The Expedition Journals

Whenever I venture out in one of my sea kayaks, I complete a hand written logbook with details of the voyage. There is something very special about reading back through the journal on a dark winter evening, and recalling the adventures. In this blog post, I thought I would do the same with a pictorial log of some of my waterborne adventures of 2022. These paddles were all undertaken from my home port of Bembridge Harbour, and they ranged in length from 15 to 50 kilometres.  The trend if for blue skies and calm seas – that wasn't always the case on my sea kayak outings, but it does lend itself to a steadier hand and a better photo; there were plenty of rough and salt spray soaked days on the water as well, they just didn't make this photo blog... Luccombe Bay – March 2022 Luccombe Bay – March 2022 The Witterings (UK Mainland) – May 2022 Shanklin Bay – June 2022 Osbourne Bay – August 2022 Priory Bay – September 2022 Bembridge Low Tide – October 2022

Kayaking has been a passion of mine since I was a child—I spent many great summer evenings messing about in boats with the Sea Scouts. Then, after a time away dedicated to other outdoor pursuits such as rowing, sailing and (of course) cycling, in 2018 my kayaking was rekindled. A Valley Etain 17.5 RM was my first expedition level sea kayak, and the boat I used for the Round The Island Kayak marathon back in 2019; a 92-kilometre non-stop paddle around the Isle of Wight to raise funds for a local children's cancer charity. The lockdowns of 2020 saw me reaching for the paddle on a more regular basis, as I looked to add as much diversity to my life through varied outdoor sports. Honing my paddling skills during this period, combine with great memories of the 2019 Round The Island paddle got me thinking about the next sea kayaking challenge that might be on the horizon. Kayak racing has never really been on the agenda for me, but I have always enjoyed seeing how far and how fast...