As a relatively new member of the club, this was my first trip to the Isles of Scilly, a regular annual club event for many years.
Sixteen of us went out, thirteen paddlers, plus three others who prefer more sensible activities.
The weather was mixed, rainy days interspersed with dry days, plus the odd shower (or maybe two).
Unfortunately, my week was spoiled somewhat by the fact that I came down with some sort of Swine Flu thing on day three which kept me out of action for a while and feeling like ****. Luckily there was a dedicated first aid tent complete with qualified nurse available on the camp to ease my suffering.
As a kayaking venue the Scillies is really great, with numerous islands to visit, many with white sandy beaches to pull up on to visit a pub or cafe.
Being out in the exposed Atlantic, I had imagined scary tidal flows and big seas running between the Islands that might make paddling less than relaxing. I was therefore pleasantly surprised to find that the combination of islands and widespread shallow reefs provide a fairly sheltered lagoon ideal for kayaking.
Mark Rainsley has a very informative article, A Sea Kayakers Guide to the Isles of Scilly here, http://www.ukseakayakguidebook.co.uk/short_trip_reports/scillyguide.htm
In addition, there are some excellent photos of his Scillies trip earlier this year in his forum post here, http://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=50949
This was but a brief introduction to kayaking on the Scillies for me, but I saw enough to ensure that I will be looking to return again next year.
Special thanks to Peter and Geoff for all their efforts and excellent organization that made the whole thing possible.
See the SACC Gallery photos here, http://staustellcanoeclub.org/g2_7ke22G7JBta1/v/scilly2009/
Lets get everyones Scilly Isles 2009 photos on the Gallery. If you want to add them to my gallery album then just let me know and I will give you the login details, or alternatively add your own new album for your photos. If you don't want to upload them yourself, then just put them on a CD or USB Flashdrive and give it to me to do.
What did everybody else think of the trip?
