Stand up Paddleboard Coaching

British Canoeing have developed a discipline support module for those coaches who want to be involved with Stand up Paddleboarding and, in my opinion, it is one of the most sensible developments of the last few years.  Allowing existing paddle sport coaches who have experience of SUP, to train so that they can deliver SUP sessions in sheltered waters to groups who are keen to receive some coaching in this rapidly expanding discipline. 

Last weekend Tower Hamlets Canoe Club paid a visit to the Island and took advantage of the opportunity to take part in course.  St Brelade's Bay was the venue but because of the pleasant conditions we were able to include a short trip around to Beauport, taking the opportunity to swap boards and paddles, ensuring that everybody was able to try a variety of equipment.

So if you are involved in paddlesport coaching and are looking for some professional development and the opportunity to expand your coaching remit then look at getting on one of the British Canoeing SUP courses which are running over the next few months.

 Sitting in the middle of Beauport, discussing some aspect of SUP coaching.  A rather enjoyable way to spend a Saturday

 Exploring the possibilities on a SUP

Heading out from St Brelade's

It wouldn't be a course in Jersey unless there was a bit of cliff jumping.

 Towing practice.  (Thanks to Shep from THCC for the botton 3 photos)

Friday morning stand up

It is amazing how a sunny morning with light winds will encourage you to get out on the stand up paddleboards.  That is just what happened on Friday morning.  It was hard to believe that less than 48 hours ago the Island was being battered by a significant storm.

 Heading out on the early morning spring tide.

 With the high spring tide we were able to enter one of the small caves in St Brelade's Bay.  One of the great things about paddle sports is the opportunity to do new things.  I first paddled in St Brelade's in 1969 and up until today I had never paddled into this cave.

 Laurie entering Beauport

Beauport is possibly my favourite bay on the Island and today it looked particularly special when viewed from the stack in the middle of the bay.

Heading through the gap, back into St Brelade's and time to refresh some skills such as rescues and towing.

St Brelade's Bay on Mother's Day

Today was one of the first Sunday mornings this year which didn't have strong winds forecast so the Jersey Canoe Club Sunday morning session headed west from St Brelade's along one of the most pleasant stretches of Jersey's coastline.

 We changed in perfect spring sunshine but by the time we launched the clouds had gathered.  we were paddling along the stretch of coast which is close to the hotel where the Jersey Sea Kayak Symposium is going to held in May.

 Part of the group under Corbiere Lighthouse.  I know that I am biased by I reckon it is the most beautiful lighthouse in the world.

 As we headed east the sun did manage to break through.  This section of coast is perfect for coasteering in the summer months, fingers crossed for warmer weather.

 Cliffs just to the west of Beauport.  Always a pleasure to paddle past these granite faces.

Time to head in for the Mother's Day beer!

Daily Picture - 28

Beauport is one of the most stunning bays on the south coast of Jersey.  It is a popular paddle with the sit on top paddlers who leave from St Brelade's.  The flat area just above and behind the beach is a classic raised beach from when the sea level was about 8 metres above its present level.  Some of the ancient sea cliffs can be seen protruding through the trees on the opposite side of the bay.

Sea kayaking Sunday morning - St Brelade's

The last Sunday morning session with the Jersey Canoe Club saw much warmer weather than we have been experiencing over the last few days.  Launching from St Brelade's the plan was to head towards Corbiere but it was necessary to take into consideration that we still had an 11+ metre Spring Tide and there was a swell approaching from the North Atlantic.

It was a reasonable turn out for the time of the year, there were 17 of us heading along the south coast of the Island, experiencing some constantly changing conditions.  We turned back just before Corbiere, spending some time working on skills, something we probably don't do frequently enough.  The Peregrine, which flew over whilst we were looking at edging was a real bonus. 

A pint sitting outside, at the end of the session, was a treat for the end of January.

 

 Passing through the gap between St Brelade's Bay and Beauport.  In the summer months this is one of my favourite places to stop and swim.  There are some great jumps off the rocks, particularly towards high water.

 Just entering Beauport, one of the most beautiful bays on the Island.  In the summer months there would be numerous boats at anchor in the bay but we had the water to ourselves today.  

 Approaching the Grosse Tete, just to the west of Beauport.  This was the first time that we had really appreciated the swell

 The swell was certainly arriving in sets. Pete Hargreaves and Peter Wrigglesworth certainly gained some altitude as the passed through the gap.

 Trespass Point, the tide was certainly starting to flow west.  The cliffs behind are a lovely climbing location, short steep routes and sheltered from the prevailing winds.

 We pulled into the bay under the Highlands Hotel.  This is where the Jersey Sea kayak Symposium was based last May.

 Corbiere seemed isolated today.  We decided not to go all the way to the lighthouse.  The swell arriving in sets, the speed of the flow and 17 members in the group, seemed to have the potential to become just a bit too interesting.

 We, therefore, decided to turn and head east along the base of the granite cliffs.

 Some late morning sunshine catching the granite.

 St Brelade's lies ahead.  We had only been out for 2 hours but it had certainly been a morning of contrasting water conditions.

After the blizzard its time to paddle

After the snow it was time to head out kayaking again and to see how the Island had been transformed in the matter of a couple of days.  Nicky and myself took advantage of the early morning sunshine to launch from St Brelade's but it was obvious that the snow was already disappearing.  It was a beautiful 90 minutes out on the water, well worth the effort of digging the car out of the snow on the drive.

Nicky at St Brelade's.  Spring tides mean long carries.

 We headed east first towards La Cotte de St Brelade.  Probably the most important archaeological site in Jersey.  

 Looking into the heart of La Cotte de St Brelade.  More than a quarter of a million artefacts have been excavated at this site, which is proving crucial to our understanding of the Palaeolithic era in northern Europe.

From here we turned west towards Pt la Moye and the granite cliffs of the south west corner of the Island.

Pt la Moye, a popular destination with fishermen, not surprisingly we had the area to ourselves today.

Once we had been able to see Corbiere, we turned and headed back towards St Brelade's.

This is a great place to explore, on Sunday we had been scrambling and wading through the cave, which is just in front of the bow of the kayak.  Today though with a sea temperature below 7 degrees we wanted to keep as dry as possible.

 Beauport.  The 8 metre raised beach is visible at the back of the bay.  It is hard to imagine that this time last year people would have been sitting on this beautiful south facing beach.  Roll on the summer.

Day 2 of the Blizzard

This really was exceptional weather event for Jersey, the heaviest ever one day snowfall for March and very strong winds.  Jersey Airport has been closed for 2 days, it is hoped to start flying tomorrow afternoon.  With many roads impassable it was just a matter of heading out doors, experiencing the moment and taking some photographs.

South coast cliffs around La Rosiere, Corbiere is just visible in the distance.

This is the descent path of the start of the Gorselands coasteering trip.

The path, like to roads, has filled up with wind blown snow making progress hard work.

The garden shed is clearly not spindrift proof.

La Moye Golf Course.  Not sure what number hole is disappearing in the snow.

Lisa and Chester on the Railway Walk.

Its not that often that the Jersey pistes come into condition.

Jersey's premier apres ski location.

 The Five Mile Road.  The snow wasn't as deep here as we were at sea level.  Not the depth of the drifts on the right.

 

 Nicky on the south coast footpath, it if wasn't for the gorse it could have been the Lakes in winter.

Frozen gorse.  It is difficult to imagine the impact the weather is having on birds such as Dartford Warblers.  The summer migrants, Wheatears and Sand Martins which appeared on the Island at the weekend must have had a shock.

 Beauport.  Spot the high tide mark.

St Brelade's Bay

It was another bitterly cold day although the majority of yesterdays snowfall had disappeared.  There were just a few patches on some of the cliffs and beaches.  I decided to have a quick tour of the sights of St Brelade's Bay.  A bit of fresh air and exercise but the temperature was still hovering between 1 and 2 degrees so I decided to make it a fairly brisk paddle.  

In common with so many days this year low grey cloud seemed to suck the colour out of the landscape.  I don't actually think I have kayaked under blue skies or in sunshine so far this year.

 Approaching La Cotte de St Brelade, one of the major archaeological sites in Jersey.  Take a look here for further information

Snow lying on the beach is pretty rare in Jersey.

Pt Le Fret is often an ominous looking headland, and today with the low grey cloud was no exception.  The remnants of an Atlantic swell were dissipating their energy on the surrounding rocks so I took a slightly wider track than normal.

From Pt Le Fret it was possible to look east towards Noirmont but today my journey involved heading west.

From Pt Le Fret I headed offshore and west towards Corbiere.  The north easterly wind and ebbing tide certainly assisted my progress.  According to my GPS, I peaked at 7.7 knots although I noticed that I went above 7 knots on several occasions.

St Brelade's Bay looked quite distant and as I moved away from the shelter of the land the surface of the water became a bit more lively.  I saw 2 fishing boats but apart from those I had the sea to myself.

      

Beauport as it looks in the summer and as it looked today.