Beware................the Beast!

Wow! Not sure what else to say about my first ride in a Perception Mirage. It was certainly different from the sedate paddling in the Drama Queen.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the weather was lousy on Friday so I spent most of the afternoon and evening food shopping and cooking - we were having four friends round for dinner on Saturday night, so I did a lot of the prep while it was raining.

Saturday however, was a different story. The sun was shining and it must have been 26 degrees - another scorcher! I did a few jobs in the morning and then lashed the banana boat to the land rover's roof at about midday.

Twenty minutes later, I was lowering her into the Grand Union at Bridge number 37 - I knew I'd remember the number in the end!

Oh okay.....so I got the bridge number in the photo! :-)

Getting into the Mirage wasn't as bad as I had first imagined - I'd had a number of practice runs on my lawn (my neighbours must think I'm one sandwich short of a picnic) and I'd soon worked out that you can't just sit down and then push your feet into the foot well to find the foot-pegs as you do with the Drama Queen - the keyhole cockpit is just too small for that. What you have to do is swing your feet into the boat either side of the ethafoam in front of the seat, then sit on the stern deck behind the cockpit, then place your hands behind you firmly on the deck and kind of push yourself down, keeping your legs straight as they go further down the bow, until your backside finally reaches the seat - probably sounds more complicated than it actually is and the whole movement takes only a few seconds. So, armed with this pre-rehearsed insider knowledge, I sat on the edge of the canal and cracked straight on with it.

I nearly fell into the canal.

Hmmmm. Maybe not quite as straightforward then. But, with a little perseverance and a lot of grunting, I was in. And, I have to say that the seat in the Mirage is much more comfortable than it looks - it's quite snug in the cockpit - certainly compared with the Kiwi, but it really felt comfortable and secure in there. I fastened the spray deck to the rim of the cockpit, grabbed my paddle and I was off, heading south in the shimmering hot sunshine. The birds were tweeting and there wasn't a sole around. It was beautiful.

The Mirage spun round and all of a sudden I was looking at Bridge 37 again.

Oh....I thought. What happened there? Shrugging my shoulders, I plunged my paddle into the calm water of the Grand Union and paddled off again - the birds tweeting as I went.

The Mirage spun round and I was looking at Bridge 37 again - albeit I was probably 5 yards further south than the last time. Hmmmm. This is becoming a little testy. And so it was for the next hour. Literally it took me an hour of strength-sapping, sweat-inducing, grunt accompanied paddling to tame (actually I never tamed her, it took me an hour just to get the hang of paddling in a straight line) the beast!! Wow! Now I know what all the fuss on the forums was about. All the Mirage wants to do, naturally, is turn her head and spin! It really was hard work for that first hour.

After that though, I have to say, it was great fun - the speed that the Mirage gets up to (effortlessly) compared to the Drama Queen was breathtaking and great, great fun. I quickly learnt that my paddle strokes didn't need to be as powerful and exaggerated as they do paddling the Kiwi, my posture needed to be slightly more forward leaning than in the Kiwi and it was obvious that the movement of the bow was about two strokes behind my actual paddling. It was all very weird but a great lesson in kayaking - I'd recommend it to anyone. Here's a few shots of the day:

I spent two and a half hours in total (not much I know, but that first hour was thoroughly knackering) paddling the canal on what was the hottest day of the year so far - it was a lovely experience. The Mirage cut effortlessly through the still waters and at times I let her accelerate to speeds which, frankly, I wasn't able to cope with - on a couple of occasions I realised too late that I was going much too fast only to lose control and spin like a top on the waters surface - the last time almost capsizing, but still leant over enough to take on a lot of water! It was brilliant fun, if a little scary at times, but nevertheless one which I can't wait to experience again. The last hour, I was able to control her pretty well and we ate up the miles in comparative ease and in a straight line!

Although I bought and kitted out the Drama Queen to take touring and on extended camping trips, there is no doubt that the Mirage is probably better suited to the job in my opinion. She eats miles and the paddling, once you are able to keep her in a straight line - is effortless compared to powering the Kiwi. I understand that, back in the late 80's and early 90's the Mirage and her close cousin the GyroMax were the expedition boats of their day. Here's a page from the Perception Catalogue from 1990:

The photograph of the older gentleman at the bottom of the page was taken at Moscow train station (I think he must have been an engine driver) whilst the Mirage and Gyromax in the background were en-route to Siberia as part of an expedition. Cool.

There's certainly plenty of room (I'd estimate about 30 litres) inside the hull, behind the cockpit, even with the ethafoam floatation and you could easily bungee a 40 litre dry bag on the stern deck too, so a perfectly capable tourer in my view. My only niggle is that I would need to lose a few pounds off my backside to really be comfortable in the Mirage's cockpit!

So that's my first experience in the Mirage - a beast of a boat initially, but one which is great fun, travels through the water quickly and effortlessly once the paddler gets a grip of her, a real utility boat - one for fun and touring and one which I would highly recommend.

This was her at the end of our first outing - my gear drying out whilst I chilled with a bottle of water and watched the damsel flies dart just above the waters surface.

I'm back to work tomorrow, but off to Cambridge for the Bank Holiday weekend and can't wait to go kayaking up the river Cam. I'll keep you posted.

It's the way you tell 'em!!

For those of you who groaned at Becky's banana joke yesterday, get ready for worse. Here's, arguably, the best/worst kayak joke in history:

Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak got so cold that they decided to light a fire in their boat. Within minutes though, their boat was ablaze and promptly sank. Which just goes to prove that (wait for it) you can't have your kayak and heat it!!!! :-D

Any kayak jokes warmly received.

England in Rainy Day Shocker!

Hmmmm. Don't think that headline will hit the newspapers somehow. Needless to say, it's been a miserable, wet day today, so I finished work and went and did some shopping and cooking instead of taking the banana boat out for her maiden voyage :-( The good news though is that the weather forecast for tomorrow is hot (25 C - believe me, for England that is positively tropical!!) sun and cloud, so I'll definitely have her out on the canal tomorrow :-)

Whilst I was cooking today I was thinking about our 100 mile hike along Hadrian's Wall back in May and how I sat outside my tent and watched the kayakers dragging their boats into the water and paddling off into the picture postcard scenery. Here's a few more photos of our campsite:

Beautiful isn't it? Dawn and I have got a week off work in November and plan to take the caravan (and kayaks) here.

Anyway, back to the blog. As I haven't a trip to tell you about from today, I've been adding some info to the 'Types of Kayak' page which I hope you will find informative - it will be a week or so before it's actually finished, but there's some info on there to get you going.

I'll be back tomorrow to regale you with tales of banana boat (dry - hopefully) adventures.

Thanks for looking at the blog and please do make any comments you feel like - even if its a simple 'hello'. The stats are looking good and I'm getting visitors from all over the world - so, hi there, you're very welcome - please feel free to make any suggestions or to join the 'Followers'.

You must think I came up the river in a banana boat......

Well by the look of the new addition to the family I did. Take a look at my new (to me anyway) Perception Mirage...............the Banana Boat!!

She was advertised on eBay at a start price of £100 ($157 US) which for a 20 year old boat (even with the spray deck and paddle) I thought was pushing it a bit. This was the ad:

You will have noticed the bit about the dent (I'm fairly certain all the potential bidders did too). This is the offending item:

Nasty huh?

Now if I hadn't already researched dents in poly kayaks and listened to the wise and comforting words of folks much more experienced than me, it's likely I would have pressed the 'unwatch' tab and moved on. However, I did plenty of reading regarding dents or 'oil-canning' as it's rather niftily labelled. There's even some comforting words on the Perception website which suggests the scratches on the hull would probably cause more drag than a dent. The up-shot is that apparently dents can be fairly quickly and easily removed from roto-mold poly kayaks with equipment as unsophisticated as a hair dryer and a breeze block  Yes, you've guessed it - I'm going to try it and it will be a future post on this blog.

Back to the tale.....when I first spotted the Mirage, there were 6 days left to run on the auction and, apart from the high starting bid, I had a sneaky suspicion that the dent would put a lot of people off. As it turns out it put everybody off. With an hour to go on the auction I emailed the seller and offered £75 ($118 US) with a promise that I could pick up the following day - the boat was in Kettering, 35 minutes away. The auction finished, the boat went unsold and I got an email 5 minutes later asking me to come and collect - back of the net :-)

So, I went and collected her yesterday evening. And, I have to say that, despite the dent, she is in really good condition with only the usual scuffs on the hull. The seat is perfect and comes with a basic back rest, the footrests are aluminium and I have already loosened and adjusted them to fit, even the decals are in good order - she's obviously been dry stored and washed regularly. The ethafoam flotation is in good condition and runs the length of the boat. She's even fitted with knee braces (I think they may have been standard on the Mirage) which are in perfect order. The paddle (an old New Wave one piece alu) is in great order - at least it is now that I've rubbed it down with white spirit to get all the gaffer tape residue off and the YAK spray deck is a bonus.

So, she's pretty much ready for her maiden (with me) voyage. I'm going to try her out on the Grand Union tomorrow afternoon if I can get out of work early enough :-) I just hope the rain holds off.

My only reservation is how snug the cockpit is - I can get in it okay, but that's when it's sat on my lawn!! Getting into her from the canalside, which is the same as getting in from a dock (with a good 12 inch drop) will be a challenge I'm sure. I'll keep you posted on that one, but let me tell you right now, given my experience of climbing into the Drama Queen the first time and nearly taking a dip, I'll be going dressed for swimming tomorrow!!

When I first spotted her on eBay, I tried to do as much research on the Mirage model as I could and it seems that, from all the negative comments on the forums, it was about as popular as the Dancer - i.e. about as welcome as a fart in a spacesuit!! But then I read an article called 'The Way-Back Machine' written by a kayaker called Derrick on Kayak Quixotica. It was inspiring. Here was a guy who'd heard all the negativity regarding the Dancer and Mirage and so, when the chance to buy an old black Mirage came up, he bought it and subsequently took it white water running on his local river. He then wrote this article which - don't get me wrong, he doesn't conclude by telling everyone to scour eBay for the next available boat - but he does give an honest, almost nostalgic view of his experiences and if I'm going to take any notice of someone being critical of a boat, I'll make sure they've actually tried it for themselves and not just jumped on the band-wagon in order to try and sound cool and all knowing - I loved the article. And I bought my own Mirage. Thank you Derrick.

So that's it for now - I'll be back tomorrow and hopefully tell you about my first trip in the Banana Boat (I've got to come up with a better name than that - any suggestions via blog comments would be very welcome :-) !).

Before I go, here's a topical joke courtesy of Becky:

Q: What's long, yellow and never rings?

A: An unlisted banana!!! :-)

Thanks for looking.

The Drama Queen's about to get some company!

I'm picking her up tomorrow evening :-)

Here's a sneak preview:

The Drama Queen - A work in progress

The Drama Queen was purchased without any additional equipment and as I’ve already mentioned in the blog, I needed her to be able to do a number of things – messing about on flat water primarily, but with the capability of carrying camping equipment on longer expeditions (that sounds really adventurous doesn’t it? And who knows where we may end up – I’m already thinking about tackling the Great Glen Canoe Trail – a 65 mile paddle from coast to coast in the Highlands of Scotland taking in the Caledonian Canal as well as 4 lochs, including the length of Loch Ness, as you travel from Inverness in the East to Fort William in the West. Another trip on the radar is, almost inevitably for me given where I grew up, the River Wye). These adventures and others like them will have to wait though – I’m not going to kid myself that I’m a competent enough paddler to stretch myself too quickly. I’m off to Cambridge with Dawn and the caravan for the bank holiday weekend, so the intention is to paddle the Cam whilst we’re there – this will be my first river excursion and I’m really looking forward to it. Before the year’s out my intention is to have a weekend camping trip along the river Nene in Northamptonshire, so it’s a case of building up slowly so that next year, hopefully, the sexier sounding expeditions will follow!

Anyway, back to the matter in hand – the kitting out of the Drama Queen. The Perception Kiwi, as you can see, is a fairly wide Kayak and there is enough storage capacity behind the seat (even with the ethafoam flotation) for about 40 litres of gear. In addition, my plan was to kit the deck out, bow and stern with bungee, and so allow capacity for a 40 litre dry bag behind me as well as allowing for a small deck bag (probably a cheap bum-bag) and map on the bow deck. When I go hiking for a week at a time my rucksack – a Vango Sherpa – has a 65 litre capacity which is perfectly adequate, so 80 litres on the kayak would be more than enough for any adventures I planned to do.

Some of the photos I’ve seen on the internet of modern recreational kayaks show deck rigging which, frankly, looks completely inadequate. Aside from a bottle of water – and that may well be its intended use – it wouldn’t hold anything else of substance. So I decided that I would do the job properly and kit my decks out with rigging which was perfectly capable of doing what I needed it to do.

So, as well as the deck bungee kit, I had to buy some other stuff too. To get me up and running I wanted to buy the following – all of which I’d decided to buy new and had allowed a budget of around £100 –

• Personal flotation device (PFD) – absolutely essential bit of kit as you can imagine. Don’t just go and buy the first one you see either. There’s quite a bit to consider before getting one of these. The first thing to be aware of is that they are not lifejackets. A lifejacket is designed to, not only keep you afloat, but to turn the unconscious person into such a position in the water that their head is above the water line and thus enable the poor soul to continue breathing – the PFD may not do this. The PFD is designed to help you float in the water, but makes the assumption that either rescue is imminent or that you are a competent swimmer and the shoreline is pretty close. I know that doesn’t sound particularly comforting, but it is worth remembering this when deciding what sort of situations you eventually put yourself into whilst kayaking. Personally I’m not a particularly strong swimmer, so won’t be putting myself into open ocean environments – I’ll be sticking to lakes, rivers and canals with a shoreline only a spit away. Another thing to be aware of with regard to PFD’s is their physical design – many you see advertised are for maritime use, but not necessarily paddling use – i.e. it’s really difficult, if not impossible, to paddle whilst wearing one, so make sure yours is designed for paddlers and is cut accordingly (you can’t beat trying one on before you buy it). Also, be aware that they not only come in different sizes, but also to accommodate the weight of the paddler – just make sure you check before buying. Needless to say, I went for an XL capable of encasing a 42 chest as well as keeping afloat a paddler weighing in excess of 70kg (a nice way of saying ‘try this for size you fat ba%£*rd’!!) I settled on a Typhoon Yalu Wave and I’m absolutely delighted with it – it fits perfectly and allows for full movement, especially when paddling. And it’s black which makes me look cool. Or maybe not.

• Paddle – another essential, unless you’ve fitted an outboard motor to your kayak! Titter ye not – I saw one of these jet kayak’s for sale on eBay! What will they think of next? Anyway, as you can imagine there’s loads of different paddles for loads of different situations. Some are suitable for white-water, some are not, some come in 2, 3 or 4 pieces, some manufacturers seem to be more highly regarded than others etc etc. I guess at the end of the day, you get what you pay for. Nevertheless, my research showed that for somewhere between £20 and £30 you could get a one piece paddle which was adequate for recreational paddling (not white-water) and manufactured by a reputable company. I settled for a RUK aluminium shafted one piece day tripper paddle. I’ve used it a few times now and I love it – it’s fairly light, it feels like a quality paddle to me, it feels very sturdy and strong as I paddle and I love the shaped shaft for my right hand, which ensures that when I plunge the blade into the water the angle is just about perfect. It’s also got drip rings, which – yeah you’ve guessed it – stop water dripping off the ends of the paddles and running down your sleeves! Brilliant! Now you will see lots of photos of kayakers with spare paddles lashed to their boats and I guess this is fine if you really are going on an expedition or something, but I can’t see me ever wanting to go this far to be honest. I did have a conversation with someone on this very subject – 

“You’re not going to get a spare paddle?”

“Well, no – why would I need one?”

“In case you lose yours or it breaks.”

“Lose my paddle – are you kidding me – it’s about 8 foot long and shiny – believe me, I a’int going to lose it – I know I wear glasses, but I’m not that blind!”

“Yeah, but what if yours breaks?”

“Oh come on – what if I lose the spare paddle – if I’m such a complete dork that I could lose one 8 foot shiny paddle, I’m sure I’m dumb enough to lose a second – and what if my second paddle breaks – it’s endless - I’m going to have to tow a rowing boat behind me full of spare paddles! And what if the tow rope snaps???” 

You get my point here?

Anyway - here's a photo of my paddle blade (including drip ring)

• Spray deck – not essential, but does stop the inevitable splashed water from your paddling (and rain of course) getting into your boat. Not that these are likely to amount to such quantities that you would sink (unless you’re a white-water paddler or a paddler in Great Britain where it hasn’t stopped raining for 6 months! What I’m thinking of getting is a kayak big enough to accommodate 2 of every type of creature on the planet – that’s how much it’s rained this year!), but it is nice to stay dry when you’re paddling. There’s also the bonus of keeping warmer on a cold day too. So, all in all a nice bit of kit to have. Spray decks come in different materials and price ranges. The neoprene ones seem to be more for the white-water/playboat paddler whereas I plumbed for the more economical waterproof nylon type. Now, these come in different sizes too – first size to consider is the size of your cockpit (the hole you climb into) and the second is the size of your waist (the bit round your middle that in some cases prevents you from seeing your feet….or worse! :-) The cockpit on the Kiwi is huge – about 105cm by 48cm from memory – a big cockpit, which needs a big spray deck. My waist is 34 inches so I ended up buying a RUK ‘big deck’ spray deck which not only was adjustable and easily accommodated my cockpit size, but also came with the added bonus of having a neoprene waistband which adjusted by means of a Velcro strap. This is extremely comfortable to put on (you always put your spray deck on before climbing into your boat – you pull it on like a skirt – not that I’ve ever worn a skirt you understand – you certainly won’t find me down the docks waiting for a sailor! But that’s what you do, you pull it on like a skirt and then adjust the waist to fit – then, you climb in your boat making sure you don’t sit on your spray deck, and pull the spray deck around the lip of the cockpit to seal yourself in – starting with the bit behind you, then the front bit and finish by hooking the sides over the lip of the cockpit). Some cheaper spray decks have an elasticated waistline, a bit like a bungee, which you tighten – but apparently these aren’t as comfortable as the neoprene waist ones – like mine. But, to be honest, you get what you can afford and as long as it does the job and you’re happy…….

You can see my spray deck on the photos below.

• Deck Bungee Kits – as I mentioned earlier, I had decided to kit out both bow and stern decks with bungee which could carry camping equipment, so I bought 2 of the kits – these come with everything you need – 4 metres of black 6mm bungee (shock) cord, 6 nylon pad eyes, mounting hardware – 12 marine grade stainless nuts, bolts and washers and 2 nylon shock-cord end hooks.



I had allocated a Saturday morning to do the job and it probably took about two and a half hours, but I did take my time and was really careful about every step. Aside from the kit itself, I also needed a felt-tip marker pen, a tape measure, a cordless drill, a 5mm drill bit, a Phillips screwdriver bit and a pair of long nosed pliers. Also, before getting stuck into the job, give some thought to the type of rigging pattern you want on your boat – there are 6 pad eyes in each kit and I was content to simply have 3 on each side and then have a criss-cross pattern of bungee, enough to hold down a 40 litre dry bag stuffed with camping equipment. This was great for the stern deck, but I reduced the pad eyes to 4 on the bow deck because I only want to secure a bum bag and a map, so don’t need as much bungee - but you may want it to do a different job – to stow a paddle for example – whatever – just take a look at images of the decks of different types of touring kayaks on the internet and you’ll see what I mean. So anyway, this is what I did:-

1. Measure and mark where you are going to drill holes for the bolts. It probably goes without saying really, but you need to get this right because you are going to drill holes in your boat and if you get it wrong you will sink or, at best, your boat will look like a colander – if you’re not a confident DIYer, I suggest you get someone who is to do the job or pay a competent tradesman to do it. But anyway – I marked the positions for where I was going to drill the holes for the bolts to attach the pad eyes – the little plastic retaining guides for the bungee cord.

2. Drill the holes. But don’t get it wrong. No-one likes a kayak that looks like this:

So, no pressure :-) Drill those holes!

3. Using the bolts, nuts and washers, fix the pad eyes to the deck. The bolt goes through the pad eye which pushes up to the deck. On the under side of the deck, push the washer onto the protruding bolt followed by the nut – then tighten. I found that using the cordless drill with a Phillips screwdriver bit on the bolt combined with holding the nut securely with the long nosed pliers worked a treat. Tightened properly, you shouldn’t get any water leaking through these holes – I shouldn’t because my holes are well above the water line and I’ve no intention of doing any white-water or sea stuff, but to make absolutely sure you can either use neoprene washers under the head of the bolt (between the bolt head and the deck) or you can apply a small amount of silicone sealant to the bolt before you push it into the hole. If you don’t bother like me and they do let in water, you can always add sealant at a later date.

4. Fix a shock cord end hook to one end of the bungee cord (Don’t cut the bungee cord at this stage!) and attach it to one of the pad eyes. This is simple to do – the end hooks are made up of 2 bits – the collar and the hook itself. First pop the collar over the end of the bungee, then push the end of the bungee all the way home into the housing on the hook piece, then push the collar all the way home to secure the bungee. Then feed the other end of the bungee (the end with no hook) through all of the other pad eyes in a pattern which you (hopefully) will already have planned. Now, before you do anything else (namely cut your bungee and add the other hook) think about what you are going to stow under this bungee – how bulky is it? Because the shock cord will only give so much. What I did was simply take up the slack through all the pad eyes, but then I extended the cord through another guide to give me an extra 12 inches of bungee should I need it for my 40 litre dry bag, in which case I would hook the bungee onto the pad eye it was originally intended to give me more slack. Only then did I cut the bungee and fix the end hook. I hope this makes sense, if not I hope the photos demonstrate what I mean. 

5. That’s it! Bob’s your Uncle, Fanny’s your Aunt! This is what the finished job looked like. I’m sure you’ll agree a huge improvement from the photo at the top.

• Dry Bag – essential if you plan on taking your kayak away on camping trips – you’ll need some sort of container in which to keep your gear dry. There are various types – barrels and dry bags being the principal two. Both come in an array of sizes, but I would suggest that barrels are more suited to an open canoe than a kayak. But it’s up to you. I bought this dry bag new off eBay and it is perfect for me. It’s 100% waterproof and will bungee to my stern deck. I bought a land rover one because I have a land rover – for no other reason – but I am delighted with it.

So, this is the kit list and cost up to now:

• Kayak £132

• Paddle £24

• Spray Deck £24

• PFD                                                                                £25

• Deck Rigging Kits x2 £20

• 40 litre Dry Bag £20

• Shipping costs £5

Total……………………………………………………….. £250 *

* That’s $392 US as of 14th August 2012 (1USD=0.63655GBP)

Not bad considering a new kayak would set you back in the region of £500 - £600 ($785 - $942 US) before you even think about buying any of the other essentials!

I know there’s a lot more equipment I could get, and may get in the future, such as a helmet for example – this will probably be my next purchase - and of course I will put these items on the blog as and when I get them.

Images of Foxton

Went for a 12 mile hike with the chaps today (threemenonawalk.blogspot.com for details) and part of the walk took in the section of Grand Union Canal near the famous staircase of locks - Foxton. It's been years since I was there last and I have to say I was really impressed with the improvements that have clearly been brought about through huge investment. So taken was I with this stretch of canal that I'll try and get the Drama Queen up there in the next few weeks. In the meantime, here's a few snaps from our day.

Back on the High Sea! (Well........low canal anyway)

Friday afternoon saw me slide out of work as soon as I could and I legged it home to get changed, get the Drama Queen strapped to the roof of the car before driving to last week's start point (I still don't know the number of that bloody bridge - I should have looked but I forgot) between South Kilworth and Welford.

It was another beautiful day - a day that reminded me very much of those balmy summer days when I was a kid - very still, very hot - the sleep of the still waters interrupted only by the frantic darting about of insects - dragon flies, damsel flies and pond skidders and water boatmen - it was simply lovely. I unleashed the Drama Queen and carried her down to the water's edge. There was none of the fuss that I'd experienced last week - after all I was an experienced kayaker now (hmmm) - I stepped into the spray deck and stepped off the canal side, sylph-like, and into the kayak. Well okay, that's not quite true - it took me a minute or two of grunting, sweating, pushing and shoving to get in, but it certainly wasn't the drama it had been last time. Feeling rather pleased with myself, I attached the rim of the spray deck and paddled, confidently, southward towards Yelvertoft. I felt like a kayaker, not like some greenhorn who'd just hired a splashcat on Southport lake! It was a wonderful moment. But then, I'm easily pleased.

This southbound stretch of the Grand Union was, in my view, much more beautiful - lush and green - than the northbound section I'd paddled the previous trip. It reminded me of the the lazy river at Disneyworld (as daft as that may sound) but it really did feel quite jungle-like (possibly it was the heat combined with the hum of insects and the lush, high greenery) as I meandered slowly along the canal. I paddled effortlessly along and it was a good half hour before I saw a single soul - a couple of souls actually who passed me in the opposite direction aboard their narrow boat, he at the helm and her lying on deck sunning herself in a bikini. Timmy (their small mongrel) ran to the bow to yap at me. I waved my paddle in greeting as we passed. The bikini clad lady sat up on her elbows and gave me a nice smile - she had long blond hair pulled up into a pony tail and her bikini was pink with a small yellow stripe - not sure what he looked like but I think he waved.

I'm occasionally reminded of the movie 'Deliverance', where some paddlers are attacked by some backwater bumpkins who are completely mad - possibly through interbreeding - indeed, some of the paddlers are even murdered by these deformed lunatics. Thankfully, I didn't come across any characters such as these........

I carried on for another half hour before coming across a fisherman - I stopped paddling and asked if I could come through. He reeled in his float and hook and waved me through. As I passed I was delighted as he called me a polite kayaker. I'd read some horror stories on blogs about fishermen and kayakers and how they have become natural enemies - vying for the same patches of water, unable to co-exist. I'm not sure what the reality of the relationship really is, but I don't think it costs anything to be polite and this particular fisherman appreciated it, so I paddled on feeling contented with the world. An hour and a half into my paddle and I begrudgingly turned back and headed back towards the car. I passed two, possible three more narrowboats at most - one particular one caught my eye, and ears, as it approached me - there were half a dozen lads in their 20's on board, drinking beer on deck as loud rock music pounded out from the living quarters. I heard one shout to his mates, 'Ramming Speed Captain' as he spotted me and for a moment my heart sank as I thought there may be a confrontation, but they were good natured and polite as they waved and said hello as I paddled past. It really was a lovely afternoon and my confidence in my paddling stroke and ability to manoeuvre as narrow boats passed was growing by the minute - I was surprised at how quickly the Drama Queen could progress as I increased the pace of my forward stroke - I even passed a narrow boat travelling in the same direction at one point, although it caught up with me a few minutes later as I drifted, exhausted, gently alongside the reed banks of the canal.

I got back to the land rover at about quarter past five and lashed the Drama Queen to the roof and headed back to Lutterworth - I had to pick Dawn up from work at quarter to six.

So that was my second outing - a beautiful three hour paddle on a lovely summer's day. I've attached a few photo's. Not sure where I'm going next, but I'll keep you posted.

Russ

The Maiden Voyage of the 'Drama Queen'

The Drama Queen?

Got a certain ring to it hasn't it? Okay maybe not. But anyway - I was racking my brains trying to think of an appropriate name for the kayak (I couldn't just keep referring to it as 'the kayak' - that sounds so impersonal) and I was reminded of the famous Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn movie, 'The African Queen', in which a gin-swilling riverboat captain (Humph) is persuaded by a straight-laced missionary (Kath) to use his boat (The African Queen) to attack an enemy warship. Take a look............

......'ain't she a beauty? The boat, not Katherine! Although clearly she was too.

So anyway, there I was thinking about the African Queen and all of a sudden it hit me! (that'll teach me to daydream during a cricket match!). Those who know me know that one of my hobbies is amateur drama - I'm an active member of Wycliffe Drama Group in Lutterworth, Leicestershire and so it seemed perfect - the Drama Queen was born - or rather re-born. Anyway, I like it.

So, back to the maiden voyage.

I'd been trawling the internet looking for a suitable paddle and decided upon a tame start in the local canal - The Grand Union Canal - Leicester Branch. A grand title too isn't it and deservedly so - with competition from the railways having taken a large share of traffic in the second half of the 19th century, improvements in roads and vehicle technology in the early part of the 20th century meant that the lorry was also becoming a threat to the canals. Tolls had been reduced to compete with the railways, but there was little scope for further reduction. The Regent's Canal and the Grand Junction Canal agreed that amalgamation and modernisation were the only way to remain competitive. The (present) Grand Union Canal came into being on 1 January 1929, extended in 1932. And let me tell you, it is beautiful. Well the 9 miles I paddled on a lovely still, sunny day last Friday certainly was. Take a look at some of the photos....

I launched from Bridge 38 (I think it was 38 although it could have been 37....doh!!). Anyway, I parked on South Kilworth Road between the villages of South Kilworth and Welford - there's room to park about 4 or 5 vehicles there right by the bridge and then its only a 20 yard walk to the canal-side.

It took me a good 10 minutes to get into the boat once I'd lowered it into the canal - I'd literally forgotten how to get in and out of a kayak - but once I'd got the hang of it it was okay and I practiced getting in and out a few times (if anyone had been watching they would have probably thought, 'Jeeze...I wish he'd make his mind up - is he going for a paddle or not?')

Anyway, getting into the kayak........I positioned the boat lengthways against the canal wall - if you look at the above photo, I literally dropped the boat in right there - sat beside the kayak, placed my paddle at 90 degrees to the boat and draped it across the stern deck and rested the other end on the canal-side. I then used the paddle to steady myself as I stepped into the boat and then flung myself into the seat. The first attempt saw the boat rock violently from side to side, almost dumping me into the drink before it prematurely, and surprisingly quickly actually, set sail, sideways, and hit the bridge arch on the other side. I'm now sat, puffing and blowing, in a worryingly rocking kayak on the opposite side of the bank to where my paddle is still lying. I looked quickly around, just to make sure there were no boat owners or canal walkers now doubled up in fits of hysterics as this fat loon attempts to not climb into a kayak, but put it on! Thankfully, I was safe - no one around, so I got my breath back and then hung over the bow of the kayak like a gorilla and used my hands to paddle my way back to the correct side of the canal where my paddle waited patiently. A few more go's and I think I'd mastered it! I put the spray deck on - I'd forgotten to say that I had already put this on before carrying the kayak to the water's edge - it was a synch compared to getting in the boat - and off I went. It was a doddle once I got the hang of it and I spent the next 3 and a half hours paddling approximately 9 miles. I headed north from the bridge and continued to a fork in the canal (I took the left fork) and continued until I reached Husband's Bosworth Tunnel where I turned round and paddled back taking in the right hand fork for a couple of miles before heading back to my start point. It was brilliant and a memorable maiden voyage for me and the Drama Queen.

I'm going back there this coming Saturday, although my plan is to head south from Bridge 38 (I'm sure it was 38...........or was it 37?). I'll keep you posted.

Russ

So what's this blog all about?

Well it all started here..............

......the breathtakingly beautiful Derwent Water in Cumbria.

In May this year I walked Hadrian's Wall National Trail with a group of friends (full details and photos at www.threemenonawalk.blogspot.com). We completed the walk in 6 days and then spent an extra few days in Keswick. We camped at the Caravan and Camping Club site and this was the view from my tent. I spent a few hours just sat taking in this view and it was during this chill-out time that I observed a couple of people dragging kayaks into the water, climbing into them, and then serenely sailing off into the distance. Their paddling seemed so relaxing and the entire scene just so idyllic that I thought to myself....."I'd like to have a go at that." The rest, as they, is history.

Hadrian's Wall completed, I returned home and soon got back to work and back to reality, but so captivated was I with the scene of the paddlers on Derwent Water, that I started to research kayaking. I'd done a bit many years ago and even took a beginners course in the local pool, but I never took it particularly seriously at the time - always had too much else to do - but now, in my mid forties, another adventure held real appeal.

In July, Dawn and I took off with the caravan and spent a couple of weeks touring Cornwall, Devon and Somerset and, again, I observed plenty of folks enjoying themselves on kayaks. I simply had to have one!

Even the briefest of surfs (is that the right term?) around the web will make you realise one thing about kayaks - they're bloody expensive! I knew there and then - second-hand was the way forward for me. And God bless ebay!

Anyway, back to the original question, what is this blog all about?

As a novice kayaker, I have found the endless research pretty tiresome, particularly as I just couldn't find all the information I needed in one spot. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of good, informative sites out there, they just didn't suit me that's all. So the aim of this site is to share my novice kayaking experiences with like-minded people and anyone else who may be interested. I'll share what I found out as a result of research, about the different types of kayak out there and the different things they can do, what sort of price you can expect to pay for such boats - new and second-hand, how best (and cheaply) to transport them, the types of equipment you'll need and, of course, I'll share my kayaking trips (I've had one already!) as and when I do them!

Another incentive comes from my friend Graham (seen with me below) a fellow kayaker who wants to paddle from London to Manchester on the canal system. I'd love to join him but I think I'm going to need some practice first!

So that's it in a Coracle shell. And that's enough for me for today - the blog is set up. I do hope you'll come back. :-)

Russ

Welcome to One Man In A Kayak!

Well, if you've found your way to my blog, I guess........

a) I've told you about it
b)You're lost or
c)You're bored

If (by a million to one chance) you've arrived here because you're interested......

WELCOME!

As you can see I'm really pleased you're here.

The blog, predominantly, is about one of my new hobbies - kayaking. I'm a novice kayaker - I did a bit years ago and have forgot it all now - but I thought it would be interesting to chart my progress as I learn. One of my other hobbies is amateur drama, so if you see some odd looking photos (as above) it's just me trying to combine the hobbies in one blog - in case you thought I was completely potty!


I'll try to make the blog as interesting as possible over the coming months. The page 'So what's this blog all about?' will tell you more.

Thanks for visiting - even if it was an accident - I hope you come back.

Russ