New season, new kit to test out!

 Daryll's mum admiring our village and mountains from the water yesterday.
Yesterday morning the sun was out and our sea loch was like silk, so it was an ideal opportunity not only to get Daryll's mum out in the canoe, but for me to get wet! Having broken my wrist in February, I have gone slightly mad; unable to surf, kayak or mountain bike. The new snorkelling wetsuits arrived a couple of weeks ago, so I decided to test one out, now that the wrist is healed well enough for me to pull on a wetsuit and swim.
The three of us paddled out to the mouth of our loch, Rosina and I in the canoe, and Daryll in his sea kayak. Mesmerising reflections of mountains and  clouds in the water soothed our senses. Rosina was absolutely loving it. We beached at Red Box Bay so that Daryll could transfer into the canoe with his mum, while I indulged in a long swim across the mouth of our loch, towing his sea kayak behind me.
It felt amazing to be immersed in our beautiful Hebridean sea once more, after this long hard winter of storms, illness and injury. The new wetsuit kept me warm while I swam and bobbed about for half an hour or so, coasteering style with my buoyancy aid on. Finally I was pleased to find that I could self-rescue in deep water in spite of the weak wrist, easily pulling myself into Daryll's sea kayak before paddling after them both as they steered the canoe towards home and lunch.

After lunch they were out again, testing out our new Leo HV. Daryll's mum, though an able sailor, cyclist and horse rider, had never paddled a sea kayak in her life before yesterday. As you can see below, she got on famously! ​

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​She reported that the boat felt very stable. I had to rest my wrist so the photos are taken from the shore, but I could see that she was comfortable and progressing quickly. The Leo is slightly bigger than our Virgos, and its roomy cockpit it is ideal for people who are tall or slightly less bendy. Rosina is 71 in June and now wants to take up sea kayaking! Why ever not?

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