Sea Kayak Leader Skills Day 1 of 6 by Dave Gentle
We met at Rhos and had a group discussion on the beach about the detail of leading sea trips.
Miles led the first section of the day well, to a co-ordinate, arriving at the beach by Victoria Pier after an interesting surf landing for a mini-break.
We all swapped paddles and Eamon led the next section to a new co-ordinate whilst answering a variety of questions about sea kayak leading whilst using the handrailing and side transit techniques.
Christine took over the leading into rougher waters and off to a coordinate by a breakwater with a green end-of- groyne marker. Everyone did as they were asked. Christine also did well in her Q&A session as she led the trip.
We took a break on a beach, swapped paddles around the group, swapped leader to Andy, and then headed off around the headland into bigger waves as the breeze picked up.
After the third break on a dumping surf beach needing a well-managed launch back out to sea, the group performed many rescue scenarios. All went well and we swam with the seals. Everyone was surprised at how the time had flown.
We headed back and stopped off again at a beach for our final break, getting back at 18:30, everyone was pleased with the trip, their experiences and information learned or revised as the day progressed, which seemed a success.
A great effort by all.
We were to have a debrief at the local golf course club, but it was too busy, so on the way home we had a chippy tea from Jas’s at Towyn
Dave & Fiona
