Topic: Kayak (Read 11929 times)

Nigel1983 · « **on:** July 18, 2014 »

How's it going everyone. Just abit of advice needed,just bought a kayak I'm picking it up tomorrow, and was wondering has anyone ever kayaked round to and stayed at port moon bothy. also is it suitable for a novice like myself, been out about 3 times in a kayak on the sea I'm fairly comfortable and reasonable fit but just thought a bit of advice would be helpful, as the sea doesn't really have mercy!

velvetmonkey · « **Reply #1 on:** July 21, 2014 »

Hi Nigel,

Just a few words of caution.......

Not sure what you mean by "fairly comfortable" - unless you're confident about rolling your canoe, and competent in the various self-rescue techniques, I would suggest bringing someone along.

If your sea kayaking knowledge has been limited to three trips, I would suggest there may be a shortfall in experience and awareness.

It's good that you want to get out, and on your own is no bad thing, just be safe!
The sea can change very quickly, and tides etc. can overpower and tire the most experienced of paddlers.

All that having been said, it's good to see someone push themselves - especially for a solo trip

Good luck!

Nigel1983 · « **Reply #2 on:** July 21, 2014 »

Thanks for reply I was planning on going with someone but he has even less experience than me, I'll maybe just keep to a few short trips for a while to build my fitness and experience

RedLeader · « **Reply #3 on:** July 22, 2014 »

I would definitely ease into the sea stuff, it's messier than it looks. I had a few sea trips in my Canadian and I was painfully aware that I was a good bit offshore and had no real experience of what I would do in the event of a capsize. I'd at very least spend an afternoon at the beach (safely) learning to recover from capsize as well as experimenting with what's going to happen to all your gear if you did have a problem.

wmclaughlin · « **Reply #4 on:** July 22, 2014 »

Hi, I would encourage you not to try this until you get some more experience. There was an incident http://www.u.tv/news/Kayakers-rescued-at-Carrick-a-Rede/968baa50-3b6e-45c3-9f80-f6ff5885cd1c quite recently, near that area, where some kayakers using sit on top kayaks had to be rescued after being washed onto the rocks by a large wave. Thankfully, they were able to clamber onto the rocks and suffered only minor injuries.

If you live in the area there is a local club called the Causeway Coast Kayak Association (www.ccka.co.uk) which would be happy to let you try out different craft and they also lead sea trips which cater for all levels of experience. They also have access to the bothy which they use for overnight trips. I have done this trip with the club and in the right conditions it is a very beautiful part of the coastline but there aren't many escape routes if things go wrong.

Contact details for the club leaders can be found on the website.

Enjoy your new purchase, but please do it safely.

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Nigel1983

Kayak

velvetmonkey

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Nigel1983

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RedLeader

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wmclaughlin

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