Kayaking - new kit [enhanced safety!]

Another 3 trips.

4th foray: Wednesday 28th June [solo]

Conditions:- 16c - overcast - low wind [~5mph ]
Tide: 6m max tide [launch ~60 mins pre-high tide]
River Torridge: Launched from near Bideford Police station
Route - upriver beyond the Tarka Trail iron bridge, before returning along the same route to Bideford
Landing - start location
Distance - ?3-4km total

Time on the water - 2 hours 40 mins

Drifting downriver with the tide, with feet up on the deck

This was a relaxed, unambitious session. 

Actually, my arms still felt a bit weak/achey, probably a result of the Instow paddle previously, or a weights session since then. 

However I was also trying out the reserve paddle I had bought. I ordered it for safety - something to have in reserve if I - or someone I was with - lost theirs. However it is non-identical to the ones that came with the kayaks; it is longer, heavier, and has flatter paddle blades with a wider area. Because of these differences I think you can tire yourself out more quickly with it.

It was during this trip that I belatedly realised the role of the small rubber rings that had come with the kayaks as well as this paddle - you attach them near the blade, where they largely prevent water running down the shaft and into the boat / onto the occupant. So that's a welcome discovery. 

I'm also getting better at packing up, and making sure that the things that get dirty are things that can be readily washed - while the kayak should be somewhat clean and pretty dry before packing it away - saves creating mess and spending more time on it after getting home.

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5th foray: Thursday 29th June [with Patrick]

Conditions:- 13c - overcast and some drizzle - Wind ~10mph in southward direction

Tide: 5.16m max tide [launch ~100min pre-high tide]
River Torridge: Launched at a layby stairway on the western shore, slightly south of Bideford [came by car]
Route - upriver beyond the Tarka Trail iron bridge, up to Weare Gifford, and back
Landing - start location
Distance - ~12km total

Time on the water - 3 hours 30 mins [3.4kph!] 

Patrick, during our return journey [in most other photos taken while out he appears stony faced!]

This trip took us a long way past my previous maximum up-river; the red dots on the map shown below indicate approximate launch and turn-around point. 

We had been wondering if we would encounter some sort of Were at Weare Gifford, but we didn't - perhaps there isn't one!? What we did find however was that at a particular point the river was narrow and fast running against us [by that point it was about 30 mins since the tide had turned - no longer a aid to our upward passage!]

The launch site from the lay-by was quite convenient - no need to walk over mud, and some things could be left in the car rather than taken in the kayak. 

Patch used the larger paddle and thought he perhaps preferred it [I have decided I prefer the smaller size]

A side channel, with a dire warning against entry

I ended up waist deep in the river at a certain point, having slipped a bit on some mud where I had previously been knee deep. Fortunately, as I have switched from wearing my running shorts to wearing a triathlon suit type one-piece, it wasn't really an issue.

Despite the distance and hours on river, it wasn't a particularly tiring session. But quite a cool day though, even with some layers on.

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6th foray: Saturday [solo]

Conditions:- 16c - sunny - 12mph winds [with 18 mph gusts] blowing towards the east

Tide: 4.3m max tide [launched at high tide]
River Torridge: Launched near Bideford Police Station
Route - downriver until opposite Appledore Shipyard/Marine landing craft jetty, then return 
Landing - start location
Distance - ~5km

Time on the water - 2 hours 15 mins 

A lower high tide [4.3m] looks less attractive than the 5-6m tides, but in the end I headed out all the same [it was only going to be lower tomorrow].

My buoyancy aid jacket had been delivered this morning.

40 Newtons of buoyancy!

With this suitably enhanced level of protection against drowning, I decided to head down to Instow. This requires some caution, as the area between Bideford and Instow can have quite a lot of motor boat traffic, in addition to small sail boats, and some occasional shipping [no major shipping today].

The main thing I had to watch out for was several speed boats pulling water ski'ers. Though it was more a matter of me staying near the bank further from them - they would be too fast for a kayak to evade.

Two of these boats are visible in the photo above.

I had to watch out for the wake waves from this traffic, but the kayak rode them with decent stability.

With the wind blowing to the east, I found I had to adjust my grip on the paddle, and sometimes take rather more strokes on a particular side, to prevent being washed too close to the eastern bank. It also meant I had small waves coming at me from the side.

Keeping a bin bag around my backpack on the deck helped keep everything dry despite some splashing over the deck.

It took only ~45 minutes, with the tide - and only light-moderate effort - to reach quite near Instow, so I set myself a challenge of returning to the launch site in Bideford against the tide.

The return journey was hard work, and took ~90 minutes of fairly intense paddling; if you're going against the tide it can really feel as if you are dragging yourself, and going pretty slow for all that.

It's a different experience; when you're going with the tide you can relax and enjoy the scenery. When you're going against it [and particularly when the water level is lower, which seems to increase the tidal force experienced?] then you can't let up, else immediately backward progress!

It was a nice afternoon out in the end; solid exercise. It was a good test for the buoyancy jacket, some practice exercising caution and paddling in the wake of river traffic, and my first time going against the tide for any prolonged period.

...this trip left me sunburnt [can see the line of my shorts/vest very distinctly]...I hadn't expected it as it had been quite cloudy prior to launch. I hate sunburn so much...

Kayaking in the Torridge

Around this time last year, while back down in the south for my summer break, I hired out kayaks a few times, and took them out on the river Torridge - once with my dad, and twice with my friend Patrick.I really enjoyed it, so made a plan to look into kayaking once I was back in the south longer term. Patrick was also keen.

Having now returned to N. Devon, I picked up 2x Intex Challenger K1 inflatable kayaks.

While everyone [myself included, originally] initially expects inflatables to under-perform, the reviews were very positive, and the convenience factor in terms of cost, storage space, and ability to easily transport solo [including via bag on a bus] were all major advantages.

With a new interest you can't really predict how much you will get into it. It may be that - longer term - I would want to look into a higher value kayak. But for now, this was a good choice.

1st foray: Tuesday 20th June [Patrick & I]
Conditions:- 28C - sun - low wind conditions - 4.5m max tide [launch ~50mins pre-high tide]
River Torridge: Launched from near Bideford Police station
Route - upriver beyond the Tarka Trail iron bridge, before returning along the same route to Bideford
Landing - slipway near Bideford skate park
Distance - ~3km total

Happiness is a pasty

Summary: First test of the kayaks, and in a heatwave.
It was pretty pleasant. We took it fairly easy. We had launched a little later than might have been ideal, but it turned out that the 4.5m max tide was pretty low.

Patrick found his kayak reasonable, but a tighter fit and to have perhaps worse balance, as he is taller than the average man. We will have to see how that affects things in more challenging conditions.

There were various learning points for me. I found I wasn't very good with deflating/packing, that the carry bags could be worn on your back - but really dug in leaving marks, and it also tore at the straps.
Storage on the kayaks was good, as was general handling. Gloves during paddling seemed better than without. Suncream can ruin a white synthetic fibre shirt... the list goes on.

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2nd foray: Thursday 22nd June [Solo]
Conditions:- 19C - overcast - fairly low wind conditions - 5.65m max tide [launch ~90mins pre-high tide]
River Torridge: Launched from near Bideford Police Station
Route - Upriver, up to Landscross
Landing - from launch site
Distance - ~5.5-6km total

This was a solo trip. Heading out with others has the advantages of company and increased safety, but I don't want my kayaking to be 100% dependent upon the timetables of others, and going solo and just enjoying some splendid woodland isolation also has its associated pleasures.

I took it easy for the outward journey, as the moderately strong tide and slight wind really carried me. It felt quite luxurious; I even found that I could be super-comfortable by putting my feet up on the deck. And again I enjoyed some food I'd brought with me.

As the tide slowed and began to turn I pushed onward beyond my previous maximum distance up the Torridge - i.e. beyond what Patrick and I had managed the previous summer. Not much further [?500m], but something to add to the trip. Really nice surroundings.

A panorama type photo from my new max upstream distance

During the return journey I soon met a fellow kayaker ['kayak pilot' perhaps I should say! or 'kayak captain'!?] called Marvin, and we had good conversation all the way back to Bideford. He was in a rigid, open-top kayak, but mine didn't underperform comparatively. When I asked about other good routes in the local area [he had a couple of years experience], he said that Taunton canal, maybe Bude canal, the Taw, and the river mouth/estuary/Crow Point area could all be good. He also mentioned coming down the Torridge from Torrington [just exiting the river and carrying at a certain point to avoid a were] as a more ambitious route. I was especially interested in that latter route, and also his talking about having kayaked around Crow Point without issue. Having experienced some currents near there with the tide, I had provisionally assumed it might be a more dangerous area for kayaking. Mavin also mentioned about the wake from passing boats being something to watch for; you should turn into the wake head on for better stability.

Actually, at a certain point on the return journey [while we were alone, and in sight of no one], Marvin pointed to an area of shore and said "that's where the kayaker found the corpse those months ago". Suddenly the thought struck me - 'Marvin is a kayaking serial killer, and I, isolated out here, will be the next victim found!'. A funny/silly thought that I did not take in any way seriously, but quite memorable now.

Learning points from this trip: I had reinforced the bag straps, which helped. I tried wearing strips of towel on the shoulders as protection, which also helped. I eventually worked out a good approach for packing up the kayaks. [give them time to fully deflate, as the final phase is slower, and fold the kayak half inwards both sides from the side, before rolling up to pack]. I had an issue during the latter half of the return journey, with the back of my seat deflating - so learning point was to fix the entry socket in more fully. Using a towel to wipe down the kayak pre-packing was a good idea. Central setting works best for the kayak paddle, and they have side specific labelling on the blades. Finally and perhaps most importantly I found a style of paddling that gave pretty good effect, with good stability/comfort, and without splashing myself.

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3rd foray: Friday 23rd June [Solo]
Conditions:- ~17C - overcast - ~16mph from the SW  - 6.06m max tide [launch ~100mins pre-high tide]
River Torridge: Launched from Instow slipway
Route - up to Bideford, [i.e. towards the SW]
Landing - Bideford; the slipway near the Police Station
Distance - ~3.5km [took 95 min of constant paddling]

This was a solo trip, and quite a challenging one. It turns out that ~16mph headwind provides a lot of resistance, both in terms of the winds direct effect, and also the waves it generates across the open water against your passage. While the fetch on a river is less than at sea, I still had water splashing over the first 1/3 or so of my kayak deck [and hence onto my backpack].

I had underestimated the effect of the wind in advance, and also hadn't paid much heed to the direction. Big learning points. However I went ahead with the trip, because I thought that at worst I would just get carried back to my launch site [in which case I could just take the bus back home again]. Well... 'worst' actually might involve a collision with another craft, because you have to start being more aware of that risk in the lower river area - hence my high visibility jacket! [& paranoid horizon scanning & staying closer to the river periphery]

Short story...I paddled and paddled...[no time for food, though I had actually forgotten it!]...and eventually prevailed. The harder part was the lower river, plus going under the old bridge. [actually, if the tide was another +0.5m, it might be difficult to pass under the Old Bridge]. That evening aftwards I was really quite fatigued, somewhat similar to how it could be after a long distance running event sometimess.

It's more fun with a high tide [here ~6m], though much beyond this might get inconvenient

Lots of lessons from this one. A new appreciation of the importance of wind strength and direction; I was going with the tide, but it didn't feel like it. Using the bus worked well, and Instow has a great slipway. Foot pump makes for easier assembly pre-launch. Put a waterproof bag around your backpack! This was an important learning point, as by the time I had landed, my backpack, including its towel inside, was completely sodden. By this 3rd trip I had finally got quite good at packing up at the end, but need to do a better job keeping things clean. Other things; wear a triathlon suit next time [the fabric of running type shorts can get quite sodden and 'clingy'], gloves really help, wear a watch, ?bring a spare paddle? [this paddle sometimes squeaked from the strain], take photos at the start, ?bring kitchen roll.

And finally and quite importantly - get a buoyancy aid jacket. While I don't think this journey was unsafe [its not a wide river, the tide was coming in, I'm a confident swimmer], its better to maximize safety, and I should get a buoyancy aid anyway in preparation for the sea or other tougher conditions...so that is now on order.