my take on the salcombe trip

[jonsok1]

met the guys 5.30 am , to follow them down to salcombe, they turned up with 3 yaks tied firmly to the top of a ford galaxy, i joked about how they got them up there to which they replied its ok we've got the step ladders with us, when we got down to salcombe we parked in north sands car park and started unpacking, to my amazement the first thing they got out was the step ladders

these guys are amazing, they had everything all packed in the back of the galaxy, next thing was the portable stove to cook breakfast ,after getting set up we were off down the beach , i was first, there was a fair swell starting to build which made it fun to launch, we all got out safely, the swell was the biggest i've been in since starting kayaking, when you went over the swell you lost sight of the kayak in front, could'nt even see the tips of the rods

after one drift and a small pollock i felt it was a bit rough for me so i headed up the river, fished there for a couple hours with no luck, the wind was freshening so i decided to go back out to the mouth to see how the rest were getting on, paddling back was a real struggle, it was with the tide but against the wind , which made the river very choppy, when i got to the mouth i could see the waves had got quite a bit bigger, there was no sign of the others, then my mobile starts ringing, it was to rough to answer at that point , out of the river it was'nt so choppy so i phoned rob to see where they were, they were on the other side sheltering from the swell, they had come in because it got to rough, rob had taken a spill (i'll let rob tell you about that). the beach which we had launched from was very rough the surfers were having fun, i thought s**t i'm going to get dumped big time if i go in there, luckily the south sands was sheltered so i beached in there, the guys followed and decided to stay and fish in the calm bay

the next thing was the car was about half a mile away up a hill and down the other side, rob said they would keep an eye on the kayak while i got the car, i decide to take the kayak with me seeing i had to walk it any way, big mistake!!! that was one of the hardest walks i have ever made, trouble was once i started there was no going back, needless to say i made it, i was totally knackered but i learnt a lot from these guys on this trip. here are just a few things which i learnt which are a must, firstly prepare everything before you get on the water, its a lot easier tackling up and preparing bait etc on shore than it is out on the water and the most important thing is to get experience in launching and returning to shore in rough conditions, this means going and getting wet in the surf, practice, practice, practise, sorry the most important thing is practice getting dumped and re-entering the kayak while out of your depth, i must admit i have'nt practiced any of the above but its the first thing i will be doing in the future, doing these things will build your confidence no end,

a big thankyou to rob, mark and paul great trip shame the fishing was poor.

 

 

one last thing to the new comers out there, if you get chance of going out with the more experienced kayakers in your area don't miss it , you will learn so much

cheers

jon

[ChrisW]

Hi Jon,

 

Glad to hear you enjoyed yourself and learnt some stuff from the guys. I must admit I had a giggle when I was told Rob took a dip "nice one Rob" welcome to the Sami Club

 

Jon will you be joining us at our Bank Holiday Cornwall Trip?

 

Chris

[Yakity - Yak - u.k.]

UNBELIEVABLE......

[jonsok1]

Hi Jon,

 

Glad to hear you enjoyed yourself and learnt some stuff from the guys. I must admit I had a giggle when I was told Rob took a dip "nice one Rob" welcome to the Sami Club

 

Jon will you be joining us at our Bank Holiday Cornwall Trip?

 

Chris

hi chris

i'll let you know nearer the time, i can't stay but hope to join you on one day

cheers

jon

[Martin Hurst]

indeed bill when you went over the swell you lost sight of the kayak in front, could'nt even see the tips of the rods

 

big clue there.

Edited March 12, 2007 by Martin Hurst

[chinny]

indeed bill when you went over the swell you lost sight of the kayak in front, could'nt even see the tips of the rods

 

big clue there.

 

 

it was ok though because we eventually saw each other at the peaks of the waves.

 

chinny

[Zzippy]

Sounds like you had fun in the surf

It was like that on the tope trip last year,a nice big swell with surf.At least you got 2 enjoyments for the price of one.Surfing and fishing.

I am going to wait till we get a good onshore blow and get down Bournemouth beach.See how much the P15 can handle Might just leave the rods at home though

[SpeciMan]

Nice report Jon keep em coming.

[chinny]

Hi all

 

on this trip i was overturned on the way in by a wave fortunately nothing broke which was good the only thing was i lost my anchor and a pair of sunglasses.so the lesson i learned was to make sure everything is tied down.

 

a good day had by all and cant wait for the next trip.

 

chinny