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I have finally finished school and gearing up for the summer holidays. We have been watching the weather avidly as we are meant to be having a relaxing kayaking trip from Weston-Super-Mare to Fowey in Cornwall as of Tuesday.

Dave is currently trying to register our SPOT satellite personal tracker and figure out how to use it, so if we can get it up and running and onto the website then you will be able to track our kayaking progress. We are hoping that once we are on the road on our cycling adventure we will be able to use it so that people will be able to keep real time tracks on us via Google maps.

In the meantime, both our fingers and toes are crossed for sunshine and flat waters!

31st July 2008 Aborted Kayak Trip

(Count down: 90 days until we fly) This isn't about cycling but thought you might be interested to find out what we have been up to!

Dave and I are now back in Poole after an aborted and emotional (for me) attempt to kayak around the South West coast. Click here to view our photos of the trip. Looking back on the photos, the sea state and weather looks awesome, however I was too scared to take pictures on the surf, in the tidal races and wind - which is not shown!

So what happened? The first day showed great promise as we drove out of Dorchester with blue skies, but as we neared Minehead, a grey blanket enveloped and draped itself over both the water and the sky. The previous evening, we had taken a group decision to start from Minehead rather than Weston-Super-Mare, this was based on a lot of kayaking advice from friends who wondered why on earth we wanted to kayak through the soupy muddy waters of Weston-Super-Mare looking for donkeys on the shore. So instead we changed our passage plan, hoped for the best and got dropped off in Minehead.

After an hour or so sorting out our kit and wondering how we were going to fit all our equipment into our hatches, we boldly set off with butterflies in our stomach about the up and coming adventure. The wind stayed low and we enjoyed the feeling of finally being on the water and marvelled at the tree lined coast.

Barbara and her daughter Sally hadn't failed to ensure that our energy levels were topped up with their delicious chocolate muffins, homemade caramel shortbread, treacle cake and flap jacks which we began to devour at our first rest stop at Porlock Weir.

We carried on for a few more hours, but having not kayaked since May (when we circumnavigated the Isle of Wight), I struggled against the increasing winds and turning tide, becoming somewhat stressed and tired to say the least!  Eventually we fought our way onto the nearest beach available, which turned out to be WringcliffBay.

We decided to pitch camp at WringcliffBay for the night and were pleased to discover that we had our own running stream and wished we had brought our Katadyn pump to try out. Dave wasted no time in whipping out the Liard Firebox to test it. The firebox is a flat-packed, steel structure that can be assembled and used to burn small sticks and can be cooked on. It proved very useful as we couldn't find much wood on the beach and it belted out enough heat to keep us warm without scarring the environment. We just wished we had brought a few sausages to throw on it! However, we think that it will prove to be very useful on our cycling trip as an alternative to using the gas stove.

After eating meatball stew, we settled down to watch the incoming tide and hoped that it wouldn't reach the tent. We had already scouted out the last tidal mark and it was worryingly close to where we had pitched our tent and tethered out boats. Ian and I began to get even twitchier when we were informed by Barbara that we were on spring tides! Barbara entertained us by digging a moat in front of her tent to deter the incoming tide, whilst I decided to have a bit of a nap on a rock further up the beach and wait for the tide to turn before I ventured to sleep in the tent! The tide did eventually wash into the moat but turned before it reached the tents!

Turning into one headland we braced ourselves to ride through the tidal race - this is a point that I find is always filled with tension and dread, but once through, the adrenaline rush is incredible. These feelings were especially heightened as, after having a breaking wave crash over my deck, I heard Dave shout. He had been keeping a careful eye on the group and was frantically shouting and pointing. The shouts were followed by lots of pointing and we were blessed with the sight of two dolphins riding the waves about 3 metres from Dave's boat. This is a sight that I had been waiting to see since taking up kayaking and it was indeed a very special moment.

By about 3pm, we had experienced a number of changing weather and sea conditions, and so, not too far from Ilfracombe, we decided to call it a day. We set up camp on Lee beach rather than fight the turning tide and we were then able to enjoy the rest of the sunshine, out of the wind. A swim, searching the rock pools, skimming rocks, a curry and a few beers finished the day off nicely, before we again kept an eye on the rising tide.

It wasn't the tide that kept a few of us awake through the night. About 4am the wind was rattling through our tent so I decided to get up and shut the outer fly sheet. I was startled to find Barbara sleeping outside on the beach, apparently unable to sleep for fear of falling stones onto the tent. Not only did she sleep under the stars, but both of us were rewarded with a gorgeous sunrise.

Sunrise on Lee Beach

The following morning we thankfully had a pretty uneventful kayaking experience around Bull Point, RockhamBay and Morte Point, which we were very pleased about as we had heard these could be very tricky headlands to pass. It wasn't until our planned lunch stop that things started to heat up.

At it was such a sunny day, CroydeBay was particularly busy and we thought we could spy a lot of surf onto the beach. Being a little nervous of surf, we decided to sneak into a small narrow cove, protected by high rocks. Dave decided to land first but out of nowhere a swell began to build up. In a confusion of communication, Barbara and I misunderstood and landed on the beach riding on the swell. Apparently Dave had tried to ward us off landing due to the rising force of the swell. The wave sets didn't seem to ease up and with the receding tide, huge boulders became visible, where the waves were breaking with vigor. As Ian approached for his landing, we held our breath as he was nearly thrown into the cliff walls. Thankfully by his third attempt he had managed to stay dry, upright and uninjured. Hand signals have subsequently been sorted out! We thought we were in for an uncomfortable rest stop amongst flies, smelly seaweed and plastic debris. That was, until Barbara scaled the cliff and announced that there was a cafe within 50m of our landing site, advertising coffee, breakfast and the most amazing view over Croyde bay. Perhaps the botched landing was worth it after all! We even got the best seats to watch the coastguard helicopter make a spectacular beach landing.

Relaxed and content with another great lunch we were optimistic for our crossing of CroydeBay and BidefordBay. A gentle breeze began to pick up and as we turned into Saunton Sands we were faced with 34 miles per hour winds gusting from inshore. There was absolutely no way we were going to be able to kayak across BidefordBay and so began a battle to get into Saunton Sands. We took shelter in the sand dunes and decided to try and wait out the winds.

Battling against the wind!

Eventually by about 4pm we convinced ourselves that the winds had dropped and we should have another bash at crossing BidefordBay. We got out through the surf, but as soon as we did the wind picked up again and we only managed to get about a mile further, before deciding enough was enough. By then, the surf had grown louder and larger and the sea looked nasty up ahead, so we turned to the shore once again and carried out some spectacular surfing (why does the surf never look that big in photos?). Then began the process of lugging all the boats about half a mile up the beach at Braunton Burrows, to the safety and protection of the sand dunes. Naturally, as soon as we had unpacked the tents, the wind died down and we were treated to a spectacular sunset. Our luxury items of whisky and chocolates was definitely needed and helped to soothe those aching muscles as we relaxed in excellent company next to the warmth of a fire.

That night I tossed and turned wondering whether to continue on the trip as I wasn't enjoying it as much as I should have been or as much as I had enjoyed our other recent expeditions. I think I hadn't mentally prepared for the trip as much as I had done previously and found that my head was all over the place with huge highs and lows. I suppose that I had looked on the kayaking naively as a holiday - a way to wind down and relax after the summer term of teaching, but instead, I found myself tense and very emotional. So I decided to see what the following day would bring.

Morning brought more carrying of boats down to the shore and then we had to push our way out through the surf. I think that I have developed a few fears kayaking, surfing is one of them, due to lack of experience and open passages is another. I was first off to punch my way through the surf and noticed that I was shaking with fear and fighting back the tears. The surf looked enormous sitting in the kayak and eventually I made it through and waited for the others to join me. The first part of the morning passed on a high as we had tide with us and little wind as we made the 12km open crossing from Braunton Sands towards Clovelly. However as we passed the green Starboard buoys I began to struggle as we seemed to be making little head way, as we battled against the tide going into the Estuary - my whole body ached and by then felt exhausted.

The monotony of the crossing from Babbacombe to Clovelly was broken up when I saw what looked like a cormorant diving just off the left of the bow of my boat. Dave saw it too but was a little ahead of me. All I heard him shout was, "Shark! Fin! Shark!" At that point I immediately made out the black outline of a fin which was going around and around in circles, very close to my boat. I couldn't believe my luck, not only had we seen seals and dolphins but now a basking shark! Dave concentrated on the dark shape of the body lurking under the water, whilst I was fixated on the size of its mouth! It was spectacular to see its black and white spotted body moving just under the surface of the water.

I was still in awe of the shark but further on couldn't shake the feeling of exhaustion. Enough was enough for me and I decided that I was going to bail on the kayaking as soon as we arrived in Clovelly and let the others continue without a moody and emotional 4^th person! I tried to persuade Dave to continue without me whilst I made my way back to Poole, but being the gentleman and kind, considerate person that he is, he decided to come back with me. I am really pleased that Ian and Barbara decided to carry on and attempted to make it around Hartland Point whilst they had the weather and tides still in their favour.

As luck would have it, we managed to store our boats with an RNLI crew member. A kindly couple called Syb and Ross took pity on us and drove us to Barnstable train station where we were able to make our way back to Gillingham. Thankfully my mum was staying in Poole for the weekend and picked us up from the station! I still can't believe how quickly we managed to get home!

The kayaking has made me think very hard about our up and coming cycling adventure and what I can learn and take from this experience. How is my perception of kayaking different from cycling? I know that with cycling, on those long open roads/open crossings that if need be I can get off my bike and have a 5 minute respite, whereas with kayaking, that can be impossible against the tide. With cycling I know that although we will have to get up and down the hills and challenging terrain I won't have the fear of surf or capsizing. With cycling I have taken a hands-on role in the creation and direction of the trip and therefore I am passionate and dedicated to the cause. Plus, we will have also sold all our belongings and won't have a flight ticket home!! I think I will also be repeating Lance Armstrong's quote which I have just discovered, "Pain is temporary, it may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, if I quit; however, it lasts forever."

So what have we been doing in the mean time? Relaxing! We have spent a few lovely days with family, sunbathing, swimming in the sea and having nice meals and I can now say that I have finally begun to unwind.

Dave and I have been on the hunt for a new tent and a few other bits and pieces. We have also taken the bikes out on a 70km bike ride around the quaint little Dorset villages and they handled beautifully! Yesterday, our front room looked like a bomb site as we began to gather all of our equipment together, make lists of what we are taking and began to check whether we have enough room for it all in the panniers. It is quite hard to squash everything down to four panniers and no doubt we are already taking far too many things with us! For me I am trying to work out how many books I will be able to fit in my panniers!

We have also heard from the TES newspaper who are going to do a photo shoot of us in their "Picture Perfect" section, so hopefully that will kick start the beginning of our press campaign to advertise our trip.