205-210 and smallish blades for everyday and 192 and big blades at play surfing or a in a tide race, I am 1.7m, mostly I use a wood gp that is around 210, with the adjustable inuksuk I find into a strong wind I prefer as short as possible 205 I think but mostly 210-215

Paddling on a club weekend at Poole the forecast was for F3-4 becoming F8 around 7pm, shortly after a gale warning by the CG on VHF it came on very suddenly as SW F9 (checked afterwards) at 13.00. We were in two groups, an 'advanced' who were doing a longer paddle around Brownsea and a less active w...

Anyone anything to say on the Peak Ocean Wrap BA, for instance how does the usefulness of the pockets compare to the Kaikoura. Searching online I cannot find a real review, just the reworked manufacturers blurb.

I started off in a Dagger vesper a low volume 14'6 plastic boat. Paddled it everywhere, learnt to roll etc. but I love my Anas acuta and have done for years.

11.5ft will be significantly slower and will feel like harder work, that's not necessarily a problem if you just want to paddle for a few hours rather than actually going somewhere You will always want to go faster for short distances even if on a vey lazy paddle. To go against the tide running aro...

Depends how much you will be doing, you will quickly grow out of the Perception but the Virgo will allow some skill development in varied conditions before you feel the need for something more responsive.

I've made an akuilisaq for ocean cockpit which is simple once you have a pattern, getting the sinuous curve on the doubled fabric that makes a slightly sloping slight oval cockpit fit is easier with a bit of scrap fabric than trying to calculate. I stitched the cockpit rim section then threaded the ...

Guarantees are no good at all if you are on a months expedition, robust fabrics may crease and so wear through on the creases and fail faster than a cheap fabric. When you find something that suits your paddling style, love it whatever it looks like. ..and carry some tested repair kit.

http://paddleswithananasacuta.blogspot.com/2010/11/ships-that-pass-in-night.html A diffused dive marker light (like tectite) mounted in a plastic tube poked down your rehydration back pocket so maybe 50cm above your head is truly all round and visible much further away as verified by night exercise...

What care we boys / how white the Minch is?
What care we boys / of windy weather
when we know that / every inch is
sailing homeward / to Mingulay?

A couple of hours kip after a bumpy rounding of Barra Head

or in the arctic summer on a day off from paddling, any excuse for 40 winks

Catching up when you can on expedition, if the tide is dropping with 2 hours to LW and the sun is out, time for a good 4 hours out like a log in a comfy spot

If you have an ocean cockpit there are lots of options for a bomb proof home made akuilisaq, like neoprene lined nylon, breathable cordura, check out Point North, or I like this PVC fabric: P9 PVC Coated Polyester from Pennine outdoor and it can be glued with plumbers PVC cement so no stitch holes. ...

Disko Bay, Greenland has really neat tides, just look at the curves. At neaps the 2 tides each day are much the same, but then one gets bigger and bigger while the other stays at neap levels, high high, low low, small high, small low. Then they come back together again at neaps and the one that stay...

top tip for turning on a sixpence into the wind be it f4 or F8 -buy an Anas acuta

It is easy to add a latex seal inside a neoprene one, at least with the Peak, I might have described how in a previous post. I liked the neoprene for touring but then had a prolonged swim in a cave after being squeezed by swell against the roof. By the time I'd swum to suitably friendly water to get...

I take it as the wind blowing over the tide as it rolls towards the wind, if they are in the same direction the wind is clearly with the tide, coming back to the original post; I generally keep my mouth closed and don't mind the spray, surfing it is always wet once wave eats you up. Snow is another ...

Your body normally tells you what it wants, I just go with it. If it needs pork pies that is the only thing you will notice in the shop. On a long trip I find I lose about 100g per day body weight, only 1kg every 10 days, so sustainable for several weeks, trying to take more food and eat more doesn'...

You have to think about other people as well. In a rough water rescue a rudder is a complete liability, easily damaging a rescuers boat or inflicting injuries, tangling in towlines. Landing in surf or on rocks, once again it greatly complicates getting a boat clear of the waves. We worry a lot about...

There is also something about the 'catch' allowing time for water to reform nicely around the paddle before starting the stroke, my stroke has a tendency to be outwards from the boat rather than a parallel pulling myself past it.

One boat to do it all -the Aa..... if you are 65kg or less. I've ben lazy with my blog over the last couple of years, but still paddling. http://paddleswithananasacuta.blogspot.com/

Well the response is out and little changed! As long as you have a volunteer who loves paperwork and some 'certified' i.e. BC coaches your club might be able to keep its affiliation. We are looking for alternatives to keep running as a specialist sea club. A pity since our membership grows and grows...

Valley sent me a couple of the old style mushrooms free of charge when mine disintegrated from UV and old age. The wire they run on is only just glassed in at one end so can be eased out to slide a new one on and then re-glassed in. It is so quick to change a skeg wire that I just carry a spare cut ...

The original with the bar inside was a superb boat, I don't like the smaller triple layer quite so much, but in our club they are by far the most popular of the club boats for people of all sizes. Just a good all rounder with no vices (unless it be the Valley hatch covers, but they can be replaced b...

I've had some really cack-handed warnings and advice from highly qualified coaches who had blinkers on when it came to Greenland sticks. On my 4* assessment the assessor engineered an upwind race to prove that a GP was unsuitable for a 4* leader -he lost! and that was after the 'throw the paddle aw...

After a beach wrist injury paddling around Corsica I taped my wrist/hand to the paddle and managed well with little grip for a few days using the greenland paddle. After I went back to a weak grip I mentally practised the elbow crook role as I doubted I'd keep hold of the paddle. Start off slowly on...

That is the big ones, I've measured ours and the 600 is 17.5cm width and the 650 18cm width. Judicious use of heat often softens the glue enough to allow removal. You have nothing to lose, a hairdryer might work, a hot air gun will certainly have some effect.

I think a beginner should try out all the options and a bit of single blade as well, all the skills are transferable. Forward paddling the Greenland paddles need better technique, just trying to shovel water will not get you along at all, although with a euroblade the beginner will manage 6NM so eur...

Sadly the Shipping Forecast is no longer available as a WAP push, always my favourite in those off-grid areas. If you could get an SMS you could get the WAP push and such value, only 2Kb for the entire forecast including inshore waters. My emergency brick type waterproof phone can choose between WAP...

150 ml per hour in a rear compartment in a calm sea. Could the vaccuum generated when the hull cools with the boat in the water be pulling a bit of water through the skeg box too?? The mysteries of water in the hatches...... We had an Anas acuta from the 1990s that had never leaked a drop for 25 ye...