Read The Water

A sea kayaker’s resource for interpreting wind, waves and current.

As paddlers you may have noticed that some days a familiar piece of water looks different. As coaches we often ask students if anything has changed, referring to the weather, wind, swell, tide, current or sea conditions. This ability to observe and understand /read the changes in conditions is imperative to a good leader/guide or competent paddler. So how do we get this insight and the ability to read the tell tale signs that the sea/sky is giving us, and recognise that something is different and understand what the difference means. The aim of this book is to develop your tools and skill of observation, thus helping you to read the sea and become a barometer to the changes that occur.

The book includes the following chapters:

• The Fundamentals. Wind and waves, tide and current
• Planning for and navigating by change / pilotage
• How to observe
• The surf environment
• Wind and weather
• Moving water, current and around the rocks

Sea Kayaking Guide to Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion

Updated and now in colour, this guide gives you the essential information needed to paddle the coastline of West Wales.

The book distils the experience and knowledge of three local paddlers who between them, have over 120 years’ experience of paddling the local waters!

Access and tidal stream information, transport and camping details, together with background on wildlife, geology, legends and local history make this an essential guide for anyone planning day trips or longer expeditions along this coast.

Expedition Skills by Olly Sanders and Nige Robinson

This is an excellent showcase of the considerable knowledge and expertise L5 coaches Olly and Nige have amassed over the years on sea kayaking expeditions.

Contained within 20 chapters that include generic headings from ‘Planning,’ ‘Nutrition,’ and ‘First Aid’ all the way through to much more sea kayaking-specific topics such as ‘Paddling Kit’, ‘Packing, Fuel, Food and Fluids’ in your sea kayak and ‘Wildlife’ – which covers how to prevent and deal with bear encounters – it is a truly comprehensive guide to the skills required for any sort of sea kayaking expedition, however tame or ambitious it is.

There is considerable input from a wide range of coaches and other expedition paddlers on Expedition Skills, with names such as Loel Collins, Nigel Dennis, Ray Goodwin, Howard Jeffs and Doug Cooper being amongst the many to have been interviewed or involved and who offer their advice.

Nige was keen to stress that ‘from the beginning [the DVD was] aimed at everybody. Even though the majority of it is shot in Greenland, those skills are generic, and apply even if it is a group of mates out for a weekend along the coast somewhere around the UK.’ Olly added that ‘the subject of this DVD has been a sort of passion of mine, I do a lot of expedition paddling, and I don’t feel like there’s anything else out there that caters for people who want to have that next adventure… Hopefully it gives you skills to go away with that are different to the generic coaching syllabus stuff.’

This DVD certainly does all of these things: whether you are a casual hobbyist who enjoys a paddle with friends at the weekend, or a more experienced sea kayaker who really wants to step up your game with a longer and more committed trip, there is something here for you.

Yes, it’s packed-out with practical information and tips; our feeling, though, is that one of the real bonuses of this DVD is the inspiration it offers for you to go in search of that adventure.

Sea Kayaking

Sea Kayaking, which is one of the oldest forms of transport, provides a diversity of exhilarating opportunities, including long sea crossings, ground-breaking expeditions to isolated areas, playing in the surf, journeying to remote beaches, or simply using the kayak as a platform from which to observe the fauna and flora of coastal waters.