Personally I would opt for a surf specific craft straight off rather than getting a boat that surfs ok and then changing it in, there are often several around second hand and older designs tend to not go for a lot of money. Denzil Agree with Denzil here, if you wanna surf then get a surf boat. Alth...

Basicly you guys have comfirmed what I thought, that its just down to personal paddling style..... so that makes me wonder about the kayak manufacturers advertising stances. Take Dagger for example, but others do the same. They tout the nomad as the big creeking boat and the mamba is advertised as ...

The Shranalong is my nearest decent run, cracking fun for an evening paddle with our summer downpours, lots of fun drops but a fecker of a walk up if you want to get them all in....but I'd guess only the Irish contingent on here will know what I'm talking about.

Looks like my wife is one lucky woman....I surf, climb and kayak......plus I've got a nice big camera...wooo, I'm a right catch!!

Must go a tell now how lucky she is.......

Ooh how I envy you! If you like outdoor swimming you've got all of the River Cam between Grantchester and Grantchester Meadows (see pics), as well as the Newnham River Swimming Club at the Meadows. Lucky guy!! This stretch of the Cam was the inspiration for "Grantchester Meadows" on Pink Floyd's Um...

Cheers folks, sounds like there's plenty of stuff to be getting on with between trips then.

Kinda be nice to be back in Blighty anyway, I've come to realise it's not that bad of a place afterall....god bless the NHS!!

garya wrote:We will be Seeing you at Broxbourne then ....?

Gary A

Oh yeah, never connected I would be close to there, are the plans looking like it could be good for playboating? I'm assuming the course designers are focusing on slalom, with it being for the olympics and everything!

Hi James, Cambridge isnt to bad, I live deeper in Norfolk! You have northampton white water course 40mins, nottingham is only an hour, north wales is about 3hrs, east coast surf which is actually not bad! Theres alot of us about always passing cambridge so your never short of lifts. Cool, cheers. I...

Soooo, after 5 years out of the UK it appears we might be re-locating to Cambridge with work. As I swore if we moved back to the UK I would never move south of Birmingham or east of Bristol this is going be a bit of a break from where I thought I would be...but I think it's time to grow up!! I see t...

Good idea, definitely a niche market though so maybe consider doing typical conversions as well as more specific sport ones. I've owned a couple of paddle wagons which have nothing to do with work (I'm a desk-jockey). Each one I've kitted out myself, mainly because the traditional kitted vans are co...

The Rosanna (or trisanna, I always get them mixed up)...it kinda starts, there's a bit in the middle, then it ends.

Oh and driving to (I can't really say paddling it) the Mayo Deel....because no matter how much rain Ireland gets this river NEVER has any water in it....

storm wrote:France /Spain should be fine at this time of year,save indo till the winter.
Steve

Why save Indo for the winter? That's the wet season in Indo and the surf aint as good. June to September is the best time for surfing if I recall correctly.

Steddy, The gf and I have been thinking about Indo for a surf trip. How was it in a kayak? I fancy the sun and warm water, but not if all the breaks are huge and intimidating. Andy When we were there the surf was unbelievable. We had a couple of weeks of good solid surf and then some calmer periods...

I'm not much use on the 'other half' stuff as my missus surfs but here are a few places I've been to that could work.... We went to Indo in mid-August for a month, bit further than your 8 hour flight but feck it's worth it. I reckon that's a difficult time for Europe just because it will be so busy....

and any adivce on loosing weight I seem to have put alot on but have been told not to cycle or kayak yet, and I have bad kneew so running isn't good for me. I have been swiming but seem to be gaining more wieght than anything even with a smaller less calorie intake diet. Every recovery is different...

Personally I couldn't careless if people wear helmets or not, it's up to them and I wouldn't try to convince them one way or another. I've been heading to the snow for over 20 years now, in the past 5 years my body armour is gradually increasing, I've got knee pads, elbow pads, padded pants, back br...

Colorado for us this year. Admittedly no paddling but lots of winter sports fun,......woooo!!

Pete you're nails!!

I regularly swim in Galway Bay, but I never get in before May and I would be out again after October....I have absolutely no idea how you keep going through the winter but fair play to ya!

I had the worst swim of my life on the Dora Baltea in high water in the late 90's. I forget the trip exactly but it was somewhere between Pre-st didier and Bombardon I think (probably not spelt properly). Lost all my kit, even my booties were pulled off, swam a loooooong way with no chance of rescue...

Conwy Rambler wrote: ....usually the numpties from over the border !!!!

What...they were French, my god man that's terrible!!!

ol wrote: 3) Based your future travel aspirations purely on countries with good whitewater.

I think that goes without saying, is there any other reason to travel??? I wouldn't plan to go anywhere that didn't have surf, snow, whitewater or mountain biking.

Sat in Caribou Coffee looking at clear blue skies wondering if it's ever going to snow and hearing about all the water back home.....

1 - break our behind a Ford Capri on the R. Rhondda
2 - canoe through a nudist camp and 'when in Rome' it
3 - pull the female instructor teaching you to open canoe and marry her 12 years later

How did Sunday's levels compare with these two ? These were taken 3rd December 2006 (We'd paddled the South Tyne, took these pics on my way home, so quite late in the day). There was a WWSR course at Wynch Bridge on this day too - they had just got off when I waded through the fields to take the pi...

As for the "History" that can be a can of worms, the Irish much like the Scots are a relaxed and easy going bunch whom all kinda get along as long as no one it totally irresponsible re use of rivers etc. The only places / people I have ever seen or encountered "issues" is what I call the hangover e...

James, I can only but guess you are on about the Bundorragha in Co. Mayo which I have paddled many many times during my time living /working close by. Delphi Lodge Adventure Centre do not own the river and no other river is / can be privately owned. I have been approached before by a guy from "Delp...

No you can't paddle on all Irish rivers. In some areas they are closed for the fishing season, this is definitely the case in Connemara. I know there are issues in other areas but I'm not 100% sure what the story is in all other regions.

That photo is also in the latest National geographic...didn't give as much detail though.

I wonder how they decided it was a hoax?

I live in Galway and surf up and down the west coast. To put it bluntly there is surf in all the west coast counties. However it does require a bit of search and discover because although there are well known and busy spots the Irish make a big effort not to mention other spots. Having said that it ...