Sea Kayaking Articles from P&H Staff, Team Paddlers, and Friends

Month: August 2016

The Oostdyck Radar Tower

Two years have passed since my last visit to the Oostdyck Radar Tower. Today, conditions were good and so we set of from the Oostduinkerke beach. It is a very good navigation exercise because, although the tower is 36 metres high, you mostly cannot see it until half way. The tower is located not less than 22 kilometres offshore. It’s operational since 2003 and its purpose is to provide guidance for the bigger ocean ships. The international shipping lane is nearby and also the Westhinder anchorage (where ships have to wait for the pilot to come on board). On some days, with extreme good visibility, you can spot the tower from the coast when standing on an elevated position. We have been nine hours on the water to reach the radar tower and get back to shore. Again, it was worth the effort, reaching it and not being able to see the coast! Three hundred and sixty degrees of pure, open water, absolute peace and quiet……  The tower itself is unmanned.

My teammate Harry and I are using a P&H Cetus MV.

The Delphin MKII 155 CoreLite X at Penrhyn Mawr and the Stacks

stacks-map1

29 July  Porthdafarch – South Stack, via Penrhyn Mawr, with Ed Loffill

2 August  Soldiers Point – South Stack, via North Stack with Ed Loffill and Justine Curgenven

Sea Kayak Sailing/Surfing at Penrhyn Mawr

 

DSCF2140

DSCF2141

DSCF2146

 

Sea Kayak Sailing/Surfing at South Stack

DSCF2152

DSCF2153

DSCF2157

The sail was taken down for surfing steeper waves at South Stack

DSCF2163

DSCF2165

DSCF2166

The sail back up to surf closely past South Stack’s headland

DSCF2169

DSCF2171

Beam reach sailing back to Porthdafarch

DSCF2180

DSCF2185

South Stack with Ed and Justine 

DSCF2251

South Stack Surf

DSCF2245

The Delphin MKII CoreLite X

The biggest improvement I found in the Delphin MKII CoreLite X is the extra speed and responsiveness it has in surf. This is thanks largely to the greater stiffness in the plastic construction. The cockpit has also been improved to provide better comfort and connectivity.  The day hatch is a welcome addition, as are the sailing fittings.  In summary, the Delphin MKII CoreLite X has all of the great features of the original Delphin but with some very useful additions/refinements and stiffer plastic for even more fun surfing.

Sea Kayak Sailing in Tideraces

It is a bit of a balance whether/or not to deploy the sail in a tiderace. When the waves are not particularly steep the addition of a sail makes catching waves far easier, increasing the number of surfable waves and the length of the runs. At some point the balance between fun and fear will probably tip towards fear, or at the very least uncomfortableness. It is now time to take the sail down as the surf has steepened up and you probably don’t need any more help catching the waves.

www.seakayakingwales.com

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén