Gwilym's Adventure Blog

Getting our feet wet Me at the top of the first jump On the scramble traverse   Taking a quick break Today I was working for Bridgwater College taking a group of students Coasteering in Torbay. The trip involved some climbing, rock hopping, swimming, jumping and bobbing about in the sea. The sun was shinning and the weather was excellent with a small swell running. The day ended with chips and an icecream on the seafront in Torquay. All the students and staff had a great time. I will be out climbing for the next two days

    Another day of Sailing at Wimbleball working for Bridgwater College. Almost perfect wind conditions today although it was pretty cold.This was the last week of training before assessments takes place next week. This afternoon I taught an introduction to kayaking course on the Bridgwater Canal for another group of students. We covered Forwards and reverse paddling as well as turning (sweep strokes) and capsize drills. Unfortunately I forgot to take any photos.

Preparing to go afloat One of many capsizes Me towing a boat (and the first day of hat wearing - winter must be close) Mark sheltering from the rain Today I was once again working for Bridgwater College at Wimbleball Lake. As usual Mark and I taught together and dragged 2 groups of students out in rain and gusts to challenge both their sailing ability and mental strength. The winner of the acidental capsize competion had 6 seperate dunkings (maybe more but I only saw 6) and the session ended with a few tows to get the boats back to the beach.

  Today I was on a workshop for taking people with disabilities climbing and abseiling. The course was held at Undercover Rock in Bristol. We looked at techniques for assisting partiall impaired climbers all the way through to hoists and systems for wheelchair users. We also looked at how to set up wheelchair abseils. This was a worthwhile day and hopefully I will get to use some of the techniques in the coming months.

Jonny practising jumping sticks Me enjoying the view across the Mendips Jonny demonstrating how to fall off for no reason Today I took Jonny, who is on my Instructor Training Scheme , out for some Off Road riding on The Mendips. We looked at what equipment to carry, riding up and down hills, braking and balance as well as front and rear wheel lifts. We spent the morning riding around Rowberrow Forest before heading up onto the open land above Tynnings Farm. After a spot of lunch we found some of the single track routes and had a play on those. There were a number of other cyclists, horse riders and walkers out enjoying the good weather. We made it back to the car and into Cheddar for coffee just before the rain came. Tomorrow we are heading to The Quantocks for some more 2 wheel fun

    Today I had another group of Students for Bridgwater College up at Wimbleball Lake. There was absolutely no wind so the students floated around at about 0.0005mph whilst Mark and I breifed them on the "5 essentials of sailing" and the "rules of the road". I am pleased to report that I have a lot more use of my right arm and was able to tie knots today. Looking forward to a full recovery in the next few days. Mountain Biking coming up over the weekend.

  Today I was again teaching Sailing at Wimbleball Lake for Bridgwater College, the added difficulty this week was that following the Adder incident, I still do not have the full use of my right arm. However, I was still able to do 99% of things, it was just tying some knots that defeated me. Wind was perfect today and both groups of students did well