The PaddlerUK magazine March 2015 issue 1 | Page 93

hurrying through the busy waters crammed with dinghies and
yachts. We passed the shallow sand bar where locals hold the
annual cricket match at low tide and on towards the pier at Ryde
with darkness now in place. Our plans were not the best laid kind
and we ended up dodging hovercrafts in the dark on the mud flats
and getting hit in the face by jumping fish. This was of course
marginally better than getting hit by a hovercaft! We eventually
scrounged somewhere to rest, not before one of the team had
discovered the anti gravity slippery jetty scoring high marks for a
big wipeout. He was of course treated to roars of laughter with
limited sympathy.
On the South side of the island we got a little bit of surf and also
managed a cheeky ice cream break, like all good tourists. We were
certainly in calorie credit! By the time we reached Freshwater Bay
we were tired and planned to pitch our tents with a perfect 10
wild campsite. Reality broke and we ended up pitching our tents
next to a public toilet on some grass but did manage some liquid
refreshment from the local bar. The highlight of the trip was the
Needles, covered below. After threading the Needles, Bamboo
Clothing’s Dave Gordon confessed to an ‘armchair moment’ where
he would have given anything in the world to be back in his
armchair at home. The last stretch back round the final quarter was

torture as a yacht cruised in front of us cooking bacon for breakfast,
Despite our long faces and desperate looks they motored on, out of
sight but not out of our minds!

The Needles

Although they are located just to the east of the Jurassic Coast, The
Needles are another beautiful destination for sea kayakers to tick off
their list. Threading the Needles by kayak and surfing in the races
provides a great photo opportunity. I returned here the following
year to film a piece with Mike Bushell of BBC 1, for a short feature
and have been back a few times since. By now it has become habit
rather than paying for the local ferry.
A shorter paddle from the sheltered harbour of Keyhaven can make
the Needles a very accessible day paddle. Be aware there can be a
fair amount of marine traffic with commercial craft and a huge sailing
community based on the south coast. You could make your Needles
visit even more challenging by paddling around to Freshwater Bay
and portaging over the island to meet the estuary at Yarmouth.
My late gran spent a large proportion of her life living in
Bournemouth and latterly Mudeford, so any dutiful visit usually
meant a roof rack adorned with a kayak. Mudeford, Bournemouth
and Poole Harbour are all worth your paddling time.

Threading the Needles in Sea kayaks for BBC1 filming our challenges

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