Gwilym's Adventure Blog

A nice day observing an instructor from Somerset Adventures lead a group Coasteering at Anstey's Cove.  Wet and High Adventures Ltd are currently not offering Coasteering as an activity so if you want to partake in this, we highly recommend Somerset Adventures who we have worked with over the last year to get their staff all trained up.

A day at Anstey's Cove running a Coasteering session working for Wet and High Adventures Ltd with students from Bridgwater and Taunton College . A much smaller group than expected but they all had fun. I was also training up a new assistant guide Ben, so once we had finished with the group we got straight back in at a different tide height to look at how the jumps and sumps had changed at different water levels.

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.

Working for Wet and High Adventures Ltd in the sun down in Torbay with Marcus for a 1:1 SUP experience. We had a paddle round Thatcher Rock and the Shag Rock before heading round under London Bridge to Torquay Harbour. On the way back we looked at pivot turns which were a little tricky in the irregular swell and the increasing wind before visiting the café at the end of Meadfoot Beach.

What a way to start 2019. I was running a joint staff training session for me for Wet and High Adventures with Robin and Ben from Somerset Adventures as we intend to do some combined SUP and Coasteering days later this year. Also great to have Hannah along as chief photographer and SUP "lookerafterer" - is that a word? Anyway, the sun shone, the water was warm, there was little swell and low wind. We SUPped out along the coast from Meadfoot to Torquay before Coasteering our way back (with Hannah towing the boards) exploring caves and jumps. Ultimately we ended up behaving like kids messing about doing headstands and jumping off the paddleboards before going for lunch and coffee at the marina. Lets hope the rest of 2019 goes this well

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.

This afternoon I met with my sister in Torbay to add to her SUP experience. Having been on a canal and lake already, she wanted to try the sea. Being the sensible person I am, I calculated a tide and wind assisted paddle from Meadfoot to Ansteys Cove for coffee and cake. It was a little bumpy at first so a bit of kneeling required across the bigger waves but then it was wind and waves behind and stood up flying along. Once in Anstey's Cove however, all the sensible went out the window and it was silly SUP time try some yoga moves and head stands. Only one of us fell inbut I will let you guess who.

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.