First of many Kayaking adventures

[GGTBod]

On Thursday morning me and my brother set off up river on the train to where the river Tyne is a beautiful thing instead of this dirty deep dark trench filled with water that snakes through the city centre, we jumped in the river at Stocksfield so we could go over the Low Prudhoe rapids, at one point we ended up going down a set backwards and lost our tracking skeg fin from the underside and then had a battle in the tidal section of the river to keep ourselves going in a straight line, hard work but great fun.


[video=dailymotion;x1zdqy7]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1zdqy7_stocksfield-to-newcastle-upon-tyne-in-an-intex-explorer-k2-inflatable-kayak_sport[/video]

 

[andibs]

Hope you enjoyed but be careful. I'll be back up to your neck of the woods in November for the Tyne Tour. Had a lovely swim down Wardens Gorge last year as it all went wrong on the very first drop !!!!

Andy

 

[GGTBod]

Wardens gauge looks insane i've spent the last hour watching vids of different people in it, i'm not ready for anything like that yet, safety is high on the priorities for sure with us as we are new to the sport/hobby, we both are always wearing 150n automatic full harness lifejackets which i think now are excessive but before launching seemed sensible, next time helmets too. I am definitely hooked, lots to learn

 

[andibs]

Join your local club. They have a good rep and will get you trained up. Great sport but addictive. I now have 3 kayaks and 2 opens and they all get used.

Enjoy
Andy

 

[GGTBod]

I have already been looking into it, just trying to work out when best to join them for our two free taster sessions. I am already eyeing up my next craft to purchase and it will be a sea kayak, i also really like the look of those little one man white water boats less than 1m 50cm long but lots to learn first. Totally agree it's very addictive and there is something visceral and genetic memory about the whole thing.

Cheers for the positive feedback Andy

 

[GGTBod]

Just over 3 weeks and i will be taking one of the IK's up to loch Lomond and staying wild camping for a couple of weeks or so

 

[GordonM]

I enjoyed that video. It won't be long until you two are proper 'River Rats'! A quote I'm fond of:

The first river you paddle runs through the rest of your life. It bubbles up in pools and eddies to remind you who you are. -- Lynn Noel

Have fun with all of your paddling adventures, GGTBod!

 

[GGTBod]

Thanks Gordy, me and my brother are hooked for life, already eyeing up several new craft. I agree with that quote totally especially as this river has run through my whole life my whole life, i keep slapping myself in shock at how it took me so long to get on it in a boat, we are funny creatures us British considering we are island folk very few of us act like it

 

[greensurfingbear]

something I wish Id done when I lived in Newcastle. Mind you only gotten better at paddling since moving north of the border.

Out of interest where did you land?

 

[rancid badger]

Wardens gauge looks insane i've spent the last hour watching vids of different people in it, i'm not ready for anything like that yet, safety is high on the priorities for sure with us as we are new to the sport/hobby, we both are always wearing 150n automatic full harness lifejackets which i think now are excessive but before launching seemed sensible, next time helmets too. I am definitely hooked, lots to learn

If safety is a high priority, forget about the helmets for now and get some professional coaching, so you can learn how to paddle. It will probably save your lives.

I'd highly recommend Kim Bull, heres the sort of thing you need to be able to deal with:
[video=youtube;93gTvOrSzhM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93gTvOrSzhM[/video]

Bear in mind that the above is classed only as an "introduction to rivers and moving water"

 

[GGTBod]

We went through stuff like the first half of the video you linked, i just didn't video as i was helping paddle so we could power in directions against flow if needed, my brother is brand new to it but i have canoed and kayaked in the past just not owned a boat, I've done loads of one man kayaking on lakes and learnt to roll and right and in the Adirondack mountains in my late teens in a canadian style canoe but it was long ago.

We are definitely looking into joining the local club regardless as it will enable much more range of kayaking to be done and like you say safety is paramount and it never hurts to learn all you can from people who know the score. I have no intention of ever going through anything like in the second half of the video in an inflatable boat.

Cheers for the vid i enjoyed watching it

when i get one of these i will join the club so i can relearn properly how to operate in it

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281313065294?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

[GGTBod]

something I wish Id done when I lived in Newcastle. Mind you only gotten better at paddling since moving north of the border.

Out of interest where did you land?

We got out at the quayside between the swing and millennium bridges at a floating pontoon on the Newcastle side as we had been given permission to use it, we have also gotten out before about 25 meters up the ouseburn mouth at a floating pontoon near the flood gates

 

[Gary Elson]

Great to see you've got the bug for paddle sports

But as Rancid Badger says please please please get some decent advice from a club or coach
Automatic life jackets aren't suitable for paddling in for all sorts of reasons
They don't keep you warm after a swim or offer protection against knocks if you swim
Once they've gone off they're difficult to paddle in

I could go on but don't want sound like an old nag or like I'm giving you a lecture
Joining a club is also good fun and you'll meet other paddlers to help

Could you rescue your paddling partner if you got into trouble and could he rescue you ?

Canoeings rule number one is ..... Less than three there should never be ! Crap wording but you get the point

I really want you to enjoy your paddling like I have for the last 25 years happy paddling
Gary

 

[GGTBod]

Good solid advice, we have been practicing the rescue assist maneuvers like throwing each other lines and holding onto the bow or stern handle and raising legs to tuck around the shape of the boat to get to calmer areas, we also plan to go with Kim Bull as soon as we have the funds to get our BCU level 2 skills and certificates, according to Kim's website we already have level one as we have spent over 20hrs each on the water so far.

We have also taught ourselves the kayaking and canoeing semaphore signals so we can signal to each other as we are now in a boat each, we also have bow and stern lines attached on each boat and to us as well as paddle leashes, we are wearing 3mm fleece lined neoprene for warmth and lycra base layers (this is Newcastle area we are kayaking in afterall lol) i would have had some great video from yesterday's adventure but my camera battery was a snidey one and kept switching off the handset everytime i pressed record (found out when i put the real battery in at home that it was not a busted phone), we have already changed the jackets (the others will be good for the sea when we eventually progress to that level) to 50n foam ones for permanent buoyancy.

I am really looking forward to booking up with Kim Bull, even though i much prefer to learn things myself i am not that mad/stupid/arrogante/naive enough as to think it would not be a day filled with amazing skills and knowledge that we will use forever and will definitely improve our safety no end, plus we get to do it in her real boats and not our inflatable canoes, they are great in many ways especially for portaging lol but nothing compared to the real deal.

Do you have a favourite type of kayaking and canoeing?

 

[grumit]

If safety is a high priority, forget about the helmets for now and get some professional coaching, so you can learn how to paddle. It will probably save your lives.

I'd highly recommend Kim Bull, heres the sort of thing you need to be able to deal with:
[video=youtube;93gTvOrSzhM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93gTvOrSzhM[/video]

Bear in mind that the above is classed only as an "introduction to rivers and moving water"

I to highly recommend Kim and dave both great guys

 

[GGTBod]

Just to put minds at ease, i have just emailed Kim Bull in regards to arrange to do the BCU level 2 courses with her team

 

[northumbrian]

Nice to see the river from a different view from what I normally see it ! You pass through one of my best fishing spots around the twenty minute mark in the vid , a good mixture of game,coarse and sea fish to be had thereabouts . Its a canny current there too, sometimes when its windy you get white tops big enough to surf on lol.There used to be a university boat club next to the boathouse at Newburn ! I had to help one of them out across the mud flats once when they were blown onto the south bank.

 

[GGTBod]

It is a hell of a current at those points in the Tyne, even when going with the tidal flow you have a major fight tracking straight at each manmade bend the river is forced into, the water blasts against the wall of the turn and comes straight back at you and then zig zags it's way around the bend fighting against it's own backwash and then just as you get yourself in the groove to be swept around the corner with the water you come to the next manmade bend and it all starts again, if the wind is up it is even more of a fight, hellova workout too.

I love the alternate river views, it is very entertaining going along under the bridges i have travelled over my whole life, amazing how entertaining people find it from the land shooting photo's of us and waving away, not to mention dragging the boat out opposite the Slug and Lettuce and packing everything away on the dock you nearly cause car crashes with all the rubbernecking that it causes, i've not had so much attention from the fairer sex since i ran away with The Hoppings as a kid

 

[Clouston98]

Good stuff mate! Days out in boats are the best! And aye there are some lovely places on the Tyne further up, some good fishing up there too for salmon, too rich for my blood that so I'll stick to the trout in lakes .

 

[GGTBod]

£300 nikker per year to fish up there plus your rod license, sport of the rich the old fish hunting game these days