This will be the shortest blog post I will ever write. (Mainly
because I know full well I write too much and even now, while I ironically pad
this blog post with meaningless guff, I won’t be able to match my usual
ramblings for word count).
Anyway… Things move quickly in the kayaking world… approximately
48 hours quickly… On Sunday after giving her a clean and polish I took half a
dozen photos of Petra, the soon to be sold K1, to be posted online for sale,
and yesterday (Tuesday) evening I was helping strap her to someone else’s car. That’s
it. She has gone.
So now I don’t have a boat for the DW. Hopefully
something will turn up, otherwise it will be a long swim to Westminster.
I suppose I should change my profile picture now...
Wednesday, 28 October 2015
Monday, 26 October 2015
It’s official. I don’t like her!
It was only a matter of time before I decided enough was
enough. She was just too unstable, one wrong move and I was punished, and far too
harshly in my opinion. No man deserves to be dumped in the water for no reason
whatsoever and as a result Petra, the Popes-Canoe Thruster is up for sale! I
think I had realised that I wouldn’t be able to tame her in time for the DW a few
weeks ago but I finally admitted to myself that the boat wasn’t for me this
weekend. Hopefully we will find a buyer and be able to get another boat soon
but until then I still need to get out there and get paddle fit… So Sunday I
did.
The plan for the weekend was pretty simple; paddle for as long and as hard as possible so that I would feel the workout in the morning. Unlike the training I have been doing so far which has focused on learning to handle a K1, this time I was happy to take out pretty much anything that floated and intended to just get the muscles firing. One of my favourite boats is my Pyranha Speeder, she is a kind of hybrid between a down river racer and a white water kayak, stable and has a good turn of speed considering her weight, ideal for this weekend.
I collected my DW partner and headed to Shoreham which is about half an hour drive for me, to put on the River Adur. As it’s tidal we had to take tide times into account, so aimed to hit slack water for a paddle upstream and a falling tide for the return.
As I was hauling my Speeder along while my friend had her much lighter and more slippery K1 I was always going to struggle to keep up but I gave it my best and I don’t think I held us up too badly. I did have to use all of my river craft and wash hanging skills to maintain the pace she was setting but for about an hour we paddled quickly and non-stop.
I had made a pretty big mistake though. For some reason I decided a dry suit was a good idea (I appreciate the K1 fraternity don’t wear such cumbersome equipment but I don’t like being cold and wet). The weather was warmer than I gave it credit for considering we are at the end of October, and I also had my neoprene spraydeck and buoyancy aid on so after that hour I was practically steaming inside my waterproof, man shaped, bag. Even the (part accident/part deliberate) dip when I got out the boat when we stopped for a comfort break did little to cool me down.
The tide turned, and we followed suit enjoying the double advantage of a falling tide and river flow. I was starting to struggle to steer the Speeder toward the end, I’m not sure if it was due to the moving water, or the fact that I was getting tired and my edge turns (There’s no rudder on a Speeder) were getting sloppy, but I was glad to see the get out beach.
This week was the biggest paddle we have done together and certainly the longest I have been in a boat since early July, covering a little over 14kms, worth just under two hours, with an average of about 8kms an hour (or as we were on tidal waters… 4.3 knots). My dry suit was a bit of a misnomer though as the clothes I was wearing underneath were soaked with sweat and I probably would have finished drier without it.
The plan for the weekend was pretty simple; paddle for as long and as hard as possible so that I would feel the workout in the morning. Unlike the training I have been doing so far which has focused on learning to handle a K1, this time I was happy to take out pretty much anything that floated and intended to just get the muscles firing. One of my favourite boats is my Pyranha Speeder, she is a kind of hybrid between a down river racer and a white water kayak, stable and has a good turn of speed considering her weight, ideal for this weekend.
I collected my DW partner and headed to Shoreham which is about half an hour drive for me, to put on the River Adur. As it’s tidal we had to take tide times into account, so aimed to hit slack water for a paddle upstream and a falling tide for the return.
As I was hauling my Speeder along while my friend had her much lighter and more slippery K1 I was always going to struggle to keep up but I gave it my best and I don’t think I held us up too badly. I did have to use all of my river craft and wash hanging skills to maintain the pace she was setting but for about an hour we paddled quickly and non-stop.
I had made a pretty big mistake though. For some reason I decided a dry suit was a good idea (I appreciate the K1 fraternity don’t wear such cumbersome equipment but I don’t like being cold and wet). The weather was warmer than I gave it credit for considering we are at the end of October, and I also had my neoprene spraydeck and buoyancy aid on so after that hour I was practically steaming inside my waterproof, man shaped, bag. Even the (part accident/part deliberate) dip when I got out the boat when we stopped for a comfort break did little to cool me down.
The tide turned, and we followed suit enjoying the double advantage of a falling tide and river flow. I was starting to struggle to steer the Speeder toward the end, I’m not sure if it was due to the moving water, or the fact that I was getting tired and my edge turns (There’s no rudder on a Speeder) were getting sloppy, but I was glad to see the get out beach.
This week was the biggest paddle we have done together and certainly the longest I have been in a boat since early July, covering a little over 14kms, worth just under two hours, with an average of about 8kms an hour (or as we were on tidal waters… 4.3 knots). My dry suit was a bit of a misnomer though as the clothes I was wearing underneath were soaked with sweat and I probably would have finished drier without it.
Monday, 19 October 2015
Going Clubbing
It has been a few weeks since I have been in a kayak, it is
now pretty much too dark to go before or after work so I am restricted to
weekend. For whatever reason(s, of which there were many) I wasn’t in the mood
for going last week but this Saturday I did get back on the water courtesy of
Wey Kayak Club.
My DW partner-in-crime joined the club to improve her skills in this kayaking malarkey and she convinced me to come along to the club so I could go out for a longer paddle, in a boat I am more comfortable in, with coaches around to improve my skill. I am actually surprised with how much I got from the experience of a club environment and am pleased I went… I am very much considering joining Wey myself.
After a brief chat with one of the coaches I chose a boat that we thought would suit my abilities, I can’t remember the name of but has a wobble factor around about 6 or 7. It was a Sipre something-or-other but I can’t find it online at the moment. We joined in with a group of paddlers and set off for a 5-ish mile paddle at what initially was a more than comfortable pace for me. After a brief feeling of instability I quickly found form and quite enjoyed paddling for more than 100 metres above the surface again.
The group spread out as we were encouraged to do “Efforts”, 30 strokes at full power followed by 20 recovery strokes. While I was generally at the front of the group whenever we had an Effort, my friend was always ahead of me and I was not able to catch her, Especially on the return journey as I was starting to tire and only able to keep on my full-tilt, full-power, red-hot, maximum pace for maybe thirty seconds before I would start to fade.
Having coaches on hand was new for me, I don’t remember being taught to kayak when I was younger though I assume I must have been, and for the last few years I have been a kayak coach myself, so having someone else on hand to point out where I can improve was really helpful. I was annoyed with myself because I was being picked up on things that I pick up on with other people’s technique but I will focus more to fix myself. My white water kayaking technique was also called out as I couldn’t keep my knees together in the boat for very long, I think they thought I was trying to brace on the cockpit coaming but in reality my leg muscles (my inner thighs mainly) were tiring from holding my knees together.
At the end of the session I was able to try out a Kirton Tor. It's stability was slightly lower than the boat I had been using but was a lovely paddle and within my own instability comfort zone, I now know what boat I want for the DW... If only I can find one.
I did manage to put the session on Strava (though not all of it as I had forgotten to press start until we had turned around and were on the way back). Of the 4.4 kilometres I recorded I averaged 6.9kph and hit a top speed of 11.2kph. I don’t think that the data is meaningful at the moment but if that is my true pace I will complete the DW in about 30 hours!
On Sunday I went for a 1km swim. It didn’t involve a canal or a kayak, was intentional, and in a very nice heated swimming pool. I ached afterwards despite once being able to thrash out that sort of distance without a care, it made me realise that I am no longer as fit as I once was.
Things I am taking away from this weekend…
1. I need to get a more stable boat. I think Petra’s days are numbered.
2. I need to kayak (and generally exercise) more.
3. Despite being a kayaker for nearly 30 years, my DW partner is better than me… and she has only been doing this for eight or so weeks.
My DW partner-in-crime joined the club to improve her skills in this kayaking malarkey and she convinced me to come along to the club so I could go out for a longer paddle, in a boat I am more comfortable in, with coaches around to improve my skill. I am actually surprised with how much I got from the experience of a club environment and am pleased I went… I am very much considering joining Wey myself.
After a brief chat with one of the coaches I chose a boat that we thought would suit my abilities, I can’t remember the name of but has a wobble factor around about 6 or 7. It was a Sipre something-or-other but I can’t find it online at the moment. We joined in with a group of paddlers and set off for a 5-ish mile paddle at what initially was a more than comfortable pace for me. After a brief feeling of instability I quickly found form and quite enjoyed paddling for more than 100 metres above the surface again.
The group spread out as we were encouraged to do “Efforts”, 30 strokes at full power followed by 20 recovery strokes. While I was generally at the front of the group whenever we had an Effort, my friend was always ahead of me and I was not able to catch her, Especially on the return journey as I was starting to tire and only able to keep on my full-tilt, full-power, red-hot, maximum pace for maybe thirty seconds before I would start to fade.
Having coaches on hand was new for me, I don’t remember being taught to kayak when I was younger though I assume I must have been, and for the last few years I have been a kayak coach myself, so having someone else on hand to point out where I can improve was really helpful. I was annoyed with myself because I was being picked up on things that I pick up on with other people’s technique but I will focus more to fix myself. My white water kayaking technique was also called out as I couldn’t keep my knees together in the boat for very long, I think they thought I was trying to brace on the cockpit coaming but in reality my leg muscles (my inner thighs mainly) were tiring from holding my knees together.
At the end of the session I was able to try out a Kirton Tor. It's stability was slightly lower than the boat I had been using but was a lovely paddle and within my own instability comfort zone, I now know what boat I want for the DW... If only I can find one.
I did manage to put the session on Strava (though not all of it as I had forgotten to press start until we had turned around and were on the way back). Of the 4.4 kilometres I recorded I averaged 6.9kph and hit a top speed of 11.2kph. I don’t think that the data is meaningful at the moment but if that is my true pace I will complete the DW in about 30 hours!
On Sunday I went for a 1km swim. It didn’t involve a canal or a kayak, was intentional, and in a very nice heated swimming pool. I ached afterwards despite once being able to thrash out that sort of distance without a care, it made me realise that I am no longer as fit as I once was.
Things I am taking away from this weekend…
1. I need to get a more stable boat. I think Petra’s days are numbered.
2. I need to kayak (and generally exercise) more.
3. Despite being a kayaker for nearly 30 years, my DW partner is better than me… and she has only been doing this for eight or so weeks.
Friday, 9 October 2015
Back in the boat
I got back into the kayak. It was last weekend, Sunday I
think. Details are a bit hazy as I have spent the best part of this week in
Sicily on a trip with work and am still in recovery mode but I will attempt to
remind myself about what happened (kayaking last weekend, not what happened
Sicily).
I think it’s fair to say that the trip to the canal was more successful than the first time I was there, if nothing else I could actually count the number of times I fell in. Twice. First swim was right at the beginning after lowering myself into the boat. I think I had told myself that I was going to fall in so I then obliged. After that first dip I actually managed to stay mostly upright for the whole 4k round trip. It involved 100% concentration and many support strokes to get to the end of the canal but I managed it. Turning the boat at the end was a nervy affair and I opted to turn in the confines of the canal rather than heading out into the turning basin (which seemed to have no places to swim the boat to in the event of a capsize). Heading back up the canal I found some confidence and was able to keep the boat moving for most of the 2km stretch back to the put in. The second dunking was as a result of my bouncing the boat to try and shift the branches and leaves that were accumulating on my bow (that brought my confidence level back to a sensible level).
My wife came along to walk the dog and recorded several videos of my paddling. Watching back I don’t look confident, each stroke is hesitant and clearly not delivering much power which is disappointing as I thought I was going to look really awesome this week.
When I was in Sicily it was approximately 30 degrees, the sea was warm and one morning I even watched a pair of Nelo K1’s heading out. I came into work today in the fog, my ice warning light was on in the car and right now I am trying to decide whether I should go kayaking at the weekend again. I know the chances of a swim in the cold grim canal is quite high and as I think about dragging myself out of the muddy, nettle fringed banks, Sicily seems a very long way away.
I think it’s fair to say that the trip to the canal was more successful than the first time I was there, if nothing else I could actually count the number of times I fell in. Twice. First swim was right at the beginning after lowering myself into the boat. I think I had told myself that I was going to fall in so I then obliged. After that first dip I actually managed to stay mostly upright for the whole 4k round trip. It involved 100% concentration and many support strokes to get to the end of the canal but I managed it. Turning the boat at the end was a nervy affair and I opted to turn in the confines of the canal rather than heading out into the turning basin (which seemed to have no places to swim the boat to in the event of a capsize). Heading back up the canal I found some confidence and was able to keep the boat moving for most of the 2km stretch back to the put in. The second dunking was as a result of my bouncing the boat to try and shift the branches and leaves that were accumulating on my bow (that brought my confidence level back to a sensible level).
My wife came along to walk the dog and recorded several videos of my paddling. Watching back I don’t look confident, each stroke is hesitant and clearly not delivering much power which is disappointing as I thought I was going to look really awesome this week.
When I was in Sicily it was approximately 30 degrees, the sea was warm and one morning I even watched a pair of Nelo K1’s heading out. I came into work today in the fog, my ice warning light was on in the car and right now I am trying to decide whether I should go kayaking at the weekend again. I know the chances of a swim in the cold grim canal is quite high and as I think about dragging myself out of the muddy, nettle fringed banks, Sicily seems a very long way away.
Thursday, 1 October 2015
Not a happy paddler
I’m feeling pretty bruised today. These bruises are from
last night’s kayak session though I use the word kayak lightly, as approximately
fifty percent of the time it was a swimming session, the constant falling out,
bailing, and getting back in the boat took its toll. I lost count the number of
times I capsized in the hour or so we were on (and/or in) the water.
When we have been at the lake I blamed the need to turn, or the inability to get up to a good speed as the reason I found the boat tippy so last night after work we headed to a canal so I could prove to myself that I can kayak after all. We met with another experienced K1 paddler and I hoped that I would get a chance to talk to her about boats and technique and other canoey things but within not many paddle strokes I was swimming. In the end I waved the other two away so they didn’t spend the whole session waiting for me and so that I could enjoy my own soggy misery by myself.
I don’t think I am being big headed when I say that I have a great paddle technique. I have owned fast boats (my Pyranha Speeder is an all-time favourite) for years and have really focused on my straight line paddling, unlike a lot of paddlers new to sprint and marathon boats I don’t really have to learn this skill, I thought I would just be able to focus on keeping a tippy boat upright but that is proving to be a much harder task than I thought. As I write this I am still unsure how or why I fall in. It happens so fast, there must be something I am doing wrong I just don’t know what it is. I am able to push away (shakily) from the bank, and once I have both hands on the paddle I’m able to start moving, quite quickly too. Once I thought I was in control I started to relax into my technique, then bam, soaked. Sometimes I was able to drop a brace in and save it, turning an instant dunking into a rather protracted tank slapper, but most of the time it happened so unexpectedly that I didn’t have time to react.
I’m not a quitter, sometimes I’m too lazy to start something but I rarely give up on things. This boat is making me have second thoughts though, I’m starting to think that I am not going to be able to master it, pretty soon the water is going to be fowl rather than mildly chilly making a capsize a breath-taking nightmare rather than just being a bit annoying.
Right now I don’t want to get back into the boat. This blog might become much shorter than I intended.
When we have been at the lake I blamed the need to turn, or the inability to get up to a good speed as the reason I found the boat tippy so last night after work we headed to a canal so I could prove to myself that I can kayak after all. We met with another experienced K1 paddler and I hoped that I would get a chance to talk to her about boats and technique and other canoey things but within not many paddle strokes I was swimming. In the end I waved the other two away so they didn’t spend the whole session waiting for me and so that I could enjoy my own soggy misery by myself.
I don’t think I am being big headed when I say that I have a great paddle technique. I have owned fast boats (my Pyranha Speeder is an all-time favourite) for years and have really focused on my straight line paddling, unlike a lot of paddlers new to sprint and marathon boats I don’t really have to learn this skill, I thought I would just be able to focus on keeping a tippy boat upright but that is proving to be a much harder task than I thought. As I write this I am still unsure how or why I fall in. It happens so fast, there must be something I am doing wrong I just don’t know what it is. I am able to push away (shakily) from the bank, and once I have both hands on the paddle I’m able to start moving, quite quickly too. Once I thought I was in control I started to relax into my technique, then bam, soaked. Sometimes I was able to drop a brace in and save it, turning an instant dunking into a rather protracted tank slapper, but most of the time it happened so unexpectedly that I didn’t have time to react.
I’m not a quitter, sometimes I’m too lazy to start something but I rarely give up on things. This boat is making me have second thoughts though, I’m starting to think that I am not going to be able to master it, pretty soon the water is going to be fowl rather than mildly chilly making a capsize a breath-taking nightmare rather than just being a bit annoying.
Right now I don’t want to get back into the boat. This blog might become much shorter than I intended.
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