The PaddlerUK magazine July 2015 issue 3 | Página 7

What got you hooked on freestyle
kayaking?
Going to the canoe club and messing around
with friends started me off, then travelling and
having a great time at competitions and
parties, the thrill of competing and just loving
being on the water carried on my enthusiasm.
A kayaking friend of mine said recently that in
a lot of cases, “the friends you make through
kayaking are the ones who stick around.”
Proof of that is she is getting married to
another of my kayaking best friends this year.

Any advice for those starting in
freestyle kayaking?
Join a club to start off, make as many friends
and talk to as many kayakers as you can, travel
and enjoy being on the water, whatever the
weather. No matter what you want to take
from the sport, it’s important that you enjoy it
and you’ll find that you can never put your
paddle down!

Tell us about the spots you tend to
paddle the most frequent – both
at home and abroad. What are
your favourites?
Hurley – in a word. It’s my local, it’s a place that I
love to paddle whether it’s on two, three or
four gates as long as it’s running I’ll be there as
much as I can.
If Hurley is too high then you’ll see me busting
out my tow-rope at Marsh, bouncing around
at Sunbury or if it’s too low I’ll be at Lee Valley
having a great time on the crystal clear water.
I have too many favourite spots abroad to list
but way up at the top has to be the White
Nile. The combination of rich culture,
scorching sun, amazing parties, peaceful
relaxation and great people mean that it
should be top of any freestylers list. If you
haven’t been then go! Get in touch with my
good friends Sam and Emily from Kayak The
Nile and they’ll make you feel very welcome.

P D L RUK 7
A DE