What's on
We’ve just completed the sea kayak trip around the Island of Cres in Croatia: a short and wonderful break! This isn’t the first time in the Croatian islands, we paddled around Rab in 2009 and last year toured the Island of Lošinj. The impression we go away with after exploring the islands of the Kvarner Gulf is always the same: a maze of enchanting inlets, cold seas and a gnarled coastline eroded by the mighty Bora. The blue of the sky, green of the garrigue and milky white rocks dominate the senses...

The month of May is replete with courses, events and outings on the water - both fresh and salty. Tatiana returns to the Anglesey symposium for the fifth consecutive time: the Symposium is simply unmissable. She returns to Italy with Phil Hadley to conduct a week’s course in open canoe on the Ticino River: two days for the BCU 3 star and then another 2 days for BCU 4 star training. Then on Saturday 18 May, we’ll be holding a First Aid course, the certificate will be valid internationally. Next on May 19, BCU Level 1 Coach, as usual in the capable hands of Phil Hadley and Ashley St.John-Claire. 

Same as last year, we will be hosted by the Laveno Mombello branch of the Lega Navale Italiana with the support of local club “Sullacqua”. All the BCU courses on offer are open to all. The evenings amongst friends will provide the opportunity to meet and discuss... 

As Phil says, any day is a good day to learn something new!

To end the month on a wonderful note, we’re holding a course on traditional Greenland paddle manufacture, under the expert guidance of master wood-turner Yannick Sevi of Alpine Paddle.

Kayaking snippets
I was lucky enough to be given the advice of an expert paddler, Tris Morris,
when I was faced with the prospect of paddling tidal races for the first time in

Anglesey a few years ago. Her counsel was succinct and simple: “go with the flow”.

The sea is our friend if treated with due deference and respect.

The sea sustains us and even when rolling us over it is never aggressive.

Its nature is to simply to flow. Going with the flow of the waves is the most efficient

way of paddling. And if perhaps we finish upside down,

remain relaxed and accompany the kayak...

Call of the Inuit
Sea Kayaking UK has for years been successfully organizing the renowned Anglesey Sea Kayak Symposium. This year, in collaboration with Marc Martin from Sea Kayaking Spain, the 3rd Anglesey Greenland games will be held. These Inuit games will be framed within the 30th anniversary of Sea Kayaking UK Symposium and will be a full day of games, with three important tests for each participant. Prize consist of a SKUK Greenlander kayak for first place and a hand-crafted Greenland paddle from Anglesey Stick for second.

Places are limited but the event is an alluring one: added motivation to go to Anglesey, no?

Over the horizon

Justine Curgenven, Barry Shaw e Roger Chandler have come together for a new adventure: the circumnavigation of Ireland, a thousand miles of jagged coasts, vigorous currents and strong winds. You may follow their progress on Justine’s blog and this is what she wrote in her first post: "The Emerald Isle on the radar". Already we can get a hint of the adventure that lies ahead! They will leave from Dun Leary on the eastern coast around the 10th and

will paddle for 40 to 50 days. We hope that this will be the basis of a new DVD,

one as good as the last offering, "This Is The Sea 5"!