Hi Keirron,
Now that I have stopped aching enough to type properly I
thought I'd drop you a quick email.
It feels great to have done this trip, it has been on my
personal goals for a long time now and to turn it into a reality confirms my
self-belief wasn't misplaced.
It was important to me to do it alone because I wanted it to
be a personal achievement right from the planning and preparation stage rather
than being lead by someone more experienced and therefore taking away the
responsibility. This wasnt just about paddling the distance, it was about the
expedition - albeit close to home. I paddled a lot of coastline I have not seen
before. I carried all food, water and equipment for at least 3 days plus 1 day
extra incase needed. The Romany took some careful packing to get all in
and I was surprised how heavy it ended up being - it was a long way up and down
the beach each day with all that kit and the kayak!!
Once I felt I was ready and the weather looked good to go I
asked George to check over my plans just to make sure I wasn't way off the
mark, he was really encouraging and very helpful. So I headed of as planned
early Monday morning.
I was really pleased with the way the planning worked out,
it was good to see things unfolding on the water as I had expected, if a bit
slower. I knew I wasn't going to be fast and it was never about speed but
I found I needed to start earlier and finish later to cover the distance. I
also had not imagined just how long it would take me each day to get organised
after getting off the water and again in the mornings packing things up again.
Mostly the conditions were well within my ability and part
of my planning had been to arrive at key places at the right time to avoid
any big conditions. Heading off from the Sound to the Calf was fun because I
still could not actually see the Calf even after leaving Kitterland across big
Sound! The last days paddle, from Perwick to Laxey turned out to be
the most challenging, once I had passed Langness I thought the biggest was
over, however, Santon Head turned out to be really big and between there and
Port Soderick I was definitely challenged, I picked up a strained shoulder and
when I arrived at Port Soderick I had to consider carefully if it was sensible
to carry on. I judged that conditions would improve from there forward and once
I hit Douglas I was back on familiar water so decided to carry on after a good
rest, food and a hot coffee.
Landing at Laxey, with Anouk waiting with hot coffee and
biscuits, I felt like a huge relief and a great sense of achievement, the
excitment of setting off seemed such a long time ago!
Any way the email was not really intended to tell you about
the trip it was really meant to thank you for all the invaluable training, your
time and support provided through Adventurous Experiences and the Adventure
Club that has equiped me with the skills and confidence necessary to make
this reality for me.
Thank you
Tim
p.s. I know circumnavigating the Isle of Man is nothing new
but from what I have read nobody usually includes the Calf and I really liked
the idea of a figure of 8 - do you know who else has done it this way?
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