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Paddling along the cliffs to the west of Xlendi, on Gozo.  Looking forward to exploring this coastline by sea kayak again, in 3 weeks time.

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A visit to St Catherine's to collect some kayaking equipment from the Jersey Canoe Club premises made me realize how few times I had ventured to the east of the Island so far this year.

The breakwater was part of a plan to build a significant naval harbour, work commenced in 1847 but had been abandoned by the mid-1850's.  Never seeing using as a naval harbour it was given to the States of Jersey in 1876.  Today is see's plenty use by a wide range of recreational activities such as fishing, sailing and kayaking.

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Quite a pleasant cycle ride today out to Corbiere, followed by a walk across the causeway.  This is the classic location for a picture, with the reflection in the rock pool unfortunately today the weather conditions weren't ideal from a photographic perspective.

The lighthouse was first lit on the 24th April 1874 and it was automated in 1974.  It cost £8,001 to build and is possibly the most photographed location on Jersey.  What I do know is that for the sea kayaker it is a truly iconc landmark.

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A quick walk along the cliffs of the south west of the Island this afternoon.  This section of coast is one of my favourites for coasteering but I have to admit that this afternoon the water didn't look that appealing.  

Hopefully though it won't be too long before we are swimming and jumping our way along the base of these cliffs.

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A rather pleasant Sunday morning out from St Brelade.  We headed around to Noirmont to play in the tide race formed on the ebbing tide.  Conditions were made more interesting due to the rather large swell running in from the west.  Just offshore it was probably peaking in the region of 8 feet with a swell period of about 14 seconds.

Derek is taking quite a wide route around Point Le Fret, to avoid the breaks in the region of the reefs.  A good way to spend a Sunday morning.

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On a day when the temperature reached 15 degrees, we headed from St Catherines along the north coast as far as Egypt, where the Canoe Club has a small cottage.  Here we are approaching the headland just to the east of Rozel, with the aptly named teddy bear rock clearly visible on the right.

A great day on the water with hopefully many more to follow in the coming weeks and months.

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I was going to post a picture of St Ouen's Bay this evening, looking great in the late evening sunshine until I came across the news that Audrey Sutherland, author of "Paddling Hawaii" and "Paddling My Own Canoe" had sadly passed away on the 23rd February at the age of 93.

She embarked on wilderness journeys starting in 1962, when she swam along the northern shore of   Molokai.  She moved up market a few years later when she started to explore the coasts of Hawaii,  British Columbia and Alaska in a small inflatable kayak.  Paddling thousands of miles on exploratory journeys.  Her most recent book, describing her travels in Alaska is "Paddling North".

She was a truly amazing paddler, pushing the boundaries of exploratory kayaking, defining the limits of what is possible with a minimum of equipment but a major sense of adventure.

As sea kayakers we often dream of where we would like to paddle but Audrey was living proof of what was possible if you had the vision and the enthusiasm.

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A day of superb weather was followed by a night on the water.  I have been running an Open Water Navigation and Tidal Planning Course over the last couple of weeks  so this evening rather than another classroom session we decided to put the theory into practice and spend a couple of hours plotting a course around the navigation poles close to St Aubin's.

We are just getting ready to launch from Belcroute.

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Beautiful day at St Brelades.  Plenty of people on the beach, with small surf rolling in at low water.

St Brelade's Church is probably in the finest location of any of the Islands churches and has been serving the local community for over a thousand years.

With lighter winds and rising temperatures there is the likelihood of some good sea kayaking over the next few days.

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Bot the most inspiring photograph but behind this pile of vegetation lies a story.  This is hottentot fig, which is a highly invasive plant species introduced into gardens in Jersey from South Africa, in about the middle of the 19th Century.  The plant spreads and regenerates very quickly smothering the native vegetation along large sections of the south west coast.  A consequence is that it destroys the habitat of a number of native spevies such as the Green Lizard and the Dartford Warbler.

The only effective means of getting rid of the plant is to pull it out by hand, which is obviously time consuming and then ideally it is burnt.  At the moment I am working with a couple of local primary schools, with the children working towards their John Muir Award, a nationally recognized environmental award.  Over the next few weeks we will be exploring this area in some detail including removing some hottentot fig, this was today's contribution.

Very satisfying and showing that people can make a difference.

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Great view of a squall approaching St Ouen's around lunch time today.  Surprisingly where we were standing there wasn't much rain but the winds did gust up to about 55 knots.  It has been a day of fast changing weather but optimistically as the weekend approaches things are looking like they will calm down and warm up.  Could even be an Ecrehous day on Saturday, fingers crossed.

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It was another Sunday morning with strong westerly winds forecast so the options for our weekly paddle were limited.  It was another visit to Belcroute, which is sheltered from the strong winds from the west.  The winds on the day didn't appear to be quite as strong as forecast so we were able to head across St Aubin's Bay towards Elizabeth Castle, using the wind for quite an entertaining ride.

One advantage of living on an island is that whatever the wind direction it is always possible to find somewhere to paddle and as result of this the Jersey Canoe Club has managed to get on the water, on a Sunday morning pretty much every week since the mid-1970's.

Jason preparing to launch at Belcroute, sheltered from the strong westerly wind which was blowing at the time.

 Looking back up the beach at Belcroute.  With winds like those forecast for this morning the kayaking options were limited.  The Jersey Canoe Club were not the only group paddling from there today.  The faster group who paddle Taran's had also chosen this location to leave from.

Pete just before Noirmont.  The relatively calm seas don't indicate the true wind speed as we were sheltered by Noirmont headland.

Crossing St Aubin's Bay.  The further we moved away from Noirmont the greater the impact of the wind.

 Elizabeth Castle lies ahead.  One of the finest military fortifications of Jesrey.

 You don't see too many of these navigation marks around, an Isolated Danger Mark, just to the south of West Park Pool.

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Headed to La Pulente to watch the Wales - France match and on the way home came across a few of these little creatures as I came around the headland at Petit Port.  Normally I only see them in the autumn so it was a treat to see a few on the eve of the start of the meteorological spring.

Looking forward to kayaking tomorrow but the forecast looks more like winter than spring.

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It was fairly rare day with some bright sunshine and relatively light winds although there was a significant westerly swell.  A lovely day for walking along the south west cliffs with views across to Corbiere.

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Had a very pleasant evening working on an Open Water Navigation course.  Classroom based today but it won't be long before we are able to put into practice on the water what has been learned today.  Navigation is one of those things which always fascinates me, with a set of tide tables it is possible to look into the future and plan accordingly.

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These are probably the newest railway lines in Jersey, having appeared in the last few months.  Running down the hillside near the Desalination Plant at La Rosiere, close to Corbiere.  When it was commissioned in 1970 it was the first desalination plant in Britain, located in an old quarry which provided some high quality pink granite for part of the Thames Embankment in London.  A great section of coast to paddle along, but not today with strong winds and a heavy swell crashing against the cliffs.

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Looking north along St Ouen's just before another shower hits.  Looking at the Aviation Weather section of the Jersey Met site they were forecasting that the larger cumulo-nimbus clouds would reach up to 25,000 feet.  No wonder that the showers were pretty lively during the day!

Paddling to Jerusalem

A mid-life crisis can be handled in different ways, some people change their careers, others take a lover whilst David Aaronovitch decided to paddle around Britain.  Not an easy objective for somebody whose previous paddling experience was limited to a none to positive introduction to the sport on the Bedfordshire Ouse over Easter 1966.        
The decision to paddle around England came to him whilst paddling a large green plastic canoe across a lake at Center Parc’s.  Possibly not the most stimulating environment but one which proved inspiring.  The description of David Aaronovitch is not one which inspires confidence as an able outdoors person.  His observations on the cliental of gyms are particularly wry.  If his description of the kayaking tuition he received is accurate then the future of the sport is not on very secure ground.
Against almost universal advice he decided to embark upon the journey and a route through the heart of England evolved.  He chose the Pyranha Orca sea kayak as his craft and the route linked the canals and major river systems of England.  The Thames, Trent and Severn plus the Grand Union, Leeds – Liverpool and Shropshire Union Canals provided the liquid highways.
To most paddlers this would appear to be a particularly drab choice of route if compared to more dramatic popular sea kayaking regions.  Numerous writers, from Defoe onwards, have for hundreds of year described the journeys they have undertaken though the heart of England.  Some have proved to be accurate observers of the state of the country and Aaronovitch is one of these.
Heading through some of the major cities of industrial England, by kayak, is not everybody’s idea of a classic paddle.  What it does allow though is a different perspective on life in Britain at the end of the 20^th century.  He is looking at England through the backdoor, roads and footpaths tend to show the front of buildings, canals the rear.
His “camp” on the first night of the journey was the Hotel Ibis near Heathrow Airport, not on the main sea kayaking route, not a particularly auspicious start.  Another bleak moment was his arrival in Burnley, not many hotels in the world would have the temerity to place the following sign above a bed; “We respectfully request that you do not iron anything on the carpet, as it will melt.”
In contrast to these somewhat depressing descriptions there are numerous positive encounters.  Unfortunately his wrists didn’t last the pace and he was forced to abandon his paddle close to Gloucester and he had to finish his journey to the Millennium Dome at Greenwich on foot, following the tow path of the Thames as opposed to benefiting from the rivers free ride as it heads towards the sea.
Overall this is an optimistic book and it offers hope for all of us who will never see the younger side of 40 again.  In contrast to so many sea kayaking books which are written by paddlers hoping to be writers, this is a book which is written by a writer who is becoming a paddler. It is well written, informative and amusing.  He didn’t really get to paddle on the sea but the use of sea kayaks doesn’t have to be restricted to the salt water environment.  There are many miles of inland waters which are suitable for sea kayaks and this book will help open your eyes to some of the possibilities which exist.  A delightful book, well worth searching out.  

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Final approach into Jersey on a really murky afternoon. Elizabeth Castle is on the left of St Aubin's Bay and St Aubin's Fort on the right.

Apologies for another photograph out of the aircraft window but there have been very opportunities for photograph today. The pouring rain on the A38 between Plymouth and Exeter wasn't that photogenic so it's back to the opportunities on the flight.  Low cloud meant that the view disappeared really quickly and we didn't actually clear the cloud all the way back to Jersey.

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Great view of Lihou Island, just off the west coast of Guernsey as we flew north towards Exeter this morning.  Scene of many great sea kayaking days and looking forward to another weekend paddling there with the Jersey Canoe Club in June.