I've just received a reply from the William Crookshank, of the Environment Agency, in response to my emails about the recent EA report into English & Welsh river access. It would seem that the EA have used Section 16 of the Countryside Rights of Way Act (CRoW Act) to enshrine a voluntary access agreement into permanent access. Whilst they may well wish to publicise this as "unique", and applaud their efforts, they seem to have missed the point.
Kayakers in England and Wales have been actively pursuing 'voluntary agreements' for 40 odd years, and in the majority of cases there is little or no interest from landowners to enter into voluntary agreements. Where landowners have, they're usually limited and restrictive in nature and we've been expected to thank them for their kindness. So, in the absence of any willing to enter into voluntary agreements, how does the EA expect their 'unique' use of Section 16 of the CRoW act to actually make a difference?
It strikes me that their use of Section 16 will suffer from the Law of Unintended Consequences, and will actually mean less landowners than before consider entering into 'voluntary agreements' if they believe that these are irreversible because of the 'unique' use of the CRoW Act.
How much longer must we wait for a change in the law, similar to the situation in Scotland??
There's been a bit of debate and chat about the rights and wrongs of solo paddling lately on UKRGB. Some of it, surprisingly has been about whether or not it is the right thing to do.
Clearly, as with a lot of adventurous activities, undertaking any form of kayaking by yourself will change the nature of the risks you face. However, does this/should this, result in solo paddling being seen as the wrong thing to do. One commentator said that most coaches won't/can't condone it.
As Douglas Bader allegedly once said "Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men". So, what makes a group of paddlers foolish, and the solo paddler a wise man?
I believe it's easier to answer the latter. The wise solo paddler seeks to understand the environment in which he paddles, the nature of the real and perceived risks he faces, and understands his role within the grand scheme of things. He has thought about how to limit his exposure to the risks, and has a 'cunning plan' should they occur. Ultimately, he knows that he could lose his life, but has weighed up the risks against the benefits to be gained from escaping by himself into the real world. He is aware of his skills, his performance ability, his limits.
So, what makes a group foolish? Is that such a hard question to answer now that I've looked at some of the things I believe has made the solo paddler a wise man? A foolish group may not fully understand the environment, it's risks, or know what to do if they occur. They may each be hiding under the false belief that the other members of the group will look after them, or that somehow as a group they are stronger - when as a group they've not practiced safety and rescue techniques. Each member may have abdicated responsibility for their own personal safety to 'the group'.
But what about the other argument often brought out when a solo paddler/walker is rescued? "You shouldn't be so irresponsible expecting everyone else to risk their lives rescuing you?". A few of my friends belong to various different parts of the rescue community, be it Fire, Ambulance, Police, Coastguard, Lifeguards, Lifeboat crew and I can't think of a single one of them that would say such a thing, provided the solo paddler was properly skilled, prepared, and able to take on the challenges. And I'm sure they're attuned to spotting the ones who aren't.
So, is the solo paddler foolish, and the group wiser??
Personally, I think those who are against solo paddling (or solo participation of other sports, e.g. walking, climbing, etc) should take a deep look inside them and ask themselves the question "what is it, deep within me, that prevents me from undertaking solo paddling?". For I believe that it is more often a reflection of the critics weaknesses, not a concern for the solo paddler, that drives those who criticise the solo paddler.
I know this, I have friends who climb solo and run rivers solo. In both cases, if I look deep enough I know that, with the exception of extremely easy ones, I wouldn't climb solo or run rivers solo, because neither my climbing or river paddling skills are good enough. However, knowing this, does not allow me to impose my own limits on others activities.
*for the avoidance of doubt - he means she, him means her, etc..
I'm running a intermediate surf kayaking course this coming weekend, and have space for a couple more people on it, if anyone is interested. For more info, click here. As I'm offering the spaces at last minute, they can go at half-price £40 per person for two-days of coaching. Read more:
The sea kayaking blog world is alive to the sounds of Simon Willis's excellent podcast with Gordon Brown, the author of the latest sea kayaking book to hit the press. I've no doubt that this will be an excellent read so have already pre-ordered my copy. It's not due out until 16th November, just in time for the Christmas market.
Let's hope it finally silences the critics who don't believe in the effectiveness of bow rudders and cross-dec bow rudders for sea kayaking ;-)
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For those that don't know what the UK river access situation is like, more info can be found here - but basically it sucks. Most of the river kayaking I do would technically be called trespass in a court of law. And the people who have the power to allow access to rivers by kayakers have no interest in doing so, as to do so would alienate the anglers who pay large sums of money to sit on the river bank fishing.
Personally, I think the river access issues are a direct result of anglers not being prepared to also fight for the right to freely undertake their activity. I also have no intention of following the anglers down this route. In a world where I now have a 'right to roam' that allows me to walk the entire length of rivers, why can't I paddle it...
This situation will not change until the feudal laws we have on fishing rights and land ownership change, until that happens I will keep having to trespass if I am to continue enjoying my river paddling.
I picked up my new surf kayak on Saturday, and took it along to the Valley surf kayak demo day held on Sunday, in small, but clean conditions at Saunton, North Devon.
The photo shows my new surf boat (though not me paddling it), it's a composite Valley Rush, and boy, does it fly! Even in small conditions like yesterday, I was immediately impressed with the speed I could generate through the bottom turn - much quicker than the composite Mega Marauder and plastic Mega Neutron that I've been paddling over the summer.
I took some time out from surfing and chatting to others and bobbed around in the water my camera - more piccies here. If anyone wants high-res versions, then give me a shout.
I also managed to get some time out in Valley's Sneaker, which they describe as a "A soul surfers dream! " - which I have to agree with! In the small swells we had yesterday, this was easily catching everything, and I was really impressed by how manouvreable this was. Every board surfer I know (including myself) has a fond memory of great days spent in small surf riding a mini-mal surf board. This boat has to be the surf kayakers equivalent. My only regret was that I couldn't stand up in a classic soul-arch position.
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In my quest to design a sea kayak, this seems to be the first key decision. "Begin with the end game in mind" as Stephen Covey would have us do, if we are to be truly effective. This makes me question what aspect of sea kayaking really excites me and what is it that my current sea kayaks can't/won't do. I already own a Nigel Dennis Romany which is a fantastic boat, and I hold a demo Island Expedition LV sea kayak on behalf of Brookbank Canoes, another excellent boat.
Looking at sea kayak design in general, I could go longer, shorter, faster, slower, more manouvreable, less manouvreable - you name it, it's possible.
I'm not a keen long distance paddler, I prefer to get my kicks from 'mixing it up' a bit in tidal flows, following seas and surf. I guess that's the whitewater and surf kayaker in me coming out. For me a tidal race is another playground, and one of my regular haunts is Peveril Race at Swanage. I can launch and be stuck into it in around 5 minutes, and spend a couple of hours playing there, before paddling back for 5 minutes.
I think my first boat, therefore will be a highly manouvreable, quick to accelerate 'play' sea kayak, designed to carry minimal load (enough to keep you safe, but little else).
As it's going to be solely for me, I'm not too fussed about designing a secondary, overlapping, purpose - in other words, I won't care how this handles on a long open crossing, or be worried that I can't fit camping gear + food and water for 10 days into it.
Already, I have a mental picture forming. Relatively short, highly rockered, low initial stability, lots of secondary stability, whitewater leg/knee positioning & cockpit, uncluttered decks, etc..
There, job done.. to the drawing board I must go.
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I favour the stitch and glue approach to cedar stripping, partly as I think it will be quicker, but mostly because of the appeal of hard chined hulls - in my eye these angular designs look fantastic. As with my taste for car design, I'm sure my taste may well cycle over time though between angular and smoothly-rounded designs.
Having trawled the net for anything readable on kayak design, I've learnt lots and I think I'm ready to have a go at designing my first kayak. There are various kayak design software programs out there, but most seem to assume a little prior CAD knowledge, which I don't have. Having an educational background which included technical drawing I suspect I'll be drawing my design out on paper, then transferring it to a ply cutting diagram without the use of CAD, which whilst this would seem complicated will only serve to better educate me as to how to calculate such things as Prismatic, Sectional and Block Coefficients and Centre of Lateral Area.
I've also managed to find suppliers of sustainable, environmentally friendlier, materials. Marineply.com supply FSC certified marine plywood, and Sustainable Composites can provide hemp cloth as a replacement for glassfibre and vegetable based resins.
Looks like I'd better clear some space in the garage.. anyone know where I can get a technical drawing desk cheap??
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I've spent the last few days looking into boat design and construction techniques, as with the winter months approaching I'm thinking of building a new sea kayak - ideally, one that I've designed myself also. In my search, I came across Guillemot Kayaks who have a wealth of information on boat design and boat construction, with freely available plans for you to build your self. I also came across this article which featured in the NSW Sea Kayaker magazine, along with a more detailed analysis and reply by John Winters. There's clearly a lot to learn, and a whole new language - but it's one that is fascinating. There's much spoken about boat design, and much of it is what Terry Pratchett calls 'lies-to-children' (amazingly, wikipedia even has an entry on lies-to-children). Clearly, much of what is talked about on kayak design falls in this classification - it's not deliberate, it's often based on widespread misconceptions, but as at least one person has said "if the general public believes it, it must be true". At the mo, I'm torn between just buying some plans and building someone else's boat, or going the whole hog and designing my own sea kayak. What I do know is that I want this boat to be a highly manoeuvrable kayak at home in surf, and tidal races, with a good turn of speed - so, not asking too much I think... Read more:
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