The PaddlerUK magazine July 2015 issue 3 | Page 39

Now I don’t know about you, but paddling has a
magical effect on me. The second I push off from
the bank all the thoughts and worries whizzing
around in my head just seem to vanish. All that
matters is the paddling itself and the world
around me. This trip was no different – the
abundance of wildlife, classic Norfolk sailing
boats, and endless rolling sand dunes instantly
felt a world apart from everyday life and with all
the distractions it didn’t seem to take much
effort to paddle the few kilometres from the
staithe to the sandbank marking the western
end of the island and our pathway out into the
open sea.
We were paddling around the island in a clockwise direction. By setting off at mid tide this
allowed us to get out into open water about
two hours before high tide which gave us a few
hours of helpful tidal flow along the outside of
the island and plenty of time to cross the
shallow bar at the eastern end of the island
before the salt marshes started to drain again.
The second we crossed the sandbank and got
into open sea we dropped several strings of
mackerel feathers with the aim of catching
dinner. The helpful tidal flow meant we could
have a leisurely paddle along the outside of the
island and it seemed an ideal time to fish.

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