The PaddlerUK magazine March 2015 issue 1 | Page 66

ThePaddlerUK 66

I got my paddle on
Kayaking has always been there in the back of my mind
as something I really wanted to get in to. I was lucky
enough to be sent on a few PGL holidays as a teenager,
and every time, I would try to do as much water sport
as possible, especially kayaking. I have always treasured
those memories of playing kayaking based games in the
canals and lakes, and howling with laughter whenever
anyone lost their balance and with a giant wobble fell in
and got mystery sludge in their shoes.
As an adult I have always lived near canals or rivers in
Leeds, Manchester, and now Wales, where, I’ve seen
people whizzing like pond skaters over bodies of flat
water or others jumping like salmon in turbulent
rapids. No matter the medium – all seem to be in a
state of mindfulness, close to nature, and oozing
happiness. I wanted in on this aquatic world.

You don’t need to leave the UK to
experience scenic-heaven

I have had a couple of sessions in adulthood, my
favourite being with a chap called John Jones,
accompanied by my friend, Claire, around Borth y
Gest bay. If you haven’t been there, you must go. The
mountainous backdrop and the crystal clear waters of
the bay, where you can see an array of marine life
pootling about below you as you glide across the
surface is nothing but spectacular. You don’t need to
leave the UK to experience scenic-heaven. That
beautiful session was about two years ago and I
vowed to take it up properly back then, but
unfortunately my demanding job was a barrier to that,
or perhaps I didn’t try hard enough.
Over the past couple of years, a portion of my work
has led me to be surrounded by kayakers (more
specifically, their ears, when providing them with
protection against surfer’s ear – but that’s another
story for another day) and so naturally I had made a
few contacts.
I wanted to start kayaking but because confidence in
my own physical ability was low as I hadn’t done any
exercise whatsoever since the arrival of Malcolm, and
also being such an unpredictable soul, he might rear
his cheeky head mid-session and make life tricky. I
wanted to be sure that my teacher was to be an
understanding and patient one, but one that would
have the confidence to push me to my true ability.

Chris made me feel that anything is possible
and immediately we made a pact to adopt

‘the sky’s the limit’
ethos

October 2014, I contacted my pen pal, Claire O’Hara
for suggestions of coaches, who put me on to Kelda
Wood (paracanoeist and part of the Team GB 2016
Olympic squad) for further advice. It was through Kelda
that I met my coach from Team Pyranha, Chris Brain.
From the very first emails whizzing to and fro about
my need to do some exercise, and how kayaking
might be good for not only rehabilitation but mental
wellbeing – Chris has been nothing but motivational
and supportive. For the first time since the onset of
Malcolm, I felt like I could achieve anything and that
my body does not need to feel like a prison. I could
not wait for our first session together; I was so
nervous and excited.
On our first session, we went for a cup of tea to get
to know each other prior to paddling, but because we
had corresponded so much, it felt like I was catching
up an old friend. Very quickly we became giddy as
fishes where our conversation got on to how we
were going to conquer the kayaking world with our
first mission being Scotland coast to coast in 2015.
WOW! What a quest and by golly are we going to
have an amazing journey doing it. Chris made me feel
that anything is possible and immediately we made a
pact to adopt ‘the sky’s the limit’ ethos.
From what I gather, we have gone about training very
differently to most. Rather than concentrate on the
technical aspects of paddling on flat water as a starting
point, from the very first session, we got stuck in to
moving water – I even handled some rapids down at
the Mile End Mill, Llangollen (check out my blog to
follow our journey together). I really enjoy this way of
learning – rather than over think strokes and get
stressed out about whether I’m doing it properly, I’m
learning by doing. As long as I get from A to B safely,
confidently, efficiently, an \[H8