Reflections Of Our Awesome Sea Kayaking Intern - Sandra Kakkuri

Hi! I have been lucky to have the possibility to do an internship at sea kayaking Wales, with Geth and his great team of guides. I am studying to become a wilderness guide. My name is Sandra, I am 22 years old from Finland and in this blog post I will write about my kayaking experience on Anglesey!

Sandra

WHY DID I GO TO ANGLESEY?

Why did I choose to do my internship in North Wales, Anglesey? Because of the big tidal ranges and the fast flowing currents. In Liverpool on a spring tide the difference between high and low water is around 10 meters! Locally in Anglesey it's around 6 meters. The moon and the sun have a gravitational effect on the earth and pulls the water in the oceans back and forth from the coast which causes tidal currents.When the ocean is moving from its lowest to its highest water level and vice versa, a huge amount of water gets squeezed into and pulled out of the channel between Ireland and the west coast of the UK. This in turn creates very strong tidal currents. These tidal currents get even faster around heads of land sticking out in the sea. That's why the island of Anglesey offers many places to play in tideraces. The cliffy coastline offers a lot of opportunities to explore caves, gullies and beaches. There are also many opportunities for having fun doing rockhopping!

Seal

This meant for me, a place where I could get more experience with tides, trip planning in tidal waters, group handling in tidal environments and developing my own technical skills in all the different types of dynamic water. I have done trips in the swedish and finnish archipelago which are beautiful places for kayaking but there is no tidal water. Although I knew what to expect from the tidal environment since I have been kayaking in Lofoten, Norway before and experienced some tidal currents there.

DYNAMIC SEA KAYAKING COURSE

The weekend 16-18.04 I had the really cool opportunity to participate in a Dynamic sea kayaking course (level 4). I am really grateful for being able to join the course and learn a lot myself! On the course we had two very talented and experienced coaches and a very strong group which made it a great and safe opportunity for me to challenge myself in demanding conditions.

It was quite an explosive way to start my kayaking season. I had been about 6 months without kayaking and now I jumped straight into tideraces on a spring tide (when the tide is at its biggest range and the currents are at its strongest.) The first day I felt a bit nervous. Can I trust my skills after this long break..? I had been doing “get back into kayak shape” exercises but still I could feel my body getting tired the first day, not used to the activity and a bit tense because of my nerves... The group was really supportive and I knew we had very competent leaders but still, since it was a new group it took a while for my brain to really understand that I was safe…

We kayaked out to an island, Middle Mouse and circumnavigated it. When we were kayaking back to the mainland the current was almost faster than the speed we paddled in. For a while it felt like we were not making any progress to the beach. And also my skegg did not work so I had to keep on turning the boat with only my right side working out. It made me tired and after that day I felt so proud of myself. First day out this season and I think I managed pretty well! Hmmm.. also I learned to check if the skegg is working before going out on the water!

This day also gave a really clear picture of why it is so important to do the trip plan and to know in which directions the current is going and how strong it is. Here you would not have wanted to go with a beginner group!

On day 2 of the course I felt stronger, more confident and I felt more relaxed in the group. On day 3 I had a big smile on the whole day and I was like “yeeaah wohoo” bring me more of this!

On the course, the opportunity to go out of my comfort zone was there, but it also felt safe to say, “no I don't wanna do this task, I want to rest”. It's always a challenge by choice. We could choose to get challenged and practice breaking in and out in a fast going current or, choose to have a break and rest in the eddie.

Day three of this course was my absolute favorite! That had to do with my confidence growing and also since the weather conditions allowed us to do more things compared to the other days. We started the day paddling out from Trearddur bay. Along the coast we found some fun rockhopping opportunities with the swells creating the water going like a slope between the rocks. Then we practiced to do rescues and get rescued in the waves. That was fun, always good to practice rescues in dynamic water! At Rhoscolyn head we went into a tiderace and played in roughly 1.6 meter waves. It was really messy and the waves came from all directions so not really good for surfing. Paul said it would be better for surfing on a neap tide. But it offered a great time for practicing balance and being confident in messy bumpy conditions. It is such an amazing feeling to be in a place like that and be smiling and feel confident, one with the elements.

PEOPLE AND PLANNING…

It has been a warm and welcoming atmosphere since the first day. One of the guides, Huw, said to me “Take all you can out of this time here, ask as many questions that you like”.

It's so cool to paddle with local guides who are really skilled at kayaking, have a lot of experience, understand the environment and know the place like their back pocket. All of the guides have been super friendly and happy to share their knowledge and help out! Also the other people on the dynamic course were eager to share their tips and help me! We have had many discussions about why doing (for example) a rescue this or that way, or what to think about and consider before choosing to cross this bay. There are many things I have taken with me from those discussions.

In the mornings before going out we always had a planning session looking at weather and discussing where it's best to go. I have learned a lot from that. There is a guide book about the area which explains very well about the environment and what the currents are doing in a place, it's such a great tool!

At the same time I did my internship Dario happened to be staying at the same hostel (Anglesey outdoors) for doing a course and taking an award. He is an italian kayaking guide who works in Greece and it has been so fun to spend time with him and learn from his knowledge.

Dario and Sandra

In the evenings me and Dario had planning sessions. So we looked at the sea chart and at the forecast for tomorrow. Wind, swell, tidal tables and how the environment on the land next to where we are kayaking, is going to look like. We try to create a picture in our head of how the day is going to be. An example is that if a bay comes after a headland the wind might get stronger around that corner. Things like that are good to think about so there are as little surprises in the water as possible. But when you actually are out there paddling, maybe you will find some things going on that you could not predict. The headlands, valleys, rocks, local weather and how that all together affect the paddling conditions is sometimes a bit complex. But the more trips you do and the more you try to understand your environment and compare your forecast to the nowcast(how the weather is actually at the time you are paddling), the better you will become at predicting how the sea conditions are going to be like when you are kayaking. A good way of learning is of course also going kayaking with experienced or paddling with locals.

ONE WITH NATURE…

This may sound a bit cliche but it's true so I can't write it in another way. Sitting in a sea kayak paddling along the coast, close to the cliffs with some water spraying over my spraydeck, makes me feel like I am one with nature. I feel the elements; I feel the water caressing my fingers, I feel the taste of salt water on my lips, a bit of wind and sun in my face. I hear the sound of the waves gently crashing to the cliffs and the oystercatchers and seagulls screaming. One day we saw porpoises (a type of dolphin) 50 meters away from us.

There is a place - Rhoscolyn Beacon where we have seen seals every time we have been there. You just need to be respectful and not silently sneak up on the seals when kayaking, because then they might get afraid and hurt themselves on the cliffs. The seals have been really curious. They swam really close to our boats and popped their heads out for breathing and looking at us with their big brown ice. Sometimes they have even followed us for a while. Magical experience. Being in a kayak it's almost like being in the water and it kinda makes me feel like I am a marine animal.. compared to being in a boat, it really makes me feel like I am a part of nature.

EXPERIENCE WITH LEADING/COACHING A GROUP ON WATER…

After the dynamic water course there were 3 days with university students going kayaking. Geth was guiding/coaching them and me and Dario were assistant leaders. We had amazing days out on the water enjoying and exploring. When I heard they were beginners I thought that we were only going to take it calmly and easy the whole day, stick to flat water and stroll along the coastline. But the students, except for exploring, also wanted to get challenged and Geth wanted to give them that.

Technical kayaking fun

When I saw two students going between two rocks with the swells from the waves making them go up and down and the white water was spraying around, I thought “omg I would never have taken them there”. But as we continued I got a better understanding that it looked more dangerous than it actually was and that there was no risk of them being thrown up on a rock, because of how the coastline was formed and collaborated with the waves. Geth used the phrase “highly technical with low risk”. Which means that if someone would have capsized, it would have been easy and safe to do a rescue and get them into their kayaks again. So it was safe and the task offered a challenge and adrenalin! I learned a lot from asking Geth how he chose his places to take them kayaking and how he evaluated the risk and the challenge. And the students had big smiles on their faces and were laughing. It was amazing to see how the students developed their kayaking during the day. They started off wobbly and unstable barely knowing how to turn a kayak and finished the day with crossing tidal streams or kayaking in the foam from the waves, between rocks. Wow!

During these days with the students I got to coach them in how to do a wet exit, how to paddle efficiently forwards and maneuvering the kayak. And of course just being there, hanging out, chatting and being encouraging when someone is tired. I also got to be a part of coaching them how to cross currents. It was challenging for me since I am not used to leading groups on water and I have never done it in streams before. Here I had to have my eyes open so I could coach them how to paddle before drifting away. I learned to be alert on spotting if someone is on their way to unconsciously get caught in another flow of current and drift away from the group. I also learned to think about my positioning so that I always was downstream from the group so if someone would capsize, they would drift to me. Of course again playing in this current was low risk so nothing bad would have happened if someone had drifted away with the current a bit. Then it's just for the group to stick together and get off the current together in a place where the current is less strong. I learnt a lot from being an assistant leader these days. And being in a current with people really puts an interesting aspect to group handling and the choice of environment.

It's not like skiing when you can tell your customer to stop and stay there. On the water sometimes the customer really wants to stop but he/she can't because the elements are taking them somewhere else. So as a guide/ coach you need to know where to find sheltered places where you can gather the group. After the day on the current I felt like paddling with a group in the Finnish or Swedish archipelago would be so easy. It was one of the most challenging days for me and I was really tired in my brain after the day but I learnt so much from this day! An experience I am really happy that I got. Now more practice and experience!

OTHER THINGS I GOT TO DO…

After the dynamic course and the days with the students I had a day of. I did yoga, went for a short run, read a book at a place along the coastal walk… Then it was time for Dario and another guy Bill to do their sea kayak leader assessments. I got to be a guinea pig on those 2 days. It was educational to see the tasks they got to do and how they handled it. There were a lot of rescues during those days. Rescues close to rocks that involved towing, rescues in a current that involved a broken shoulder… Dario and Bill got questions about navigation and group handling…

Sea Kayak Leader Assessment

My plan is to come back here to do that assessment, so it was nice to see a bit of what it is about. I just need to get more leading experience on the water. During this weekend we also had a lot of fun. We ended the last day with testing Dario (this was not included in the assessment, this was just for fun) so the whole group went crazy. One paddled away and one went under his kayak to breathe the air in the cockpit. Bill grabbed my decklines and swinged my boat from side to side and tried to capsize me. It made me laugh, it was so fun to play around like children. Then I jumped out of the boat and threw my kayak and paddle away. As Dario was trying to get our sh*t together, Dave klipped in his tow line in Dario's boat and started towing him away from us. Haha it was mayhem.. But Dario sorted the situation out and even he had fun!

Then I had a rest day. Then there were two days with a private booking. The first day I kayaked with Geth and a guy, Mike, who wanted to get into sea kayaking. The other day I kayaked with Paul and a woman, Charlotte who had kayaked a lot before and wanted to take it up again. The first day with Mike: We started with planning the day together and looking at the forecast. Out on water, we used the eddie current to take us down, southeast. We had lunch on a beach with some guy playing 80s music in the backyard of a house. So now we call it karaoke beach. On the way back we explored the caves and rocks along the coast line. During the day we gave Mike some tips about forward paddling and different strokes to turn and break the boat. In the afternoon we practiced rescues and towing.

The second day: This day there were swells creating rockhopping opportunities. Me and Charlotte agreed that it's a bit hard to time the waves. Because when rockhopping you want to be between the rocks when it's the most water there. We also agreed that it's a bit scary when you have looked at the rocks and how the sets are coming for a while and you think it's fine and then there sometimes comes a big set with waves and suddenly it looks like “oh there I don't want to be…” Thats why its so important to look at where you are going to play, for a while so you have seen it when it is at its worst. We had interesting discussions with Paul about rockhopping and what to think about. This time we wanted to time it so that we started paddling when the water between the rocks was at its lowest because at the time we were between the rocks, another wave would have come and filled the gap.This timing of course depends from time to time depending on how long the period is between the waves.

Then we kayaked out to Rhoscollyn beacon and had a “seal safari”. Then we had lunch, on the karaoke beach again. After lunch we did a fun exercise. We kayaked along the cliffs using only one side of the paddle. Then Paul taught us some new handy, cool strokes. I got a bit confused and I still need to practice doing them. I realized how good it is to have many strokes to choose from and to get better at putting one stroke together with the next one. This was so useful for me to practice! I also tried out how far I could edge and I capsized twice. Then Paul and Charlotte got to practice rescues. A really nice day!

Rescue practice

Suddenly it came to my last day (for now) out on the water in Anglesey. Me and Geth had an introduction course with 4 people. We shared the leadership of the group. And when we kayaked back he paddled away with a part of the group and I stayed with one guy. It felt good that Geth trusted me. The water was calm but I also know if something would have happened I could have handled it. After my 10 days here, it was nice to feel confident, that I know what I am doing and that Geth could see it too. After kayaking together for some days we know each other and how we work.

FOR YOU WHO WANTS TO GO TO ANGLESEY FOR KAYAKING…

Anglesey is awesome for kayaking, if you are into kayaking you should definitely put this place on your bucket list! Since Anglesey is an island you can always find shelter from the wind and the swells. Here you can find kayaking that suits everyone, from beginners to advanced. For the ones that want to explore and have many breaks or for the adrenalin junkies. You can choose your conditions and you will be able to find small and kind tideraces and also big crazy tideraces like South Stack in the right conditions. To know where and how to find these conditions of course takes a bit of knowledge and planning.

A great way to meet other kayakers is staying at Anglesey Outdoors. During my time staying at the hostel AO I met many kayakers from all around the UK. It was such a nice atmosphere and in the evenings we discussed our days out on the water or our plans for tomorrow. I also got invited to go and kayak with a group. At the hostel there is a bar called “Paddlers return” which is a great place to have a beer and a good time. Another great way is doing a course. There you will probably meet other kayakers that you can go out kayaking with!

Sea kayaking Wales offers a big variety of courses where you can get more confidence in planning trips in tidal water and also if you like, you get the opportunity to challenge yourself in a more demanding condition than you have before. And ask a lot of questions! The teams of guides are happy to answer!

Every year on the first weekend in May there is Anglesey sea kayaking symposium, happening! (gather to drink is the translation) where coaches, guides, kayakers from all around the world come here to paddle together and have courses! It's a great event to join to get new contacts and meet new kayaker friends. People that met here years ago keep coming every year to meet their friends and gather!

Also the last weekend in April there is another event. Kayaking essentials. That event as I have heard, is great to get to paddle with experienced coaches and learn more.

If you come without a kayak, at least as I know, Summit to Sea rents out kayaks… Or if you take a course the kayak is normally included! But of course if you are looking for doing your own trips, bringing your own kayak would be the best.

If you are studying at an outdoor guide school and have some experience with kayaking, apply for an internship at sea kayaking Wales SKW. I got really much out of it!