I walked into a door…05/02/2012

I didn’t want to get up this morning but when I finally did all I could see was a couple of feet of snow. I was undecided on my venue – what to do and where – so decided to not drive off for a paddle but wait instead for the children to get up and take them sledging, hooking up with Si and his family too. This was followed with a trip to the cinema with my youngest, lunch and then I had a call about going sledging and having afternoon tea with another friend and her family…hmm. I could just about get a launch in, one thing I was determined to do as I love seeing the coastline covered in snow.

I rushed around. My drysuit zip has gone but I wasn’t going out in a wetsuit, bib and brace with cag would see me soaked…I put the drysuit on leaving a gap where the knackered zip was. PFD on, boots on and it was time to lift the Necky off and carry it to the beach. A passer-by indicated his feeling towards my mental health state and I launched into a bumpy sea, the first reasonable wave removing all my snow and waking me up; only Vikings do this.



I paddled south, I had an hour so could make Pakefield and back with a bit of playtime. Down I went and though thinking better of it I still went through the pier legs with my arse clenched watertight. Through and into the ramped up waves and onwards. Fiddling with the camera saw me take a hit on the beam but I rode it out and then paddle don, the Kinetic Wing sliding in nicely.



I carried on down enjoying the scene and enjoying the lumpier bits and then, alongside the CEFAS building I turned and headed back. I could see that the sledging crowd wasn’t too thick at the next venue so put my back into it and started heading home.I like paddling close in here, there’s shallow water, dumping waves, bits of foam and rollers and I tend to get quite wet. What I didn’t much like was that bloody sand ridge which ramped one up of to my front and left…maybe I could brace it but if it curled over…it did!



I rolled with it, straight over and my blade hit sand. My hand shoots forward to the loop on the spraydeck and I fail to pull it... I walk into a door then and it reminds me of my favourite Viking helmet; I make a grab for it, feel it and it it’s gone. Fuck! There’s water pouring in through the shoulder too, it’s cold water, maybe 5 degrees and it soaks my hoodies and jeans. My hand shoots back to the deck loop, again it wouldn’t pull. I was scraping bottom here and had been under a good twenty seconds when my head struck bottom again with the next wave. Right, if the lop won’t pull it I’ll need two hands – paddle released, loop pulled back and my other hand grabs the deck itself, I pop out and get a breath, right the kayak and push it ashore with the paddle inside. I leave them and look for my hat.

No dice. I pump out the cockpit and launch again, paddle around the pier and head in through some swell and dumpers; I surf along one and then turn into shore, pop the deck and hop out. I can feel the lump on my forehead and have seen blood on my fingers earlier but the cold saltwater has stopped this pretty quickly.



I lift my Chatham onto my shoulder and carry her back to the car. A pity about my hat but another great blast down the coast.