Jersey Activity Guide

I was hoping to get some time in on the water but with winds forecast to gust up to 70 mph a day on land was probably more sensible.  A quick drive around the south west corner of the Island revealed some interesting conditions.

 Getting photographs proved to be a challenge.  The tide was out when I visited the slip to the north of Corbiere but the wave recording buoy a few miles to the south of Jersey was recording a wave height of 8 metres at this time.

A number of roads were blocked around the Island, either by fallen trees or roof's deciding to part company with the rest of the building.  This toilet was clearly not designed to withstand winds that were peaking at over 60 mph.

I spent some time putting the finishing touches to a new book on the activities, which it is possible to experience on Jersey.  The plan is pretty simple, take a range of activities, plan 5 suggestions for each activity at a range of different levels and finish your visit to Jersey with a final day experiencing some of the Islands history.

Activities, which are covered include sea kayaking, surfing, coasteering, rock climbing, fishing, SUPing etc.  Some of the suggestions are suitable for beginners whilst others require more experience.  So just decide whether you want 5 days of one particularly activity or 5 different activities for one day each.

The plan is to have the book completed in the next couple of months, ready for the summer season, a few more days of appalling weather can only help to speed the process up.

 There are plenty of opportunities for coasteering around the coast.  Either with or without a guide.  In the summer it is a great way to spend a few hours.

 I suppose I might be biased but the sea kayaking in Jersey is as good as anywhere.

  Cycling along part of Route 1, just above Greve de Lecq.  The Island has a great network of cycling routes.

The final suggestion is to spend a day visiting some of Jersey's dolmens, either by car or cycle, finishing your weeks visit sipping a pint and watching the sun set over the west coast.

First Paddle of the Year

Today was one of those days when it would have been so easy to stay in bed or to go to the gym, but it was well worth making the effort to head out in to the rain.  With strong winds from the south blowing the north coast was the only really viable option.  Bouley Bay to Rozel and back.  A good run out for my first paddle of the year.

 Kate inside Rozel Harbour.   Just about to head back.

 Kate trying to get a bit of help from the following wind.

 The north side of the harbour wall provided some shelter from the strong offshore wind.

 Relaxing paddle back, not rushing as the thought of getting changed in the rain wasn't too appealing

 At times the rain was so heavy that it obscured the finer details of Bouley Bay.

 Water was running down the road with some considerable force and then amazingly after we had tied the kayaks on the cars the rain stopped and we were able to get changed in the dry!

 Water pouring down the steps and onto the beach had discoloured the sea.

Jersy Sea Kayak Symposium 2016

The Jersey Canoe Club organized its first Symposium in May 1992 and over the years has attracted hundreds, if not thousands, of kayakers to the Island.  Over the years we have also been fortunate enough to attract many of the top coaches to the event such as Frank Goodman, Derek Hutchinson, Gordon Brown, John Heath to name just a few.

People have traveled from all over Europe as well as further afield to attend, with participants from New Zealand, Hong Kong, Canada and the United States with the vast majority returning home after a real enjoyable weeks kayaking in our waters.

Bookings are now being taken for the 2016 event,  which starts on the evening of Friday 27th May.  We are going to be based in the delightful Highlands Hotel, which has superb views over the west and south coast of the Island.  There is a swimming pool, if you haven't spent enough time in or on the water plus a bar and the most amazing lounge.

The format for the week is the same as in previous years, on Saturday, Sunday and Monday there will be coaching sessions ranging from forward paddling, stand up paddle boarding, tide races, sea kayaks and cliff jumping etc, as well as coastal paddles.  Then from Tuesday the focus shifts to paddles including hopefully the opportunity to visit the offshore reefs or some of the other Channel Islands.

Every evening there is something arranged including talks, quiz night, music bbq etc.  All in all it is a full on week.

Bookings can be made online here.

If you haven't been to Jersey before we look forward to introducing you to our local waters and if you have been before you can be certain of a warm welcome.

Corbiere Lighthouse is visible from the hotel we are using.  Great paddling within a couple of hundred metres of where you will have breakfast.

 The Highlands Hotel is a perfect location for the Symposium.  There are probably 5 completely different launch spots with a few minutes drive.

A visit to the Ecrehous will be high on most sea kayakers list.  If weather permits there will paddles to this delightful reef most days.

South West Delights

Although this is the closest stretch of coast to where I live, it seems to have been quite some time since I last spent a day exploring this area of Jersey so it was a real pleasure to be on the water on Saturday.

This is a section of the Jersey coast, which I have paddled hundreds of times but there is always something to discover whatever the season.

Paddling into a feature which we known as Junkyard Gully.  At the rear of the inlet there is a large blow hole into which was thrown a lot of scrap metal and cars in the 1930's and 40's.

Laurie passing to the south of Corbiere Lighthouse, which marks the south west corner of the island.  There was a bit of swell around and some tidal movement but it was a relatively calm day.

 Heading south past Corbiere after stopping for lunch in the reefs to the west of La Pulente.  A bit chilly but it is October.

 Louis looking as if he is having a good time.

Louis and Rachel playing in the small race which was developing to the west of Corbiere.

Along this section of coast there are some many great jumping spots.  This flat topped rock is at Gorselands.  Laurie is in mid air whilst Simone is considering his options.

Just before Beauport we were able to take a short cut through the reef at the Grosse Tete.   This is known as Conger Gully, mainly because of the stories we tell younger people when out coasteering along this section of coast.

Wildlife sightings

Over the years I have seen numerous species of bird, animals and other wildlife at quite close quarters whilst out paddling in my kayak.  In common with many other sea kayakers I thought that paddling in a sea kayak was the ultimate green vehicle.  The one form of marine vehicle, which was going to cause the least amount of disturbance to wildlife, either along the shore or on the water.

On reflection though I am not so sure we are as environmentally as friendly as we think we are.  I remember the indignation I felt when a wildlife watch boat off Shetland approach us and told us we were disturbing the birds.  I then watched the boat approach much closer to the cliffs than we had been with no visible impact on the thousands of birds, which were in the area.
On another occasion I recall paddling off the south coast of Skye.  There were numerous seals hauled out on the rocks and although we paddled out from the rocks there was some disturbance with a number of the seas entering the water.  One of the small boats which operated out of Elgol passed reasonably close to us before approaching the rocks so that the passengers could get a better view of the seals.  Surprisingly although the boat was closer than us the seals weren't at all concerned.
Thinking of other meaningful interactions with wildlife of various shapes and sizes many of the closest encounters have been whilst have been sitting still in my kayak.  Puffins swimming close by, seals approaching the bow my my kayak, whales surfacing nearby, the list could go on.
So why didn't these larger boats with engines disturb the wildlife?  One theory is that we are not a fixed shape, our paddles are rotating and at times the sunlight catches the blades.  We are a moving image and perhaps the wildlife concerned becomes confused whereas a boat is a fixed shape and so the animals become accustomed to the shape and less agitated.
Of course this might be complete rubbish but I think that it is worth considering the impact we have on wildlife, our environmental credentials may not be as robust as we think they are.  With the winter approaching be particularly thoughtful about those small wading birds who have traveled thousands of miles to find a regular food supply along our shoreline and then we paddle along, passing close to where they are roosting, causing them to take flight and wasting some of their hard earned energy resources.
Seeing wildlife in all its forms is one of the most memorable aspects of sea kayaking but lets slow down, give a bit more space and reduce the anxiety to those animals which call our seas and shoreline home.

Paddling in Shetland.  There were literally thousands of gannets plus numerous other species such as Puffins and Great Skua's.  We didn't need to approach the cliffs as we slowed down the birds came closer of their own accord.

This was a memorable day heading south along the west side of the Sleat Peninsula in Skye, for several miles we were accompanied by dolphins.  We didn't follow them or chase after them, they just decided to be with us.

Basking Shark off Wiay.  Sitting and watching this magnificent creature swim alongside and underneath the kayaks was a very special experience.

 Whilst launching after lunch two whales appeared alongside us.  We sat for 30 minutes watching an amazing display and then as if they had had enough fun they just disappeared.  One of the reasons why kayaking off the west coast of Greenland is so memorable.

 This beautiful bird just swam past whilst waiting for some others in the group to launch.

It is always worth experimenting by pointing the camera down.  This was just a lucky shot but there were so many sea lions in the area it was worth trying a few underwater shots even if I couldn't see what the camera was pointing at.

Morbihan

Every year the Jersey Canoe Club arranges a weekend to Morbihan in southern Brittany.  Most years we are blessed with settled conditions and warm temperatures but this wasn't the case this year, particularly on the Saturday.  Continuous rain on the Saturday was accompanied by increasing wind on the Saturday evening, resulting in a couple of the tents becoming damaged.

It didn't stop us getting on the water, both days, it was just that we didn't aim to paddle as far as in previous years. 
Still a thoroughly enjoyable weekend away though.

Our first port of call, in rapidly deteriorating weather was Er Lannic.  The stone circle is thought to be approximately 5,000 years old.  Where else is it possible to paddle so close to such significant historic monuments, whilst playing in significant tidal streams?

 Our plan was to paddle up the river to Auray.  The southerly breeze considerably assisting our progress but also blowing in some very damp conditions.

 It wasn't a day for the best photographs!

 Kayaks on the quayside at Auray  It was pretty miserable and we didn't need much convincing that an afternoon in the bar was far more preferable than 8 miles into a head wind in torrential rain.

 Sunday dawned far brighter, so following a paddle around the islands in the southern part of the Gulf we returned to the play spot near Ile Berder to make the most of the waves which are generated on the flood tide.

North West Gozo

Having paddled quite regularly in Gozo over the last few years there was still one section of coast which had eluded me, the north west corner of the island.  A visit in June provided the opportunity to explore this section of coast and we weren't disappointed.

 We left from Qbajjar Bay on the north coast with the aim of paddling to Xlendi on the south coast.  For me this was closing the circle.  This was the only section of the Gozo coastline that I hadn't paddled before.  To the right of the paddlers the low lying rocks are the salt pans.  They are about 350 years old.

 Entering Wied il-Ghasri, a narrow inlet on the north coast.  It is the last place with easy access to the cliff top until you reach the Inland Sea on the west coast.

 Turning west from Wied il-Ghasri, the vertical and uninterrupted cliffs stretch to the west.  The start of some really memorable kayaking.

 Wied Il-Mielah, is a stunning arch, part of the way along the north coast.   We returned the following day, abseiled down the side of the arch before climbing back out.  A pleasant addition to a kayaking trip.

 There were numerous caves to be explored, some of them going some considerable way into the cliffs.

 Approaching the north coast cliffs, the top of the lighthouse is just visible.

 Looking down from the cliff top later in the day.

 Approaching San Dimitri Point, the north west corner of Gozo.  Amazingly from this point there is no land before Barcelona.  You don't always imagine areas in the Mediterranean having such a large fetch.

 One of the great thing about paddling in Gozo there is always something to do over lunch.  Laurie swimming off the slip.

If people can hold their breath long enough it is always good fun to build a human tower.  4 people standing on each others shoulders was our best result that day.

Kayaking Architecture

After a memorable paddle on the Saturday, we joined in the Shadwell Basin paddling festival on the Sunday and although we didn't paddle that far we had an illuminating talk on the history of the area by Toby.  Next time we visit the area we will be looking at the buildings through different eyes.

William Kidd was executed a few yards below Wapping Old Stairs, on May 23rd 1701.  Pirates were normally hung and then chained to a post on the foreshore for 3 tides, as a warning to others.  Today the pirate is commemorated in this riverside pub.

Wapping Police Station is the site of the oldest police force in the world, formed in 1798.  It was formed because of the level of crime on the river.  It was estimated that 11,000 of the 33,000 people who worked on the river, at the time, were known criminals.

Toby was really well prepared with numerous visual aids.  He would land and whilst talking about the area use the photographs to illustrate the history of this area of London.

 Crossing to the south side of the river our first stop was Butler's Wharf.  Built between 1871 and 1873 it was supposedly the largest tea warehouse in the world at one time.  Today as the docks have moved downstream it has been developed with luxury flats and apartments.

Looking west towards the city skyline, which has changed significantly in the last few years.

 The design of Tower Bridge was the result of a competition.  A number of the submissions were a bit more unusual.

 The bridge was built between 1892 and 93 using granite blocks from near Liskeard, in Cornwall.  Many people are surprised that the bridge isn't older.

One feature we passed over but couldn't see was the Thames Tunnel.  It was built between 1825 and 1843 and was designed for horse and carts.  It now forms part of the London Overground railway system, between Wapping and Rotherhithe.  This was the first tunnel in the world to be constructed under a navigable river and when it was completed a banquet was held to celebrate the engineering marvel of the Brunel family.  Although we couldn't see the tunnel we did pay our respects as we paddle above its route.