Sea Kayak Self Rescue from Kokatat Watersports Wear on Vimeo.

In this short video from Canoe & Kayak, Paul Kuthe discusses sea kayak self rescues and demonstrates a ‘paddle float’ self rescue as well as a ‘re-enter & roll’ self rescue.

Paul Kuthe is the Programs Manager and Guide/Instructor for Alder Creek Kayak & Canoe in Portland, Oregon and is an extremely talented, multi-discipline paddler.

Useful Links

Paul Kuthe: Paul Kuthe’s Website
Alder Creek: Kayak, Canoe, Raft & SUP Website

SCC is a family run and owned Canoe and Kayak shop, we are passionate about our sport and offering the best impartial advice. We pride ourselves on customer service and customer satisfaction, our goal is to make sure everyone has a smile on their face when they come to visit us.

The shop stocks an impressive range of kit with more brands and equipment appearing all the time. In terms of canoes/kayaks, South Coast Canoes cover sea kayaking, touring, whitewater, sit on top and open canoes with many leading manufacturers represented. Sea Kayaking wise, P&H, Tahe Marine and Dagger kayaks were in stock when I visited along with Touring Kayaks that included Dagger and Islander Kayaks. Sit On Tops were available from Islander and Wilderness Systems.

In terms of PPE and accessories, Simon stocks kit from Peak UK, Typhoon and Palm, with paddles by Palm and Aquabound and is, I believe, also able to source from other brands such as Werner and Celtic Paddles. A very good range of other accessories from safety equipment to trolleys and roofracks were on display and cover a wide range of manufacturers. My visit was shortly after the store had opened and checking their website, the number of brands and items on sale seems to be growing on a weekly basis. As with all the best stores, Simon and his team are all keen paddlers:

All our staff are active paddlers and you can be assured of the very best advice whether you are looking to purchase your first canoe or kayak or are looking for some safety equipment and advice.

Over a decent cuppa and some very fancy biscuits, I had the chance to catch up with Simon and he has some very interesting plans for the future, including running events and courses through South Coast Canoes, from intro sessions through to BCU qualification courses.

Complementary to our sales we also offer a wide range of affordable and practical paddlesport courses to meet both your needs and your budget.

South Coast Canoes is also very active on social media, particularly their Facebook page and it is well worth following them to keep up to date with news, events, courses and the never ending stream of new stock!

Having got to know Simon a little bit over the years, mainly as I spent too much money with him on various kit, he is a very knowledgable paddler and keen to support and help paddlers of all disciplines and levels of ability. I look forward to seeing his new venture grow and develop and from personal experience am very happy to recommend South Coast Canoes.

Contact Details

14 Liberty Close
Woolsbridge Industrial Park
Three Legged Cross
Wimborne
Dorset
BH21 6SY

Tel: 01202 914224
Website: South Coast Canoes Website
Facebook: Facebook page

Opening Hours

Monday: 09:30 to 17:30
Tuesday: 09:30 to 17:30
Wednesday: CLOSED
Thursda:y 09:30 to 17:30
Friday: 09:30 to 17:30
Saturday: 10:00 to 17:00
Sunday: 10:00 to 16:00

Gallery

I managed to grab a few shots of the fireworks playing with the bulb mode and a cable release for the camera which I have shared below. After 30 minutes or so of impressive fireworks we headed back to Bucklers Hard and enjoyed a pint sat by the large open fire in the Master Builders Arms.. A great evening all round.

Gallery

The whole weekend was ace, I had met most of the group when I ran a 3* Sea Kayak Training for Tower Hamlets Canoe Club last year. They had enjoyed the weekend and decided to return for more coaching and fun.

We enjoyed two days based out of Freshwater Bay. Day one consisted of playing in and around the caves, rocks and stacks in the bay followed by an afternoon getting to grips with the surf. On the second day the group planned and undertook the trip to the Needles and back from Freshwater which provide excellent opportunities to play under the cliffs in some lumpy swell. We finished the day with coaching and practice of rescue and rolling in the bay. A fab weekend with a fab group of paddlers.

Photos

Useful Links

www.towerhamletscanoeclub.co.uk – Tower Hamlets Canoe Club Website
www.iow-seakayaking.co.uk – Isle of Wight Sea Kayaking Website

The Dorset Coast Forum are running a Poole Harbour Survey at the moment to understand the value of kayaking and canoeing to Poole Harbour (as well as 5 other recreational activities).

The Dorset Coast Forum asks:

We are asking people who have been kayaking/canoeing in Poole Harbour over the last year to complete our survey, and you can also enter the free prize draw to win one of three prizes – £125, £75 or £50 vouchers to spend in a watersports shop or with the National Trust.

More information about the results can be found on their website.

The survey is available to complete online.

Kayalu Gear sell a power suction mount system and a tough bar extension pole – a rigid pole with Ram mounts at each end and NClamps to attach to the suction mount at one end and the GoPro camera at the other end. The same equipment is included in the NavBeam system I have so simply removing the light provided everything I needed for the camera. The beauty of this is I only need to carry one system to cover both filming duties in the daytime and then lights for night paddling.

The suction mount is awesome and holds fast on smooth surfaces. Testing it on the bonnet of the car whilst driving proved nerve wracking but it coped perfectly at the lows speed of driving the track to the put in point for a paddle. On composite sea kayaks it holds beautifully on any flatter surface. Extreme curves on the hull will cause a problem however I was able to find multiple spots to mount on almost all the sea kayaks I tried the system on. On plastic kayaks, smooth surfaces allow the mount to grip however textured surfaces will not allow the seal required for the suction mount to function.

The tough bar combined with the NClamps allows for a great variety of different shooting positions and angles and is available in 8.5″, 10.5″ and 14.5″ lengths. With an NClamp at each end it is possible to have the camera set high, low, out to the side or at a wide variety of angles. There is very little movement through vibration in the tough bar when the NClamps are tightened correctly – a common issue with other extension bars. Even rolling with the camera extended on the tough bar provided footage with little movement.

However, there is always a chance that something could dislodge the system from the kayak so a retaining cord with stainless clip is clamped securely through the suction mount end of the system. The bungee cord used allows for some stretch with this ensure you can reach decklines or secure spots on the deck.

In terms of durability, all the Kayalu gear I have used and abused over the last 2-3 years has remained in perfect working order and stood up to all year round paddling in a wide range of conditions.

It seems my initial, positive impression of Kayalu Gear system is one echoed by a large number of of sea kayakers – take a look at the ‘buzz page’ of the kayalu website to see snippets and links to a wide range of reviews of the system. You can also see some of my initial footage in the P&H Hammer video I posted recently.

Images of Kayalu Gear Suction Mount System

Useful Links

www.kayalu.com – Kayalu Gear Website and online store.

The P&H Hammer is a very unique boat and a very interesting and in some ways tricky kayak to test and review as it is different to a traditional sea kayak. P&H describe the Hammer as:

…a radical new kayak primed to take ‘play the sea’ and river exploration to a whole new level. Influences from the P&H Delphin and the Pyranha Fusion and aspects of white-water kayak design feature in the Hammer; giving both sea and white-water paddlers the opportunity to have some serious fun.

As the video shows, it certainly has handling characteristics of a River boat in terms of it’s ability to spin quickly with limited paddle strokes thanks to it’s planning hull.

The next stage of the review process involves getting it into some lumpy water and surf as well as exploring some rock gardens, stacks and caves. Look out for the full review in issue 38 of Ocean Paddler Magazine but in the meantime, take a look at the P&H Hammer in action in the surf in the video below, shot by Simon Osbourne from Sea Kayaking Cornwall. It looks like amazing fun!

Images

A series of photos thanks to Steve Mead Productions.

Useful Links

www.phseakayaks.com – P&H Sea Kayaks website.
Neptune Rangers – interesting review, photos and short videos of the P&H Hammer in action.
Adrian Durrant – Short write up with photos and video of the P&H Hammer

Kayaking Kit are based just North of Fordingbridge. They stock a wide range of paddling equipment but have a particular focus on both Sea Kayaking and Surf Kayaking. They have packed a huge amount of stock into their shop including an impressive array of Zegul, Tahe Marine and other Sea Kayaks. Similarly, in the clothing, equipment and accessories section of the store, a large range of kit is on display including a number of unusual and very interesting brands alongside some of the more well known suppliers. Kayaking Kit also provide mail order via their website.

I spent an enjoyable hour or so browsing around and chatting to one of Kayaking Kit’s owners. The welcome is very warm and I was told a decent brew is always on offer – something I can confirm to be true! I was also invited to help ‘impact test’ a prototype of their new Venom Neutron X surf kayak by smashing it with a large hammer – impressively not a dent or scratch to be seen in the ‘Secret Surf-grade Polymer’ construction and not something you are often invited to do in a kayak shop. I intend to post up more details of the surf kayak separately for folks interested.

Gallery

A few other photos of the Kayaking Kit shop.

Contact Information

Unit 1, The Fairgate Centre
Fordingbridge
Hampshire
SP6 1LX

Tel: 0208 123 0739 (24/7)
Dir: 01425 655240 (Office Hrs)

www.kayakingkit.com – Website and online shop for Kayaking Kit

October 2013 will see the release of the next Sea Kayak with Gordon Brown DVD 3 which carries the subtitle ‘Navigation, Rolling and Dealing with Emergencies’. Gordon Brown and Simon Willis have been hard at work over the past months filming, editing and gathering feedback for the next in their multi-award winning instructional series and have today released the first trailer.

I’ve been lucky enough to have seen various sections of the DVD during the production process in order to help provide a little bit of feedback so it’s great to see how the content has been polished and honed over time and having watched the final review copy a number of times now I have to say it is an absolute cracker – a full review will follow shortly! For now, here is the trailer and a few more details about the DVD.

Trailer

Details

Sea Kayak with Gordon Brown Volume 3 consists of four separate films, covering key sea kayak techniques of navigation, rolling and dealing with emergencies. Leading up to the release date, four short free films are being made available on the Sea Kayak With Gordon Brown website.

Handling Emergency Situations is the most ambitious production in the series so far, involving teams from HM Coastguard, rescue helicopters and lifeboat crews.

Sea Kayak Navigation is co-presented by Franco Ferrero, author of the definitive manual on the subject, and covers from tidal basics to advanced course shaping with an emphasis on practical techniques to use on the water.

Rolling Clinic is a uniquely interactive series of films, in which Gordon coaches a group of complete beginners, demonstrates the most common mistakes, then shows how to fix each one. You can then diagnose your mistakes and learn how to fix your roll.

First Aid Kits is co-presented by Rowland Woollven of the Wilderness Emergency Medical Services Institute, who advises on what items kayakers should carry and how to deal with medical emergencies.

DVD Gallery

A few shots from the filming process and/or still shots from the DVD (click to enlarge)

Further Information

Sea Kayak With Gordon Brown DVD Website – Order copies of the DVD and view the free pre-release films via this website.
Simon Willis Website – Keep up to date with the latest news via Simon’s blog.

For those who have not come across Howard Jeffs, he has a long and established career as a sea kayak coach/guide as well as a boat designer and manufacturer. This includes time spent working for/with several well known brands including Valley and P&H.

Howard has transferred his knowledge of sea kayak construction, modification and repairs into designing a range of sea kayak repair kits containing tried and trusted components for effecting repairs on both composite and plastic sea kayaks.

Each kit is vacuum packed to ensure it is waterproof and the contents protected. Therefore, the smaller kits can be dropped straight into a deck hatch/bag or PFD pocket. The larger kits can be further protected by being placed in dry bags alongside other kit or simply tucked away into day, front or rear hatches as desired.

For each kit, Howard has created a fully illustrated, step-by-step instruction sheet which can be downloaded from his website. Where a repair kits contains items with a limited lifespan, epoxy resin for example, Howard is offering a replacement and re-vacuuming service at a nominal fee if the unused kit is returned to him.

A brilliant idea and superbly implemented – something well worth checking out. For folks who like their ‘gadgets’ the micro welding torch looks ace!

Repair Kits Available

The kits available are:

1. Micro Jet Gaz Torch Welding Kit
2. Composite Kayak Repair Kit
3. Flashband repair kit/
4. Denso tape repair kit/
5. EPOXY PUTTY/Pro Power GAFFA TAPE Repair Kit
6. Surf-wax/
7. Mini stretch wrap hatch/skeg repair kit/

Prices range from £2.50 to £27.50.

More Information

www.howardjeffs.com: Howard’s Website – repair kits found under ‘Resources & Shop’.

A Few Product Photos