First Solo Paddle :D

[Jinsin456]

I decided that tonight would be a good night to have my first ever solo canoe paddle. I got about an hours paddle round about Loch Doon and loved every second of it . The views were breathtaking and the water was like glass.

Hopefully this will be the first of many

Anyways here's some pics

 

[Robbi]

looks like a great evening, and you're right, the views are stunning

 

[Shewie]

Nice one Scotty, nice choice of boat too, is it new?

 

[Barn Owl]

Great stuff Scott!

 

[Jinsin456]

That was my birthday present to myself if July Rich so had it a few months now. Only been out a handful of times cos I'm still scared of anything more than a slight breeze haha. Getting better though so hopefully will get some good use out of it now that I know I can solo portage etc so looking forward to it

 

[JAG009]

Nice one Scott ,,looks like a nice night .....So a solo camp next then ?



Jason

 

[Jinsin456]

Was actually thinking about that when I was out Jason, it's getting more and more tempting lol. Need to get a bit better at the basics though, my firefighting has went a bit rubbish again so need to practice that and some other things so I can enjoy it rather than taking ages and mucking up the little things

 

[persistent king]

looks stunning mate, i have a mad river explorer but like you havent been out a great deal in it and am inexperianced in paddling, but the times i have been out in it ive loved it and would love to do a canoe camp.
thanks for sharing mate

 

[Shambling Shaman]

Top stuff, looks like you have the same BA as me

 

[John Fenna]

That looks realy nice!
The boat looks pretty good too
However... speaking with my level 4 canoe coach hat on....I like the fact that you had a PFD (aka buoyancy aid) on but I notice that you have no buoyancy in your canoe. If you did have a spill in deep water you would have little or no chance of getting your canoe floating well enough for you to get in and paddle to safety - or even swim the boat back to shore. You could well have to abandon the boat (a sad thought) to get yourself to safety.
With bouyancy of some sort (even a bunch of old innertubes/polystyrene packaging etc in a bag lashed into the bow and stern) you have a better chance of performing a self re-entry and self rescue or at worst swimming the boat to shore to empty it out and restarting the paddle...
Solo paddling is the greatest - but also the riskiest - of paddling experiences and I recommend that you get some self rescue practice in before going out in all but the wonderful conditions you have shown you went out in
Sorry if I sound like a wet blanket but I would hate you to lose that loverly little boat

 

[John Fenna]

That looks realy nice!
The boat looks pretty good too
However... speaking with my level 4 canoe coach hat on....I like the fact that you had a PFD (aka buoyancy aid) on but I notice that you have no buoyancy in your canoe. If you did have a spill in deep water you would have little or no chance of getting your canoe floating well enough for you to get in and paddle to safety - or even swim the boat back to shore. You could well have to abandon the boat (a sad thought) to get yourself to safety.
With bouyancy of some sort (even a bunch of old innertubes/polystyrene packaging etc in a bag lashed into the bow and stern) you have a better chance of performing a self re-entry and self rescue or at worst swimming the boat to shore to empty it out and restarting the paddle...
Solo paddling is the greatest - but also the riskiest - of paddling experiences and I recommend that you get some self rescue practice in before going out in all but the wonderful conditions you have shown you went out in
Sorry if I sound like a wet blanket but I would hate you to lose that loverly little boat

 

[Jinsin456]

Thanks for the advice John. I am currently saving for flotation blocks so they should be in soon. I made sure I stuck close to the shore last night but far enough away to avoid rocks. I know that I could have swam to the shore at all points during my 'adventure' and had a line to the boat to make sure it could be retrieved if the worst happened. If it did sink and everything went wrong then I would have just driven the car to where I was and winched the boat back out.

To be honest I really didn't travel far but just enjoyed being out. Flotation blocks are definitely on the list and self rescue practice will hopefully happen over the winter, there is a local kayak club who do pool sessions so I'm going to try and get to a few of those. I know the theory behind them all but have yet to try them properly

 

[treefrog]

but I notice that you have no buoyancy in your canoe. If you did have a spill in deep water you would have little or no chance of getting your canoe floating well enough for you to get in and paddle to safety

Can open , worms everywhere

To save any debate it's already in progress on SOTP http://www.songofthepaddle.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?22191-Why-the-snobbery-about-airbags

 

[Shewie]

Can open , worms everywhere

To save any debate it's already in progress on SOTP http://www.songofthepaddle.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?22191-Why-the-snobbery-about-airbags

Wow, is that thread still running

I don't have any flotation in mine, it takes up valuable gear space. If I get round to doing more white water stuff I'd definitely have a change of heart, I'd need a new boat with more freeboard too

 

[John Fenna]

Thanks for the advice John. I am currently saving for flotation blocks so they should be in soon. I made sure I stuck close to the shore last night but far enough away to avoid rocks. I know that I could have swam to the shore at all points during my 'adventure' and had a line to the boat to make sure it could be retrieved if the worst happened. If it did sink and everything went wrong then I would have just driven the car to where I was and winched the boat back out.

To be honest I really didn't travel far but just enjoyed being out. Flotation blocks are definitely on the list and self rescue practice will hopefully happen over the winter, there is a local kayak club who do pool sessions so I'm going to try and get to a few of those. I know the theory behind them all but have yet to try them properly

That sounds like you had done a good risk assessment
Have fun with your paddling

 

[gsfgaz]

Nice 1 Scotty ...

 

[Peterlee_Paddler]

Well done Scott, solo paddling is great, I do it all the time.
You have plenty of mates to give you tips about how to do it easier.
Rescue yourself first, your canoe will rescue itself (yours will float below the water surface, don't worry about it).
Nice pics, btw.

Cheers.