Gwilym's Adventure Blog

A great paddle with Olly and Rich from Portgwarra via the cardinal mark at Rundlestone Reef before heading to Land's End and  a quick leg stretch at Sennen. Thanks Rich for the loan of the Sea Kayak After rock hopping our way back to Porthgwarra for a Pasty, it was hot and sunny so SUPping seemed like a good plan. After pumping up the boards and leaving the beach the weather started to deteriorate. We made it to The Minack Theatre before turning round and battling the wind and rain (or liquid sunshine as they call it in Cornwall) to get back to Portgwarra

Today I was working for Wet and High Adventures Ltd down at Salcombe with Sam who I was assessing for his Sea Kayak Award . We had a great time in warm water, low wind with just enough "wind over tide" to make things interesting at Bolt Head. A large and friendly Barrell Jellyfish cam over to say hello. As part of my development, Rich Uren was there overseeing my assessment so that I can get a recommendation to be a provider in my own right and I am pleased to say he will be making that recommendation to British Canoeing. Well done Sam for a good performance.

A little lumpy on the sea in Torbay today for a 1:1 sea kayak award preparation working for Wet and High Adventures Ltd.  Launching from Meadfoot Beach and starting with acclimatising to a sea kayak and waves. After this it was some rock hoping and some self rescue skills before venturing round into some rougher conditions on the way to and under London Bridge. And that ends my sunny road trip of Cornwall and Devon. Back in the office tomorrow sorting out stuff for the next week or so.

Another day with the group from The Hamp Estate and this time for some kayaking in Torbay. Small numbers again and we had a paddle around on a dropping tide, playing around the rocks and trying (not very hard) to stay upright. After lots of falling in and climbing out on rocks the session was over. We even saw a seal today.

Thought I was in The Mediterranean today but then the tide came in. Awesome day afloat in Torbay with my most frequent non paying client (a.k.a my sister). After a couple of hours of paddling it was getting too hot so we went snorkeling instead. We saw Wrass, Jellyfish and a Spider Crab.

Today it was Sit on Top Kayaking and Coasteering for my L3 Outdoor students from Bridgwater and Taunton College. We left a wet and misty Dartmoor and headed to Torbay where the sun shone and there was little breeze. Thanks to Dave who was helping me out today. After kayaking round from Meadfoot to Anstey's we had lunch before Dave led the group on a Coasteer whilst I supported (took pictures) from a kayak. This was the first day out for one of the Wet and High Adventures Dagger Stratos (the green one in the top  pic) and I was very impressed.

   This date has been in the diary for some time with good friend Olly. Originally entered on my phone  as "play with Olly", we decided to make it a sea kayak day. We paddled the 24km from Broadsands (Paignton) round Berry Head to Dartmouth and upto Galmpton (in the Dart Estuary). A carefully calculated tidal plan saw us get a 2knt push (giving us about 4knts travelling speed with very little effort) from Berry Head to within 3km of Dartmouth then we just paddled round to the castles before catching the incoming tide up to Galmpton Creek. We did have to stop in Dartmouth for lunch of course. All that was left was for me to run 2.5km back to the start point to collect the van. A nice way to finish the day with a short jog. We saw a number of seals and as Olly caught some mackerel on route, I am blogging whilst he is firing up the BBQ.

This week I have been down on Dartmoor with Level 3 Outdoor Education students from Bridgwater College at Powdermills Bunkhouse . We have undertaken NNAS Bronze and Silver training and assessment courses, Gorge Walking, Climbing, Kayaking and Coasteering as well as the students budgeting and cooking all of their own food. A great week and fantastic weather though we had a bit or rain to help them test their new Mountain Equipment  clothing from The Gorge Outdoors

Today I was back out down at Salcombe out Sea Kayaking with 3 other candidates and our trainer Sid as part of the  British Canoeing UKCC Level 3 Sea  programme. It was a little less windy today and we worked on observation and coaching.

Today I have been down at Salcombe out Sea Kayaking with 3 other candidates and our trainer Sid as part of the British Canoeing UKCC Level 3 Sea programme. It was a bit windy today so we stayed inside the bar (a spit of sand not a pub) and sought the shelter of the eastern shore. We looked at a lot of skills but the highlight was going surfing at the end of the day. No pictures of that as I was too busy playing to get the camera out.

A relaxed and sunny paddle today out of Teignmouth with Hannah, Heidi and Jo. The sun shone, the water was warm (ish), the tides were good, the doughnuts were good. In fact, an all round good day out.