There is always one campfire story that stands out; a sea kayaking adventure to find the mysterious Shangri-La of paddling that we all dream about. A place that is remote and untouched, surrounded in mystery and yet if found offers the sea kayaker a place that approaches perfection.

I am sure we have all enjoyed a day out when we are being challenged by the environment or conditions and having our paddling skills stretched. It is times like these when our skills are most likely to develop, but it is also times like these when we end up asking ourselves – how can I get better!

The Autumn is upon us and with that comes ‘storm season’, so for those still keen to get out on the sea there’s going to be time spent paddling in the wind over the coming months. For many the thought of sea kayaking in the wind, and certainly trying to turn your kayak in the wind, just brings memories of hard work, turns of a thousand strokes and the trusty sea kayak seeming to have a mind of its own that often is not wanting to do the same as the paddler!

Paddling around Skye recently with a long-term friend, we could not help but laugh at ourselves and ask: ‘Are we finally getting old!?’. It was partly to do with the aching joints when getting out of the kayak at the end of the day, partly due to the need for camp chairs to support our tired backs,

We’ve all been there; the date for a week’s sea paddling has been in the diary for months, guide books have been studied and inspiration has been gained, a great group of people are coming together for a special week and you can’t wait to get started. Then, in the days before the planned trip it is becoming more and more apparent there is going to be a big spanner in the works – the weather!