I’m loving my Surf Ski at the moment and I’m certainly getting some decent use out of it, including a lovely surf ski from Borth to Aberystwyth and back.<\/p>\n
I know I was a little uncertain what craft to get<\/a> earlier in the year when I first started paddling but at the moment it looks as though I made the perfect choice. The primary reason for wanting a new paddling craft of some description was to use it for competing in quadrathlons. A K1 kayak would have been the ultimate tool for this but the surf ski has turned out just fine. Not only have I been able to compete in quadrathlons on it, but I’ve been able to have some adventures on the sea too. I’ve been able to play in the surf on it and I’ve been able to compete in surf ski events such as the Colwyn Bay Blast<\/a> and the Great Cumbrae Kayak Race<\/a>. As I hoped, it has turned out to be an all round tool with many applications, has been good fun and a bit of a challenge too. A K1 Kayak certainly wouldn;t been up to half of this.<\/p>\n Tuesday was a busy morning for me with visits to the dentists, business meetings and lunch with Anna. Once that was all done the weather was looking gorgeous and I had nothing pressing to do until meeting Morgan from the school bus at 3:30pm. That gave me just over two hours for a bit of an adventure. I had my ski on the roof of the van so headed to the Lifeboat Station in Borth and set off for a paddle.<\/p>\n I wasn’t sure how far I’d go, I was just going to head around the headland and along the coast a little. The water was nice and calm in the lee of the cliffs of Borth but once around the headland there was a bit of swell and some chop too. I felt OK though which demonstrates quite an improvement in my paddling skills since I first got the ski back in June. I soon paddled past the little bay of Aberwennol and the distinctive Harp Rock. The glacial spit of Sarn Cynfelyn was the next landmark on my journey and maybe a good point to stop at the beach there before heading back.<\/p>\n I arrived there a little quicker than I had anticipated though so decided to keep going. I had to head out around the spit as the tide was low. The sea was quite confused and choppy over the spit but I stayed upright and headed off towards Clarach. Now that I was in Clarach it wasn’t far to Aberystwyth so I continued on past the cliffs under Constitution hill, around the rocks and landed on North Beach in Aber. The paddle from Borth to Aberystwyth took just under an hour so I had a quick drink and retraced my paddle strokes back out to sea and north along the coast.<\/p>\n The wind was picking up a little by now and things were getting a little choppier. Still pretty easy conditions and nothing I couldn’t cope with but I did have to put in some bracing strokes now and then to stay upright. I made it back to Borth without getting wet, packed up and waited for Morgan’s bus to arrive.<\/p>\nSurf Ski from Borth to Aberystwyth<\/h2>\n