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

Author: Gethin Roberts

Anglesey Stacks trip with P&H dealer Manu Redureau

On Sunday 27 August P&H dealer Manu Redureau, of Bekayak, Brest, France, joined me for a blast around the Stacks.  This trip also gave Manu the opportunity to try out the Delphin MKII Corelite X in rough water conditions.

Our journey took us from Porth Dafarch to North Stack and back – similar to the route shown below from the ‘Welsh Sea Kayaking: Fifty Great Sea Kayak Voyages’ book.  We enjoyed surf and rough water at Penrhyn Mawr, followed by some small surf at South Stack before lunch on the rocks in Gogarth Bay – the seal pupping season from August to November precluded us from using the beaches.  After lunch we returned to Porth Dafarch by closely following the coastline and exploring lots of channels, arches, caves and rock gardens.  The journey was both fun and a great work out.  Thanks for a great day out Manu!

Geth Roberts, www.seakayakingwales.com

Penrhyn Mawr

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South Stack

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Wen Zawn and Cathedral Arch

A smaller Gogarth Bay arch

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Below Elen’s Castle

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Abraham’s Bosom

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

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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

 

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Sea Kayak Sailing/Surfing at South Stack

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

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

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Beam reach sailing back to Porthdafarch

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South Stack with Ed and Justine 

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South Stack Surf

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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

Sea Kayak Sailing – Enhancing The Seafaring Experience

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South Pembrokeshire

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West Coast of Ireland

Sea kayaks enable their users to explore and play on life-affirming journeys.  Part of the challenge is to safely utilise the currents, swell and winds.  The direct energy of the wind has been largely unused by most modern sea kayakers.  In recent decades sailing rigs have become far more manageable to use on sea kayaks and their distribution/availability outside of Australia and New Zealand is only now becoming a reality.  This exciting development is opening up brand new sea kayaking opportunities and challenges for all.  From downwind coastal runs to traversing huge exposed island chains, like the Aleutians, sea kayak sailing is putting bigger smiles on people’s faces and aiding in epic journeys.

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Tropical beach on Caldey Island

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Windy day at Cadnant Bay Menai Straits

History

Kayak sailing was invented in 1865 when John “Rob Roy” MacGregor designed and built a sailing kayak for his 1,000 mile journey along the inland waterways of Europe.  Those early Rob Roy Kayaks subsequently evolved into the huge variety of kayak types that we know today.  Sail equipped kayaks remained popular into the 1930s.  In 1934, Alastair Dunnett and Seumas Adam (“The Canoe Boys”) used their sail equipped Lochaber kayaks on an impressive and pioneering journey to explore the west coast of Scotland.

Kayak sailing also became popular in continental Europe during the 1920s and 1930s.  In 1928 Franz Romer kayak sailed across the Atlantic from Lisbon to Puerto Rico.  He attempted to continue his journey onwards to New York but went missing, presumably killed, in a hurricane.  Oskar Speck’s similarly epic seven year kayak sailing trip from Germany to Australia should have been widely celebrated as an amazing achievement.  However, arriving at his destination in September 1939 he was interned for the duration of the Second World War.

Kayak sailing subsequently went out of fashion in Europe.  Towards the end of the twentieth century sails were beginning to be developed for use on modern sea kayaks by Australia and New Zealand-based kayakers.  Sea kayak sailing is now commonplace in these countries and is beginning to take hold in Europe and North America.

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Skerries Lighthouse, Anglesey

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Surfing in Ireland

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Surfing near Stackpole

Why sea kayak sail?

  • Speed/endurance/fun

Maintaining the top displacement hull speed is easier when sea kayak sailing.  It is also much easier to get your kayak planing in swell and tidal rapids.  This is particularly useful when attempting to catch less steep waves.  In essence you will catch more waves, considerably increasing your speed and range.  Average speeds of 7 knots with planing top speed runs in excess of 10 knots are not unusual in conditions where it would be considerably more difficult for conventional sea kayaks to plane and maintain average speeds of more than 3-4 knots.

When the waves become too steep it is best to stow the sail away as it will no longer enhance the experience and will, most likely, become a liability.

  • Enhanced safety

The sail appears triangular and conspicuous from afar and/or in overhead rolling swell.

The exposure of paddling along coastlines with less frequent safe landings is reduced if the wind and sail combine to add to the kayaks propulsion.

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Caldey Island tiderace

Getting into sea kayak sailing

Equipment

The main airfoil sail available in Europe is the Flat Earth Kayak Sails range of airfoils.  They are designed and manufactured in Australia by Mick MacRobb.  Other airfoil sails are being manufactured for sea kayaks but they are far less common in Europe.

Sea kayak manufacturers

Many composite sea kayaks will need strengthening in order to accommodate a sail mast. You can assess this by pressing down on the deck near the compass recess and gauging whether there is much flexibility in the deck and hull.  Most kayak companies will strengthen your kayak by special order. Plastic kayaks tend to be more robust in taking a sail mast.

Since 2012, P&H kayaks have produced all of their composite kayaks with enough strength to accommodate a sail mast.  Their plastic Scorpio MKII range of sea kayaks has been designed with sailing in mind. It easily accommodates a Flat Earth Sail and handles superbly well when sailed.

Have a go/purchase

Scotland – Karitec are the main UK distributor of Flat Earth Kayak Sails and have a range of demo boats to try out under sail.

http://www.karitek.co.uk/

England – P&H have demo kayaks fitted with sails and attend many sea kayak symposiums.

http://www.phseakayaks.com/

Wales – Sea Kayaking Wales (SKW) are based on Anglesey and have a range of P&H sea kayaks and Flat Earth Kayak Sails to try out.  SKW also run sea kayaking (including sailing) courses in Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire, Llŷn and the Gower.  Flat Earth Sails are available to purchase from SKW.

https://seakayakingwales.com/

More Information

http://seakayakphoto.blogspot.co.uk/ – An excellent blog written by, Douglas Wilcox, one of the most enthusiastic proponents of sea kayak sailing in Europe.

http://www.flatearthkayaksails.com/ – The most popular airfoil sail in the UK at present.

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Tenby

Geth

www.seakayakingwales.com

Anglesey’s Stacks and Skerries in the Pyranha Octane

After paddling the Octane on Llyn Padarn I wanted to try it out at sea in wind, waves and moving water. My kayaking buddies for this trip were Ed and Abi Loffil.

Porthdafarch Skerries Map

 

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The Pyranha Octane with the Flat Earth Sail fitted

Ed and Abi had a head start on the outward leg so I followed them 20 minutes after their departure. This leg had up to 10 knots of southerly wind with a slightly post spring tidal current to propel us on the flooding tide to The Skerries. Time of leg – 1.5 hrs.

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Approaching Penrhyn Mawr

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Approaching the middle race of Penrhyn Mawr

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South Stack

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Rush Hour in Holyhead Bay

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The Skerries

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Departing The Skerries

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Surfing circuits at The Skerries

The return leg had 10-17 knots of southerly wind against the south flowing ebb tide. Time of leg – 3 hrs.

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The rough journey back south

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North Stack

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Taking a rest at South Stack

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Sailing home to Porth Dafarch

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The team returned at Porth Dafarch with our paddling friend Jan

 

Initial thoughts on the Octane

Previous to receiving the Octane I had never paddled a surfski. The closest speedy boat I had experienced to compare it to is the Rockpool Taran. The Octane, like the Taran, is great fun to paddle fast, especially in surf. At speed the surf ski is particularly stable, locking into its watery path. Its stability seemed further enhanced with the addition of the Flat Earth Sail, as this gave more propulsion. It is even better to sail than the equivalent P&H Scorpio or Delphin sailing kayaks as it is super quick and responsive to the rudder. With its open cockpit it felt a lot like a modern sailing dinghy, especially with the gurgling sound of the self-bailer.

Paddling downwind with swell was far, far better than the reverse into wind and waves. The former situation gave much greater speed than the accompanying sea kayaks, whereas into wind and swell the surfski was only marginally quicker, despite lots more effort from my core muscles. I probably need to improve my technique in these conditions.

The Octane is a very positive boat. It rewards good posture and technique with better performance. This feedback is proving really useful as I try to get better at paddling a surf ski.

Next time I want to try some more downwind runs!

Geth

www.seakayakingwales.com

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