We often think that the weather and destination are the key to a great paddling trip. But is that always the case? I believe that the perfect ingredients for a great trip are much more…
For over 30 years I have been happy paddling fibreglass/diolen construction sea kayaks, many of which I have chosen to get made up in a more robust ‘heavy weight’ layup for work and expeditions. This has all changed now though, with my current mantra being ‘light is right’…
I thought you’d be interested to hear what I’ve been up to in arguably the best sea kayaking destination on the planet…
I often wonder what is the essence of a good multi day paddling trip; for me is it the sense of the unknown and associated ‘uncertainty’ that is why I always look forward to them so much and why are they such a uniquely different experience to any other form of paddling I do.
Wild Isles Sea Kayaking offers bespoke courses, trips and expeditions on Scotland’s spectacular west coast.
Clearwater Paddling runs exceptional week long guided sea kayak trips throughout the Outer Hebrides. Wild camping, Lodge based and tall ship adventures
Wilderness Scotland offers unforgettable outdoor adventures in Scotland’s wild places with expert guides, handpicked accommodation, and unique itineraries.
It will often start at home with ‘what will I take?’ and ‘will it all fit?’ and then culminate at the launch site with ‘how do I get it all in my kayak?’ and ‘where should I put it?’. All being well this will conclude with a ‘packing done’ celebration (we can all relate to that!); but over the years I have also experienced the ‘it doesn’t fit horror’ which leads to what must I leave behind; or it all fits but is all in the wrong place and a constant re-shuffle and distribution of kit is required during the trip.
If you are anything like me, during those dark winter evenings time is spent day-dreaming about future paddling trips, expeditions and aspirations; all of these with the warm feeling of the sun on my back and an expansive horizon in the far distance. How often do these dreams and aspirations actually become reality though?
We soon realised that this trip was very much about feeding the soul and not feeding the rat; words a good friend shared with me helped frame the trip’s objective: “We are called human ‘beings’ not human ‘doings’; we therefore need to make time to just ‘be’ a little more”. So as our kayaks loaded with seven days supplies left the shore, we set off with an objective of just ‘being’.
