Hey, It’s Nico, Derrick & Axel out on Penrhyn Mawr. Oh, and don’t forget Justine who was behind the camera. You can catch the corner of her leopard Explorer there in the bottom left. So dare I say it got big?? Well, it started out pretty small as you can see from the picture, but as the day went on it got downright knarly.

Well, I’d say that. . . but of course you’d have to ask the “big dogs” how big “big” is. Now what was really scary, was the surf landing that sounded like that frozen moment right before the Poseidon is hit by a 100 metre rouge wave. Nothing but a low decibel Dolby surround sound rumble. . . I looked over and a wall of white was bearing down. . . . .

but I can still type. . . So life is good!

*thanks for the top photo Justine and to Axel S. for the bottom photo.

I’m really falling in love with this Rockpool Alaw Bach, I wish I could take this one home.
Visited Mike Webb at the shop yesterday and will have more pics in a few days. Yeah, I could
love this white one, but then on the other hand I’ve got my funky paint job coming!!

The colors are truly amazing, but sometimes you have to look for them.

So, it’s Wednesday. I’ve been in the UK one week with one more week to go. Funny really how quickly you adjust when you come to a strange land. By now I’m driving on the left side of the road quite normally, I can navigate round-a-bouts, pass lorries within inches, and even count my Pounds and Pence correctly. And what’s more I can recognize a Welsh cow. You see American cows go “MOOOOO!”, whilst Welsh cows do something like “Maeysmyguuuuu!!!!”

Now the other thing to think about today is COD. You know, the fish. But not really the fish. Although it could be the fish, IF (and only if), a Cod were a fish out of water. Or on top of the water. Although I think this has something to do with someone being IN the water, but I could be wrong now that I think about it. But maybe not. . . .Well, you see, the first part of Cod is “CO”, and could be related to . . . say. . . the Coast Guard. . . as in “CALL OUT” (CO), which is what happens when you need assistance on the water. The poor boys with the Coast Guard get a “call out” when all hell breaks loose out in the briny deep. Now, if you’re still with me “COD” may also refer to a BCU “Coach Of Death”. Hmmmmmmmmmm,. Oh, never mind. Whatever I’m trying to say, you can be sure this last paragraph has nothing to do with Rowland.

Certainly among kayak manufacturers there is competition. And yet here in the UK owners all know each other. Many coming from the same roots. So I am happy to show you Aled Williams first prototype with his new company “IN-UIT”. He brought this first boat to the symposium and has been paddling it daily. He did tell us that with the new manufacturing his new boats would not have the fancy paint jobs that you can get with Rockpool but he is proud of his new design. Everyone who sat in it was quite happy with the initial feel of the boat. Of course for my part I am proud to be sponsored by Rockpool but still wish Aled all the luck in the world. And of course I post this from Nigel Dennis‘ office. Nigel puts on the symposium and opens the doors to Rockpool, In-uit, Valley, and others. There is no real room for bitter rivalries in such a small world.

Today I did part one of my 2 star coach training and am learning much. It’s quite an awakening actually. Especially since coach 2 is really aimed at being the gateway to paddlesports. This means all paddle sports, not just kayaking of course. If we don’t bring the new people in right, they will go away. Coaching first timers is a heavy responsibility when you look at it that way. If we make the first time suck, we may turn them off forever from the sport. Something we don’t want to be responsible for. I walked out of my class today feeling a new sense of responsibility and learning that sometimes the best way for my students to learn is to have me “Shut the *uck up!!” LOL! They’re a little more brutal here in the UK. Good. Just what I needed to be told. But the point was valid. If you talk too much you’re brain is off. You’re not really paying attention to your students. Also when demonstrating a stroke you have to keep your mouth shut so they can focus on your movements and not be distracted by your mouth. Good direct training. Good stuff!

By the way, SeakayakingUK’s new website went online today!! Check out the new color chooser. Great feature!!

Rotem Ron was the first presenter here at the symposium. The audience of course was enthralled with the story of her solo circumnavigation of Iceland last year. A good number of whom had doubted she would have completed it. I mean, remember at the time a few well known paddlers were planning an attempt. Rotem on the other hand was not well known outside of her home in Israel and had not done a large expedition before. And that is what is really fantastic about her story. The part she didn’t include in her presentation, how amazing she really is. Sure Iceland was beautiful. Sure there was wildlife. But the star of this expedition was this soft-spoken woman with amazing will. One who did not seek “a name”. In the end she carried herself well throughout her presentation even though she needed to grasp at each word of English to tell us her story. I could not help but think how wonderful it would have been if we could have understood her in her native language. In English you could only catch hints of the expressiveness she seemed to have within her. And yet, she walked through her story without notes and bringing the audience to riotous laughter on more than one occasion! Well, done Rotem.

For my part it’s been nice to get to meet her in person. People often have different opinions about the “Stars” of sea kayaking. Often quite justified. In meeting Rotem however, you soon learn that this woman deserves every bit of the attention she gets. And probably much more.

As I sit here on the steps outside Nigel Dennis’s office I am watching an Irish ferry come into port. Dublin is directly across the Irish sea and a ferry line runs from here to there. This provides a bit of an economy for what was a fishing village at one time. There is also a large aluminum works who’s tall stacks can be seen from almost anywhere in Holyhead. The last couple days here on the Welsh coast have been cloudy, windy and spitting rain. Yet it’s not cold really just, damp. I took a day off the water to explore a bit. I ran to Tesco which is the center of the world here, like Wal-mart in the states. It’s interesting walking through the store. At a glace the prices seem much like those at home. Chips 98p, a soda bottle 1.25 pounds etc. But then you realize that 1 pound is 2 dollars. So everything is double the price. Gas was 98p per litre. If you do the math that’s around 8$ per gallon. I can’t help but wonder how people in lower income jobs can possibly survive. Yet, they do. Of course unemployment is quite high and having your own detached home or car is not something easily had here in the UK. In some ways it’s a tough living.