Scorchio and a Rash Decision

After a week of Scorchio paddling on Anglesey and watching so many of you suffering in your winter weight cags (well you did need them in May!!) We've got a summer sizzler deal just for our blog readers.

Simply tell us that you'd like to make a "RASH DECISION" and we'll give you a FREE Peak UK Short Sleeve Rash Vest in red or blue worth £30  when you order a Peak UK Tourlite Shorty cag for £75

Offer valid from now until starts raining on Anglesey again!!

 
Another thing you may wish to consider adding to your summer paddling wardrobe are the Peak UK Neoskin Shorts, Strides & Pants. Much more comfortable than sitting in wet board shorts and their "sticky bum" stops you from sliding around on the seat. Shorts. 3/4 length and full length options leave you spoilt for choice with these summer best sellers.

Happy Paddling!!
Pete

Snow Daze....

And so what should have been the start of spring for us and a busy weekend, bites the dust (snow actually) and the long winter that started at the end of August rolls on for another month. I've just cancelled our first demo weekend of the year as the driving conditions coming into North Wales are very poor.

I'm really hoping that this year is the reverse of last year. This time last year we were enjoying glorious sunshine and light winds, after 2 weeks of that it crapped out for the rest of the summer. I hope that winters last bite will lead us into a spectacular spring followed by a wonderful summer extending into a gentle autumn in mid-october. We really do need the weather to improve to try and boost things.

This is the Sea 5 - UK Premiere to be held on Anglesey

We've got them in stock and available to order for delivery on 8th March. This is the Sea 5



Award winning film-maker (and local paddler), Justine Curgenven has agreed to hold the UK premiere of her newest release at our shop on Anglesey at 7pm on the evening of Saturday 30th March. She won't be showing the whole film, but some sections and talking about the hows, whys and wheres of making the new DVD. She has assured us that she won't go on for as long as John Willacy entertained us for telling us about his UK Circumnavigation.

Obviously, Justine will have the new DVD available to buy there on the night (as well as her extensive back catalogue).



Here's a sneak preview of the new release:

Not just "another demo weekend"

We've been down at Rhoscolyn today on one of our coach-led demo weekends. It's a bit different from a regular demo weekend, we have a huge number of boats available from many manufacturers. Today we had 36 boats in total, from P&H, Tiderace, SKUK, Valley, North Shore & Rockpool.

The coach leading the day gets you to consider why the boat handles the way it does, asking you questions and guiding you through the decision making process and getting you to think about what it is exactly that you like or dislike about a particular boat.

Carpe Paddlarum

I got a text message asking if I wanted to go out and play with some of the usual suspects who have been putting up the fastest times on the Menai Challenge in recent weeks. It was an "après travail" paddle, so the last 30 minutes in the shop were spent loading a couple of boats on the roof as Ben was joining us.

This one wasn't an attempt on the aformentioned challenge, but simply a bimble up the straits around Ynys Seiriol (or Puffin Island for those who don't speak Cymraeg) and back down to Porth Penmon. Puffin Island is the 9th largest island off the coast of Wales.

It all started well, I texted to say that we'd arrived and we had, just not in the same lay-by as the other four. So we moved around the corner, got changed and carried our boats down to the waters edge. It was a big tide and a long carry.

We launched our boats and just paddled along at a leisurely pace, enjoying the scenery, inspecting the wreck of the 471 ton sand dredger Hoveringham, which is revealed at low water and on low springs easily accessed by kayak. It's teeming with marine life.

And on this occasion even had a few of the "redactum maculosus salsus mare canis"  in residence.

As we passed between Penmon Point and Perch Rock, a small pod of porpoise passed us, but alas I was too slow in snatching my camera from the deck bag and so their passing went unrecorded. We paddled up the east side of Puffin Island, named after the now much reduced colony of Fratercula arctica (Puffins to you and I), rather than the Puffinus puffinus which is the latin name for the Manx Shearwater and a completely unrelated species. The puffins numbers were greatly reduced following the accidental introduction of the Rattus norvegicus (Brown rat and coincidentally the title of one my favourite albums in my teens, by the popular beat combo, The Stranglers). Strangely, the largest bird population found on the island now is Phalacrocorax carbo, the Great Cormorant.

We continued to the North Eastern corner and found an abundance of Halichoerus grypus, Atlantic Grey Seal. Although we approached quietly a number of them still took to the water, but they soon became their usual inquisitive selves.

We sat with the seals, watching them watching us, watching them watching us for a short while before we moved on.

We paddled back past the lighthouse as the sun was setting.

The plan was to be back in time for pysgod a sglodion, fish & chips for the non Cymraeg speakers, in Menai Bridge, but we dawdled and enjoyed the scenery as we passed the wreck of the Hoveringham again.

The title of todays post, well, I'd used Carpe Diem just over a year ago, and I don't want to be too repetitive, so I cobbled together some of the pidgin latin I could remember from my alma amater, Eastbrook Comprehensive I've used the feminine genitive plural, "Carpe paddlarum", "Sieze the paddles". I'm happy to be corrected & educated by any latin scholars out there.

Thanks to John, Pascale, Aled, Marcus & Ben for their company. If paddlings not your thing and carpe paddlarum doesn't apply for you, still Carpe diem, sieze the day and make every second count. You're a long time dead!!