Royal Navy Challenge

Around the Sharp End!

Sorry we haven’t been able to update our blog recently. For the past two weeks or thereabouts, we have been busy training up nine Royal Navy personnel for quite a challenge. The aim was to take 9 volunteers with no previous kayaking experience and get them around Cornwall…..In one piece! Well 9 sailors went out and 9 came back. All nine volunteers acquitted themselves admirably and Simon Harry and I enjoyed an amazing journey around Cornwall with them.

The team prior to departure.

The challenge started with a two day Intro course which was run by Harry Whelan and myself, Harry down from London for a week was working with me in preparing the group for the challenge.
The first day of the journey saw us paddling out from Pilgrim’s Step’s in Plymouth straight into a 5ft swell and force five gusting 6 south westerly wind, we made it as far as Cawsand before the wind increased further and we had to land. Valuable experience was gained later on in the day when a paddle out to Penlee Point was undertaken to practise surfing skills in the large swells and ebbing tide.
After 36 hours the winds died and we had a cracking paddle along the south coast, Fowey, Mevagissey, Gorran Haven and Falmouth were all visited. On Sunday the team had a chance to demonstrate their new found skills at an RNLI day at Maenporth Beach.

Basking Sharks in Mounts Bay.

Monday had us setting off towards the Lizard, a perfect high pressure, blue skies and calm seas allowed us to make good mileage and we made it around the Lizard and into Kynance Cove. Then an open crossing of 16 KM the following morning to Tater Dhu lighthouse, during which we saw several Basking Sharks before rounding Lands End and into Sennen Cove for a meal of BBQ’d mackerel, washed down by a few pints of ‘Head Launcher’, the local brew.

Landing at Kynance Cove after rounding the Lizard

The guys were now facing the North coast, a committing section of coastline by anyone’s standards and they handled it with style, making it as far as Porthtowan before we had to land through the surf to end the journey in style.
Well done Eddy, Matt, Jesus, Rowan, Mark, Guy, Wally, Adam and a big thank you to Lt Cdr ‘Harry’ Harrington for organising such a successful expedition.

Xped members silhouetted against the Atlantic sunset.

Visit our gallery pages shortly for more pics from the expedition.