So, here we are, two and a bit weeks and the adventure is over. But what an adventure! First things first, we've learnt a lot. Mainly that it's very easy to be over-ambitious when planning routes and daily distances while nice and cosy in front of a fire in winter. Hindsight is always crystal clear, and our original plan of 15-18 mile days was too much, especially with only one rest day planned in halfway. However, what was achieved was still pretty amazing, considering Sara only started paddling in Febuary, and most of her on-water time has been on canals, where you don't get affected by winds, tides, swell and chop.
As her support boat skipper I watched her push herself to her absolute limit, mentally and physically. I've known Sara for 8 years now, we were housemates and University and best friends since, and I think I've experienced more swearing and tears in these past 2 weeks than in that whole period! But there was also plenty of laughter to go with it; I'm sure Sara and her mother Christina won't forget the surprised and slightly anxious look on the face of the owner of the very nice restaurant in the small Cornish village of Coverack when I asked for a Macchiato coffee..."Right, OK, I think we can do those...let me check the book..."!
A few thank yous need to be said. First of all to Christina; without her organisational (and VW-camper van driving!) skills, it would have been a near impossible project. Then to all the people who have helped us along the way, from equipment discounts, campsite discounts, free moorings, free pastys, the loaning of 2 support boats to all the smiles and good luck wishes along the way. And last but not least, to all those who donated, and helped us break our target. Thank you to you all.
So, what's next? In the short term one of us is having a few days in Spain, while the other is back to work. Enjoy yourself Sara, you deserve it! In the long term, Sara will be moving to the Isles of Scilly in mid-July as the volunteer vet nurse, and more than likely dreaming up next year's crazy adventure!
So that's all from me. Just one special thank you to go, to my best friend Sara for inviting me to be party of this whole thing, it's been a blast! And well done you :-)
Skipper Dan, out.
Monday, 14 June 2010
Tuesday, 8 June 2010
Island time
And so here we are, on the Isles of Scilly, 28 miles South West of Lands End and the mainland. Had a reasonably smooth crossing in my opinion (had rougher Dover-Calais trips!) although the bundles of rather cold and ill looking school kids huddled at the back of the boat would probably have disagreed!
The whole of arrival day treated us to nothing but rain, and was spent in foul weather sailing gear! Got the kayak all safely unpacked though, along with quick visits to the airport cafe to visit Sara's friends Nigel and Carol (who are very kindly putting us up for this week!) and the vet practice to say hello to Heike, before doing a quick interview for Radio Scilly. A lovely evening spent in the pub finished off the day quite nicely.
This morning dawned nice and bright, the forecast rain only appearing for a brief 10 minute shower. After a quick introduction to the boat we set off for the 3 mile crossing to Bryher island. Had a decent and smooth crossing, unfortunately just missing lunch time at the cafe we were aiming for! But managed to find some pasties to have on the beach along with ice creams :)
The afternoon plan was Sara kayaking round to the East side of Tresco, before leaving the kayak in the sand dunes for the evening and heading back to St Marys by boat. Tomorrow we'll be going from Tresco over to St Martins and looking around there, before doing St Martins to St Marys on Thursday.
Less miles per day gives us time to relax a little more, and Sara's body a little more time to recover! Today, the sunshine, gin clear waters and white sandy beaches definitely showed why Sara is happy to be moving here!
That's all from us for the time being, signing off and heading to the pub! Cheerio!
Skipper Dan
The whole of arrival day treated us to nothing but rain, and was spent in foul weather sailing gear! Got the kayak all safely unpacked though, along with quick visits to the airport cafe to visit Sara's friends Nigel and Carol (who are very kindly putting us up for this week!) and the vet practice to say hello to Heike, before doing a quick interview for Radio Scilly. A lovely evening spent in the pub finished off the day quite nicely.
This morning dawned nice and bright, the forecast rain only appearing for a brief 10 minute shower. After a quick introduction to the boat we set off for the 3 mile crossing to Bryher island. Had a decent and smooth crossing, unfortunately just missing lunch time at the cafe we were aiming for! But managed to find some pasties to have on the beach along with ice creams :)
The afternoon plan was Sara kayaking round to the East side of Tresco, before leaving the kayak in the sand dunes for the evening and heading back to St Marys by boat. Tomorrow we'll be going from Tresco over to St Martins and looking around there, before doing St Martins to St Marys on Thursday.
Less miles per day gives us time to relax a little more, and Sara's body a little more time to recover! Today, the sunshine, gin clear waters and white sandy beaches definitely showed why Sara is happy to be moving here!
That's all from us for the time being, signing off and heading to the pub! Cheerio!
Skipper Dan
Sunday, 6 June 2010
Week One Complete!!
We did indeed get stuck in Coverack for a day. With big swell and big winds the RIB got moved out of the bay into the harbour for safe keeping.
We set off on Friday morning for Porthleven but large chop that had not yet dispersed from the previous night put paid to kayaking about a mile out. With myself and the kayak loaded up Dan took us expertly around The Lizard and, wouldn't you believe it, as we pulled into Porthleven the winds dropped off and the sea flattened out!
After pasties and a good night sleep we set off from Porthleven on Saturday, Penzance bound. Conditions weren't ideal but weren't bad so we decided to give it a go. We made great progress to Praa Sands and then got a tad mullered by the off shore winds. After a cheeky 1 mile tow across the bay into the more sheltered Mounts Bay I paddled hard for St Michael's Mount. In strong headwinds I made it to 1 mile outside Penzance harbour. At this point the wind really picked up and made any further progress impossible. With aching muscles from a hard days paddle Dan piled myself and the kayak into the RIB for the last time and we headed into harbour. It may not have been the finish we were all hoping for, but we made it in - safe and sound.
At the end of this first week it seems like a good time to do a bit of reflection, so here goes...........
This project was ambitious from the start, and it has certainly tested limits both mentally and physically. There have been ups and downs, and I'm sure there will be more as we head into the second week, but it's all worth it. What is has done is reaffirm how lucky I am to have such wonderful people in my life. Without Mum or Dan this project could never have gone ahead. It is a team effort right down to the core. I truly have amazing friends and family. Dan, Kerri and I are a tripod that I'm sure will be found in the same nursing home when we are old and knackered comparing notes on practical jokes played on the unsuspecting staff, I will always be grateful for their love and support. Also my Mum is amazing! She gives so much and asks for so little in return. She is a fantastic parent and also a tremendous friend. This project has also given rise to new friendships, and that is always lovely!
A lesson I have learnt is that it is important to focus on the good, the bits you can do or have done, and not necessarily the bad. I am a great one for cheering on others and berating myself for not doing better. Yes, I may have finished paddling just 1 mile off the finish line but hey! I got to within 1 mile of the finish line -that means a previous 7 miles of paddling that day and I am proud of those previous 7 miles. There were those along the way who were quite rude about our efforts (the campsite owner who declared "kayaking doesn't take it out of you!" was a particular favourite) but in the main people have been fantastically friendly and helpful. 2 campsite owners gave us discounts because they felt the project was worth supporting, people like that are the ones worth remembering. Kayaking does take it out of you. In this past week I have done 46 miles powered solely by my own physical strength (and a little bit of tidal lift!), that's no mean feat!! I'm proud of myself and I am very much looking forward to seeing a chiropractor!!!!
So here we go, 2 days without paddling (but plenty of packing, re-packing and faffing!) and then it's island hopping time! Again each day is sea dependant, safety is paramount, but we hope to make it to each of the inhabited islands of Scillonia. I'll keep you as posted as I can!
Sara x
We set off on Friday morning for Porthleven but large chop that had not yet dispersed from the previous night put paid to kayaking about a mile out. With myself and the kayak loaded up Dan took us expertly around The Lizard and, wouldn't you believe it, as we pulled into Porthleven the winds dropped off and the sea flattened out!
After pasties and a good night sleep we set off from Porthleven on Saturday, Penzance bound. Conditions weren't ideal but weren't bad so we decided to give it a go. We made great progress to Praa Sands and then got a tad mullered by the off shore winds. After a cheeky 1 mile tow across the bay into the more sheltered Mounts Bay I paddled hard for St Michael's Mount. In strong headwinds I made it to 1 mile outside Penzance harbour. At this point the wind really picked up and made any further progress impossible. With aching muscles from a hard days paddle Dan piled myself and the kayak into the RIB for the last time and we headed into harbour. It may not have been the finish we were all hoping for, but we made it in - safe and sound.
At the end of this first week it seems like a good time to do a bit of reflection, so here goes...........
This project was ambitious from the start, and it has certainly tested limits both mentally and physically. There have been ups and downs, and I'm sure there will be more as we head into the second week, but it's all worth it. What is has done is reaffirm how lucky I am to have such wonderful people in my life. Without Mum or Dan this project could never have gone ahead. It is a team effort right down to the core. I truly have amazing friends and family. Dan, Kerri and I are a tripod that I'm sure will be found in the same nursing home when we are old and knackered comparing notes on practical jokes played on the unsuspecting staff, I will always be grateful for their love and support. Also my Mum is amazing! She gives so much and asks for so little in return. She is a fantastic parent and also a tremendous friend. This project has also given rise to new friendships, and that is always lovely!
A lesson I have learnt is that it is important to focus on the good, the bits you can do or have done, and not necessarily the bad. I am a great one for cheering on others and berating myself for not doing better. Yes, I may have finished paddling just 1 mile off the finish line but hey! I got to within 1 mile of the finish line -that means a previous 7 miles of paddling that day and I am proud of those previous 7 miles. There were those along the way who were quite rude about our efforts (the campsite owner who declared "kayaking doesn't take it out of you!" was a particular favourite) but in the main people have been fantastically friendly and helpful. 2 campsite owners gave us discounts because they felt the project was worth supporting, people like that are the ones worth remembering. Kayaking does take it out of you. In this past week I have done 46 miles powered solely by my own physical strength (and a little bit of tidal lift!), that's no mean feat!! I'm proud of myself and I am very much looking forward to seeing a chiropractor!!!!
So here we go, 2 days without paddling (but plenty of packing, re-packing and faffing!) and then it's island hopping time! Again each day is sea dependant, safety is paramount, but we hope to make it to each of the inhabited islands of Scillonia. I'll keep you as posted as I can!
Sara x
Wednesday, 2 June 2010
Ups and Downs of being at sea
We haven't had as much time to update as possible so apologies for those of you following our progress. Here is a brief run down of the past 4 days which will be expanded on at the weekend.
Day 1 launch from Saltash: A fab run down the Tamar, we did that in just 40ish minutes! We nipped into Cawsand for lunch and then headed back out rounding Rame Head and into Whitsand Bay. Unfortunately, over halfway across a nasty chop set up and exhaustion crept into the picture. 6.9 miles off Looe the guys loaded myself and Lowen (the kayak!) into the rib and we headed for our mooring. All in all about 11 miles paddled so not too bad. Mixed conditions and I really appreciated how important the guys were to this project.
From here on in we were living in a VW camper, 1979 model, very well driven by Mum! She has been a legend, arranging moorings and getting us from place to place. Again, it makes me realise how without a good team with you, projects like this just don't work. Well Done Mum!!
Day 3: Blown out! The guys took the RIB around the Dodman to Falmouth whilst Mum and I drove the kayak topped van round. The winds were just too strong, and conditions too rough for kayaking. However, we had a lovely fun chillaxing afternoon in Falmouth, soaking and steaming our aching bodies at the local pool. We unfortunately said goodbye to Jim that evening as he headed back to work. Deserter!! (Not really, his efforts were greatly appreciated, as was the banter and the view!)
Day 4: Dan and I launched from Falmouth at 1:30pm and stormed round to Coverack in just 2.5 hours!! I was averaging about 3.5 knots and the conditions were great!! The paddle boarding in from the rib to beach from our mid-bay morring was hilarious!! Video to follow!!
So here we are having dinner just tapping into the restaurant wi-fi. More updates will follow at the weekend, or sooner if we can manage it. Wish I had a camera right now though, the proprietor's face when Dan asked for a Macchiato was priceless!! (Me and my fancy London ways!! - Dan)
An expanded version of these days will follow at some point, as will pictures and video. Keeping our fingers crossed, but tomorrow doesn't look good for The Liazard. Ah well, we'll see what we can do!
Sara x
Day 1 launch from Saltash: A fab run down the Tamar, we did that in just 40ish minutes! We nipped into Cawsand for lunch and then headed back out rounding Rame Head and into Whitsand Bay. Unfortunately, over halfway across a nasty chop set up and exhaustion crept into the picture. 6.9 miles off Looe the guys loaded myself and Lowen (the kayak!) into the rib and we headed for our mooring. All in all about 11 miles paddled so not too bad. Mixed conditions and I really appreciated how important the guys were to this project.
- Definition: The Guys Dan Webb and James "Call Me Jim" (or was it Jim "Call Me James?!!) Evans who very kindly gave up paid work to potter alongside a slow moving kayak with a sometimes grumpy paddler and pull said paddler out of the water when disaster/bad conditions/exhaustion hit. HEROES!!!
From here on in we were living in a VW camper, 1979 model, very well driven by Mum! She has been a legend, arranging moorings and getting us from place to place. Again, it makes me realise how without a good team with you, projects like this just don't work. Well Done Mum!!
Day 3: Blown out! The guys took the RIB around the Dodman to Falmouth whilst Mum and I drove the kayak topped van round. The winds were just too strong, and conditions too rough for kayaking. However, we had a lovely fun chillaxing afternoon in Falmouth, soaking and steaming our aching bodies at the local pool. We unfortunately said goodbye to Jim that evening as he headed back to work. Deserter!! (Not really, his efforts were greatly appreciated, as was the banter and the view!)
Day 4: Dan and I launched from Falmouth at 1:30pm and stormed round to Coverack in just 2.5 hours!! I was averaging about 3.5 knots and the conditions were great!! The paddle boarding in from the rib to beach from our mid-bay morring was hilarious!! Video to follow!!
So here we are having dinner just tapping into the restaurant wi-fi. More updates will follow at the weekend, or sooner if we can manage it. Wish I had a camera right now though, the proprietor's face when Dan asked for a Macchiato was priceless!! (Me and my fancy London ways!! - Dan)
An expanded version of these days will follow at some point, as will pictures and video. Keeping our fingers crossed, but tomorrow doesn't look good for The Liazard. Ah well, we'll see what we can do!
Sara x
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
Bye Bye Bristol, for now
Tomorrow I am heading down to Cornwall after collecting 'Lowen', the official PaddleFree kayak from the Family Adventure Store. It's time to say goodbye to the big city and head for home!
First on the Cornish agenda will be plenty of hugs, both human and canine. Followed up by a 2 day sea saftey course with SeaKayakingCornwall. This is extremely important as, although we have a safety boat every step of the way, knowing how to rescue yourself and deal with tricky situations properly is literally life saving knowledge. The sea can be a dangerous and unforgiving environment and should not be underestimated. We all want to complete this challenge but rest assured we are erring on the side of caution every time!
The support for the porject is really growing now and we owe a lot of that to my mum, Christina. She has been doing a massive PR push down in Cornwall and is even negotiating a pasty sponsorship with Barnacutts Pasties!! How groovy will that be!!
Anyways, I'm off to pack (I hate packing!) and have my last session with Sam at PT-Troop headquaters. Hopefully I will escape this session ache free, but I doubt it!
Sara x
First on the Cornish agenda will be plenty of hugs, both human and canine. Followed up by a 2 day sea saftey course with SeaKayakingCornwall. This is extremely important as, although we have a safety boat every step of the way, knowing how to rescue yourself and deal with tricky situations properly is literally life saving knowledge. The sea can be a dangerous and unforgiving environment and should not be underestimated. We all want to complete this challenge but rest assured we are erring on the side of caution every time!
The support for the porject is really growing now and we owe a lot of that to my mum, Christina. She has been doing a massive PR push down in Cornwall and is even negotiating a pasty sponsorship with Barnacutts Pasties!! How groovy will that be!!
Anyways, I'm off to pack (I hate packing!) and have my last session with Sam at PT-Troop headquaters. Hopefully I will escape this session ache free, but I doubt it!
Sara x
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
Countdown!
Well, we did it! The PaddleFree team successfully completed the Bristol 10k on May 9th 2010. Dan was the first in with a time of 59:06 (what a legend!), I came in at 1h:12:20 and Kerri's time was 1h:15:47. Awesome effort all round!!
The day was quite cool, and standing in the 'holding pens' for 45 mins waiting for our start raised more than a few goosebumps! But the cool breeze was very welcome during the run as was the support of the spectators that lined the route. We had celebratory champagne and roast dinner after a well earned shower, and ended the day with an indoor Pimm's pinic (by this time the clouds were spitting at us!) and a film. All in all it was an enjoyable day! I'm not too sure I like the rumblings coming from Dan's direction though, a half marathon in September?!?! Maybe next year!
So now it's down to the paddling business. With less than 20 days to go I take delivery of the kayak this week and have finalised the equipment list. A sea safety course is next on the agenda and then.................we're off!
We're trying ahrd to get media interest and hopefully that should pick up soon. I finish work this week and so will have more time to dedicate to the project. Trying to organise PaddleFree and hold down a full time job, plus out of work commitments hasn't been easy. In fact at times it's seemed damned near impossible. Delegation is the key and now that I have stopped being a crazy control freak the project is running a lot smoother!
Hopefully some more videos to come soon and some more sea practice too.
Sara x
The day was quite cool, and standing in the 'holding pens' for 45 mins waiting for our start raised more than a few goosebumps! But the cool breeze was very welcome during the run as was the support of the spectators that lined the route. We had celebratory champagne and roast dinner after a well earned shower, and ended the day with an indoor Pimm's pinic (by this time the clouds were spitting at us!) and a film. All in all it was an enjoyable day! I'm not too sure I like the rumblings coming from Dan's direction though, a half marathon in September?!?! Maybe next year!
So now it's down to the paddling business. With less than 20 days to go I take delivery of the kayak this week and have finalised the equipment list. A sea safety course is next on the agenda and then.................we're off!
We're trying ahrd to get media interest and hopefully that should pick up soon. I finish work this week and so will have more time to dedicate to the project. Trying to organise PaddleFree and hold down a full time job, plus out of work commitments hasn't been easy. In fact at times it's seemed damned near impossible. Delegation is the key and now that I have stopped being a crazy control freak the project is running a lot smoother!
Hopefully some more videos to come soon and some more sea practice too.
Sara x
Thursday, 6 May 2010
Run, run as fast as you can................
The Bristol 10k race is just 3 sleeps away! Dan, Kerri and I have all been training (although probably not as much as we should have!) and the day is almost upon us. Kerri and I went for a practice 10k last weekend and managed it in a very respectable 1hr 10mins. Hopefully we can replicate that on Sunday. Whatever the outcome we have Champagne, Pimms and strawberries waiting for us on completion. A Pimms pinic on Bristol downs after a good physical challenge, what more could we ask for?!?!
The project is stepping up a pace now and I love it!! We have 23 days til launch day and yesterday I sorted out one of the most important aspects going.......................the kayak!!!! It may have been left to, almost, the last minute but we finally have a kayak. A beautiful Wilderness Systems Tempest 170 Pro, sorted out by the Family Adventure Store. What fantastic people they are! They have been putting up with my crazy for 5 months now and remain as resolutely helpful and cheerful as they were that first day I walked into their store. If anyone needs any helps with paddle based activities, these are the guys to see. Check out the link to them on the PaddleFree home page (www.paddlefree.co.uk). Can't wait to get my boat out on the water and start getting comfy in her (the adjustable, padded seat should help with that!).
Christina is busy sorting out our on land accommodation and it looks like we have another company willing to give us a good deal to support the project. More on that to follow later........
Dan is hard at work securing permission for our mooring sites. He assures me he knows who to talk to and what to say. We might find ourselves a tad adrift otherwise!
There is certainly still alot left to do before we launch, but it all seems well in hand. A far cry from the panic ridden days of a few weeks ago. Decent sleep, a bit of perspective and the mass of support we have been getting are making it easy for the fear to subside and the excitment to burst through.
Expect a race day update. Anyone taking bets on who comes in first?!? My money's on Kerri personally, but we'll see how the day pan's out. Our 'wave' start running at 9:30am, starting from @Bristol in the Millenium Square. If any of you are around that area on Sunday 9th, keep an eye out for the PaddleFree logo, we will all be wearing our official t-shirts.
Sara x
The project is stepping up a pace now and I love it!! We have 23 days til launch day and yesterday I sorted out one of the most important aspects going.......................the kayak!!!! It may have been left to, almost, the last minute but we finally have a kayak. A beautiful Wilderness Systems Tempest 170 Pro, sorted out by the Family Adventure Store. What fantastic people they are! They have been putting up with my crazy for 5 months now and remain as resolutely helpful and cheerful as they were that first day I walked into their store. If anyone needs any helps with paddle based activities, these are the guys to see. Check out the link to them on the PaddleFree home page (www.paddlefree.co.uk). Can't wait to get my boat out on the water and start getting comfy in her (the adjustable, padded seat should help with that!).
Christina is busy sorting out our on land accommodation and it looks like we have another company willing to give us a good deal to support the project. More on that to follow later........
Dan is hard at work securing permission for our mooring sites. He assures me he knows who to talk to and what to say. We might find ourselves a tad adrift otherwise!
There is certainly still alot left to do before we launch, but it all seems well in hand. A far cry from the panic ridden days of a few weeks ago. Decent sleep, a bit of perspective and the mass of support we have been getting are making it easy for the fear to subside and the excitment to burst through.
Expect a race day update. Anyone taking bets on who comes in first?!? My money's on Kerri personally, but we'll see how the day pan's out. Our 'wave' start running at 9:30am, starting from @Bristol in the Millenium Square. If any of you are around that area on Sunday 9th, keep an eye out for the PaddleFree logo, we will all be wearing our official t-shirts.
Sara x
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