Patience and Frustration

Hi All

Here I am updating the blog whilst the weather is overcast and so grim for August. James and I are still waiting for a window of opportunity which to date has alluded us. There was one day when the conditions were perfect but sadly my employer would not let me have the time off and so I had to keep the streets of Swanage safe and all that......
We have spoken to most who have kindly sponsored us but to those that are still keeping tracks on our progress we are still aiming to set off as soon as is practically possible. We thank you for your patience and will keep you updated soon.

Regards

Moose and Baz

Waiting

Hi folks

Just a quick update to let you all know that James and I are still on for the trip but the weather has been against us to date. There is a possibility that this coming Monday may offer a green light so will keep our fingers crossed!

Laters

Baz and James

Bagnol Caravan Park

The vans on plot.

Agent Fudge and one of the many wood sculptures on the site

I must thank Johnny and Danny who very kindly let us stay at Bagnol Caravan Park for free as part of their kind sponsorship. The site was clean, tidy and the showers were great. The site is ideally situated only a mile or two away from our proposed set off point. The site also has some amazing wood carvings as you can see one in the picture. The wood carver/artist used a chainsaw!

Thanks again guys and we will contact you soon regarding a second attempt to cross the pond.

A great place to stay so check out their website www.caravan-park-anglesey.co.uk

The Internet Cafe

Whilst staying in Anglesey I needed somewhere to get onto the Internet and check the daily weather reports. Gary and I were told to visit The Internet Cafe in Holyhead run by Mark and his wife Sandra. Not only did they do a cracking fried breakfast but Mark worked for Holyhead Port Control and he gave us plenty of advice. If you are ever travelling in this part of the world I would recommend a visit to check your email over a latte or two! Take a look at their site http://www.holyheadnetcafe.co.uk/

Thanks Mark

Barry, James and Gary

Stuck in Dublin

Well to update you all the wind is not in our favour! As a result of this we are still waiting and the best day would be Thursday but I am due back at work then! we are keeping our fingers crossed that Tuesday maybe a possibility but I am not holding my breath. The Guinness in Dublin is excellent so not felt I am wasting my time but extremely frustrated that we have not set off yet. I did a tour of the Guinness factory which was well worth the 14 euros and I had one free pint and then after that some kind lady gave me her free pint voucher..happy days!






The support team who travelled to Dublin. Allan, Agent Fudge, Actionman and Big T. Agent Fudge using his mine sweeping skills to try and drink Allan's pint.

Challenges

Pledge money for challenges across the Irish Sea.

1. Clap hands like a seal - £20 Jen

2. Wear a wig - (Afro,Blonde Curls or Red) - £20 Jules

3. Rock paper sissors (loser puts red lip stick on lips) - £20 Ross

4. Sing Row Row Row your boat - £20 Mel

All these challenges will be done half way across the Irish Sea and video evidence to prove it. Please dig deep in your pockets and pledge money for one of these and if you think of any other reasonable challenges in a kayak please let us know.

Agent Fudge MI6 involved in another close shave!

Gary aka Actionman and Agent Fudge part of the support team. Agent Fudge was given to Actionman by Angela Evans 'Angie' before she sadly passed away last year of Cancer. Angie was fun loving, outgoing and the life and soul of the party! Angie's dying wish was that Agent Fudge be assigned international operations with Actionman. All photo intel to be shared with all of her friends. Agent Fudge becomes an ambassador of Angie's entourage and has already spun the globe. Agent fudge has requested a 'special op' to accompany Agent Splashdown on his epic voyage across the Irish Sea. A requisition for specialist equipment has been channeled through Q department for authorisation. Actionman has sanctioned his co-operation.
In an effort to disguise his ID from certain southern Irish operators Actionman accompanied him to a local hair stylist. SHAN from Image alteration dept (A5) was tasked with preparing Fudge for this mission. SHAN very kindly donated her normal fee in favour of our charity. Many thanks! Full sit rep to follow........message ends

Sponsorship from Ocean Safety

I had the pleasure of meeting Claire from Ocean Safety and it was like Christmas. Ocean safety has supplied us with their latest product of personal safety flares specifically designed for Kayakers. A cracking piece of kit if I may say so. They also provided us with other flares, smoke and personal buoyancy aid lights! I cannot thank them enough and looking at the photo above they certainly know their business. I hope we don't need to use the flares but I am confident we will be seen if we need to be. Thanks for your support and for looking after us!

Safety Flares, smoke and personal lighting

Helping hand from Cotswold Belfast

Due to inclement wind (nothing I have eaten!) our trip is on hold with copious amounts of time spent checking weather charts, looking for a decent break. This has its own pitfalls and I found myself drifting towards my feminine side and retail therapy kicked in. Having seen the Garmin 60CSx in action with Baz who is pleased with his purchase, I have fallen into the trap of boys and toys and made my way to Cotswold Outdoor Belfast where I was lucky to meet Lyle who was very helpful and informative about the product. On consultation with his boss and my bank manager I am now the proud owner of a Garmin. I hope this bad weather holds so I can learn how to use it!

Sponsorship on the kayak.

Thanks to Chris from Garmin and Russ from Wareham Boat Hire. Stickers placed on my kayak ready to go!

Lift off or we hope so

James has left already and arrived in Anglesey. He has touched base with the Coastguard and they were pleased that he did as he gave an up to date sit rep. The weather is not in our favour as it is blowing SW and 23 mph winds which is a force 5 on the Beaufort scale! Not pleasant.



The forecast is for 29 mph winds tomorrow at 1000 hours again from the south west! I think a drive up and sup a few coffees with my pal Moose will be in order praying to Neptune that the weather and sea's will turn to our favour!

It is disappointing when you plan things and the weather looks unfavourable but we will keep our fingers crossed! If we don't go then as Arnie said, " I'll be back!"

Just to let you know we will be looking for an E/NE or SE for the crossing. SW is pretty much the worse one for us regarding wind direction.

Event Sponsorship by GARMIN world leaders in global positioning systems

Garmin offices in Southampton

James and I had the pleasure of meeting Chris Boyle from their Marine Product and Marketing Management. At very short notice Chris managed to arrange the loan of marine mapping software for my Garmin GPSmap60CSx. This software will prove invaluable on our trip providing details of up to date chart information. We cannot thank Chris and Garmin enough. Like we said Chris if you ever need some sea kayakers for product testing let us know!!

Chris Boyle and Barry outside Garmin's UK offices exchanging the sponsored marine software

James outside Garmin offices Southampton

A welcomed helping hand!

Event Sponsorship from Bagnol camping and caravan site.

http://www.caravan-park-anglesey.co.uk/index.asp

Dear Barry. As you are doing this event for charity it will be our pleasure to let you stay here free of charge for as long as it takes to get the right conditions for your crossing to Ireland. We will look forward to hearing from you and we will see you when you come down.
Your Johnny@Danny

We would like to thank Johnny and Danny for their very kind offer. It is generous help such as above that make arduous trips and planning a lot easier! We look forward to our stay and meeting such generous people.

Rocket Man

Well after receiving some advice from the Captains of the ferry they said it would be wise to take a radar reflector. I have done a bit of research on the Internet and many studies conclude that it is only marginally better to have one than not. I purchased one for the mast of a sailing dinghy and taped it to a garden pole. This was then placed in the drinking pouch on the rear of my buoyancy aid and voila you have a rocket man impression....Now where is the blue touch paper?!

I know it looks a bit silly but I am going to do a trial before next week and see if this comes up on a radar. I will keep you posted.

Wareham to Hurst Castle Tues 17 June

It was 0345 hours and there was thick sea mist at Wareham Quay and which I followed down into Poole Harbour. I telephoned Portland Coastguard to advise them of my voyage and the conversation went something like this,

Barry " Good morning Portland Coastguard my name is Barry Ashdown, I am a solo kayaker heading from Wareham Quay to Hurst Castle and back. I have my kayak registered with your CG66 callsign Xplore."

Portland Coastguard " Do you know what time it is? It is quarter to four in the morning"

After explaining that I must of been dropped on my head as a baby and that this was training for an Irish Sea crossing later in the month. The Coastguard log was created, I was wished a safe trip and I set off in the comfort that I was being looked after.

It was very eerie paddling down the Frome with only 10 metres of visibility. To start off with it was fine as I was following the river but it all changed when I went out into the harbour. I managed to steer a course to start off with which led me through the first pair of channel buoys but after that it started to get a bit more tricky. Sea Mist started to play tricks on me and no I had not been drinking the night before! You will be amazed I have not had an alcoholic drink for 3 weeks and I am looking forward to that pint of Irish Guinness!!

I then had to use my GPS looking at the map screen and also use my compass for a course to steer. I went wrong a few times as I found myself in shallow water but soon got back on track. The next thing which was a little disconcerting was the very loud fog horn of a ship. I know there are several ferries and merchant ships that use the harbour who would not see me until it was too late. I had my whistle to hand just in case but that probably would of been as useful as a chocolate fire guard. I had my VHF Ch16 and then I decided to head south into the shallow water keeping away from the main shipping lane. It was then that I wished my radar reflector had arrived. I managed to kayak around the southern side of Brownsea Island without actually seeing it....more fluke than judgment I am sure! I kayaked to the eastern end of the island and decided to cross there just before the Sandbanks ferry.

It was amazing how many small fishing boats were leaving the harbour all with radar fitted. I didn't mind them but it was the larger ships that were the worry. I got outside the harbour and thankfully the sea mist was clearing towards the east. I made a decision to kayak on towards Hurst Castle. The sea was like a mill pond and there was hardly any wind. Great conditions but in the back of my mind I was thinking the calm before the storm!

I travelled to a point N 50 deg 42.654 W 001 deg 37.510 and decided to turn back. The forecast was for strong SW winds 5 or 6 gusting 7. I made it to Hengisbury head and all was well then the squall came through and I had a lovely paddle from Boscombe pier to the harbour entrance...Not!! I hate paddling into strong wind.

I got into the harbour and then decided that it was not worth the effort to paddle back up to Wareham. Two paddle strokes forward and one stroke back! Not fun. I paddled into Holes Bay and called in the support team driver my dad Pete. He turned out and saved the day. I wonder what my next challenge will be after this? Isle of Wight me thinks as un-finished business there.

0345 hours at the start.

A slight rise in the sea mist in Poole Harbour

Hengisbury Head and that bloke with wind again

Starboard buoy in Poole Harbour in the mist

Sea Mist and a buoy looming

Which way? I can't see a Bloody thing!

Off the water in Holes Bay, Poole waiting for a lift home

The slip at Holes Bay Poole

38.72 nautical miles in 10 hours and 28 minutes.

Well counting the days and after doing 38nm yesterday I am sat here with a slightly aching back. I am looking forward to the challenge and the pint of the black stuff or maybe 10 after!

Not long now!!!!

Well here Moose and I are off the cliffs near Swanage on our way to Kimmeridge. We did this paddle a few weeks back. Moose is that a chocolate eclair in your mouth and are you trying to reach across and pinch another one?!

West Bay to Portsmouth continued......

A cracking sunset to finish an awesome day of paddling.

26 nautical miles completed on Saturday to add to the 13 nautical miles paddled the day before.

Tall ship and some small ships floating past my window

Sunday 8 June

Hurst Castle to Clarence Pier, Portsmouth

20 nautical miles

Breakfast! Mmmmm

Do you think he is asleep?

I even took a pillow! Well thankfully the weather was fantastic and after breakfast I set off on the last 20 n/miles to Clarence Pier in Portsmouth to be collected by Gary. I am sure Gary suggested Clarence Pier as a finishing point to test my ability to manoeuvre past hover crafts, hydrofoil boats, ferries and also keep a beady eye on the locals on the beach when I arrived. It was like an open air version of the Star Wars bar....

I totalled 59 nautical miles over three days which will have to be completed in one sitting across the Irish Sea........Bring it on is all I can say!

Why is it my self portraits look as though I have got chronic wind?!

West Bay to Portsmouth

West Bay to Portsmouth Saturday 6 June to Sunday 8 June

West Bay slip

Gary aka Action man with a friend Mick Rogers decided to walk from West Bay to Chapman's Pool a distance of 55 miles in one hit. Most sane people who decided to do the walk did it over three days. Now what has this got to do with me and my kayak training..?

You guessed it I said I would paddle the distance and some to Portsmouth by the Sunday where I was going to meet Gary again who had completed the round the harbours cycle race.


The alarm went off at 0500 hours on Friday 6th June and I crawled out of my pit to get the last few things organised before setting off for West Bay. Gary, Pete my dad and I set off for West Bay as I had planned to be on the water by 0730 hours but it turned out to be 0810 hours.

I left the security of the harbour walls of West Bay and headed east towards Portland Bill. The sea was choppy but I had the wind and tide with me which was fun to start off with.





West Bay Harbour

I got into a rhythm and was settling in nicely but I was not going to make Portland Bill by slack water! This proved to be problematic as we were nearly on spring tides and I did not fancy battling against the tides and also the updated weather report given by Portland Coastguard was also not favourable. They predicted strong wind warnings which would of blown against the tide which would of meant the sea would of become a wee bit choppy! In light of this I decided to turn back to the safety of West Bay. The western side of Portland has a rocky shore and chesil beach is a steep pebble beach which has boat crunching waves breaking onto it. I did not fancy trying to attempt to get to Portland Bill only to find the conditions were worsening and then there was nowhere to land safely. I thought I would come back to fight again another day and retreat with my tail between my legs. This was the right idea but paddling back to West Bay took 2 hours an hour longer than it took me to get to the turn around point. I made the shelter of West Bay, kicked back and waited for my dad to come back and collect me which he did which was very kind of him.


So Gary had set off and I was back in Wareham after only doing 12.3 nautical miles in 3hrs 17 mins.






Saturday 7 June


I then decided I would set off from Wareham and paddle to Hurst Castle opposite the Needles where I would camp the night and then paddle onto Portsmouth on the Sunday. I set off as the tide was out at Wareham Quay and I knew the tide was turning in my favour for 0900 hrs approximately. I got out of the harbour and kayaked across Bournemouth Bay about 1 mile from the shore. The sun was shining and and there was no wind which was nice but by the time i had reached Hengisbury Head there was a W S/W. I arrived at H/Head and decided to have a 15min leg stretch and a bite to eat.




Heading east

Dodgy looking bloke!

Hengisury Head

This turned out to be really annoying as all the kayak wanted to do was turn into the wind and send me on a course for the needles. This wind was combined with the tidal flow which was sending 2-3' sets of waves heading NE. I decided I would move closer to the shore to see if this made any difference which it did a bit.

Hurst Castle

I soon arrived at Hurst Castle and got my pitch ready for the night. I dug a little shell scrape on the beach behind a groyne and settled in for the night. I loved it with the sound of the waves lapping on the shore. I was pleased I paddled to Hurst Castle as it has been one of my kayaking
objectives for a long time. The views were stunning. It made me appreciate how lucky I am to do these type of things. It also made me focus on the challenge in hand at the end of the month and why I am raising money for Rainbow Trust.

Hurst Castle looking east up the Solent.

My Groyne and a room with a view!

Cake Stalls'

Well before you ask no I didn't make any cakes. It wasn't that I did not want to make any but I valued my kind sponsors and I wanted them to enjoy their cake and not go down with food poisoning.
So in light of this my family and friends very kindly pitched up and made an array of cakes from Chocolate brownies to fruit cake. I cannot thank them enough and also a big thank you goes to Sheila and Ali who helped me on the stall at Dorset Police HQ. Also a thank you to Katie for putting the posters up and arranging the day with admin. I managed to raise £148 which was a great total.
Katie and Kat also took a load of fairy cakes to sandford first school and they made a total of £47 in 15 minutes which was amazing.

Rainbow Trust Link