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

Maiden Voyage

I thought I would start off with a gentle paddle from Wareham Quay, down the river Frome, out into Poole Harbour and then east along the coast to Hengistbury Head and back. I left at about 1030 am with the sun shining which was nice but the temperature must of only been 1 or 2 degrees above zero. I made the harbour in 25 minutes and Lake Pier in 1 hour and 5 minutes from setting off which I was pleased with. The GPS at that point was telling me I had an average speed of 4.7 knots. I was impressed with the Xplore and soon settled into rhythm and paddled towards the harbour entrance. I caught the tide on the ebb and the GPS recorded a maximum speed of 7.7knots as I flew out through the entrance. The sea state was moderate and I had a NW wind to keep me company.

Four hours after setting off I reached Southbourne and it was then that I decided to turn back. This was when the fun started!

I then had to paddle back into a SW wind and against the tide! It was then that I thought the return paddle would be a lot more interesting. I paddled as far as the shore just before the Haven hotel at Sandbanks having passed Bournemouth and Boscombe piers. I was feeling quite tired at that point and I am sure it had got colder. I was glad I took my woolen hat and poggies for my hands. I had about 5 minutes respite before attempting the harbour entrance. I snuck round the northern side of the entrance and waited in the eddie of the sandbanks ferry before pushing through and ferry gliding across the main channel to the shallow waters of the southern side of Brownsea island. I was still paddling against the tide and I could feel my energy levels drain. I decided to stick it out and paddle to the headland of Arne opposite Lake Pier. I rested again for about 5 minutes and half demolished a chicken, avocado and spinach pitta washed down with 1/2 litre powerade.

I then pushed on for the top of the Wareham channel and the channel narrows to a small bit of water with 2'-3' mud banks on either side. This was the killer as I managed about 3 paddle strokes to propel myself 1-2 metres forward. I was cursing quite nicely but kept telling myself that this was good stamina training.

Eventually I managed to find the less tormenting and meandering river Frome and I new then I was close to home, another 30-40 minutes and I would of been there. I eventually arrived back at the quay to be greeted by my folks on the banks of the river to see me in. It was a welcomed sight as I was beginning to feel the cold and there was only about 3/4 hour left of daylight. My dad helped me load the kayak onto the trailer and we all walked home where I was greeted by dinner, hot bath and a brandy. The only evidence of completeing the trip was a small blister on one finger, aching shoulders and a photo of the log on the GPS.

I had a great day and am looking forward to my next long paddle on monday weather conditions depending.

Yipee my boat has arrived!!

Well after a long wait my new Tiderace, Xplore has arrived. I ordered it at the beginning of February and I picked it up on the 3 April from Knoydart in Penrith. Katie and I drove up to collect it on the Thursday and then made a compulsory stop at Liverpool to catch up with a good mate Jay and his wife Jos. Thankfully the boat managed to fit in his hallway as we both laughed at the fact it would not of been there in the morning if it was on the roof of the van!

We had a few beers at Jay's and then tried the ale at a local pub which after 2 hours resulted in Jay testing out the kayak back at the house. I think if he was waiting for high tide then he might of been there some time!

When I eventually surfaced on Friday morning feeling a bit worse for wear we then headed back down south. We set off and I managed all of 9 miles to the service station where I needed to have a power nap as I was feeling slightly under the weather. I hope I have a tad more stamina than that for the Irish crossing.

Well I am nearly kitted out apart from my paddle which I have had on order since December/January. Thankfully Moose is on the case and we are looking to buy some Werner paddles instead which might take all of 2-3 weeks to arrive not 2-12 months!

So next on the agenda is to get out and use my boat so will sign off and let you know how the maiden voyage goes.

Laters

Time Is Running Out

Well the title says it all, we are both really looking forward to the epic trip that looms.

The big thing we are finding at the moment is how hard it is to purchase a new boat you have a pocket full of the green stuff and you cant get a dealer that has a Boat or Paddle come to that. Is it my age or are we really not that good at looking after customers in this country, not even a phone call to let you know that there is a delay in the delivery day, like a month not just a day or two.

I have had to reasure the Big Bloke that his pride and glory will arrive in time and he will not have to do the trip in his Tupperware boat, which I have to say has never let him down, Ok its a tad on the heavy side but hey he is no Kate Moss. As he is as strong as an OX I can't see a problem.

Baz/Ox has mentioned the little trip in the harbour the other week and it just showed the raw strengh of the bloke in mind and body that he just kept towing with that usual grin on his face it could have been the Condor Ferry and not Jules and the grin would have still been there, well done mate. Good choice of Paddling Partner for the Moose.

Training and Post paddle scoff

Sea Moose on the Moose Mobile

Does my arse look big in this? Jules's boat that Moose loved paddling.

Right on brother!

Cool as a Moose? Leave that one up to you?!



Moose, Jules and I had decided to do a relaxing training paddle in Poole harbour but we seemed to leave the 'relaxing' part in the vans!

It blew an absolute hooley and on the way from Lake pier to the western end of Brownsea island we enjoyed the wind being behind us and surfing the waves.

Jules was in her new Xcite, Moose in his Explorer HV and me STILL in my old faithful the washing up bowl called a Carolina...Grrrrr don't get me started about the delivery of my new kayak!

We paddled around the southern side of Brownsea and we had the shelter from the wind which was pleasant. When we started to paddle around the eastern end of the island we were then confronted by the onslaught of the Northerly winds again. The wind was so strong that no matter how hard Jules paddled the wind got the better of her and began to sweep her across the bay. It was then we decided to paddle onto the island and Moose being the gallant type of chap he is offered to swap boats as his slightly heavier boat might be an advantage to Jules with her paddling.

It was then that seats had to be adjusted and when Moose got back in the boat a freak wave or two decided to join him and got his cotton trousers wet! Remember it is blowing a hooley and not the warmest day! I kept warm by the steam coming out of his ears!

We then took it in turns to help tow Jules back to lake Pier and I was cooking nicely in my dry suit by the time we had got back. Even though it was an eventful paddle and far from relaxing I had a great time! We finished the day with some food and a warm up in Jazzy B's on Poole Quay...very nice. The hot chocolate was impressive. Not only was it full of calories it must of had some skin softening effects as Moose decided to put some on his nose!

A nice warm day in March 2008. Branksome Chine.

Moose and his good lady Jules.

Moose mobile, Moose and Baz

Sorry there were no pics on the water but my compact camera is not waterproof. It would of got a soaking for sure!