By now, you already know about the boathouse but my story has reached just under two years ago and I’m about to discover it. I went to do a fencing session with some local Rangers (who didn’t turn up, for various reasons) and chatting with their leaders, I discovered that they were going kayaking at … More In which I join the boathouse
This was my fourth time out on a SUP and by now I realised that maybe I would benefit from actually having some formal tuition. There’s a certain amount of trying things out yourself but to be shown how to do it properly by someone who knows what they’re doing is invaluable. So I booked … More My first SUP lesson
This one has sat in the blog schedule since March but it was only two weeks ago that I got confirmation it was even going to happen. I’d finally decided to just go to Croatia, found myself heading for Dubrovnik and discovered it’s a bit of a haven for sea kayaking. There was a company … More Sea kayaking off Dubrovnik
Girlguiding South West does an event most year called Wet & Wild At Wimbleball, which is a weekend of watersports & adventurous activities on and around a lake on Exmoor called Wimbleball. I’ve not been. I wish I could but I can’t figure out the logistics of getting four Rangers there – it’s not worth … More Kayaking in the wind on a reservoir
A couple of weeks ago – over a month ago now! – I did the post on the pool/assessment session for the new boat club girls and now finally I’m doing the first boat club session of 2024. Yes, there’s a big gap. There wasn’t such a big gap in real life but 1) I … More The first boat club session of 2024
By this point, I was starting to consider my paddling future. I’d run an archery session in a named storm for our local Inspire group – that’s Girlguiding’s newish 18-30 not-a-section – and one of them had mentioned having access to 24 kayaks and wondered out loud what qualifications someone would need to take Inspire … More Learning to capsize
At this point, I’ve had a little go at stand-up paddleboarding – and to be honest, discovered that I can’t stand up. Both times have been on Poole Park Lake, which is fairly salty, linked to the harbour on the other side of the railway line, fairly small and pretty shallow. I suspect it’s not … More SUP on a really deep reservoir
I thought I might do a post where I show you around the boathouse. Actually, that’s going to come later, in the “I joined the boathouse!” post later in the summer. But let’s see what kayaks we’re working with here. We have 22 altogether and although I don’t know exactly where most of them came … More What kayaks do we have at the boathouse?
I’ve spent weeks watching the weather, watching the rain, watching the river levels and wishing it would all align so I could get outside and do some paddling. Spending the winter writing a blog that contains every detail of every paddling experience you’ve ever had (and I’ve written twice as much as has gone live … More My first paddle of 2024
Because I’ve been telling my paddling story chronologically here, I haven’t mentioned the boathouse yet but the season is upon us! Eventually, we’ll catch up – you’ll find out how I came across the boathouse and how I joined it and what happened there last year but for now, we’ll jump straight into 2024. The … More Boat club 2024 season: the pool session
Bumblebee Paddles 