding foam. Each fairing had a concave section to locate onto the float front and was held onto the K1 side with a single small Velcro pad at the tip.

Left: Foam filling the tubes Above: Aluminium velcro supports

Floats in place for initial trial

Foam fairings

Fairings attached

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With the fairings fitted, the performance improved significantly with less water disturbance and therefore less noise and drag.

The performance was now exactly what I had been hoping for. My K1 was now as stable as a slalom kayak, with an unchanged perfect paddling position and sufficient manoeuvrability for canal paddling. I was now confident I could paddle through the winter months without concerns of capsizing in freezing water or having issues whilst entering or exiting the K1 from the canal bank.

Also with the floats and fairing being easy to remove and replace, the K1 could be carried on the car top roof rack in its original and light weight state making lifting on and off relatively easy. Once on the canal bank the floats and fairings could be added in a matter of minutes and I would be ready for the water. The improved stability unfortunately came at the cost of reduced performance but this was the compromise I had expected with the addition of the floats.

New floats build were similar but the tubes were cut to form tapered fairings at each end, integrating the whole concept into the two tubes. The aluminium strips and pop rivets were still used to hold the shape of the cut tubes, attach the fairings at each end and allow the Velcro strips to be attached.

Further improvements

Transformation

I have now paddled the K1 with floats attached on the canal and averaged roughly ten kilometres per hour for an extended period with relative ease making this a very acceptable configuration for a touring canoe. With the K1 now exhibiting slalom canoe stability it had lost a little too much of its feel on the water. Even though the exercise was such a success I believed there was still scope for further improvement in performance and appearance.

I asked myself if I was to repeat the exercise how would I proceed? I would probably go for slightly reduced buoyancy as this could be accommodated without seriously compromising the stability required and this would also make the K1 a little livelier and reduce the overall drag.

The finish and fit of the fairings could be improved and this would further reduce drag and improve the overall appearance. I also believe the best solution would be to incorporate the fairing into the main element of the float making the attachment of the float one piece per side. Also adding a rear fairing to the float was expected to reduce drag further.

The further development work entailed building two new floats from tubes of the same six inch diameter but with a planned reduction in the amount of buoyancy. The lengths of the floats

This solution now looked like fulfilling all the design criteria for: paddling position, performance, transportation, appearance, and transforming the K1 sprint kayak into a fast stable touring boat at the water side in less than a minute. The floats would now be low drag, low weight and less expensive to produce than the original concept. The buoyancy had been reduced by half and the weight by even more.

The appearance of the floats was not obtrusive and blended into the shape of the K1’s hull. The final trial on the canal would confirm whether the final alterations to the floats had satisfied my requirement to improve the K1’s stability without compromising the speed and agility too much.

At the canal the fitting of the new floats was much quicker and a great improvement in time and effort now the solution was one piece for each side. Initial thoughts of performance on the water were that the feel of the K1 had returned but I still had confidence in the level of stability at rest. As the trial progressed it was clear the K1 had regained some of its speed and feel. I had got the buoyancy just right for the compromise of speed and stability, and it looked great on the water too.

Completed new float

New and old float comparison

Fitting floats at the canal bank

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Conclusion

In conclusion the exercise had provided an affordable solution to making a very tippy K1 sprint kayak into a stable fast touring kayak.

The total cost came in at less than fifty pounds and had made my K1 dual purpose, a racer and tourer. With these additional floats the owner could go to race day and later take a relaxed river or sea paddle in the same craft. This invention would make spending thousands of pounds on a sprint boat that can also double as a touring boat, with a simple addition of two floats, a worthwhile investment. Paddling the K1 now with the floats attached is an absolute pleasure, allowing me to gain exercise on a stable platform and to casually observe wild life and plants along the journey. And whilst my K1 will no longer win any sprint races with floats attached, there is always the option of removing them and going for it, not that I will be going down that route any time soon.

Confidently leaving the canal bank

C h a rg e a n d p l a y f ro m y o u r c o m p a t i b l e smartphone via USB

@FusionStereoActive

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PADDE DLR LER Canoe Ca C anno an oe oe

030 Canada

Bloodvein by Ray Goodwin

SILVERBIRCHCANOES.COM

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BO B LOOD R A Y G O O D W I N ’ S E P I S O D E S F R O M T H R E E T R I P S O N T H E …

ODE DVEIN Photo: Threading the stoppers on Lagoon Run Rapid

The The Bloodvein Bloodvveein is is a classic classic river rivveer of of the the Canadian Canadian Shield Shield flowing ffllo ow wing westward weesstttw w warrd d from ffrrro om Ontario Ontario into into Lake Lakkee Winnipeg.

Winnipeg.The The rocks rro ockkss itit flows ffllo ow ws through thrro ough are arree amongst amongsstt the the oldest oldesstt on on earth earrtth but but have haavvvee been been ground grro ound low lo ow w by by numerous numerro ous ice ice ages, aagges, giving a relatively rreelaattivveely low lo ow w relief. rreelieff.. No No grand grraand mountains mountains or or deep deep canyons canyyo ons here. herree. giving Some 10,000 10,000 years yyeears ago aaggo the the gigantic gigantic Lake Lakkee Agassiz Aggassiz formed A ffo ormed over ovvveer the o the entire entirree Some arreea, its its water waatter dammed dammed by by the the retreating rreeettrreeaatting ice ice sheets sheeetts to to the the north. norrtth. ItIt is is only only area, in the the last lasstt 8,000 8,000 years yyeears that thaatt this this area arreea of of low lo ow w lying lying bog, bog, forests ffo orreesstts and and lakes lakkees took took in on its its current currreent shape. shape. I have haavvvee now no ow w paddled paddled the the Bloodvein Bloodvveein three thrreee times. times. ItIt has has on been an an ideal ideal trip trip to to do do with with clients clients but but more morree importantly, imporrttantlyy,, I have haavvvee learned learned been as I have haavvvee explored explorreed its its moods, moods, storms ssttorms and and differing difffffeering water waatter levels levveels as

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They stood in silence suddenly aware that we were totally alone and

committed

Trip one

The flight in

For months Lina had spoken of little else but starting by plane. No mention of the river or lake; It was all about her first floatplane trip. At the floatplane base on Red Lake bad news awaited us: the cloud base was far too low to fly as the 55-mile flight to Artery Lake had to cross a ridge. We got sorted and weighed both the gear and ourselves in readiness for any clearance.

Late in the day we were in with a chance and so our spirits lifted, but we could not cross the ridge.

Our pilot was much younger than the Norseman he was flying (not unusual with these northern flying workhorses). Our only chance of getting out that day was to follow the circuit of lakes that swung around the ridge. It was a bit hit-or-miss and if the cloud dropped we would have to turn back.The take-off was the usual floatplane smooth transition from water to sky. Soon the novelty wore off for Lina and the incessant rhythmic droning of the aircraft had her asleep with her head on my shoulder in minutes. So much for the excitement! We flew just below the clouds through the occasional curtain of rain. Both the pilot and myself were following the route on our maps.

Lina woke up before we landed and watched in wonder and amazement. We arrived over Artery Lake and a quick fly-through located a possible campsite and so we checked out the landing area for obstructions. Within minutes we were ashore and unloading; the pilot wanted out of there quickly before the weather closed down.

The Norseman taxied away down the lake. The sound of high revs accompanied the plane as it came back in view while lifting into the air. Shortly after, it returned for one last fly-by and then it was gone. The transition from town to wilderness was abrupt. I looked around at the others. They stood in silence suddenly aware that we were totally alone and committed.

An early start allowed us to make the excursion to the pictograph site at the eastern end of Artery.Typically they were positioned on a steep rock wall overlooking the water. For the natives it seemed to mark an important junction between various worlds. Amongst other things they show a shaman with a radiating power line coming from the head and holding an otter pelt medicine bag. Below the shaman is a well-manned canoe.

We were already short on time and we had lost a whole day waiting for the weather to clear. On later trips we allocated a total of 14 days to paddle, portage and line our way down the 80 or so rapids and falls on this trip. On this one we had nine, this was to have consequences later in the trip.

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Trip two

A storm on Lower Artery Lake

Yet again we had been delayed on the flight in and a day was lost but the lesson had been learnt and there was plenty of slack in the system. On the first day of paddling cumulonimbus clouds began forming and we could see great sheets of rain falling in the distance. Crossing Lower Artery Lake one of these great squalls headed straight towards us. As the wind rushed across the lake we went from placid so a howling Force 6. Waves rose out of nowhere and I yelled to my bow paddler to keep the nose into the waves and we battled it out.

I looked left and right and the others were doing the same. It lasted for five minutes or so but felt much longer. The waves died away and we resumed the crossing. Not a photo had been taken or a GoPro turned on, it had been all hands to paddles.

Trip three

Contrasting nights

This trip had started in a heat wave and become increasingly hot and humid, it was brewing up a storm. On the day it became obvious as we set up camp with tents and tarps. As usual we cooked on a wood fire and as we ate, it became darker and the first distant cracks and rumbles started. The wind picked up and an elemental storm crashed around us. We could see strikes in the trees just up river. Water lashed down off the tarps in streams.

Flash and crack became simultaneous. Several times I jumped in alarm but there was no shame because the others were reacting just the same.

Eventually it was to pass over and die away for that night but it was not finished yet. The next night it returned with equal vigour and I lay in my tent as an angry orange glow filled the sky above. The trees stood out in silhouette beating an angry time to the thunder.

The air was cleared and the weather became kinder. Some days later we were camped high above the river when we noticed a faint glow on the northern horizon. As it grew darker, the green light shimmied and danced into being – the Aurora Borealis was putting on a spectacular display. Great curtains of light danced around us until all of us were too tired to stay up for more. The contrast between the nights of storm and the colourful display above and yet the awe was just the same.

Waves rose out of nowhere and I yelled to my bow paddler to keep the nose

into the waves

and we battled it out

The Northern Lights

Storm

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Trip one

A gentle start to the day

I lay snug in my sleeping bag; it was barely light.

Other than Lina’s gentle breathing, only the long rising call of the loon broke the stillness of morning.

Quietly I stuck an arm out from my warm cocoon and unzipped the tent.The ground was covered with a fine dew and the countless sparkling spiders’ webs gave everything a fairy charm.The river was glassy still, with a perfect reflection of trees and sun; even the previous night’s beaver was not to be seen.

The sun was just visible through the mist – it was going to burn through.

I shook Lina awake. This was an opportunity par excellence; we would dance in the sun’s reflection.

A loon wailed sending a shiver down my spine – or was that the chill of morning? I woke Steve and Mike; this was not to be missed. The beauty and stillness brought out the best paddling in us. Even water dripping from the blade seemed noisy. I kept my blade deep and silent as I swung the canoe from c-stroke to Indian to hanging draw. I lost myself into the dance.

The crack of tinder being broken sounded across the water was followed by the first waft of wood smoke. Coffee and pancakes would be soon on the way. It was going to be a good daye.

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Trip one

A colossal mistake

Rain had been falling for days and the river had risen quickly. Rapids that were Grade 2 had become 4 and monsters at that!

Portages became bigger and we were even lining the boats down a portage trail at one point. I was the guide and I was under pressure. We had an agreed finish date and air tickets booked. This is a bad pressure in the wilderness and begins to affect the decision making.

We looked at yet one more monster with huge whirl pools and boils. It wasn’t possible to line and the portage looked horrendous and time consuming. But there was a line running a hard diagonal to hit the eddy on river right. It was guarded by a large wave but it was possible and Lina and I were paddling well. We would run our boat through and then return to paddle the second. Mike and Steve were definitely not paddling it.

I went to get in our boat but had a moment of doubt and walked down for a second look. The diagonal run was key but there were no waves or ripples on the surface to mark the start of it.

The water above the rapid was fast and flat and offered no view of the route, I had to guess our path. As we came over the lip I knew our line was wrong. A smaller wave threw the bow left and I could not correct the angle and the diagonal wave threw us left towards the main rapid. As we took on water I yelled for Lina not to crossdeck, we needed to stay up as long as possible.

A massive area of folds and boils sucked us down. I lost contact with the boat and it became a deep long ‘swim’; It went dark around me before the light turned to green.

The surface did not get any closer for all my effort. I remember thinking I needed to buy a bigger buoyancy aid!

Eventually I came up for a gulp of air before another, but briefer, down time. This next time I was up for good, but I was out of air and energy and frankly quite freaked. It took a minute or so of air and calming before I could look around me and assess the situation. Steve was running down the right shore and the canoe was against the rocks.

Lina was out and safe on the left shore. I swam right and, as soon as I could get my breath, set off up the bank to assist Steve.

Threading a line.

By the time I got there the canoe was gone – it had re-circulated up the eddy and back into the main rapid. The canoe had swung into the massive eddy river left below the rapid, and was gently turning in the centre of this. The situation was stable. Steve and Mike were going to paddle back upstream from above the rapid and then cross to river left before portaging. This was going to take a long time so I made the decision to swim the river to the left bank. It was flat and relatively slow. I could do that safely and then judge if I could swim out for the canoe in this relatively gentle eddy.

The swim was slow but no problem. Having made it to the other side, I then came back up the bank to the eddy. Another swim reconnected me with the canoe. I found it impossible to flip the canoe upright until I attached a tape and went to the other side to pull it over. I remounted and paddled ashore, chastised and rueing my miss on the line. No gear was damaged or lost; only my pride had taken a hammering. Once we were sorted Lina, bless her, offered to give the rapid another go. My ‘no’ was emphatic!

The big swim rapid.

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Trip three A fitting finish

Water was higher than the previous year and so many rapids that we had lined became really fun paddles. At all times the criterion for running stuff was a low risk to boat and person. A boat wrapped around a rock would leave us with just two craft and six people, necessitating a satellite call to the outfitter to see if another canoe could be flown in.We often did not bother to lash kit down into the canoe. Most rapids ran straight out into still or slow-moving water, so boat and gear could be easily retrieved in the event of an upset.

Just before reaching Bloodvein village and Lake Winnipeg an all-season road now crosses the river. Most groups finish here but it lacks a sense of completion and we travelled on to the lake. Standing on a glacier smoothed rock with Lake Winnipeg beyond is a more fitting end. A quiet paddle back to the take-out begins that journey back to another world.

Ray runs a whole series of canoe trips including in Canada with the award winning Frontier Bushcraft: frontierbushcraft.com In addition Ray offers coaching and guiding through his own business www.RayGoodwin.com

Lining

He is the author of highly regarded techniques book,‘Canoeing’

Rapid

Moose

Portage

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PADDLER PD Salty SSa altlttyy al

044 Interview

Ross Murray-Jones and Mark Coronato

054 Palawan, Philippines

Circumnavigation by Ross Murray-Jones/Mark Coronato

068 Norway

The coast of Helgeland by Kathrine Olufsen

078 Iran to Oman

Crossing the Strait of Hormuz by Dimitri Kieffer

092 Ireland

Inishowen Sea Kayak Symposium by Hugo Dale

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RO OS SS MUR URRAAY-

An interview with…

MARK The two British adventurers who became the first kayakers ever to successfully circumnavigate 1,300km around the World’s best island (as nominated by readers of Travel and Leisure and Condé Nast in 2013, 2015 and 2016).

-O -J JONS NES & CORONAO ATO ThePADDLER 45

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H

ow did you come up with the idea to circumnavigate Palawan and how did you find that it had never been attempted before and thus would be a record within the country?

As keen travellers (over 100 countries between us), we were looking for a worthy, large-scale challenge which we’d remember for the rest of our lives. A story to tell the grandkids!

So to start we had to pick a vessel of choice. We wanted to be self-sufficient and as such needed to pick a vehicle whereby we could carry all our gear and supplies with us. We contemplated everything from camper vans and sailing boats to kayaks and bicycles but as avid watermen and triathletes back in the UK, we quickly agreed on kayaks as our mode of transport.

As all good adventures start, we then bought a map of the world. We had read of kayakers circumnavigating 1,000 miles around Ireland in 4-6 weeks and so started to identify bodies of land with that number in mind. Soon circles were drawn around Australia (too big), Fiji (too vast), the UK (too close to home), Corsica (too small), the Philippines and Indonesia to name a few.

After choosing the Philippines, we agreed on Palawan as the obvious choice given its accolade as ‘the world’s best island’, and, with a total circumference of c.1,300km, a physical challenge that was in line with our timeframe.

Before we start – just let our readers know a little about yourself and your Philippines expedition…

We are two 30-year-old professionals from London who set off with the goal to become the first sea kayakers to circumnavigate the island of Palawan, complete with some of its 1,780 islands.We successfully completed the feat in late February 2017 after 2 months on the water, covering circa 1,300km (about the same distance as London to Madrid).

We camped out on deserted islands, surrounded by turquoise waters and experienced the sheer beauty of a majestic landscape, home to one of the seven natural wonders of the world.Although encounters with dolphins, sharks and leaping mobula rays made the days interesting, the tempestuous climate often made for extremely challenging conditions.

During the expedition, we battled large white water swells approaching five metres, winds of up to 35km per hour (gusts of 50km+) and unseasonal heavy rains that would bring visibility to no more than an arm’s length.

There was no ‘aha’ moment where we found this expedition had never been attempted before. We simply came around to this inevitable conclusion after a lot of online research and speaking to multiple kayaking sources in the Philippines and the rest of Asia. Even though kayaking is popular locally in places such as Coron and El Nido, there are no records of any major multi-month expedition taking place in the Philippines other than that of Singaporean Adventurer Khoo Swee Chiow’s incredible south to north feat (his book ‘Across The Philippines In A Kayak’ - is well worth a read). This position was later solidified when discussing security with the Provincial Government of Palawan and through interactions with locals along the way.

As we had limited kayaking experience when we decided the trip, it was important we familiarized ourselves with the art of sea kayaking. Luckily sea kayaking is huge in the UK and we spent many months with Tower Hamlets Canoe Club and South East Kayaking learning the basics from sweep and draw strokes to more advanced techniques such as rolling. We were fortunate enough to meet some really exceptional individuals along the way such as Rob Davis, owner of South East Kayaking, whose deep knowledge and understanding of sea kayaking was invaluable when preparing what gear we’d require for the trip.

Given the remoteness of our location, we also completed a two-day Wilderness First Aid Course to learn how to handle life-threatening injuries from the more extreme cutting off a limb with a machete to dealing with heatstroke.

And although we both had a GPS unit and iPhones each, we wanted to know what to do if all technology failed us, so we completed a Coastal Navigation and Tidal Planning Course specific to kayaking which helped us deal with oceanic currents and learn the basics of map reading.

As for what gear to take with us, this came down to countless days and weeks of research and reaching out to wonderful individuals around the globe. We spoke with top kayakers such as Sandy Robson and the guys behind Amazon River Run who were incredibly helpful in determining what gear to bring along. Lastly, and at the risk of sounding facetious don’t underestimate the usefulness of Google, YouTube and Amazon. We spent many hours watching videos and reading reviews from people who had completed their own expeditions - both in kayaks and by other means - for tips, tricks and ideas that would ultimately prove invaluable.

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In what ways did you prepare for the trip?

We’re also curious what make of sea kayak you used? How did you handle the logistics of getting your boats to your starting point?

After several entertaining and informative conversations with Sandy Robson whilst she was on the verge of completing her five-year 23,000km epic expedition, the Australian paddler kindly introduced us to Kayakasia, an eco-adventure travel company based out of Singapore.

Kayakasia is a distributor for Tahe Marine kayaks which, although not common in the UK, are well built for this type of expedition. Having explored many avenues from buying the kayaks in the Philippines to bringing the kayaks (either via sea or air) all the way from the UK, importing from a trustworthy source was deemed the best and most economic method.

Eventually we settled on the Tahe Marine Reval LC Mini PE as speed wasn’t our number one priority and they suited our smaller frames. They’re also plastic thus robust - very important when you consider we’d be using them every day for months through changeable conditions and landing surfaces (sand, rocks etc..). Plus 5m is a good length where resupply is possible.

Now we had a kayak each, we needed to figure out where to send them. Having never been to the Philippines, a shout out to our network on Facebook resulted in an introduction to the owner of Discovery Island Resort in Coron (the very northern tip of Palawan) and he kindly agreed to take delivery of our kayaks before our arrival. We had originally planned to start from the town of Puerto Princesa, halfway down Palawan, so as to avoid having to jump straight in to large and unpredictable open water crossings. However, not ones to look a gift horse in the mouth, we amended our plan and decided Coron would be our new starting point.

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In the end, delivery was struck with massive delays due to bad weather and slow bureaucracy, meaning we arrived before our kayaks. Thankfully, after several weeks of running around like headless chickens, we were able to paddle away from Coron Port for our maiden voyage in early December.

Our kayaks went from Estonia to the Philippines via Singapore. When in the Philippines, they then got shipped from Cebu to Manila to Coron to Puerto Princesa and then back to Coron (don’t ask)! Most importantly - they made it in the end.

Did you find any piece of kit ‘essential’ for this trip? What were your most valuable pieces of equipment?

Mark: That’s a tough one as there are definitely a few contenders. Leaving aside the no-brainers (dry bags, PFD, etc.), the single most valuable bit of kit was the GPS. Whilst navigation wasn’t terribly difficult most of the time, there were definitely occasions where we could easily have ended up veering completely off-course without a fleeting glance at our trusty guardian angels. Nothing quite like paddling for two hours in the wrong direction! The power bank was also incredibly handy – we’d opted for a larger unit so that we could go for several days without needing to seek out civilisation to top up our various electronics (GPS, phones, headphones, etc.) and it worked a treat.

This thing would go on for days and still have charge left. Our Kindles (e- books) were also an inspired purchase as we burnt through 10 books each over the course of the first half of the trip – there’s no way we would have been able to lug all of those around with us if we’d opted to go the old fashioned printed way!

A special mention has to go to our tent, the Big Agnes Copper Spur – we lost count of the number of times that we praised this thing. Lightweight, compact, super easy to put up/take down and a remarkably stylish bright orange to boot – it served us well.

Ross: As Mark said, aside from the obvious kayak/paddle/tent combo, there were some great pieces of kit we brought along. I’m particularly fond of my Plantronics wireless/waterproof headphones to while away the hours listening to audiobooks as well as the Pathos Laser Open Pro 90 speargun I took along to catch dinner.

On a more practical note, the laminated Google Maps sheets I printed out and stuffed into my spray deck map pouch proved extremely useful in order to keep a track on where we were against the day’s plans.

Pala Pa aw a wa w an,, Philip ppine es

And finally, two rather extraneous items which I felt ended up becoming invaluable were a fan and clothesline. My Scottish blood meant I didn’t deal with the heat so well whilst camping so a couple of weeks in and struggling to sleep, I purchased a mini portable rechargeable fan for <$5.This literally revolutionised the trip for me. I was so attached to the fan it now has pride of place on my mantelpiece at home. I’ve also got to give a shout out to the portable stretchy clothesline with hooks we used every night to hang up our stuff - frillnecks, bandanas, rash vests, gloves etc.They rarely dried due to the humidity, but at least they got a decent airing and therefore didn’t stink when you put them on the next day. It’s always the little things when on these big expeditions.

Were you aware of the terrorist threat before heading out? What did it feel like to paddle around the southern tip?

Having read Khoo Swee Chiow's book, we knew Mindanao (500km away from Palawan) was unsafe.

This was confirmed by the brutal kidnapping and beheading of Canadians Robert Hall and John Ridsdel, which made global headlines in 2016. Essentially we knew terrorist groups plan kidnap operations against Westerners in the Philippines but weren’t aware the threat was so serious in Palawan.

This all changed when Jürgen Kantner, a German national, was kidnapped in November 2016 and subsequently beheaded three months later.They killed his wife on the spot.The British Foreign Office then announced, “The threat extends throughout the Philippines, both on land and at sea, but is particularly acute in the southern Philippines (Mindanao, southern Palawan and central Visayas, including Siquijor and Dumaguete).”

Furthermore, the moment we started paddling at the northern most tip of Palawan, locals warned us about the security situation in the south and the safety of our adventure was put into question.

The warnings only got louder as we ventured further south, which ultimately led us to seek support from the Governor of Palawan (or at the very least, some clarification on the risk we were about to take).The initial meeting snowballed beyond our wildest expectations and we ended up receiving the full support of the Philippine Coast Guard, the Philippine Western Command, the Philippine Marine Corps and the Provincial Government of Palawan.

All in all, we felt pretty safe given we had a nine-strong security escort, however nerves would certainly have been tested if we were on our own.

Sometimes the duo got caught by shallow waters. Below is Mark walking the kayak across a shallow sand bank.

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Leaving aside the no-brainers (dry bags, PFD, etc.), the single

most valuable

P law Pa awa aw wan,, Philip ppines

bit of kit was the GPS

Could you provide a bit more detail about your security escort? How did they travel with you, what type of craft, etc.?

The security escort comprised of five members from Palawan Rescue 165 (a local emergency response team) and four marines. Western Command, a national anti-terrorism unit, were also on standby and kept frequent radio contact with the marines. The fact we never had to meet them in person was a good thing, as that would probably imply that we were in a spot of bother!

The team were assigned to escort us around the southern tip, in particular the most treacherous 274km stretch between Brooke's Point and Quezon.

In terms of transport – we offered the men the chance to get kayaks of their own and ride alongside us, but they politely declined. Can’t imagine why! Instead they opted for two Nautimus speedboats that were rather well spec’d out with GPS, depth contours, tidal charts, etc. We agreed at the outset that they would flank the two of us but keep their distance so as not to cause a distraction, so for the most part they were approximately 50m away although they’d pull in a little closer when

conditions deteriorated and the waves made it difficult to keep sight of us. There were certainly times where we felt for them, cruising along at 6km/h in speedboats that could go 20x that!

They seemed to enjoy it though as this was the first time that any of them had been part of something like this and for most of them it was the first time venturing around the south of the island. They were always very professional – making landfall approximately 15 minutes ahead of us to ensure the area was secure and rotating guard duty throughout the night.

Did the archipelago live up to your expectations? Is it worthy of the ‘best island’ title?

Absolutely – some of the scenery really is breathtaking. Pictures really do tell a thousand words but I’m not sure even our pictures do the island(s) justice.The northern part of Palawan is the more aesthetically pleasing as it’s littered with hundreds of islands and islets, white sandy beaches, turquoise waters and imposing limestone cliffs.The Bacuit Archipelago in particular is where the majority of tourists that do go to Palawan tend to descend and for good reason. However, focusing on one area of the island is doing a great disservice to the rest of Palawan.

ThePADDLER 52 The island of Linapacan is where we saw the most incredible coral reefs, whilst the topography of Coron Island is simply spectacular and looks like something straight out of Jurassic Park. The south of the island is a little less varied but the long coastline is heavily indented by coves and bays which are beautiful in their own right and home to dugongs and dolphins, whilst the mountains are replaced by a more rolling terrain which is reminiscent of the landscape back home in England. Is it the best island in the world? That’s difficult for us to judge given we’ve not been to many of the others that are on Travel and Leisure or Conde Nast’s top 10 lists! What we can say is that based on our experiences, it fully deserves to be up there fighting it out with the best of them.

Would you be able to provide any accounts that were most memorable from the trip which made a lasting impression whether it be with the people along the way, a natural occurrence, or a time you felt you were in a precarious position?

What sticks in our mind? The overarching memory is the general feeling of camaraderie developed over time with the security team. In terms of specific memories with the team itself – a few classics stick to mind. There was the time the mooring rope for one of the boats unfastened in the middle of the night, prompting a mad scramble to find it in the pitch black. That was day one... not a good start!

Jovit’s birthday (one of the speedboat captains) also. It coincided nicely with our well-earned rest day at an ecolodge just outside the danger zone (two huts on a beautiful plot of land just back from an amazing bay). Needless to say once we found out it was Jovit’s birthday we weren't going to let it pass without celebration. We got a ride into the local town, got him a cake from the local baker (his first ever) and some drinks for the gang. Cue an afternoon of eating and being merry.

There was also the time when we needed a speargun repaired in Puerto Princesa. A post on Facebook led to an introduction to the Badjaos (a fishing community in the coastal fringes of Puerto Princesa City). We went there one evening and they served us food, fixed the spear gun and never asked for anything in return. They even asked us to return the following evening to go out night spearing with them. Naturally we jumped at the opportunity and caught a bucket load of fish to feed their large family which was our little way of saying thank you.

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That said, even now, with the benefit of time and hindsight, it’s difficult to isolate specific memories or events that dominate others. The whole adventure was incredible and everything, ranging from the people we met, the physical and psychological challenges we overcame, the amazing nature that we saw - they all contributed. It’s like hundreds of little building blocks which on their own don’t look like much, but combined create something incredible. Individual memories may fade but the entire experience? That will stay with us for life.

After this trip, are you sold on sea kayaking? Do you have any plans to do another big one?

We most certainly are. It might not be the quickest way of getting around, but it does provide a unique perspective of a particular environment. In our case, it enabled us to visit a whole host of places we would never have been able to get to by any other means – deserted beaches, isolated coves, secret lagoons, etc. There’s also something quite special about the solitude – paddling is definitely a great opportunity to chill, reflect and take the time to think about whatever dilemma (or momentous occasions) you’re currently facing. Sometimes we chatted, sometimes we listened to music or audiobooks, sometimes we goofed around playing ‘Turtle or Coconut’ (that’s another story...), but quite often we just listened to the world around us and reflected.

That said we were definitely ready to take a break from the kayaks by the time we got to the finish - you can only have so much of a good thing! After two months, our hands were shredded, our backs bruised, our shoulders ached. We were looking forward to life’s little joys – not being salty and sandy all the time for one plus not having to plan, with military precision, your packing/unpacking routine to make sure everything is suitably ‘dry-bagged’ and accessible.

We have talked several times about our next adventure – kayaking the English Channel or going somewhere a little colder such as Alaska or Patagonia, for example, but we don’t have any concrete plans in place just yet. Watch this space!

Many thanks Ross and Mark for all of your help and taking the time out of your hectic schedule for us – we really appreciate it:) Now read on for their account of the most dangerous seven days of the expedition and the men sent to protect them…

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R E C O R D

PAA PL ALAWAN B R E A K I N G

C I R C U M N A V I G A T I O N

Slipping unnoticed through Abu Sayyaf jihadist territory, battling monsoon gales and two deadly super-typhoons, two British adventurers, Ross Murray-Jones and Mark Coronato, became the first sea kayakers to circumnavigate Palawan.This successful world-breaking attempt, the largest sea kayaking expedition to ever take place in the Philippines, was completed on 15 February 2017.

This article outlines the seven-day period when the pair rounded the southern tip of the island, a stronghold of the jihadist terrorist group, Abu Sayyaf, responsible for the recent kidnapping and killing of a German sailor and his wife. Palawan Governor Jose Alvarez stepped in to organise a security team comprised of five members from Palawan Rescue 165 (local emergency response team) and four members of The Philippine Marine Corps with land support from Western Command (anti-terrorism unit).This is their storyâ&#x20AC;Ś

By Ross Murray-Jones and Mark Coronato ThePADDLER 55

ThePADDLER 56 25th January: rest day in Brooke’s Point (the last safe zone for foreigners in Palawan)

Shattered after completing 171km in three days from Puerto Princesa to begin stage 2 of our expedition, we awake feeling fresh after a good night’s sleep. We’re quite sore (Rob Davis from South East Kayaking in the UK has given us a list of stretches) but excited as today we meet our security team for the first time.

Before the meeting, we nip into town to resupply for the next six days on the water.

Alongside all the usual foodstuffs, I buy a girly pair of wet shoes decorated with butterflies to replace the ones lost landing in big surf yesterday. Mark buys us Mickey Mouse walkie talkies for £2 as a bit of fun to communicate in our tents at night. To our surprise they actually work! Oh and don’t forget the 34 litres of water for the two of us.

The big meeting:

Erwin (Head of Sea Craft Rescue 165 Speedboat Operations) greeted us as we landed just before sunset last night and we agreed to meet at 1pm.

The agenda is to discuss details for the next seven days where we’ll slowly paddle around the southern tip of Palawan, a known terrorist stronghold for Abu Sayyaf. It’s 274km and we’re a mix of emotions between excited and fearful. Key topics to discuss and agree include: emergency protocol (i.e. attempted kidnappings), target camp sites for each evening, sleeping and eating arrangements and general communication (radio frequencies, hand signals etc.).

The crew of five from Palawan Rescue 165 show up first (Alan, Boi, Jovit, Jay and Oliver) followed swiftly by Edgar (Head of Palawan Rescue 165 in Puerto Princesa), Erwin and four members of The Philippine Marine Corps (Sergeant Sabran, Sergeant Oliveira, Gilbert and Jason). The latter are in uniform donning assault rifles with integrated RPGs around their shoulders and grenades secured to their belt. We have 11 guys here now looking at us to chair a meeting; we’re a little intimidated to say the least.

We soon get onto the topic of kidnappings, the reason why everyone is here today. Only a few weeks before Jose Alvarez (The Governor of Palawan) had officially given his seal of approval for our expedition acknowledging a security escort would be best from Brooke’s Point to Quezon in order to safeguard our passage in the south. It’s at this point where cultural nuances come into play as the Rescue 165 team, realizing

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It’s difficult to know

who to trust

so we don’t tell anyone where we’re going apart from the inner circle

The team tell us to give a very wide birth to a guard tower we're approaching

the kayaks are quite expensive, draw up a plan to rescue them alongside us if needed. With respect, we tell them if several speedboats are fast approaching with armed guys wanting our head, the kayaks were no longer that important to us. The good news is the bad weather forecast could actually help us over next few days; no fishing boats will be going out so we can keep a low profile out at sea. It’s agreed the rescue team check in with central command every two hours to give an update on our position. We also teach the team the international scuba diving signals for ‘problem’ and ‘ok’ which we long ago adopted to communicate with one another when out of earshot. They seem to like it.

Preparing to leave Pirate Island

Before the meeting we make a rough camping plan whilst we’re in the ‘danger zone’. For the first night, we pick an island just opposite Rio Tuba (a known terrorist area also famous for deadly salt crocodile attacks). The island is roughly 50km away and far enough out to sea to be deemed ‘safe’. Thankfully the team agree the plan and discuss this island in Tagalog (their native language). They keep repeating in English ‘Pirate Island’. We look at each other…both thinking… “we’re not staying on no Pirate Island”. Of course, that’s exactly where we’re staying… Excellent - good start.

Given all the planning that’s gone into this part of the expedition and notwithstanding the mental tricks the security issue has been playing on our minds of late, we’re feeling pretty upbeat about the next six days. We’ve essentially deferred all security issues to a third party so all we have to do is uphold our end of the bargain which is paddle to the designated safe camping areas each day. Having said that it’s difficult to know who to trust so we don’t tell anyone

where we’re going apart from the inner circle. If people ask, I tell them we’re driving motorcycles northwards or I simply don’t know. If a place is mentioned by name I say no even if it’s a yes.

Maybe I’m a little more on edge than I thought.

The reality is that the vast majority of the population down here are overwhelmingly generous and kind, but there is a littering of (very) bad apples and we won’t take any chances over the course of the next few days.

26th January: day one Brooke’s Point to Pirate Island, 55km

We’re up at 4.30am and feeling nervous. Our room is close enough to the shore that we hear the waves crashing onto the beach. They’re big.

Through an earlier recce, we know to carry the kayaks to the leftmost point, about 20mins away, where there’s a natural reef to give us a bit more shelter from the waves for our launch. Although the seas are rough, we welcome the challenge under the safe knowledge that 99.9% of kayaking trips don’t have two speedboats flanking them.

Let’s go!

We paddle from 7am to 2.30pm to reach our sleeping quarters on Pirate Island. As we approach the island, the marines shoot ahead in one speedboat to scout prior to our arrival. It turns out Pirate Island isn’t a real-life version of Tortuga (Pirates of the Caribbean!) and is, in fact, just a small deserted island with a deceptively menacing name. As soon as we land, the rescue team cook up some noodles, rice and fish and we take 20mins to decompress after 7.5 hours of non-stop kayaking (bar a couple snack breaks). During the last 20km, a very strong cross-wind basically means we canoe and row the last stretch as our kayaks are set up for following winds. We’re instructed to make camp in the middle of the island within the safety of the jungle rather than on the beach. The marines surround our tents with their hammocks, slung from the trees, for sleeping taking it in turns to patrol throughout the night. It’s at this stage we’re impressed with their professionalism of the task at hand. If we go to the toilet, a marine accompanies us, without exception.

After dinner, we sit around the fire and get to know each other a little better over a bottle of Emperador (a local Filipino brandy which is absolutely delicious, despite costing the equivalent of £2.50 for two litres). It’s a great way to break the ice as we share stories on life in our respective countries.This is also the start of our informal Tagalog (local Filipino dialect) lessons!

The best thing about this island? No ‘nic nics’ (sand flies) or ‘lamok’s’ (mosquitos)!

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27th January: day two Pirate Island to Buliluyan Marine Base, 59km

The team somehow lost a speedboat overnight. Apparently they lack rope long enough to secure the boats efficiently in changing tides. So several personnel patrol the open seas in the middle of the night to track down a wayward vessel.

We’re not sure whether to worry or laugh off the misfortunate incident. We choose the latter and give them 800PHP (£12-£15) to buy a 30m rope so we’re better equipped now.

Today is a big milestone: We’ll reach the southern tip of Palawan. We set off early at 7.15am and clock in a rapid 8km/hour immediately. God bless following seas.

Otherwise, it’s a long 50km+ slog which at times feels never ending out in the open to avoid any danger. At one time we’re so far out we cannot even see shore! A highlight is when Sergeant Sabran approaches us to warn about being too close to a particular watch tower used by Abu Sayyaf. This is helpful advice except we’ve been aiming for this particular tower, across the bay, for several hours but only receive the warning five minutes away!

We’re in rough waters on the outer side of a very long reef at one point and clearly see a glasslike smoothness beyond the surf zone. If we go through to this clear patch we’ll have 30-45mins paddling in easy conditions but to get there means a treacherous kayak through a 3-5m surf zone. The offer is too tempting to pass up. We start to get to know our new team too. There’s a strange amount of satisfaction from making the ‘I’m ok’ hand gesture that we discussed during our briefing meeting and subsequently watching four pairs of hands go up simultaneously to confirm the boat’s team is also ok. It’s the little things that keep you going. The southern part of Palawan isn’t as visually stimulating as the north and we’re grateful for the combo of wireless/waterproof earphones alongside audiobooks to break up the monotony

of long days on the water. Whilst the coast is still breathtakingly beautiful, after three hours staring at the same headland you begin to want a change. Distances mean that whatever your speed, you sometimes feel you’re making no progress. Psychologically quite taxing.

We make it to the Buliluyan Marine Base Camp at 3.15pm, our agreed camp spot for the evening right on the southern tip.

How to describe the Marine Base? A chaotic barbed-wired outpost managed by guards in flip flops, basketball attire and AK47s which is overrun by chickens and dogs. Nonetheless it’s home for the evening and we feel safe. We’re now hundreds of kilometers out of the typical ‘tourist’ area and the people here aren’t used to seeing foreigners, so needless to say we get a whole lot of attention. That said, everyone is extremely hospitable to us - everyone is curious, but nothing more. The marines gather everyone around in one of the huts and prepare a ‘boodle fight’ - a typical marine communal eating practice. It’s a meal of rice, noodles, sardines, corned beef and whitebait laid out on a large banana leaf. Everyone eats with their hands and we’re no exception!

After dinner, we meet to discuss getting to Tagbita Bay the following day. This is the only place that is safe enough for us to sleep and we must reach it tomorrow at all cost. These are clear instructions to us.

The only issue is this will be the first time we’re kayaking north (we’ll round the southern tip within 30 minutes of taking to the water) and have no idea how the winds that have thus far been aiding our progress will affect us as we do a U-turn and paddle directly into them. We discuss Plan B with the team. This is based on Ed Stafford’s book ‘Walking The Amazon’ which we read a few weeks ago. If it gets to 6pm (sunset) and we’re still more than an hour away then we’ll drop a GPS location, take speedboats to the safe zone and come back to the pin the next day to continue. Thanks Ed! Tomorrow is going to be the most dangerous day and we toast to our safe passage.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a long 50km+ slog which at times feels never ending out in the open to avoid

any danger

Wolfing down some breakfast before departing Tagbita Bay

Ross's tent surrounded by two marines for safety

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ThePADDLER 62 28th January: day three Buliluyan Marine Base to Tagbita Bay, 52km

We’re up at the crack of dawn - more by circumstance than by design. There’s all sorts of carnage going on outside as dogs are fighting, one of the marines is snoring, the cockerels are crowing and the locals are also getting in on the action with morning prayers (unlike the rest of the Philippines, the South of Palawan is virtually entirely Muslim).

Breakfast at 6am does not sit well with me, throwing up within minutes of eating. Not a good start to what is on paper the most dangerous day.

No such upsets for the dogs, who happily tuck into leftovers (albeit with a lot of infighting - it’s a battle for every scrap). Western Command (Palawan’s anti-terrorism unit) is on high alert along the coast.They will patrol the area around our evening campsite before we arrive.

We’ve now paddled 760km and surpassed 100+ cumulative hours.

As soon as we round the tip to paddle north, we get hit by headwind. My kayak is weighted towards a tailwind and I find myself quickly weather-cocking out to sea. Today is going to really test us. We paddle hard moving at 5kph, a far cry from the 8+ that we reached at times on the Eastern coast. Our escorts are adamant we stay well away from shore so we take a wide birth around bays and headlands, invariably adding unwanted distance. After ten and a half hours of nearly non-stop paddling, we finally

make it to Tagbita Bay at 5.30pm. We camp just off a gorgeous beach above some rocks (in the woods for safety) and settle down to watch our first sunset over the ocean now we’re on the west coast. To our delight, the security team flagged down a fishing boat to buy dinner of triggerfish, needle fish and a giant octopus. Food has never tasted so good after our longest paddling day so far. This has been the most physically exhausting day of the expedition and we barely make it past eight before retiring to our tents.

“We endeavour to promote every aspect of the unique landscape and amazing biodiversity of Palawan and I salute the tenacity of these two British explorers as they enter the record books, becoming the first kayakers to circumnavigate the world’s best island.”

Palawan Governor Jose Alvarez

29th January: day four Tagbita Bay to Rizal, 54km

Surprisingly, everything is going to plan right now. We’ve pushed hard since leaving Brooke’s Point, covering 166km in three days. It’s not been easy. We’ve both gone through our own internal struggles at times, but have lent on each other for support when needed, and we’re proud of our accomplishment. The security team has been nothing short of amazing, what a fantastic team of guys, and what an experience with them. We’ll be sad when they all go off and it’s just us again.

Conditions are pretty favourable all day - a light breeze to keep us cool and a light ocean swell.

That all changes for the last bay (c.11km) - dark clouds roll in and we spend the entire crossing paddling into a relentless headwind. Pace slows to <4kph and at times we question whether we’re making any progress at all. Mark aptly describes it as paddling through treacle (although noted that would be significantly more enjoyable). We’re exhausted by the end of it. To get through, I develop a mantra for a fourstroke pattern, one word per stroke: “I. Can. See. It.” Sounds silly but it focusses my mind for those few hours (that and the energy gels we have for such emergencies). In conditions like these, we appreciate our Werner paddles; super light and easy to change the angle of the blades from 45° to 0° so as to not catch the wind.

We make it to the end of the bay around 5pm and whilst we’re certain (through GPS and laminated Google Maps) we’ve arrived at the Palawan Ecolodge (our agreed rest spot), both speedboats are adamant it’s the next bay along.

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We assume were misguided after 10+ hours on the water and so trust their judgment, paddling onwards. Unfortunately, the next bay is indeed too far and we backtrack several kilometres wasting over an hour. Completely exhausted, I snap at the marine leader. Not only is this a big no no in Filipino culture, where you do not challenge authority, but also losing your temper never really solves anything. Later on I apologize three times to the leader. Frankly, the security team has been nothing short of amazing.

My fingers tremble as we finally disembark in the dark around 6.15pm as my grip had been too strong in unrelenting conditions. My glutes also hurt as I am clearly tensing my legs in trickier weather. Mark’s in considerable pain too, his elbow’s aching (‘kayaker’s elbow’) and his back sore after spending all day on a broken seat.

first ‘shower’ in a while which consists off pouring a bucket of cold fresh well water over myself. Bliss.

It is now time for bed. It's 9.30pm, quite late for us.

Our entire focus since Brooke’s Point has been getting around the dangerous southern tip to the

The security team is intrigued by kayak rolls, so in a period of relative calm, I flip the boat to raucous applause. In one bay, Mark sees three turtles. No name is shown on our maps, so we give it a very original name: Mark’s Turtle Bay. During the day, the team buy snapper, barracuda, cuttlefish and a grouper from local fisherman.

30th January: day five Rest day in Rizal

The heaven’s open up overnight. We’re dry in our tents but I can’t imagine the rest of the team are well sheltered with only basic tarp to cover their hammocks. A rest day is clearly in order for the whole team as we’re all relieved we’ve made it through the most dangerous part unscathed.

I sleep really well and until late – 8.30am! We awake to a spicy fried squid breakfast to celebrate the birthday of speedboat captain, Jovit. We go into town with the marines to restock our supplies. By chance it is the final of Miss Universe. Maybe not a big deal to most of the world, but last year’s winner was Filipino, so every little corner shop has its television on to see the competition. Our first piece of news from the outside world for over a week is seeing Miss France being crowned winner. Very surreal.

To celebrate Jovit’s birthday, we buy 2kgs of pork (it's nice to have meat for a change!), a birthday cake (apparently his first ever) and ingredients for a fresh coconut salad.This is our small way of saying thank you and to celebrate rounding the southern tip safely. We collect ourselves from the trees. Okay, Jay, the other boat captain, gathers most of them, but he also teaches me how to climb up and collect my own in the future. After eating, I have my

Jason and Mama Sally preparing Jovit's birthday meal

One of the many sea snakes encountered

Tough day on the water with a variety of ailments and sore spots on the hands safety of Rizal. We havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t projected beyond that and have virtually no information here at the Ecolodge (no internet or signal). We know Quezon is a relatively major town (although still void of any foreigners) about 50kms away. So we make tentative plans with the team to camp out one final night on Nakoda island just outside Quezon before disbanding the next morning as the team return to their daily lives.

31st January: day six Rizal to Quezon, 54km

This is it, the final hurrah. I wake up with my hands feeling like claws, my glutes killing me and to boot Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve now got saltwater sores on my nipples, neck and under both armpits. So much for a rest day. I think I need a rest week!

Ross is suffering from saltwater friction burns on his nipples, neck and underneath his arms. Mark has the honour of applying the bandages

We leave at 7.30am. Today essentially consists of two big bays. Luckily there is a fishing hut on stilts at the end of the second bay against which I collapse for a short but well-earned rest after hours of paddling into strong headwinds. Physically, the days are getting easier, but I am now covered in sores and my body wants to shut down with the pain. The last three hours of paddling, it is mind over matter.

We arrive at our final destination to discover the team has purchased three very large tuna. Dinner

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"It was an honour and a privilege to support these men.They embody the attributes we hold dear in the Philippines Marine Corps. We salute their fortitude and perseverance.”

Sergeant Sabran, Philippine Marine Corps

is fried tuna, BBQ’d tuna & tuna boiled in coconut milk. Definitely the best meal of the whole expedition. We are eating like kings after being used to canned chickpeas for our protein.

"We’re extremely proud to have assisted in the successful completion of this unique expedition.”

Erwin Ambaliza, Head of Sea Craft Rescue 165 Speedboat Operations, Palawan Pair Being Interviewed by Kris, A Filmmaker Creating a MiniDocumentary Of The Journey in Palawan

For our final night, we all sit round the camp fire.

We’ve gotten to know the team quite well over the past few days and are poking fun at each other - it’s a great atmosphere and a fitting way to end our time together.

However, all good things come to an end. It is time for this part of the expedition to finish as we return to safer seas once more to finish off the expedition.

Tomorrow we arrive in Quezon and debrief with the security team before setting off on the final 320kms of the expedition. We will also contact government officials on the ground whose support and empathy to our expedition enabled us to round the southern tip of Palawan safely.

https://goo.gl/maps/hzPfPMzhnV62

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NO OW RWY WAY N O R T H E R N

A passionate love story!

What comes to your mind when I mention northern Norway?The Lofoten Island orTromso perhaps?

Yes, these are all well known destinations for sea kayakers but this time I’ll take you a bit south of these places to the Arctic Circle, to the coast of Helgeland.

By Kathrine Olufsen

Helgeland in northern Norway stretches 200km roughly between Brønnøysund to Bodø and you’ll find the Arctic Circle crossing right in the middle. The coast offers more than 12,000 islands, dramatic mountains, glaciers, white sandy beaches, fiords, open ocean and a spectacular bird life especially puffins and sea eagles. Thanks to the Norwegian right of public access, you are allowed to camp on the most stunning campsites, big as football pitches and all with a fantastic view. Now, let me tall you how my love story with this area began.

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Love at first sight It was the year 2011 and I had been searching the Internet for new exciting destinations for sea kayaking.

I wanted a big adventure, lots of wild life and a really remote location. Helgeland came to be the perfect choice. Together with my husband and two close friends we started the 15-hour drive to northern Scandinavia. It was in the middle of August and the temperature was pretty comfortable even though we were right at the Arctic Circle. Norwegian weather is known to be very unpredictable but somehow August always seem to be a good month to visit Helgeland.

I’ve been there uncountable times since the first trip in 2011 and never had really bad weather. I guess I’ve been lucky. In 2015 my husband and I had the opportunity to share our love to this area with a group of clients who had signed up for a great northern Norway adventure!

Starting the trip

It’s right after lunch and we meet the group at the ferry terminal Stokkvågen. After an introduction chat we start to pack our kayaks. In front of us we have seven days of sea kayaking with this lovely group. We park the cars at the harbour and start the first crossing from the mainland to the first islands. No matter where you decide to start the trip, you always have a crossing of at least 45 minutes to reach the first islands in the archipelago. Be alert and have the VHF radio reachable in case you meet large commercial ships, which are common in the main channel. On the coast of Helgeland, small ferries operate between the islands and the mainland, which means you also have the opportunity to use the ferries and start the trip from an island.

It’s a lovely evening, light winds, sunshine and blue skis.

I turn around and start talking to one of the group members who’s right behind me. The magnificent snow covered mountain peaks towering behind us stuns us both. We both agree that it looks totally unreal. We must be kayaking in a film studio.

As people have been travelling for almost two days we land on a nice little beach and set an early camp.

It’s one of my favourite campsites as you have the most spectacular view to the islands nearby, islands that rise out of the ocean more than 2,600 feet.

We watch the sunset and everyone seems very happy and peaceful. It’s been a great start.

Circumnavigation of Lurøy and tidal charts

As I mentioned earlier it’s August and Scandinavia has had a poor summer being wet and cold. This week northern Scandinavia is blessed with a stabile high pressure and light winds. It’s unbelievable but we actually have 20-25 degrees in the middle of the day all week and flat calm north Atlantic seas. We all slept very well the first night although my husband was up around 0200 to look for the northern lights. In August it’s hardly dark at all this far north but for two hours it’s darker and if you’re lucky Miss Aurora will dance for you on the night sky.

After breakfast we pack our stuff together and start the circumnavigation of the island Lurøy. In between Onøy, Lurøy and Stigen is a rather narrow channel, which gives the first day a dramatic touch to is all and a feeling of being very small.

The area of Helgeland has a tidal range of two- three metres and to some extent it can be wise to plan your trip according to the current direction of the tidal flow in case you prefer to paddle with the tide and not against it. The kitchen table planning we did from home is perfect and we have the tide with us all day in the narrow channel.

We constantly have big sea eagles watching us from above and reindeers at some points observing us from the shoreline.

We enjoy lunch at another lovely beach with crystal clear water before we continue south west to the area of Kvitvær. We have a unusual sighting along the way. As we get closer to the small community on Lurøy, we see a man from a distance walking his dog and his tow pigs – that really made me laugh!

Camp at Tomma

Circumnavigation of Lovund

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Cold waters and ocean dips

As we land on the campsite for the night after 25km of sea kayaking in a warm dry suit, we all rip off the suits. Although the weather is super hot, the sea is still only 10 degrees and an unexpected capsize is definitely more comfortable in a dry suit but today it’s just too hot! Some of the group members jump right into the freezing sea to cool down and some of the less hardcore take a stroll and shower themselves with the fresh water supplies we bring with us. As we cook dinner we watch how the low tide dries out the beaches that surround our island.

Lovund

Lovund, an island in the north Atlantic sea and our goal for this trip is sticking up 2,050 feet above sea level. The silhouette of the island changes its character depending on the direction you watch it from. From the north it looks like a green and black shark’s fin and from the south it looks like a powerful clenched fist.

Lovund has a population of 473 people where the average age is only 27. People work mainly at the salmon factory, the hotel or the local supermarket.

Lovund is also well known for its big population of puffins almost 40’000 pairs nest here between April and late August.

We set direction towards this amazing island and glide silently towards it on a flat calm sea. After some days camping we all look forward to spent the night at the hotel and a refreshing shower. As we get closer to the island we see people for the first time since we started the trip. We land on the beach right next to the hotel and the owner Sivert gives us a warm welcome as always. We unpack and settle into the cabins next to the shore. Some of the group members join the guide Torbjörn to circumnavigate the island before a tasteful dinner with local Norwegian delicacies and beer. The restaurant at the hotel is something very special and something you can’t miss when you visit a place like this.

Contrasts

To me it’s all about the contrast. A flat calm sea gives me a meditative feeling and a turbulent sea keeps me occupied and very much in the moment. Outdoor camping gives me a feeling of freedom and independence and a hotel bed and a shower make me appreciate every day luxury. So far this trip has given me all the best contrasts and after the hotel breakfast we continue the trip towards new destinations and beaches.

Cabion Hotel at Lovund

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Sandvær and Tomma

Ever since the first time we did a kayak trip on the coast of Helgeland we had our eyes set on the island of Tomma. However, we never had a good weather window to reach it. From a distance it looks very dramatic, black and threatening in some way. Maybe it’s because we know we have to cross Sjona, a notorious fiord that can be a challenge in windy conditions. We also know that there’s a beach on Tomma that has a reputation of looking like a beach in Thailand. Weather is good and winds are manageable so today seems like the right day to finally go there.

We pass the tropical blue waters of Sandvær and set or compasses for Tomma. The VHF radio is ready and we announce for any boat traffic passing that we’re a group of kayakers crossing the fiord of Sjona. We’re between high and low water slack so the tidal flow is at it’s minimum.

The crossing takes us about 35 minutes and today the sea is no longer flat calm. Me and my guide colleague and partner in life, Torbjörn, are happy with our job keeping the group together and every one seems relaxed and joyful.

There it is – the beach we’ve heard so much about. It really looks like an empty stretch of sand in a much warmer part of the world.The water is

It really looks like an empty stretch of sand in a much

warmer part

of the world

extremely clear and the sandy beach is like nothing Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve ever seen.

We spent the night here after a day when the sun has been very strong. A bit dehydrated, I spent most of the afternoon in the shadow from our tarps. TorbjĂśrn takes the group on a small day trip along the coast of Tomma before they arrive back at the beach. Before dinner we do a much appreciated yoga session to stretch you sore muscles and enjoy the sunset with a beer in our hands. Life is good and the love story goes on! The remaining days are spent equally camping and enjoying new places living the simple life of the outdoors.

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INFORMATION GETTING THERE: Nearest airport: Mo i Rana or Sandnessjøen

WILDLIFE: The wildlife on the coast of Helgeland gives you intense encounters. Otters, porpoises, eagles, puffins, seals, reindeers, guillemots, razorbills and owls are just some of the species you can be lucky to see. Personally I haven’t seen whales or orcas but they are not unusual. Last summer we had a group of porpoises circling right outside the camp the whole evening. When we went to sleep in our tents we could still hear them surfacing. Amazing!

https://goo.gl/maps/cE1SdSNSmH62

Helgeland – Norway

RIGHT OF PUBLIC ACCESS: Sweden and Norway share the right of public access. The goal is to promote the recreational use and enjoyment of nature. You are allowed to cross and camp two nights on some body’s land as long as you’re not close to a house or in a garden. This unique right comes with a great deal of respect and care for nature. Never leave any garbage or human waste. Never destroy the vegetation or disturb the bird or wildlife. Leave no trace policy is a great mind set to carry with you as we all want to preserve this right and pass it on to future generations. Learn more about the right of public access in Scandinavia: Norway: www.miljodirektoratet.no/en/Areas-ofactivity1/Outdoor-recreation/ Sweden: www.swedishepa.se/Enjoying-nature/The-Right-ofPublic-Access/

ABOUT THE WRITER: Kathrine Olufsen runs the Sweden based kayak centre, Nautopp Kajakcenter Grebbestad, together with her husband Torbjörn Söderholm.They use high quality kayaks and equipment from SKUK,Valley, Perception, Aqua Bound and Werner. and offer trips, courses, rentals, expeditions and self-guided packages with pick up.The centre also offers has a kayak store with a good range of kayaks and equipment. They’re a part of ISKGA (International Sea Kayak Guide Association) and the BCU.

WANT TO JOIN A GUIDED TRIP? Join Nautopp on the coast of Helgeland in northern Norway in August 2017. www.nautopp.com

FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/Nautopp-Kajakcenter-Grebbestad182311702149/?ref=bookmarks

INSTAGRAM: Nautopp: www.instagram.com/nautoppkajakcentergrebbestad/ Kathrine: www.instagram.com/kathrineolufsen/ Torbjörn: www.instagram.com/torbjornsoderholm/ VIDEO: Lovund: https://youtu.be/rDzbKHRWENw

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S W I M M I N G A N D T H E S T R A I T O F

HOM ORMUZ K A Y A K I N G

F R O M

I R A N

T O

T H R O U G H

O M A N

explain to us why you p “Sir,r,r please w n to cross the Strait of wa want Hormuz by human power?”

This is a question, which I have had to respond to on so many occasions over the last few years regarding not only being allowed to cross the Strait of Hormuz but also other strategic bodies of water and landmasses such as the Bering Strait, Chukotka (Russia), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and even currently while asking the permission to kayak across the Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea). p my answer was, Simply put,

“Because Bc Be I need to get through!”

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In fact, I had to overcome this specific hurdle (the Strait of Hormuz) to be able to progress further with my human powered circumnavigation of the globe which I had started in Anchorage, Alaska, USA in February 2005; 24,215 kilometres away. This expedition has indeed, so far, taken a long time, in part because of the challenging route we have chosen.

BY DIMITRI KIEFFER

Our route has not only entailed the need to obtain complex visas and permissions to be allowed to cross restricted countries but also the necessity to wait for appropriate weather conditions to cross specific regions such as the colder arctic ones or the hotter and arid ones.

Having walked, skied, swam, and cycled my way across Alaska, the Bering Strait, Far Eastern Russia, Western China, Mongolia, Central Asia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, in 2015, I had finally landed in the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, ready to take on the Strait of Hormuz.

Up to that point, crossing Iran on a bicycle as a French citizen and in company of my Russian Tatar wife Gulnara Kieffer had been relatively easy.

It had been actually a very rewarding and enriching experience to cross Persia with its breathtaking landscape and gave us the opportunity to explore a rich civilization encompassing centuries of stunning architecture and a great cuisine.

Exact route taken https://goo.gl/maps/3x4bHjH68sn

But above all, along our way, we had truly enjoyed the company of its very welcoming population.

In fact, we canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t recall how many times while cycling across Iran, we were stopped along the side of the road by locals, eager to either invite us to visit their abode for either a delicious home cooked meal, a comfortable room to rest for the night, or to kindly offer us food items such as freshly baked bread, bags of fresh pistachios, pomegranates or watermelons.

Travelling as French and Russian citizens, the only restrictions we faced while in Iran were: l Gulnara had to wear a veil in public the entire time. Although in large cities such as in Tehran, it was not uncommon to see a young woman only sporting a short veil which resembled more a bandana that anything else. l No dancing in public. In fact, the dancing scene was mostly limited to folkloric male groups. l Not allowed to drink alcohol, except if we were served by non-Muslim friends, such as Zoroastrians or members of the Armenian Christian community.

Massoud Tabatabai, Captain Mahmoud Daryanavad, myself and Gulnara

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Our interaction with the local police, military personnel and border guards was also quite positive.

We barely spoke any words of Farsi but carried an introduction letter translated in the language which explained clearly our route and goal: a human powered circumnavigation of the globe; and this was apparently sufficient to satisfy their curiosity.

We met Iranians who could well converse in English and finally, from time to time, used the phone application Google Translate to express ourselves as well as we could.

So, yes, cycling 2,650 kilometers across Persia was truly the facile part.

Training for the crossing

Gulnara and Dimitri

Getting out of the country across the Strait of Hormuz with a kayak was going to be a much more complicated matter.

In comparison, if one plans to kayak across the strait of Gibraltar, there is a certain protocol to follow with the harbour master in Gibraltar, which requires a very detailed scheduled plan, two lifeboats and a medical team ready to be mobilized on land.

In the case of the Strait of Hormuz, there were absolutely no guidelines since apparently, until my crossing, no one was ever allowed to either kayak, row or sail across the strait from Iran to Oman, or Oman to Iran.

However, a large amount of motorized illegal crossings happen on a daily basis for the purpose of smuggling goods between Iran and the Musandam peninsula (an Omani exclave which juts into the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow entry into the Persian Gulf, from the Arabian Peninsula).

Every night ‘fishing’ go-fast speedboats, mostly painted in black, smuggle alcohol, cigarettes, phones, televisions, clothing, shoes, household appliances, among other items into Iran.

The lack of well established guidelines and the potential risk to come face to face with smugglers,

Swimming the 4.5k from Bandar e Pol to Bandar e Laft on the island of Qeshm

quickly made everyone in the region nervous at the idea of me undertaking this kayak crossing.

However, when I first approached the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran and asked permission to leave Iranian waters by kayak to cross the 70 kilometres wide Strait of Hormuz, I was casually told then that this represented, “Absolutely no problem. Just call us when you get down to the southern island of Qeshm, before you start your crossing and everything will go smoothly.”

Mansour Tehrani

One night while visiting the charming hillside town of Darband north of the booming megalopolis of Tehran, we happened to randomly share a taxi ride with Mansour Tehrani, an Iranian airline pilot whom was a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988), during which he had been a helicopter pilot. He became very interested in our expedition and kindly offered us his help in any way he could.

Promptly, he reminded us how much the Strait of Hormuz represented a very strategic region for the Iranian government and was quite concerned that, if not taking all of the necessary precautions, we could end up arrested by the Revolutionary Guards and potentially convicted as spies.

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Mansour Tehrani (left) with Dimitri Kieffer (middle) in the company of directors of the National Iranian Search and Rescue Dept in Tehran.

Within the next few days, he consequently introduced us to several of his senior contacts, including several directors of national agencies who became quite enthused with the idea of our imminent crossing.

Some of them were also veterans and had been pilots with Mr Tehrani during the Iran-Iraq war. I discovered then how this network of Iranian veterans were very well respected by the general population and how much clout they were carrying with established military personnel. It was crucial for us to make the best use out of it.

Sufficient permissions

With the help of Mr Tehrani, we ended up spending a total of 24 days in Tehran to get what we thought then were the proper and sufficient permissions to leave Iranian waters by kayak from: l the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs l the Ministry of Tourism l the Ministry of Roads l the Sports Medicine Federation of Iran l the Iran Canoe and Rowing Federation l the Omani embassy We then returned to the northern Iranian city of Sari where we had left our bicycles with friends and resumed our bicycle journey progressing 1,400 additional kilometres down south, across the stunning desert of Dasht-e-Kavir and the oases of southern Iran.

Massoud Tabatabai

One day, on our way to the southern port of Bandar Abbas, after having left new friends in the city of Sirjan, we came across an avid cyclist named Massoud Tabatabai on the top of a mountain pass.

Mr Tabatabai, had already led several cycling circumnavigations of Iran. He also was a veteran of the Iraq-Iran war, where he had been critically injured and took more than 30 bullets, including eight still lodged in his body. A real Goliath, a ‘force de la nature’.

Mr Tabatabai was now spending a large percentage of his life riding in the name of peace throughout Iran. We also learned then that as an Iranian citizen, Mr Tabatabai has faced over the years, difficulties to be able to get foreign visas and organize cycling expeditions overseas.

He consequently, became part of our ‘team’ and we spent the next month together in Bandar Abbas and on Qeshm Island preparing the crossing of the Strait.

We quickly learned indeed that the permissions we had obtained from all the different ministries in Tehran were, by far, not sufficient. We apparently needed now to obtain in Bandar Abbas, a whole new set of permissions from the regional representatives associated with the

same ministries than the ones we had been in contact with in Tehran. Apparently their regional power was superseding the one of the ministries in Tehran.

Consequently, it took us a few weeks to obtain all of the additional permissions in Bandar Abbas.

Once we reached the island of Qeshm, we quickly understood that this second set of regional permissions obtained in Bandar Abbas was now itself not sufficient.The power of the local administration on the island, in part because of its strategic location, superseded in fact anyone else’s authority at the regional level in Bandar Abbas or at the national level in Tehran. It took an additional week to secure this latest set of local permissions.

From time to time, our friend Mr Tabatabai with whom we mostly communicated with the help of Google Translate, would exclaimed out in English, “Fifty, fifty,” which was his way to express that he thought we had, at that specific moment, still only 50% chances of getting our permissions finally approved. Needless to say that this whole process created a great amount of pressure, much more tiresome and frustrating than the actual refreshing swimming and kayaking experience across the strait.

The island of Qeshm and the southern territorial waters of Iran represent a very strategic zone for the Islamic Republic of Iran, guarded by Revolutionary Guards, coastguards, border guards, navy forces and most likely additional military branches. Prior to our crossing, on several occasions, it became very clear how strategic this region was for multiple reasons.

Pink flamingos

Once, in Bandar Abbas, while going between meetings with Iranian authorities across town, I saw pink flamingos in what seemed to be unfenced and desolated wetlands.

We stopped to try to capture the moment, when I was immediately halted by an official, who appeared on a motorcycle and asked me why I was filming inside a military zone.

I then quickly explained with the help of Mr Tabatabai that I was completely unaware of the strategic importance of this location.“Ï just wanted to shoot these pink flamingos!” Thanks to good local contacts, reached over the phone, we were able to quickly get ourselves out of the tricky situation.

‘Pink flamingoes’ eventually became an expression that our friend Mr Tabatabai used with us when he wanted to explain that we were in a tense strategic zone where we needed, at all costs, to refrain from taking pictures.

On January 9th 2017, eight days prior to my kayaking launch, there was a diplomatic incident where 10 US marines were captured by the Iranian revolutionary

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The further south we went and especially once we landed on the strategic island of Qeshm, the more the situation

became tense

guards along the same southern coast.This was the continuation of provocative and aggressive behaviour the Iranian and US forces have demonstrated towards each other over the years, while guarding respectively safe passages for their fleet through Iranian and International waters.

The further south we went and especially once we landed on the strategic island of Qeshm, the more the situation became tense. We were no longer allowed to camp wherever we wanted (which we had done throughout the rest of Iran), or to take pictures along the southern shore, near what was going to be our launching point for the kayak crossing.

However, thanks to Mr Tabataiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strong influence as a heroic war veteran and willingness to vouch for us, we were finally able to gain all the military clearance needed so that I could be allowed to cross the strait by kayak.

Not being able to forecast very well how long the 70kms crossing was going to take, my wife Gulnara and I agreed that it might be wiser then for me to undertake the kayak crossing without her. Furthermore, it seemed at the time that the Iranians were not going to be willing to grant us any permission at all.

To put this in perspective, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s keep in mind that until that day, sadly no Iranian citizen has ever been allowed to kayak across because of Iranian and Omani restrictions. The Iranian adventurer, Mohammad Amiri Roodan, attempted to cross the strait on a homemade pedal boat a few years ago but was intercepted and forced by the Omani coast guards to turn around and return to the Iranian coastline.

So, it was better for me to not push my luck!

Additionally, I had started this human powered circumnavigation a few years before I met my wife Gulnara and therefore she does not have to partake in every single section of the expedition. She joins me for the sections she wishes and wherever it makes sense, according to local regulations. For example, more recently, Saudi Arabia did not allow her, as a woman, to cycle across its Kingdom by bicycle and therefore I crossed the country solo.

Finding a proper kayak for the crossing also became a challenge in itself. Partly because of the economic restrictions, it is difficult to order a kayak from overseas in Iran. As foreigners, in Iran, we were unable to use our foreign debit and credit cards to order anything online and also needed to have enough cash to support ourselves during our entire time in Iran.

The Iranian kayaking scene was and still is very limited, logically, keeping in mind how closely watched is the southern border. In Tehran and Bandar Abbas, the only kayaks I could find for sale were low-grade inflatable boats/kayaks, which are more adequate for a fishing trip on a lake rather than for a 70kms section on open seas.

In the end, thanks to the contacts I had made in Tehran at the Iran Canoe and Rowing Federation, I was introduced to the local kayaking club, which loaned me an older but robust rudderless sit-in kayak, a heavy duty metal paddle and a life jacket. No spraydeck was available but thankfully I was able to get one made by a cobbler at the local bazaar.

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While taking the time to train in this â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;gift from god kayakâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in the little lagoon in front of the kayaking club, I was quickly given a long yellow short and a singlet red shirt to wear. Being in Iran, apparently modesty was obliging me to wear more clothing than just a swimming brief and a life jacket.

The local kayaking club also required me to pass, with their instructors, several kayaking aptitude tests in the loaned kayak in daylight and night time, in order to make sure that I had the sufficient kayaking skills needed for the crossing. I

We chose the earlier departure time to make sure I would be crossing the

crowd

was very happy to comply with this request since it gave me more time to practice.

The plan of attack we agreed upon with the authorities included the following: l l

l

l

Cycle 70 kms from Bandar Abbas to Bandar e Pol. Swim 4.5 kms from Bandar e Pol on the mainland to Bandar e Laft on the island of Qeshm.

Cycle 40 kms from Bandar e Laft to Shib Deraz, crossing southbound the island of Qeshm.

Kayak 70 kms from Shib Deraz (Qeshm island, Iran) to Khasab (Oman).

The complex logistics involved with being able to also kayak the first 4.5 kms water section, became rapidly clear, especially regarding being able to transport a kayak to this additional location. Considering that there were only 4.5 kms to cross, and while going with the current, we agreed that it was simpler for me to just swim that section of muddy waters, zigzagging between large moving barges, while being provided free of charge, an escorting boat, with seven persons on board, including Gulnara, Mr Tabatabai, as well as the president of the local ferry company (who kindly provided this escort boat) and military personnel.

We then cycled across the island of Qeshm and on January 17th 2016, I was finally able to kayak across the Strait of Hormuz between the Iranian port of Shib Deraz and the Omani port of Khasab. Indeed, the Iranian authorities finally allowed me to depart from Shib Deraz beach at 02.40 Sunday morning in my loaned Iranian kayak, accompanied by the required 24-foot support boat. On board were Gulnara, a crew of two Iranians (Captain Mahmoud Daryanavad and our friend Massoud Tabatabai), as well as our two bicycles and all of our gear.

During the first few hours, I navigated with the help of the moon and thereafter mostly with the help of my Garmin GPSMAP 64S once the sun rose.

Pitch dark

We chose the earlier departure time to make sure I would be crossing the more treacherous international waters, crowded with supertankers, during daylight hours. We chose a date in agreement with the search and rescue Iranian team during, which according to local weather forecast, the seas were going to be calmer.

Having said that, when I first started the crossing in the darkness, it was difficult to distinguish in the darkness where the .5 to one metre high waves were coming from, with currents and wind coming from different directions along the coastline. I felt as if I was dancing with the sea in pitch darkness.

e more treacherous international waters,

ded with supertankers,

during daylight hours

The 70 kms (37 nautical miles) crossing took 16 hours to complete, spending a good amount of time dealing with side currents and no rudder while zig-zagging between fast moving supertankers (who were moving perpendicularly through the strait, a few kilometres apart), smugglers speedboats coming out of Oman and even a circling frigate of the US coast guards, guarding the international waters.

Once we entered Omani territorial waters, we were escorted the last few kilometres by Omani coastguards on a zodiac-milpro type of embarkation until we landed on Omani soil.

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During the crossing I drank a few litres of water mixed with Nuun electrolytes and ate a few sandwiches. I never left my kayak to get on board the escorting boat, barely took any breaks, feeling quite energized to finally being allowed to do this crossing. I seriously felt an adrenalin rush, pretty much during the entire crossing and especially felt relieved once I realized on my GPS that I was no longer in Iranian territorial waters and therefore could no longer be picked up by any Revolutionary Guards for any reason whatsoever.

I believe that the crossing was actually more challenging for the others than it was for me: for our patient two-man crew on the escort boat and especially for my poor wife Gulnara (who was badly suffering of motion seasickness throughout that wavy day), burying herself on board between our bicycles and gear.

Upon landing in the Omani port of Khasab, in the darkness, at 18.40, the local administration quickly welcomed us, searched our bags, stamped our passports and escorted us to the nearby Diwan Alamir Hotel, where the administration kindly gave us a room to stay.

Our crew, Captain Mahmoud Daryanavad and Massoud Tabatabai, as Iranian citizens, were not allowed to disembark but were kindly given food trays by the Omani coast guards before they were asked to return to Iran, speeding away on their embarkation, with my loaned kayak on board, ready to be repatriated.

Looking back, I am now very thankful that the Iranian and Omani authorities authorized me to make this kayak crossing and definitely hope that in the future, more people will now be allowed to cross easily between these two countries while kayaking, rowing or sailing, while following proper safety measures.

Notes:

Besides our personal time spent working on all of the needed permission, this crossing cost us $900: l $200 spent on medical tests in Tehran so that I could receive this official Iranian Athleteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Medical Passport. l $500 spent on the escort boat for the 70kms between Qeshm Island and Oman. l $200 deposit for the loaned kayak, which I chose to forego to Mr Tabatabai, to thank him in a small way for the month of his life he had dedicated to help us sort out all the permissions we need to, in Bandar Abbas and on Qeshm Island.

See the details and additional pictures on Massoud Tabatabaiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website: http://gpg.ir/1395/01/09/post-665/ Nexus website: http://www.nexusexpedition.com/ Photos of the crossing: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nexusexpeditions/albums/721 57677584347114 Exact route followed: https://my.yb.tl/NexusExpedition/2617

FOLDING Canoes & Kayaks

Further info…

Info on Iran-Oman smuggling:

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/09/hard-timesoman-strait-smugglers-160926114325822.html http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/09/world/khasabjournal-sightseeing-in-oman-you-mustn-t-miss-thesmugglers.html http://www.thenational.ae/uae/smugglers-attemptedto-smuggle-hashish-heroin-and-crystal-meth-intouae

Fake US aircraft carrier for military exercises:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/ wp/2014/04/04/these-satellite-images-show-iransconstruction-of-a-fake-u-s-aircraft-carrier/

Quest Folding Kayak

The Quests combine great looks with comfort and efficient cruising performance.

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Puffin Saranac

US Marines captured

Diplomatic incident where 10 US Marines were captured by the Iranian revolutionary guards along this same southern coast. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morningmix/wp/2016/01/13/iran-sends-mixed-message-onquick-release-of-u-s-navy-crews/

More details here: https://www.nytimes.com/topic/destination/strait-ofhormuz

Martyr’s memorial

Once, while in Bandar Abbas, we were given the opportunity to come and reflect in a martyr’s memorial, where we could see the tombs of Iran-Iraq war and terrorist attack victims, as well as the tombs of some of the Iran Air Flight 655 victims. It was a poignant experience to see the actual tombs of pilgrims who had been returning from Mecca in 1988 when their plane had been shot down while flying over the Strait of Hormuz.

Post relating this experience: https://web.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1015380 8267606624&set=pcb.10153808271976624&type= 3&theater More on Iran Air Flight 655 tragedy in 1988: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Flight_655 More on martyrdom in Iran: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martyrdom_in_Iran

Pictures and post on the swim:

https://web.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1015384 4958371624&set=a.10151089316611624.464065.6 14891623&type=3&theater

Puffin Kayaks are perfect travel companions.

Great stability and paddling performance make Puffins enjoyable on the water. With good looks and light-weight price, they are a pleasure to own.

PakCanoe 170 in PakCanoes the Arctic The folding PakCanoe is your ticket to remote wilderness travel - and is equally at home taking your children for a spin closer to home!

PakCanoes are excellent for remote wilderness trips or adventures closer to home. Light-weight, compact for easy travel and storage, yet rugged, dependable and easy paddling.

www.pakboats.com Enfield, New Hampshire, USA (603)632-9500 • info@pakboats.com

ThePADDLER 92

CROWN CO T H E

Event: Date: Host: Venue:

J E W E L

I N

T H E

Inishowen Sea Kayak Symposium 21-23 April Adrian Harkin Inish Adventures, Moville, Co. Donegal Ireland (55° 11’ 20”N, 7° 2’ 30”W)

Paddlers expected on the water each day, 110.That was the information I had when Adrian asked me to attend the symposium to write a view words on the event. My problem, I didn’t have a way to transport my boat but that was no barrier as there would be trailer loads of demo boats on site.That’s all I needed to know, I was on my way to Moville, the ‘Jewel in the Crown’ of this beautiful part of Ireland. If you have never sea kayaked in the north, northwest and west of Ireland, you haven’t lived! Some of the best paddling in the world can be had, scenic beyond belief, for those who dare, remoteness unequalled in a land where St. Patrick is still celebrated for bringing Christianity to the island in 432 AD, a land that Irish paddlers and a few blow-ins, fondly call home.

By Hugo Dale – Beaver Tooth

“

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ThePADDLER 94 So why call a kayaking weekend a ‘symposium’ I asked myself? That question called for a quick Google search; a symposium is, “A conference or meeting to discuss a particular subject” or “a drinking party or convivial discussion.” Again Google was called on to define convivial, informing me it meant that the event would be, “Friendly, lively and enjoyable” and that the people would be, “cheerful, friendly and jovial.” With definitions like that, who wouldn't want to attend? All that was needed was some sea kayaking enthusiasts and the Inishowen Sea Kayak Symposium was good to go.

Kicking off

In the village centre meeting house, just off the town square, on the shore front Adrian opened the event with something like, “You are all very welcome, thank you for supporting the event, thank you to the many coaches for giving up their time and the pub is two doors up the street.”That was all we needed, however, he also continued with a clear picture of each session of the event; a speaker for each evening and a range of sessions to meet all needs and desires.The activity sign-up sheets showed skills sessions ranging from novice to 4 Star plus, Greenland kayaking, incident management, navigation, bushcraft, folding boats, fishing from kayaks and more.The symposium was finally on!

Bonus session

For those paddlers who made the effort to get to Moville early on the Friday, Inish Adventures ran a free whale watching and coastal trip. John from Ballycastle NI reported that while no whales were seen, “The experience and paddle was fantastic, well worth making the extra effort to get there early.”

Sea Quest

Robin Ruddock, a retired outdoor professional and renowned Greenland kayak and traditional boat historian, gave an inspiring talk on ‘The Quest of the Sea’. Sharing what inspired him to take up sea kayaking, as a child spending his summers by the sea and watching marine adventures. He shared photos, stories and facts about many historical kayaking ways, traditional boats like the Irish Currach, Drontheim boats or yawls he had reclaimed from their underwater graves and restored back to their former glory. He shared how boats and boat building was part of the local culture, and how in 2003, to commemorate St. Columba’s founding of the monastery on Iona, he commissioned a 37ft replica Irish Currach to row from Ballycastle in Co. Antrim to the island of Iona, Scotland. His passion was clear as he proudly calls this area the ‘Jewel in the Crown’ of Ireland. Robin highlighted the Port Moon Bothy on the Causeway Coast that kayakers can have access to for £10 each per night. It is accessed from the sea and is a restored shepherd’s cottage sitting an easy stone’s throw from the Irish Sea (www.canoeni.com).

Greenland paddling

Spoiled for choice on Saturday and Sunday, the mysteries of Greenland paddling was a strong lure. Robin Ruddock headed up this session bringing his wealth of historical knowledge and experience to the water. There was a real sense of living history where participants tried out a wide range of Greenland paddles and skin style boats – courtesy of Valkyrie Craft; a traditional kayak, canoe and paddle maker from the ‘Jewel in the Crown’ region. Their boats are designed from historical kayaks, as are the paddles and built to traditional spec and methods. The only modern element is the ballistic nylon use to skin the boats. The boats are stitched and bound.

Participants were coached in the art of Inuit paddling skills, taught how these boats were designed and used to aid hunting, a working platform to support a way of life. Some participants were reluctant to give up the composite paddles but after several hours of paddling with wooden Greenland paddles made out of cedar, ash and other woods, positive comments were being echoed across the waters of Lough Foyle; “Very tactile” “warm” “flexing” and “it’s nice to use something you know was made by human hands.” Profound statements were made like, “You can’t really separate the paddles from the Greenland boats” or ”they work in harmony with each other, they are made to be together.” One paddler named Jim said, “I first used one last year, I like it so much I went home and made my own, now it is the only paddle I use.”

Robin shows of a rebirth of Greenland tools of old

Speaking to 14-year old Tiernan after the Greenland session, he said, “This has been the best day’s paddling I have ever had, I have loved all of this, it was just great.”

I guess as a coach, you can’t get better feedback than that.

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ThePADDLER 96 There is nothing like getting your first surf wave for taking away your shyness, as was the case with 12-year old Jamie. Paddling with his dad in a K2, they came down early on the Friday to get the free bonus session. Although conditions were mostly calm, Jamie and his dad caught a wave that apparently came from nowhere. What made this so special, it was Jamie’s first real surf wave in a sea kayak.

When ask how it felt, he replied, “It was so cool, it was smooth and went on forever.” How long was forever? “Oh…about 10 seconds I guess.”

I’m sure many readers will recall just how precious your first real wave is and no doubt, those 10 seconds, would be 90 by the time he got home to tell mum.

Jamie’s success continued on Sunday when he went kayak fishing, his first ever fishing trip. He caught 20 Coalfish, making up a group total of 40, of which 10 were brought back to the chef. It is experiences like these that will lure youngsters like Tiernan and Jamie away from social media to have memorable adventures that will no doubt carve out their future interests.

Come on baby light my fire

More and more paddlers, young and not so young, were keen to try a more organic experience of living out of doors in contrast to high end cooking stoves, top spec tents or hammocks. There is something about getting your hands dirty, lighting fires and cooking like the early bush crafters. Jon O’Neill, an old salty sea dog who works professionally in the paddlesport world, freely shared his wealth of bushcraft knowledge and skill, putting up survival shelters, focusing on keeping it cheap, knot tying, lighting fires and promoting the leave no trace principles. According to Jon the main function of a good knot is being able to untie it when needed again, as he showed us a rope full of untieable knots. The competitive spirit was looming so breaking the group into two, Jon set a challenge to see which group could light a fire using a magnesium striker rod and boil a cup of water. One group made a traditional Swedish log style stove and the other used a more modern Kelly Kettle. A winner was hard to pick, especially as the kettle used on the log fire had a hole in the bottom and kept putting the fire out.

However, the group was determined and willing to take on the challenge of water, fire and wind; sounds like a movie…

It’s good to talk, the voice of the people

Like any paddling event, meeting old friends who just get older and meeting new people is what makes it so cool. It’s always inspiring to see all the different boats paddlers have and how they personalise them. Best of all is seeing their homemade gadgets that ooze hours of design and creation that inspires others to return home and craft their own kit.

Here are three good examples worth sharing: [1] I spotted a lady on Saturday evening, who had a wooden kayak she built from a kit along with some friends. It had traditional Inuit styling,

made from wood sheeting which was joined like a jigsaw puzzle. I commented on how nice the boat was and she replied, “I just started paddling recently, I don’t really know much about boats so I bought this boat as a kit and built it, I really didn’t know what I was doing.” She went on to say, “I have just come back from the navigation session, as a novice paddler I just wanted to refresh my knowledge as I know I have forgotten a lot of it what I learnt before.” I don’t know about you, but you gotta love that type of spirit.

Right: The Swedish log fire, a most efficient source for heat and cooking.

Jamie and his dad Derek coming ashore It is experiences like these that will lure youngsters like Tiernan and Jamie away from

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[2] It was Sunday morning and Kevin, an enthusiastic paddler, asked for a lift with his boat to join the 3 Star skills group on the beach. There were some interesting fittings on his ‘P&H Icefloe’. Kevin was keen to show how he used these fittings to rig his home made sail. The rig consisted of what looked like a lot of string, cord, recycled bits and bobs; some recognisable, some not. You could have been forgiven for thinking that all these bits came from a beach combing session. However, when Kevin opened a big bag and started to put his rig together, it became very clear that this was a well thought out rig and Kevin was a very experience sailor. His enthusiasm was truly inspiring.

[3] While speaking to Kevin, amongst the spread of kayaks on the beach, a very strange hat was sitting on a boat just beside us. When the owner, Cathal from Castlebar Co. Mayo, returned to the beach I had to say, “Tell me the story behind the hat.” Gladly Cathal replied with a hearty laugh that he had been abroad paddling and could not get a hat big enough to fit his head as the locals were very small. Some months later, his brother was visiting in South America and saw a man making hats out of a heavy roofing type canvas left over from a roofing job. You probably have guessed where this story is going, but Cathal received a hat big enough for his head made out of roofing canvas and it sure was sturdy. The hat is old, very tough and has more rust on it than a 1950’s tractor. Cathal laughed again, and said, “The only problem is the material is so stiff, if you paddle into a head wind, the hat blows back and up so the neck straps restricts your breathing, just what you want going round a head land.” We Irish do have a funny sense of humour.

There was plenty of high seas and off shore trips to meet the aspirations of all. For those who love the adventure of dodging rock and visiting unknown caves, the Atlantic coast of Co. Donegal would not disappoint.

A proud sailor showing off his rig

One man and his hat

On the high seas and the home tide

Above left: Incident management starts in the class room.

Above: Heading out to sea.

Both days drew to a close, with the sun moving down into the western sky and the rising tide aiding paddlers as they arrived home to the sandy beach at Moville or to meet a bus at a distance shore. It was clear to see from the wind swept and tired faces that everyone had stories to tell. Stories of endless Grey Seal pups sporting along the sides of the kayaks and coming up unto the beach during lunch on Inishtrahull; an island six miles off the Ballyhillin headland.

There was a scary moment recalled by one paddler as a 30ft Basking Shark appeared, swimming around his boat and slapping his tail against the side of the kayak. As the ‘incident management’ group arrived home on the beach they looked a little cold, you would wonder why?

Sure all they did was spend some hours swimming around in the North Atlantic Ocean!

That would be fun; right?

No matter the session of the day, all participants were in awe of the Co. Donegal scenery and hospitality and were looking forward to the evening talk and a pint in the pub.

The Journey of the Soul

Shaun Rodgers, a South African native, professional and international adventure guide, now working in Cornwall, joined us for the weekend. Shaun, for those who know him is a very shy person… if you believe that, you will believe anything!

Shaun told his life story on the Saturday night of his many adventures and swimming amongst crocodiles and hippos; Shaun attributes these events to finally urging him to learn a bomb proof roll. It all seemed a sharp contrast from our Irish rivers where the most likely beast we encounter in is a cow drinking water. Shaun’s experiences, knowledge and skill were much appreciated by all participants and especially those to whom he taught incident management. Shaun has many classic little statements he uses to help his learner retain the information he so freely and humbly gives.Two stick out for me: “When you stop seeing, feeling and smelling the ocean, maybe that’s the time to stop,” and “there is no such thing as a right or wrong rescue, it’s just where the swimmer is rescued

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Darren and Niamh’s cooking demo

that is right or wrong, you need to assess risk and manage it.” Simple, but made people think of the importance of applying the principles of CLAP, SHEETS and STOP! In the end, each paddler went home a safer, more competent paddler. Shaun said, “I am not here to crack your armour, but to help tweak your style.”

All good things come to an end Nothing lasts forever and like every paddling event, you have to go back home. For some that was just around the corner, for others home was across the island of Ireland both north and south. The weekend revealed that this was truly an international event. Four participants who attended last year from Bristol, came back this year and brought four more friends. There was a group from Glasgow and four from Dundee and as the Irish like to boast, Shaun from South Africa. Tom and his friend from Dublin told me, “We have been coming to this event for four years. It is the best symposium we have ever attended, the best food and without a doubt, the best value for money, we will be back next year.”

No matter where the participants came from, as paddlers, they are now part of the Irish family of paddlers. In Ireland, we look after our family, and traditionally we like to send folks of home with a full belly, a handshake or hug and a, “See you later.” To that end, the Inishowen Sea Kayak

Symposium ended in the marque, where top local chef Darren Smith and nutritionist Niamh Britton put on a short cooking demonstration of how to make haddock goujons from fish. The fish were taken from the sea just eight metres from where we feasted on them.

They served up all you could eat of goujons and seafood chowder with fresh baked Irish wheaten bread. With full bellies for the road, our host from Inish Adventures, Adrian Harkin, made a few final closing remarks. As the tide was fully in and the sun setting in the west, it was time to start the lonely journey home, recalling the magic of the Inishown coastline of Co. Donegal Ireland and the people met.

One thing was for sure, Inishowen Sea Kayak Symposium truly delivered or may have redefined the meaning behind the word symposium.

Inish Adventures invites you all to come to the ‘Jewel in the Crown’ next year on 6-8th April 2018, join our family, meet old and new friends, eat good food, drink a Guinness and experience the ‘Jewel’ for yourselves.Thanks again for coming and sure we will see you later, paddle safe.

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ThePADDLER 102

PADDE PD DLR LER Kayak y

102 Coaching Safety Series No.7 Shouting, reaching and wading by Chris Brain

116 Coaching moves

The great Airblunt by Corran Addison

122 Chile

Pucon by Steve Brooks

132 Southern Africa WW highlights4 Zimbabwe by Luke Longridge

142 Coaching whitewater

Alpine water levels explained by Andy Holt

146 France

The Pyrenees Buddies Race by the PBR Team

156 Nepal

Chapter 1 of ‘Riding the Tears of Everest’

by Darren Clarkson-King

01479 861 256 www.glenmorelodge.org.uk www.glenmorelodge.org r .uk rg

Offering the full range of British Canoeing coaching, leadership, performance, safety & CPD modules

qualifications

white water kayaking

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Stand up paddle boarding

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ThePADDLER 104

C O A C H I N G

S A F E T Y

SHOUTING, REACHING RA &WADING No. 7â&#x20AC;¦

S E R I E S In the seventh part of the paddler safety series we will be looking at adding a few more options to your rescue skills tool bag.

By Chris Brain It is important to remember that there is no substitute for professional training in this area and this must be combined with experience to effectively use the ideas and techniques contained in this series.

This article is not intended to replace formal training.

Our previous articles have focused on preparation, simple rescues, working together on the river and above all avoiding incidents happening in the first place. The techniques covered in this article assume that you have read the previous chapters.

No. 1. Be prepared and stay safe: https://joom.ag/hdaQ/p50

No. 2. Working as a team: https://joom.ag/JeqQ/p96

No. 3.Swim, chase, throw: https://joom.ag/PdyQ/p38

No. 4. Get the advantage: https://joom.ag/XfUQ/p42

Visible, loud and clear during a shouting rescue

No. 5: What ifâ&#x20AC;Ś https://joom.ag/kLbW/p44

No. 6:The chest harness https://joom.ag/xE8W/p38

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ThePADDLER 106

Shouting Before we go any further let’s go back to the basics! Whenever we are rescuing on the river we should be communicating clearly and effectively with our swimmer to assist with them rescuing themselves, this is commonly known as a shouting rescue. What we need to do when we are “shouting” at our swimmer is to give them loud, clear and easy to understand signals and instructions that will help them get to safety quicker.

One of the great things about this kind of rescue is that there is no physical contact between the swimmer and the rescuer meaning that this is certainly our lowest risk option as a rescuer. We should also be combining this rescue technique with all our other techniques too, with clear communication being priority during any rescue.

Is there really that much to a shouting rescue?

Like any rescue technique, performing it effectively is critical to its success and there is a bit more to it than relentlessly screaming at our swimmer.

Anyone who has ever had a swim in whitewater will know how disorientating it can be and how much harder it can be to hear someone trying to give you instructions. Therefore, it is essential that we keep anything we shout very clear, simple and understandable.

Firstly, we need to grab the attention of our swimmer (using their name is helpful here) and then give them simple instructions such as, “Swim to me” and/or “Swim this way” (pointing where you want them to go). Depending on the experience of the swimmer you might need to tell them to get on their back, keep their feet up and to give them some real encouragement when it comes to swimming on their front to get to the side.

Taking on board audible instructions can be difficult in moving water, so must make sure that we give visual signals with our bodies too. Once we have attracted their attention (potentially by waving our arms and shouting) we should then be pointing our swimmer towards where we want them to go (rather than pointing at a hazard). Doing this as clearly as possible will really help and we should repeat any signal and pointing to make sure that they have seen it. If we want the swimmer to move quickly we can demonstrate some real urgency with our signals by repeating it more vigorously.

Reaching Have you ever had that swim where you can get yourself to the side, but you just can’t get into an eddy or stop your momentum so you can get out? Wouldn’t it have been ideal if someone could have just passed you a pole to help you stop and get out? Fortunately most kayakers and canoeists carry something just for this purpose every single time we get on the river….our paddle!

Yes, this rescue does have its limitations, being only as long as the paddle/pole/branch that we might be using, but if we have been giving our swimmer instructions using our shouting rescue techniques then this might be all they need to swing them into an eddy to get out of the river. It also meets our requirements of being easily releasable, because at any point if we can’t hold the force the swimmer is giving us, we can of course let go making it a lower risk rescue option.

Point where you want your swimmer to go

The swimmer heads for the paddle ThePADDLER 107

ThePADDLER 108

The rescuer is ready in a strong low stance

When the swimmer grabs hold, they are swung into the eddy

How?

The first thing we need to do is to attract our swimmer’s attention, using our shouting techniques. We can show them the paddle and make it clear to them that we intend to rescue themThePaddle r ez using this method. ine

We need to get our body low down to the ground, adopting a strong and balanced squatted position. Our feet are wide apart to make us more stable and if we stay on our feet we can move our position if required. As the swimmer starts to grab hold of the paddle shaft we must make sure that our body is already angled towards where we want them to end up. When the swimmer grabs hold, their weight will be on the paddle and because of the momentum they have generated from the river (and the fact they are still in the flow) they will start to swing towards the eddy/side. At this point our body and our feet must be pointed at the place that we are trying to get them to otherwise we will be off balance.

te

. If you want y o tion u rp sta r st

As our swimmer heads towards us to start to reach for the paddle, it is the norm that they will start to roll onto their front to make it easier to grab.

At this point our stance and positioning is critical, get it right we are solid, get it wrong and we will get pulled off our feet.

e will b nd it ed a view t re uc od

Once they have come to a stop they can use the paddle to assist in climbing up and out of the river, making it easier for them to get to safety.

ter of in

A few extra tips

est pad to

It doesn’t just have to be a paddle that can be used for this kind of rescue, a canoeist might use their pole or we could even use a tree branch if appropriate. We can also potentially use our sling that we are carrying in our PFD for a short rescue too. Using the sling for this purpose does cross over a bit into throwbag techniques, but due to its short length, with a bit of practice it can be used to great dle effect in this situation in a style that bridges the gap between throwing rs and reaching.

- emai lu

m .co

: reviemaking Don’t forget that another paddler could back you up when you are doing this srescue, ws@thit e easier for you to hold the load and helping you to stay on your feet. These techniques have been paddle rez covered in an article in a previous article, but it could be anything as simple as holding PFD shoulder ine straps through to clipping into a chest harness and giving support that way.

Wading Sometimes, simple methods are all that is needed for an effective rescue and to the nature of the river, it might be preferable to enter the water on foot. Remember that whenever we enter the water as part of our rescue, it is potentially high risk, however with a good understanding of the environment and the techniques involved we should be able to do this in a controlled manner.

Why?

Working out why you might decide to wade is very important. Wading can be used either directly as a rescue method or to assist with another part of a bigger rescue. Reasons you might wade could be: l Recovering stranded equipment l Clipping a throwline to a pinned boat l Getting yourself back to the bank across shallow water after a swim l Assisting another paddler back to the bank l Accessing someone who is trapped or injured l Getting out of the river after an incident

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When it comes to going into the water on foot we have two options, solo or with a team. With both options, there can be no ‘safe’ depth that we can wade to, as we could have slow moving knee deep water that feels easy, or very fast ankle deep water that can knock us off our feet. Of course, once we get to a certain depth (usually near our waist) we will start to float and keeping our weight on our feet can prove to be exceptionally difficult. Only experience and practice will help you to judge these conditions when deciding how deep you can safely wade to.

Solo (the tripod)

Facing upstream so that we can lean into the flow as required we take a strong shoulder width stance with our feet and use our paddle out in front of us to create a solid tripod. One common mistake here is that people think their paddle is just a walking stick and just hold it rather than lean on it. Try and share your weight across both your feet and the paddle equally and in practice this means that we lean on the paddle quite a lot for support.

From this point, we can move one point at a time using the others to ensure that we keep our balance and our position. There is no hard and fast rule about whether we move our feet first and then our paddle or the other way around. I tend to find that the riverbed, the speed of the water and the path to our intended goal will help me decide which part of my body I move next. One thing that is important though, is that we don’t step one foot over the other. It might feel like we could move quicker by doing this, but we quickly lose the balance we had from our tripod and it’s only a matter of time before we are knocked off our feet.

When using the paddle, I find it is best to have the blade facing towards your body to allow the flow to help it pin into the floor. To move the paddle I keep the blade submerged in the water and change the angle so that I can slice it back against the flow before twisting it again to pin it back into the ground. Keeping the blade in the water like this minimises the instability that removing the blade from the water would create. It also means that you can move the paddle in small increments and lean back on it easily whenever you need more support.

Team

Wading as a team could be preferable to going in solo for a range of reasons. Firstly, you have other people helping to hold you in place and giving you support where you need it.

You can also be tactical with your positioning and place the lighter/smaller members of the team in positions behind bigger people so that they don’t have to take as much force from the flow. It also might make it easier to recover an injured paddler or equipment as there will be more hands to assist in the recovery.

For any rescue involving a team, good communication is essential and wading is no different. There are two main options when wading as a team, the ‘line’ and the ‘V’.

A rescuer backed up by another paddler during a reaching rescue

Solo wading (the tripod)

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Team wading (the line)

Team wading (the V)

ThePaddle r ez ine te . If you want y o tion u rp sta r st

The line

A simple method which essentially involves all the paddlers standing in a line in an eddy (or slower piece of water) created by the person stood at the front. In this technique only the person at the front has a paddle and uses the same “tripod” style that they would do if going solo. It is probably best if we have our heaviest/tallest paddler positioned at the front as they will get the most force from the flow. The bigger they are the better the eddy they will create for everyone behind too! With the rest of the team holding on to the person in front using their PFD shoulder straps, the team move out into the flow together, keeping the line facing upstream and staying in the eddy created by the front rescuer.

e will b nd it ed a view t re uc od

It is also helpful to have your second biggest/tallest paddler positioned at the back of the line as they will be able to keep the person in front in position and they won’t have anyone holding them behind ether.

ter of in

est pad to

When using this technique, you need to be aware of when the everyone is moving and it relies on the team moving together. There is a tendency with this technique for the line to “snake” meaning that the team can be exposed to flow from the side. However, it is quick and easy to set up and is very simple to understand and use. This technique can become clumsy with too many people, if you d e than one line and moving as are doing this with more than five or six people, consider creating lmore rs - e mail us: r two separate units. e

views@th epadd lere The V zin e With this method, rather than set up a single line, the team create a ‘V’ using two separate lines

This technique could be used for recovering an injured paddler who might not be able to wader across on their own effectively. The injured paddler could lay on their back with their feet downstream and their body in the centre of the eddy created by the ‘V’. The injured paddler would be able to float in the eddy and would be held and positioned using their shoulder straps by a rescuer on either side of the ‘V’.

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m .co

behind the front rescuer. This does mean that the rescuers from the team have a bit more force from the flow on their legs, but it isn’t as clumsy as the single line and it does create a bigger eddy as it spreads the flow around a wider area. There is also the option for the rescuers to have one hand on the person in front and one hand to the person at the side which can create even more stability.

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Remember When we are wading, we should keep our end goal in mind and aim to assess the best path to get there.This might not mean moving directly sideways, but it could be moving upstream on a diagonal as it might be preferable to do this due to the strength of the flow or the features in the water. We could also be quite tactical with our approach too and aim to use slower parts of the water or even to use the natural eddies that the river might have behind boulders and features to make it easier to cross.

As with any rescue technique, wading requires skill, judgement and experience to know when to use it and to perform it effectively. Next time you are out on the water try practicing some of these techniques with your team so you will be able to organise yourselves quickly should you ever need to do this for real.

Chris Brain

Chris has been kayaking, canoeing and coaching for the last 15 years and runs his own business Chris Brain Coaching, delivering paddlesport coaching, safety and rescue courses and REC First Aid training.

Chris would like to thank Pyranha kayaks, Red Paddle co, Palm Equipment, VE Paddles and Go Kayaking for their continued support.

www.chrisbraincoaching.com Email: chris@chrisbraincoaching.com

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AIRBU BLUNT T H E

G R E A T

Corr rra rr ran Addison A dison Ad Words: W Wo r s: Corran rd Christ s ine Pinsonneault st Photos: Phot o os: Christine ot

T

“In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since. Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, he told me, just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald

How true these words are. As a kayak designer, with almost unlimited recourses to design and develop whatever hair-brained kayak design I might possibly conceive of, and living within direct sight of one of the world’s greatest surfing waves, I have had the fortune to be the inventor of the Blunt, Airblunt, and most of the ensuing moves that came from them. I want you to learn these.

In my last piece, I tackled the first part of moving towards airblunts – the set up for air. If you haven’t read it, then do so here @ https://joom.ag/XfUQ/p32

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Everything up to the beginning of the plunge down the face of the wave remains the same for an Airblunt as it does for a simple bounce air. Where things start to change, is at the moment of the boats impact with the surface of the wave and the nose starts to climb into the bounced air.

If I have edged the kayak slightly onto the right edge, my intent is to do a left-handed blunt. As the kayak nose starts to rise, coming off the right rail, I rotate my body just slightly over the left edge of the kayak. This has the effect of rotating the kayak off the right edge to flat, and then towards the left rail.

At the same time, I lift my head up (remember, the kayak will follow your head – raising your head up lifts the kayak) and as the kayak approaches the maximum height of the arc it’s going through, I make a back down stroke with my left blade.

This stroke is key. If your stroke is somewhat of a back sweep, the kayak will go from a vertical “over the top” blunt, to a low angle sort of bounced flat spin. It is key that the back stroke is a pure downward push of the paddle to lift the tail, and not a sweep of any kind.

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I tend at this moment to then look up and over my left shoulder towards the top of the wave behind me. This isn’t critical, and when you move onto things like clean blunts you will not want to do this, but for your run-of-the-mill blunt, it works for me. Spotting the top of the wave helps keep the kayak elevated and travelling upwards, and also allows me to see where I am on the wave relative to the peak so I don’t wash off the back side on landing.

As the tail passes vertical and begins to go down, I have a tendency to push the kayak down with my ass into the waves surface. This creates the necessary movement and pressure of the kayak to send it down the face of the wave again, rather than stalling with the bow in the wave face that can drag you up and off the back side. It also lends itself nicely to an immediate relaunch for a second air move from a back surf as that downward pressure is effectively the same as it would be if you were starting from a back surf and bopping for a back blunt.

Best of luck and we’ll catch up next issue… .

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PUCON C H I L E

David, Will and Steve running the final rapid on the very continuous Rio Teno in Chile.

2016 had been a great kayaking year so far. I was in the Indian Himalayas for a month kayaking in the early spring, then back home to Austria, coaching and working with our kayak school.With the odd day off I managed to kayak some sweet runs including the Upper Rosanna, a big water run down the Sanna and blast down the Landeck Gorge of the River Inn at a huge level, where even the state authorities let me paddle while they took photos! As autumn came around, it was a full-on Paddle Expo working on the Peak UK stand, catching up with friends, before finally Ute and myself were boarding a plan on our way to Chile.

Steve Brooks

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Nelson the owner of Isoterma Rafting preparing our evening meal in the Cajon del Maipo.

The last time I was kayaking in Chile I had only a couple of weeks in January to spend time in Pucon and a blast down to the Futaleufu.This time I had three months to travel, explore and lead along with David Joos, with two road trips from Santiago to Patagonia for the kayak school.

Our first stop was up to the Cajon del Maipo and to visit Nelson and Tammy. Nelson has a rafting company on the banks of the Rio Maipo and with shuttles easily sorted we were blasting down the brown, sediment full river. It was a great way to get into the flow and with Nelson and the whole crew making us feel at home, we settled down for a few kilos of fantastic meat and of course with some of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best vineyards on his doorstep, the wine flowed as much as the volume of the river! It would not be the last time we saw Nelson and Tammy over the next three months and each time we were greeted with open arms, plenty of meat, red wine and some great crunching waves on the river!

It had been a very dry winter in the region below Santiago, in-fact they had terrible wild fires after we left, which meant the seven tea cups was extremely low. Low enough for us to decide that we would wait to kayak waterfalls in Pucon rather than risk getting smashed up!

As we headed south we got some great whitewater action on the Teno, Nuble, Bio Bio and then we arrived at the Rio Laja! It was great having David with us, originally from Belgium, he has lived in Chile since we both worked together the first time on the Rio Apurimac in Peru some 15 years ago. He has settled down, married a Chilean girl, got a couple of great kids and he speaks fluent Chilean Spanish. The one thing about Chile is that their Spanish is like no other. Full of slang, accents and if you are not used to it you will never understand it. The fact that I could speak a mixture of Argentinean and Peruvian Spanish in my time spent with David, was helping my Chileno day by day!

We were greeted with open arms, plenty of meat, red wine and some great crunching waves

on the river!

RIO MAIPO David Joos catching some air off a huge wave on the Rio Bio Bio in Chile.

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Dropping in on the Upper Nuble River in Chile.

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I had heard about the Rio Laja from John Blake and he said it should be on my so called bucket list. As we headed up the valley it had been raining hard and the clouds were dark. We parked the truck and with the wind blowing and the rain lashing down we started the hike in, including David hacking through the thick bush to get to and make the put-in. There were three of us, Will Young, David and myself.

The Laja is like no other river I have ever paddled, it was continuous from the start. A very narrow river with bushes hanging from both sides, there was just one line and it was relentless. We were punching holes, boofing off rocks, moving left to right, right to left and just trying to avoid getting put sideways. All the holes were extremely sticky (as I found out after spending a good minute getting worked and

trying to work my way out of a very tricky situation). There were a few eddies to catch your breath and with David’s sense of humour coming to the fore, all you kept hearing was it Chilean Class 3-4 we on! On one hole Will got slammed and he took a swim, David got him to the side within seconds, making sure he was safe and then the chase was on.

Steve preparing lunch on the back of the truck after kayaking another sweet river near Pucon.

His boat had got stuck in thick bush and after a good hour of rigging we got his it out. By this time Will had met up with Ute and had come down to the pick up his kayak. David and I continued the last little bit, as the river started to mellow and becomes a big pool above the dam wall. The rain had continued and the road had deteriorated considerably, what was a small side stream had turned into a raging creek with volcanic rocks rumbling over the road. For us it was not a problem, our 4x4 truck had been put to the test getting up to the Upper Teno and as Ute drove through the creek she met us with beers for David and Will and a flask of tea for me! That night we stayed in wooden huts, where we warmed ourselves up and dried out our kit.

Every time I mentioned the Laja to someone they just smiled and said that it was always a run to remember, they were not wrong and ours was just one of those runs!

The Laja is like no other river I have ever paddled, it was continuous

The next morning the owner of the huts said that tourists could no longer cross the creek and had to spend a rather uncomfortable night in their cars. This would not be the last time we were happy we bought a 4x4 pick up truck! Next stop Pucon – South America’s adventure capital.

One of our rustic wooden cabins in Chile, with an amazing wood fire stove for those cold spring nights!

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You actually feel like you are in the middle of a jungle run, so lush are the surroundings and s

is the wa

PUCON

Steve running the Salto de Feo on the Upper Trancura River with stunning views of the Volcano Villarica in Pucon.

David Joos about to catch some airtime on the Rio Maichin in Pucon, Chile.

so clear

ater

David’s description of Pucon is similar to South Park the cartoon. Situated on the side of Lake Villerica, with the Villerica Volcano towering over the town, Pucon, has built a reputation of white knuckle adventure coupled with high adrenaline Latino nightlife! The same can be said about the surrounding rivers, with so many videos and photos posted in the media and online it sometimes feels that you know the run before you have actually kayaked it. However, all is not lost if you want a day’s rest, as the Playa Blanca is a great place to work on your tan and people watch. Alternatively, you can go visit one of the numerous Termales to soak away your aches and pains from the waterfalls or the night’s activities!

Pucon is where David had made his home and there is no better person to lead down what are now his home rivers! In October we were running some high water laps of the Lower Trancura and after some heavy rainfall Ben and I dropped into the Upper Trancura. It was certainly pushy and some lines were touch and go, plus with a fair few channels it was good that one of us knew the lines! However, for much of the run Ben was asking me what the level compared to when I last paddled it. The reply I kept giving him was that David runs this a lot in his play boat!

When we got back to Pucon, we met up with David and he said the river had rose nearly 1.5 metres from the night’s rain but do not worry as it is still all Chilean Class 4 and took another swig of beer! This saying was stay with me for the three-month trip, it is certainly true the rivers of Chile are solid at whatever grade they have and this is something that will shock a lot of kayakers on their first visit!

fed by a constant stream of water falling into the river. It was now time to go and run waterfalls…

The put-in for the Upper Palguin is always fun, a seal launch and then for the first timers, we scouted the first drop, set up safety, had the camera waiting for the action and we dropped in. It is a fun run with some great drops and a few blind ones, which are good for the nerves and the heart! The main one on the Upper is clean and can be run in so many ways as David showed when he did a reverse freewheel off the lip! One run was enough for my back but David took the boys on as many laps as they, their body and nerves could handle! Will was especially lucky as he was there with enough water to run the whole Palguin (with a few mandatory portages), he was absolutely buzzing!

We had spent some great days kayaking with everyone around Pucon and stayed to celebrate Christmas with Ami and Ran. From Pucon it was then time to head south, where the Futaleufu and Patagonia were both calling us but first we had some fantastic whitewater to kayak on the way there…

The centre of Pucon with stunning views of the Volcano Villerica.

Ran Harel perfecting his technique on the waterfalls of the Upper Palguin in Chile.

By Christmas the river had dropped quite a bit and we had some stunning days kayaking with volcano backdrops that Chile is so renowned for!

We also got a few laps in on one of my favourite rivers, the Rio Maichin. Not as famous as its closer neighbours, it is a stunning little river with great lines, amazing boofs, good gradient and the odd rapid that you should scout. You actually feel like you are in the middle of a jungle run, so lush are the surroundings and so clear is the water.

The final gorge is absolutely stunning with plants hanging down with huge leafs and foliage being

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David Joos

Originally from Belgium, david has made Pucon and Chile his home. A great kayaker with an even better sense of humour, David has represented Belgium at the Freestyle World Championships. He makes you feel at ease with kayaking on the rivers of his adopted https://youtu.be/1qnhEPSVPIo homeland and he brings an extra dimension of telling stories of local events, history and of course its food and culture. He spends eight months of the year as a professor at Pucon University where he, along with Christian, teach the students the art of rafting and kayaking. He has taught and assessed pretty much all of the raft guides working in Pucon and with plenty of other ex-students working from Santiago down to Patagonia, he has the perfect contacts for each valley and the current water levels! Along with the five languages he fluently speaks, the local Chileno Spanish is extremely advantageous and rest assured that if you enjoy a beer, there will always be a cold one waiting for you at the take-out!

Steve Brooks

Steve has lived in Austria for over 19 years, from being a place to go and work seasonally on the river, to a base camp, Steve finally made Austria his home! Steveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s love for kayaking and adventure is infectious and this can especially be seen in the kayak school he set up five years ago.

Based out of the Arlberg region in western Austria, the school runs courses for beginners, plus coaching and instructing kayakers through all the whitewater grades, including creeking and river running. In-between Austriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kayaking season, Steve can be found kayaking and leading adventure trips and expeditions in the Indian Himalayas, Peru and Chile in South America. He speaks German like a local and is fluent in Spanish. When he is not kayaking he searches for that perfect powder run in the back country of his home mountain of St Anton am Arlberg, or riding his Royal Enfield Bullet, in search of undiscovered rivers in the Himalayas.

For more information check out: www.gokayaking.at https://youtu.be/gKHePVyHQPs

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Southern African Whitewater Highlights4

ZIMB

MBAW MA ABWE

By Luke Longridge Photos by Luke Longridge and friends

This is the final article in the four-part series highlighting my favourite whitewater in Southern Africa. Here, I take a look at the country of Zimbabwe â&#x20AC;&#x201C; famous for the big water of the Zambezi, but with so much more to offer paddlers, particularly in the Eastern Highlands of the country, along the border with Mozambique, as well as around the capital Harare.

Photo: Luke Longridge running the Class V on the upper Gairezi

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Gairezi Gorge is one of the true

whitewater

gems in Zimbabwe

Scheepers Schoemann, Gairezi Scenery in Aberfoyle Estate (Nyaminguru River)

Scheepers Schoeman on the final Gairezi slide

In the Eastern Highlands, numerous rivers drain off of the 2,592m (8,504ft) Mount Nyangani, Zimbabwe’s highest peak. The two largest rivers are the Gairezi and the Pungwe and both have some amazing creeking. The Pungwe has a number of sections, the uppermost beginning immediately below the spectacular Pungwe Falls and is rarely paddled owing to a steep walk in and a boxed-in canyon.

Below this canyon section, the river is more easily accessed at a hydroelectric station. From the put-in at the hydro station is a pushy section of class IV-V whitewater that is fast, continuous and extremely fun. Further downstream, the Nyaminguru River joins the Pungwe and below this confluence is an easier section of class II-III whitewater.

Class IV whitewater

The Nyaminguru, a smaller tributary of the Pungwe, is located in the beautiful Aberfoyle Tea Estate. The drive up through the plantation to the put-in is amazing, and from the put-in (also at a small hydro station) there is a ± 5km section of very continuous class IV whitewater.

The river is crystal clear, with warm, blue water flowing under lush tree canopies, and is truly a magnificent paddle. After reaching the first bridge, paddlers can shuttle up again or can continue downstream – from here the river mellows out to class II-III rapids for another 10 km or so to the confluence with the Pungwe.

The other major river draining from Mt Nyangani is the Gairezi. This offers two sections near Troutbeck Resort. The upper section requires a 4x4 in order to access the put-in, but is a fairly mellow and short paddle with only a single (but really fun) class V rapid to test paddlers, and some dodgy sieves and siphons that should be scouted carefully or portaged.

This section ends at the road bridge, which is also the start of the lower ‘gorge’ section.

Gairezi Gorge is one of the true whitewater gems in Zimbabwe. It can be paddled in a single day or can be done as an overnighter, but either way paddlers are in for a treat. The section starts off pretty mellow with some small slides and class III-IV rapids, before rapidly dropping into the gorge. The upper sections of the gorge can be run, but the mid-section has not been fully run and requires some portaging.

After the portage, the fun really starts – endless sections of fun, continuous class III-V rapids before paddlers reach numerous clean, beautiful slides stacked one after another. All of the slides are runnable. The river mellows out after the slides, with only one dodgy class V that can be portaged on the left. The Gairezi is located in a remote, pristine gorge with crystal clear, warm blue water that can be drunk straight from the river – truly a rarity in Africa. Take along a fly rod and enjoy some classic fishing.

Scouting on the Gairezi

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Luke Longridge dropping into the right line on Rapid 9, Zambezi River. Photo Adrian Tregoning

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ThePADDLER 138 Elsewhere in Zimbabwe, near the capital Harare, some fun rivers can be found â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the Shavanhove is the closest to town and is most often paddled, with three sections: The Gorge, which is good for paddlers with a range of experience (only one class V and one class IV rapid), St Pauls, which is a boulder garden with lots of siphons and two unrunnable sections, and a beginner (class II) section.

The Nyagui is another Harare classic, with two sections - the Mukore Section (also known as The Killing Fields) is popular but gets ugly at high water, and has a nice standing wave for park and play. The Nyagui Gorge is a stunning but challenging piece of wild, remote river which has claimed many boats and paddles and has handed out many a good hiding.

The Mazoe is a picturesque 12km run with two very big rapids and countless holes and waves to play. It bounds the Umfurudzi Park which is well stocked with wildlife and has great camping facilities. Keep an eye out for crocodiles on the Mazoe. The Mupfure is an awesome 15km, high volume class V run near Chegutu, with massive rocks slides and big rapids. Other rivers near Harare include the Umwindsi (a novice run), Paradise Pools (a short run with big slides ending at a popular picnic site), and the Chivake (a small stream which is run when all else is too high). Further north of Harare is the Musengezi River near Centenary, an epic two-day paddle with a long walk in, steep mountainsides once in, big drops and siphons.

Shane Raw, Nyaminguru River

Philip Claassens running a slide on the Gairezi

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For the more intrepid expedition paddlers, there are also numerous rivers that have never been paddled, or have been paddled only a few times, including the Macheke River, the Ruzawi River, the upper reachers of the Save River, Chilo Gorge on the Save, the Sebakwe River near Kwekwe, the Sanyati River at Mawindo, the Nyadire River and the Nyanhove River.

In the Chimanimani and Chipinge areas (south of the Eastern Highlands and also close to the Mozambican Border), the Hadange, Haroni, Rusitu, and Buzi rivers are found. Some sections of these river have been attempted, but many more remain unexplored.

https://goo.gl/maps/W9wGiSGABg22

I won’t mention too much about the Zambezi much has been written already. Suffice to say it is truly a world-class experience and will not disappoint.

So, when planning a paddling trip to Africa, just remember that there’s much more to Zimbabwean whitewater than just the Zambezi - the whitewater of Zimbabwe is varied, the scenery is beautiful, the people friendly and you are guaranteed long, fun days on the river. Hopefully you’ll be inspired to visit soon.Thanks to Jan Hart for the input on some of the lesser known rivers of Zimbabwe.

Crystal clear water on the Gairezi

Photo: Karl Midlane

Improve your WHITE WATER SKILLS

SSpend a few days with our coaches this season and take your white water paddling to the next level.

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OACHING

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By Andy Holt – BCU L5 inland

Escape to adventure

THE ALP’SWATER

Spring is here and it’s getting to that time of year when we are thinking of going on our annual French Alps trip. But what about the levels this year? Will it be big or low? How much snow has fell over the winter, etc, etc. Well guys and girls you need to stop guessing as there is a very simple solution to what will happen in the Alps and it’s all down to a bit of science and some simple maths.

It’s not about how big or little the snowpack is, this only has a brief period of influence on levels. It’s all to do with temperatures and the sun.

Let me explain There is a weather scale called the lapse rate which a lot of mountaineers will use and its very simple to use.The lapse rate is the difference in temperature between sea level and altitude, so therefore if its warm down at sea level it’s a lot colder higher up.Therefore, no snowmelt if too cold.

This is how it works…

For every 150 metres of ascent the temperature will drop by one degree celsius.This is an average but can vary a little by about 50 metres depending on conditions (humidity, dry air, etc.)

So, let’s take the average lapse rate scale and do the maths with this example: 1.

The valley floor is 500m above sea level and let’s say it’s at 10 degrees celsius.

2.

The snowline is at 2,500 metres.

The lapse rate is minus one degree celsius for every 150 metres of ascent.

3.

Therefore, if we do the maths then at 2,500m its minus three celsius.

At minus three celsius, this is not enough to melt off the snow. It would have to be at least 1618 degrees in the valley, then it would be just into the plus at 2,500m and behold we have snowmelt, Yah, lets go boating!

As mentioned bright sunshine with no cloud has influence as well, as this creates strong UV radiation which can also melt off the snow quicker alongside warm temperatures.

If you can’t be bothered with doing the maths then all you need to know is if it’s 25-30 degrees celsius down in the valley with blue skies and strong sunshine then you are going to get good snow and glacier melt.

If its cloudy and only 10-15 degrees down in the valley then there will be little snowmelt and therefore lower levels!

LEVELS EXPLAINED

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COACHING

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The next question is does the amount of snow fall over the winter have an influence? Well, it’s not as much as you think because if it’s a massive or small snowpack, if it goes super-hot for a week or two then it will all come off regardless.

It will just last a few days to a week longer if it is massive snow up high. I have been guiding now in the French Alps for 10 years and some years in late May and early June, it’s gone hot and all the snow has come off. In other years, it’s stayed colder and the snow has come off at a slower rate over a longer period.

Glacial melt

If the snowpack comes off and water levels go high as expected in early June, then after that we rely solely on glacial melt only. Likewise this needs strong sun and high temperatures, but this is in no way as much volume of water compared to pure snowmelt. So with glacier melt what you usually get is water levels going up in the afternoons, when the sun has been beating down on the glaciers all day.

A final food for thought for you all, which I find quite alarming, is that for the last couple of years in early season it has stayed colder and we haven’t had the massive high water levels out in the Alps. It has warmed up slower and therefore the snowmelt has lasted longer but not as high as expected. Now this could be a good thing for the kayaker but there is a definite change in the climate, which is getting more noticeable every year. I feel change is on the way.

Enjoy the Alps this year, come and say hello and stay safe.

Andy Holt BCU L5 inland

www.escapetoadventure.com

PBR

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Pyrenees Buddies Race By the PBR team Photos by Gautier Boudat

Spring 2006 – it is always the same every year, waiting to see exactly what the weather will do.You are watching the sky, the stars and trying to predict when you will catch the snowmelt, so we can drop in the river and kayak. If you’re living in Pau, one of the Meccas for slalom racers, the closest runnable creek is the Brousset. Clarisse Labussière, Nicolas Fayol and Eric Deguil are gathered at the take out, talking about the Green race and the Teva Tour, etc and discussing why do we go so far when can organize the same calibre of race at home?

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Two years later and after a long process meeting the authorities and reaching the necessary agreements, the Pyrenees Buddies Race was created! The Brousset is the place to be every spring to paddle in the Pyrenees and meeting all your buddies to plan new kayaking trips.

The Brousset flows on the first slopes of the Pic du Midi dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Ossau, where the famous French beret was born. Goats are never far and in the case of bad weather, open the door, take a seat at the table and enjoy some good cheeses and tasty recipes to warm the body. There are many different opportunities to have a good time with your buddies.

The very first year in 2008 was epic, where 40 centimetres of snow had made the road impassable. Valentin Grollemund won that first race but Eric Deguil has since kept the trophy on his fireplace without ever being dethroned, with the exception of 2016, where he failed by only 0.02 seconds! Mikel Sarasola spanked the boss in his backyard!

2017 is a new step for buddies in the Pyrenees

Sixty-five paddlers were gathered at the rendezvous point from 10 different countries: Australia, Mexico, Germany, Austria, Norway, Italy, Belgium, Spain and Portugal and the weather is 20°C (a first in eight years) with water levels low but good enough for racing.

After some free training sessions on the course, Eric Deguil and Nico Fayol start with the briefing and safety rules. The B of PBR is for Buddies and means the safety is provided by the competitors themselves. They divided in two groups, the first take care of the second and vice versa.

Eric Deguil below is a six-time PBR Champion.

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Iker Carreto

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Team race

Aleix Salvat

In total there were 23 mens, one for the women and four men/women combined teams. In the morning, the team races were the first to take place on the course, where Sortâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Catalan team of the Salvat brothers and Iker Carreto took first place, with the Easy Mania team of Arthur Paulus, Nicolas Caussanel and Jonas le Morvan just behind.

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Claire Gaigeot

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Individual events

After a lunch and plenty of pleasant sun bathing it was time to get back in the flow for the individual races.

In the men’s qualification runs, the new generation of kayakers led by the Catalan Salvat brothers made the show ahead of Mikel Sarasola, Eric and the new contender of Nicolas Caussanel! No doubt, the succession is ready to cut the wood! However, Eric returned to victory for the final, with his sixth win in the competition, where he edged out Ian Salvat and Mikel in third.

1. Eric Deguil 2. Ian Salvat 3. Mikel Sarasola It was the same tight fight for the women’s category, where the Gaigeot sisters had been on Nouria Newman’s tail all through the weekend and pushed Marlene Devillez, the Freestyle European Champion, off the podium in the women’s final.

Lea Gaigeot

1. Nouria Newman 2. Claire Gaigeot 3. Lea Gaigeot For a second year, the Junior contenders showed us some really good skills. Unfortunately Erwan Marchais spun out in the last crux at a time that he was very close to catching the ‘Little ninja’ Yanis Clerc. Surely, next year they will be in the top 20 with bigger biceps.

Below: the Junior podium

Mikel Sarasola

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The eighth year of the Pyrenees Buddies Race was characterised by its first entry in the Extreme Kayak European Cup 2017 (EKEC). The Extreme Kayak European Cup is composed of five events with the PBR being the first, followed by the Outdoor Mix Festival, the King of the Alps, the Ekestremsportvecko and the Devil’s Extreme Race. The three best results will count towards who will eventually become the new 2017 European Champions.

The award’s ceremony was followed by a dégustation of the local food products: cheese from the Ossau Valley and Jurancon’s white wine.

The evening was extended in the valley local town of Laruns at the restaurant of the Hotel d’Ossau, which since the first year of PBR, have always hosted a lunch and the buddies party.

Stay tuned for 2018 edition!

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Riding the Rding Ri theTe Tears T ars Te r of Everest rs Eve Ev vere r st s

Sagamartha Sag aga ag gamart r ha Cries rt

By Darren Darre r n Clarkson-King re Clarks k on-King ks r Land Expeditions - www.purelandexpeditions.com re www ww ww. w.pure r landexpeditions.com re Owner of Pure

Running rivers in small plastic kayaks is a risky sport – it is not the basic messing about in boats of romantic ideals.Venturing to the highest point on this planet just to partake of such folly is seemingly foolhardy.Yet a small group of British travellers did just that – questioning themselves and the reasons between expeditions and travelling. Darren’s book is a brief account of the trip that changed the attitudes of the men. Influenced by Lord Buddha, ethics, self-modesty and responsibility, they floated towards India changed forever.These are the simple thoughts and observations of that journey and are only meant to be a guide to the journey.

Here we reproduce the first chapter of the book that is available at www.himalayanmaphouse.com

The simple thoughts and observations of a group of British kayakers who ventured to the top of the world

Darren Clarkson-King is a writer, extreme kayaker, expedition provider, river consultant, mentor and inspirational speaker. Darren has taken part in some truly epic expeditions including a solo descent of the Dudh Kosi and Arun in Nepal â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Riding the tears of Everest. A true adventurer.

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Chapter 1. Landing

Only my sandals offer minimal protection from the grime of the unmade Himalayan roads crisscrossing Nepal.

…And so it was that the rain came thundering down the valley, like the riders of the apocalypse. Destruction flooded in the wake.

On the last horse was death venturing forth with wrath to conquer the immortal soul of the impersonal culture. A culture that had evolved, spawned by the late 20th century and early 21st century. The wonder of modern science had failed the masses, the populace dreamed a ‘New Hope’. A new guru was needed to lead them forward to the Shangri La that had been promised with the birth of the solitary Christ years before. Selfish was the culture; selfish was the individual.

It had been a long time since the people had held the same dream, the same goal. The collective conscious held little passion for this ideal. Stumbling blindly was not productive. It did not draw much-needed conclusions.

Moving the years from the pagan Norse gods to the collapse of the dollar worship of capital ideals, many idols have come and gone; many born then die. All were able to fool those who blinked, willing to listen. Firstly popular spiritual idols were found to be at fault, then the dominant ideology kept the populace separated at a fair distance. The self worked within the group as independence was neglected. From hoaxes to magicians those who looked for escape could only dream a vain hope of finding a cure.

In the middle of Asia, sandwiched between the giant nations of China and India, I find myself with dust on my feet and a mind full of confusion. Confusion that is only balanced by wandering, walking. Every one wanders but many just take strolls allowing the mind to blue sky think. To escape in the mind to other places. I just know that once the dream is formed in my mind, once the seed of travel is planted, I have to act. Only my sandals offer minimal protection from the grime of the unmade Himalayan roads criss-crossing Nepal.

My hair, growing erratically with no particular style, is filthy, whilst my cheeks itch with the bristles of a dishevelled beard. I’ve washed this morning but walking into the street makes me dirty again only seconds later. Sweat beads on my brow and my throat is sore from breathing the thick polluted air trapped in the Kathmandu Valley. It’s an eco-community of global warming within the living greenhouse for me due to the unique landscape

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ThePADDLER 160 Dressed in stereotypical traveller clothes, the union of the non-conformist, my thin cotton pants cling to my legs when gusts of wind whip up into a frenzy, flashing rubbish into vortexes around me. My shirt holds a thousand stains from sweat to curry or tea and soap, I cannot tell. The shirts colour, the colour it was in the shop has long since gone, long since faded. Around my neck an old piece of string holds an emblem of the Lord Buddha cast in ceramic and looking tired and woeful. It is covered in a thin film, months worth of scum.

It’s one of those paradoxes of none attachment Buddhism. To buy something that represents ideals so that you have a personal motto, a mantra around the body. I should have perhaps seen a conundrum just in this single item. Attachment to the object that represents Buddha, becomes in this form a false idol, a (missed) representation to the masses of the instigator of the religion. Siddhartha, the man was a prince not a god. He is the selfproclaimed ‘enlightened’ being.

Unlike Hindu gods or the effigies of Christ and Mary, Buddhism requires no attachment. Only when the objet as the French call it, the vision of desire, only when this is accepted as gone can the slightest hint of attachment, human nature, accept the possibilities of ’nothingness’,of enlightenment.

External stimuli from the world outside the mind is simple fantasy, a projection. It clouds the spirit. Nothing is real. The computer that I write this on, the book that it is in and the cause and effects of the daily grind simply prove to avoid the conflict of the internal ghost in the machine. So strong is the fantasy of daily life that western culture makes that its goal, makes it seem important. This is not to say that it isn’t important, it’s quite simple. Our internal view, the ghost is barred, blocked by the external. Philosophers from Descartes to Kant have tried to understand the implications and it is perhaps through reading such academic work that has influenced my thoughts on life

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Armed military police flank the street by the embassy near the flat I live in. I walk past them daily on my stroll into the Drift Nepal office.

Drift Nepal is a company full of local guides and old friends. A premier Raft outfitter running commercial trips for fee-paying adventure tourists in Nepal.

As the authority figures, police and army guard the city of Kathmandu. Guns are held in a haphazard manner, no doubt without bullets. It’s no discredit to Nepal, but it is one of the world’s poorest countries, if not the poorest. These sorts of statistics are bandied around, Bangladesh also regularly topping lists of greatest poverty as too does Ethiopia and the Sudan. It always seems a littles strange and uncomfortable to me to publish such details. It’s reminiscent of a Dickensian schoolmaster pointing out the least educated or poorest pupils for the ridicule of all.

In the streets of Kathmandu, bullets are a luxury that governments like this can ill afford. The threat that the guns might have bullets in them is often enough to keep the ‘peace’ for the most part. Although even this is losing it's effectiveness. Nepal has minimal concern for human rights and even less concern for its position on the world stage. This is a country trying hard to develop, but finding its society still in the doldrums.

Through these lonesome journeys deep in the Himalayas my mind ventures off at tangents. It is important to feel confused by these thoughts. It acts to underline the feelings and drive that I feel. How many times does the single human feel empathy with the surrounding area? Just because it is cold outside why does that cause a feeling of ’the blues’? When the sun shines why do you feel happy? It seems a psychosomatic dilution. So it’s the questioning of these world views, the reflection, that urges me into the situation. Urges me to question what I have been told to be real, or what is collectively accepted as real.

Want to read more?

The book that is available at www.himalayanmaphouse.com

www.channelkayaks.co.uk

KAYAKING 4 CANCER CHARITY EVENT æ^ ƗƗƋƆƄ ƏƗƆƏ ƒƆƏƕ ƓƆƋƅ ƌƆç ơƣƃơƤƐ CƑ Ɔ ƾƠơƣ A message from Managing Director Byron Baker-Brown Nearly everybody that I have met over the years has sadly been touched by Cancer in some way or another... Myself included. Because of this, I cannot think of a more worthy cause to raise money for in the fight against this terrible disease.

In 2016 I held the first K4C two day event at Wimbleball Lake where an amazing group of paddlers raised a phenomenal £12,000 for Cancer Research . This figure was also bolstered by a small but equally amazing team who paddled the same distance but along the Thames.

Still working with Cancer Research UK and with your participation and support I aim to smash that figure this year.

Wimbleball Lake is a freshwater reservoir owned by South west Lakes Trust, which is in itself a charity. It is approximately 9.3 miles in circumference and is surrounded by hills, woodlands and fields, giving you an ever changing landscape to admire as you paddle over two days in one of the UK’s most beautiful settings.

You will see wildlife in abundance both in the air, on land and indeed in the water, especially in the form of the beautiful Rainbow Trout as they rise to feed off of the water surface.

Your goal for the 2017 fund raiser is to paddle two laps per day of the lake, totalling approximately 37 miles. You can do this either individually or as a team with the knowledge that every stroke will be supporting Cancer Research UK in their fight to save your families and friends, as well as mine.

On behalf of all of those ever affected by Cancer, I thank you for your support and look forward to welcoming you to Wimbleball Lake this June.

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