Hijacked!

'jacked by Ewart!

Adriatic sit on top paddling. (its still the sea)
http://3bsports.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/croatian-sea-kayaking.html

South West Canoe Show Sat 12th Oct 2013

The Biggest Show in town is back again! 

All the best sea kayaking brands including P+H, Valley sea kayaks, Tiderace, Wilderness Systems, Kokatat, Palm, Werner paddles and many more. 

Keep up to date with all the info and news by visiting the website.

www.swcanoeshow.co.uk

Yealm Estuary

A few weeks ago Andy and I headed down to paddle the Yealm Estuary, we originally planned on heading along the coast but it was to wind and rough, so we thought we'd stick to an Estuary where is was a bit more protected.

 

 

We started at Newton Ferrers and headed out and up towards Yealmton as far as we could go.

 

 

 

When we reached this little waterfall, we know we'd gone as far as we could go so we turned round, had some lunch and headed back again.

  

 

Once we got to the little branch of the river at Newton Ferrers that we started from we decided to head out towards the sea, where it was rather bleak and rough.

 

 

Here are a couple more pictures, Its a really nice trip to do when its a bit to rough out on the sea and very scenic.

 

This is the little slip way we used as a get in/ out

 

Sea Kayak Demo Weekend 18th/19th May

Yes, this really is Exmouth!

Being that we live in one of the best areas in the country for Sea Kayaking we think its a good idea everyone should get involved.
If you are thinking of buying a sea kayak and are not sure which model to choose or you just want a bit more information on what's involved, our Sea Kayak Demo Weekend could be just what you need.

As with most of AS Watersports events its free to participate in.

The weekend takes place on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th May 2013

The weekend looks like this:

Saturday:
10am - 4pm
Based at our shop on the Quay in Exeter, right on the canal basin with the River Exe just next door. Although its not salt water its the perfect environment for getting to know the different sea kayaks available. Try a new brand or a different model in a brand you know.

There will be local Sea kayak coaches on hand to give tips on paddling skills (not full coaching sessions though), advice on fitting your boat out and all the info you need on each model from the company representatives.
There will be special offers available on custom sea kayaks, in stock boats and second hand or ex demo (if available).

Brands in attendance:
Valley Sea Kayaks
P+H Sea Kayaks
Northshore
Wilderness Systems
Tiderace
and paddles from
Lettmann
Werner

Sunday:
9.30 - 5pm
We are hosting a Guided Test Tour up the River Exe Estuary from Exmouth.
The event is being hosted by the Exmouth Surf lifesaving club.
Meet at 9.30-10 for an 11am on the water start to catch the tide up to Turf  Locks where we will stop for lunch and return on the ebb tide. Please purchase food and drink from the pub. They are happy for a large number of us to land but have requested no picnicking with your own food.
The lunch stop will give you the opportunity to have a swap about with some different boats before paddling back to the beach at Exmouth for tea, medals and more playing about!

To participate in the Guided Test Tour with one of the demo boats you will need to register at the demo event on the Quay on the Saturday.
ROAR on this event.
You will need to provide your own kit and have the relevant skills and experience for the Estuary paddle.
If you have any questions please call the shop.
01392 219600

For more information check out the event on Facebook 
Sea kayak demo weekend event page.

or keep up to date via our news page or newsletter
News page

First Trip of the Year Booked

First paddling trip of the year booked! I'm paddling to Lundy and back for the weekend in June (fingers crossed the weather is ok) I'm off with local coach Mike Bradford who is a customer and friend of ours, I've already been to the Isles of Scilly with him a couple of years back for a week of paddling with some really great people and I'm hoping the trip to Lundy will be just as enjoyable.

Check out Mike Bradfords website for more info

A Rather Soggy Paddle at Hope Cove

 

On Sunday, after not going out sea paddling for a little while me and my boyfriend Andy headed down to Hope Cove to go for a little paddle. Being England it was grey, misty and  of course raining, but that wasn't going to stop us, we were there so we were going to paddle. It was fairly rough when we got there with on shore winds and a far bit of swell, but luckily there is a little walled harbour area that made it easy to get out and back in without to much of a challenge.



Andy enjoying himself

 We took out the two Tide Race demos that we have at AS Watersports, i paddled an Xplore M, which was a little big for me but i just wanted to see how it performed and Andy was in the Xcite M though he was maybe a little heavy for it (all muscle of course!) but i really wanted to see how they behaved on the sea, having only paddled on the canal before.



View from my kayak, you can just see Burgh Island in the distance

 

The aim was to paddle as far as we wanted towards Burgh Island, then turn round and head back towards Hope Cove, as we just had the one car.



 

Andy heading back



Andy found the Xcite M a bit of a challenge as he was a bit heavy for it really, so it was a little on the "sporty" side and a bit tippy, strangely he wasn't to keen on taking many pictures! His other concern about the boat was that he didn't get on with the backrest, as it is quite hard and we both found that the back pad moved along the plastic strip while paddling meaning that one side of your back wasn't getting any padding. If either of us were to buy one of these i think we would need to have a play round with the backrest, as we're used to much more comfier outfitting that you generally get in white water kayaks.

 

 



Jemma looking very bright!



 The Xplore M that i was paddling handled the rough water very well, it felt stable and was also pretty quick though the water, i didn't really notice that it was to big for me as it was still easy to controllable, but i think the smaller size would just feel a bit snugger and I'd have even better contact with the boat. They both certainly looked good on the water (that's after Andy got over paddling a green boat) they are extremely stiff, the hatches were very dry after our paddle and were very easy to get off and on, if we could tweak the backrests I'd really like to give them another go.

 



Jemma posing for a quick picture

Here are a few more pictures, unfortunately they don't give the location justice due to the grey day, there is some lovely scenery here, we will defiantly be coming back on a calmer, sunnier day to paddle all the way to Burgh Island and hopefully get some lovely pictures.



Coming round to the little harbour



Jemma and Andy

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to you all, I hope you had a great Christmas and managed to catch up with all your family and friends. I managed to have a nice break off work from the shop and enjoyed eating and drinking to much. Unfortunately I didn't make it out sea kayaking, all I managed was one trip out on the river. But I'm keen to get out at the next chance I get when the weather is good, hopefully this weekend. I hope you all made it out on the water too. 

I've already started to think about trips for this year and so far have booked some dates to paddle to Lundy (presuming the weather is good), this is something that I have been meaning to do for a couple of years now, but never get the tides right with my weekends off work. Hopefully I'll get myself even more organised soon and have more trips on the calendar.

Happy paddling for 2013 and hopefully see you on the water or in the shop soon.