Sea Kayak Session #2 Ainsdale – Tactical 

On Friday we returned to Ainsdale for the second in the series of coached sea kayak sessions. This time we looked at what information we can gather prior to paddling to inform our decision-making. 

During the week participants were emailed several weather forecasting options and asked to collate wind, swell, tide and surf conditions for the evening. All participated and we could not have asked for a nicer weather forecast, almost nil wind resulted in glass-like conditions on the water. A small tide of 6.69m resulted in a slightly longer distance to cover with the boats but working together we made short work of this.

We discussed how a change in conditions may impact what we would see on the water, looking at increased wind and changes in direction. We discussed tidal movement and how we may be affected by the Rivers Mersey and Ribble and how that may change with larger tides, with this information we discussed how that would impact our direction of travel and the advantages and disadvantages of paddling into the wind and downwind. 

We briefly recapped session #1 talking about warm-up and utilising this once on the water and paddling. Following a chat with the group this week we opted to head south towards Formby, en route discussing swim plans in the event of an inversion and how that may change in different water. 

Upon reaching Formby we were rewarded with a brief interaction with a seal before we turned and headed north back home. Once back at Ainsdale we briefly chatted about the benefit of removing our legs from the boat prior to beach landings to protect the skeg boxes and condition of our own and club equipment. 

An enjoyable and relaxing paddle with great company and superb weather!