#138 - Finding flow through exploration in the Outer Hebrides and more with Tom Thorpe

WEBVTT

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Welcome to Paddling the Blue. With each episode, we talk with guests from the

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Great Lakes and around the globe who are doing cool things related to sea kayaking.

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I'm your host, my name is John Chase, and let's get started paddling the blue.

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Welcome to today's episode of Paddling the Blue. If you're a long-time listener,

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welcome back, and if this is your first time, thank you very much for joining us.

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Today's guest is Tom Thorpe, and Tom's a familiar name and face in the UK paddling scene.

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Depending on the day, you can find him in one of many types of craft,

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or coasteering along the shore, or working a new bouldering problem,

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or helping paddlers find something special on the water.

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And today, we'll talk about his formative years, personal and professional growth,

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and his new home in the Outer Hebrides.

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Before we get to today's conversation with Tom, James Stevenson and Simon Osborne

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at OnlineSeaKyaking.com continue to produce great content to help you evolve

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as a paddler and as a coach.

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Enjoy today's episode with Tom Thorpe. Hi, Tom. Welcome to Paddling the Blue.

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Hi, John. Thanks for having me on. It's amazing to get this sorted.

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I know we've been trying for a couple of years now, maybe even more.

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It's been a good time, but I'm really happy that we have the opportunity and

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you're in a great place to be able to do this. So you've really been around,

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and now you're in the Outer Hebrides, and certainly we'll talk about that place in a little bit.

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But first, let's talk a little bit about the path that you've taken to get here.

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How did you get your start as a paddler?

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Well, kayaking was a really big thing in schools and cadets.

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And I tried to stay away from cadets and scouts and all these things,

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but I had friends that were involved with those things.

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And I just ended up in a swimming pool during lunchtimes, I think, at school.

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And you had a lot of freedom.

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I'm 38 now, and back then people were just like, yeah,

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get the kayaks out, own playing around and they

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were just old dancers and you know

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we'd be in there just trying to roll and stuff like that and

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it was it was just good fun and then

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another friend was like oh i'm going with my dad to

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the harbour do you want to come and i was like yeah okay

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so i'd just be paddling around and again

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we try and roll and mess around and then

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it just went from there i i got into climbing

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and mountain biking in a big way and actually open

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canoeing and I did a little bit

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of white water kayaking but then I moved

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to the Isle of Skye and started using sea

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kayaks and suddenly it dawned on me that

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a sea kayak was a perfect craft for windy

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conditions you know you could still surf them and do cool stuff and rock hop

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but I could load them up with kit and actually what I used to do with the sea

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kayaks was put loads of climbing gear in them and paddle out to islands and

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abseil down rock faces looking for new routes.

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But then I just, yeah, I kind of moved away from whitewater kayaks and open canoes.

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I still paddle those things, but I just got really into sea kayaking.

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And that was kind of, that was 2009 when

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I was on the isle of sky definitely is

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a vehicle to be able to to get you somewhere and i love

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the uh the idea that you've used to paddle or used sea

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kayaks to be able to get to better climbing destinations we've had a couple

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of other guests you've done the same yeah well you know obviously you can load

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them up with kit and i don't think i ever really did much climbing but i just

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took the kit in case I found really cool stuff.

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And I, you know, I did some, but then it became about the sea kayaking,

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I guess, and learning everything or putting all my skills into that craft and

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being able to get out to those amazing islands.

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And yeah, it's just kind of like became my, my main thing, I guess, you know? Yeah.

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Yeah. Now I know it's a little bit of a departure from, from the sea kayaking

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piece, but how about your history as a climber? I was really into downhill mountain

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biking and just street riding, BMXs and skateboards.

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I went to college in Cornwall and a really good friend of mine called Ash was

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really into bouldering.

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And he was like, you need to come climbing. And I just remember being so bad

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and I'd just be falling off and just not able to do it.

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I didn't understand all the coordination and the balance and the strength. I was only 17.

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And then slowly it just started getting better and better and mixing with the

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people and involved with that scene.

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And don't get me wrong, John, I never got really amazing at climbing.

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You know i'm climbing okay but it was

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just a great scene and you know hanging out in those wild places

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and being with good friends putting up

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new trad lines and trying to

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find new boulders it's just it was a big it is still

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that's what i do here as well but it's just a

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big adventure as well that's great that's

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great now out of curiosity how do

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you think the your your climbing has

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translated over to paddling and vice versa well actually

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that's a good question and the reason

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why is because sea kayaking almost

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or the people mountaineers and the people looking for

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that same kind of adventure and experience and some of the early expeditions

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some of you know some of those guys the big you know big expeditions some of

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those guys and girls were heavily involved in mountaineering and it was well

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known it's kind of mountaineering on the sea and i believe that.

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Climbers as well it's changed actually recently

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and it's become a little bit more park and

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play and a little bit more convenient but trad climbers and mountaineers you

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know they kind of like a bit of a struggle fest they're kind of a little bit

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masochistic they like training they like kind of putting themselves in committed

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situations and kind of pushing the limits and sea kayaking,

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is is very much sea kayaking is just so applicable and works so well for me,

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is because i surfboards i climb rocks right but you can only surf boards when

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the waves are working you can only climb rocks when it's dry now a sea kayak

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you can launch that sky kayak anywhere as there's water.

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And I'm almost guaranteed to have a good paddle. And the satisfaction and the

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accomplishment I can achieve from a sea kayak is almost guaranteed. And that's why I like it.

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But you still get all those elements and those things which you're looking for

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in those other sports. And I just think that really just sat well with me.

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You know, as far as I got at sea kayaking, I was able to do more and more.

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I could paddle to islands further offshore. I could

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cross areas with more tidal flow I could

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paddle out through and land in bigger

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surf so but it doesn't need to be

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like that it just it could even be flat and I'd still have a

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really good paddle so I my weekend was coming and I know it was guaranteed that

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I was going to have a really good weekend and finish that weekend and go back

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to work on Monday morning just feeling like just like I've had the best time

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ever. Do you know what I mean? Yeah.

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I think there's a lot of transferable stuff, but from all sports.

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And I think that a lot of those things can be achieved in every sport,

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but it's just more guaranteed with sea kayaking in my personal experience.

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Now, do you think that there's skill transfer? So

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has being a climber made you a better paddler and vice

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versa yeah so i do

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an awful lot of training i train all the time i've got

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my own gym here and i train specifically for

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climbing but i've made my workouts

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more generic so it's more so i

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can go surfing and i'll be and i'll be pretty good because

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it's more focused towards that stuff so that

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lifestyle of training just it's

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just something you do and it has a really positive impact on

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your sports and that's very

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much climbing if you go to a climbing gym the good

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climbers in there or even mediocre climbers they'll be training

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as a lifestyle choice it's just something they do the fitness

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and nutrition element is is just

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a standard thing and having grown

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up through that and again you know i was never and

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and i'm not like a seriously good climber

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but i'm okay but that it's just training is just something you do and i think

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that that really yeah that that just helps everything but also you know the

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more mountaineering stuff part or the more mountaineering side of climbing with

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the navigation you know i was kind of.

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Mountain leader and able to find my way around and that's all come from that

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as well reading guidebooks and trying to find little rock faces you know in

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a vast area or something you know it's just it is transferable for sure,

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I'd say the one thing which is more applicable than anything possibly is that

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I do is co-steer, guiding, co-steering.

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Because, and I was working with a good friend of mine down in Cornwall to run co-steering.

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Because a lot of what I do, even the other day when I was at the Flannan Isles,

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you know, I'd use my tow line as a swim line.

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And I'd swim into the rocks and I'd climb up on the rocks. I'd pull the boat in.

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It's all co-steering. And I think that if you're a sea kayaker and you really

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want to get into something which is going to have a seriously good impact on

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your paddling and safety is co-steering and the ability to move around on wet

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rocks, the ability to use ropes.

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However, I would say that sea kayakers are just a bit too obsessed with tow

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lines. But yeah, that's, yeah.

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So co-steering is an interesting add here. So that's not something that is as common here in the U.S.

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So for those who are unfamiliar with coasteering, explain a little bit about that. It's a cool idea.

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Yeah, so you guys there, you have something which is really big, which is canyoneering.

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Yep. Or canyoning. And that's very similar, you know.

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However, coasteering, you wouldn't usually put up Tyrolians and that sort of

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stuff. But the way of moving, abseiling, potentially, however,

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even that, you probably wouldn't do co-steering.

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But the basic idea of co-steering, and I take people out co-steering a lot as

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well, you've got a route or you've got A to B along the coast,

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or sometimes can be a circular or a circuit.

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But you just you swim you jump

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and climb and you might use the

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ropes and kind of like pull yourself along or you might

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throw a line a swimmer and pull them in to speed

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things up and it's just moving efficiently

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through the the coastline the

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transition zone between the sea and land and you

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can play in the waves you can it's just

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a fun thing and usually you like

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usually people would need a guide for that

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because they might not be super

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familiar with the ocean or you know that environment

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and you can make it so fun it's

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one of my it's one of my most enjoyable things

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to do as a guide is to take people out

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coasteering because i can almost guarantee that people

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are going to have such a good time however people do

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struggle with swimming in seaweed and coming into contact with jellyfish sometimes

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i've had a couple of people get a bit shaken up by that but you know again you

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know this is interesting it's uh it's important experiences for people to kind

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of expand their comfort zones and yeah as long as you don't push them too much you're in uh.

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It is something that definitely gets you outside your comfort zone,

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but also gives you that healthy respect for the sea and the power of it.

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But that also gives you an opportunity to figure out how do I use the sea to

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the advantage to do that co-steering activity?

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100 and with all my

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sports surfing coasteering kayaking whatever it

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is in the ocean or on the ocean surf

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ski i've realized that the more

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comfortable and familiar and relaxed a

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person is the more enjoyable enjoyable it'll be

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but the safer it is and the more you can use it

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and understand it and it will help you as soon

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as you're like rigid tense scared you're

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actually becomes more dangerous because you're just

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not moving you're not operating your mind's not

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clear you're making short sharp split

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decision which just there aren't it's not calculated so

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and again co-steering or anything like that surfing

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just even just swimming in waves just being

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familiar with that environment it will have a seriously

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like it'll have a big positive impact

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on your paddling for sure definitely so you

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seem to have reinvented yourself i guess i'll say

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several times as a paddler from you know you mentioned

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the dancer days and that that really takes you back i used to have a dancer

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myself and that was a fun little boat but then you know you go from the dancer

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to sea kayaking to a fast sea kayak to surf ski to operating a livery and to

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now a center director so tell us a little bit about that progression over the years.

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So, yeah, it's been a fun journey.

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And I like to put myself back in those places to kind of take my mind back to

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where I was in life or even the industry and even the sea kayak world as a whole.

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So, you know, like outdoor centers and schools, everyone used or they all had

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fleets of clothes, cockpit, ciphers or dancers or whatever.

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That was just what was available.

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And I think you know throughout those periods you just use what's available

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and then as you progress in time and kind of you become more exposed or exposed

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to different things and different craft.

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Obviously I'll use them and I think when I went to college in Cornwall we were

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using white water you know shorter boats so I'd be in them and learning how

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to do that and we'd be on rivers and then obviously moving to Sky and using the center sea kayaks.

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I couldn't afford my own boat for quite a while.

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And then I managed to buy my first sea kayak, which was PNH Capella 163 carbon

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Kevlar, lovely bit of kit.

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But as soon as I had that and I started

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paddling with other people and they were in different

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craft and I try them I quickly

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became aware of why there was

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different shapes and sizes and you kind of start understanding

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all that so then I'd be like I

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want that boat so I'd then save or I'd trade up for that boat and then I'd end

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up with that and then I guess I just my level of paddling got to a point that

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I actually needed certain gear like I was I was paddling but my kit was holding me back.

00:16:37.247 --> 00:16:40.507
And I'm quite proud of the fact, and I used to be quite self-conscious about

00:16:40.507 --> 00:16:42.627
it, I've never had much money.

00:16:42.787 --> 00:16:47.547
I've always been an outdoor instructor or worked in schools doing big aspirations in all my sports.

00:16:47.547 --> 00:16:51.087
And I was looking out at these islands and I was doing, you know,

00:16:51.167 --> 00:16:55.227
I was paddling, but it was taking a bit long or, you know, I was kind of trying

00:16:55.227 --> 00:16:59.007
to, I was coming up with plans, but I was a bit, I was held back by the kit.

00:16:59.567 --> 00:17:08.607
So then I, you know, contacted, in fact, no. So my friend had a FSK and that was a Tarrant.

00:17:09.327 --> 00:17:13.907
And I was like, oh, can I borrow your Tarrant? And he was like,

00:17:14.047 --> 00:17:16.307
absolutely, Tom, crack on, you know.

00:17:16.747 --> 00:17:24.887
And I remember I used that and I went out to the Eddystone, which is Lighthouse off of Plymouth.

00:17:25.047 --> 00:17:28.827
And it's sort of eight miles, eight nautical miles off of Reimhead.

00:17:29.507 --> 00:17:33.527
I went out to the Eddystone and I come back and I was like, okay,

00:17:33.867 --> 00:17:36.387
I can see what this is about.

00:17:36.587 --> 00:17:39.907
And now I was like, I can see the benefits of using this craft.

00:17:40.447 --> 00:17:45.607
And then I paddled around the whole of Cornwall in three days and covered some big distance.

00:17:45.707 --> 00:17:50.747
On that first day, in fact, all three days, I covered, you know, big distance.

00:17:50.747 --> 00:17:56.287
And I was like, and I was offshore in kind of open water situations because

00:17:56.287 --> 00:18:00.707
you kind of go from, you headland hops, you kind of go from headland to headland to speed things up.

00:18:00.707 --> 00:18:06.667
I just couldn't believe how much that kind of opened up what I was able to do

00:18:06.667 --> 00:18:10.407
but then I was like okay this has changed

00:18:10.407 --> 00:18:14.047
my perspective my life's changed suddenly because I can now do more,

00:18:14.507 --> 00:18:17.507
so then I kind of got chatting to some companies because

00:18:17.507 --> 00:18:20.327
I needed one of these boats but there's no way I could

00:18:20.327 --> 00:18:23.067
even afford one even secondhand at that point they were

00:18:23.067 --> 00:18:25.767
you know still quite a lot of money second and

00:18:25.767 --> 00:18:29.027
they still are now and then I got into being sponsored

00:18:29.027 --> 00:18:32.367
I was still I was already sponsored by ve paddles and

00:18:32.367 --> 00:18:35.447
i was working with the original owner of ve paddles and we

00:18:35.447 --> 00:18:38.387
were product testing and it was so much fun you know

00:18:38.387 --> 00:18:41.367
using kit and using abuse it and

00:18:41.367 --> 00:18:44.067
he changed things and whatnot i got in

00:18:44.067 --> 00:18:47.067
touch with a company and they lent me

00:18:47.067 --> 00:18:51.067
or they sponsored me an fsk and that

00:18:51.067 --> 00:18:55.347
was amazing and that's what i used for paddling around scotland and ireland

00:18:55.347 --> 00:19:01.127
great bit of kit and i was giving them a little bit of feedback for that which

00:19:01.127 --> 00:19:07.507
was cool but then someone said to me you need to try a surf ski and I was like.

00:19:08.908 --> 00:19:11.888
Don't know about that like i'm a you know you know

00:19:11.888 --> 00:19:14.928
i know what's gonna happen if i get it on that craft

00:19:14.928 --> 00:19:17.948
and i like it i'm gonna want one

00:19:17.948 --> 00:19:21.488
and i just can't afford one and i's gonna change so

00:19:21.488 --> 00:19:24.688
i put that off for about two years and then

00:19:24.688 --> 00:19:28.328
i got on a surf ski and i

00:19:28.328 --> 00:19:32.368
was just like oh my goodness all

00:19:32.368 --> 00:19:35.468
those things that i've wanted in a sea kayak

00:19:35.468 --> 00:19:41.268
already exist i was like this these craft this you know these surf skis are

00:19:41.268 --> 00:19:47.648
just made to do the job they are performance craft they go downwind so well

00:19:47.648 --> 00:19:52.488
the seat in position is really comfortable and like it's it's just a really dynamic position.

00:19:53.328 --> 00:19:57.388
And then suddenly i just got involved with coaches and

00:19:57.388 --> 00:20:00.468
people which had been through a proper kind

00:20:00.468 --> 00:20:04.348
a coaching pathway and they've been coached themselves and

00:20:04.348 --> 00:20:07.568
they were coaching me in technique and suddenly my paddling

00:20:07.568 --> 00:20:10.288
just started going in just going

00:20:10.288 --> 00:20:13.008
through the roof like I just started progressing I think

00:20:13.008 --> 00:20:15.668
I had plateaued I taught myself a lot

00:20:15.668 --> 00:20:18.968
and I was looking for information and trying to be trying to

00:20:18.968 --> 00:20:22.248
contact people that I thought might be able to help me progress in technique

00:20:22.248 --> 00:20:25.408
and style and then suddenly surf ski

00:20:25.408 --> 00:20:28.628
world was different they were you know and I was involved with

00:20:28.628 --> 00:20:31.748
some amazing paddlers like sean

00:20:31.748 --> 00:20:35.088
rice and a good friend of mine called ralph baker and

00:20:35.088 --> 00:20:39.868
they you know accomplished paddlers really good paddlers and they were coaching

00:20:39.868 --> 00:20:44.988
and giving me some top tips and i just went i was like this is this is it and

00:20:44.988 --> 00:20:50.428
i just focused on surf ski for i don't know i still do it now a lot but like

00:20:50.428 --> 00:20:53.808
you know three or four years or whatever and i,

00:20:54.307 --> 00:20:59.567
I just really enjoyed that, the downwind experience and the training.

00:21:00.047 --> 00:21:05.947
And I kind of, as I said to you earlier, I love training and I love the fitness element.

00:21:06.267 --> 00:21:11.347
And sometimes that felt a little bit out of place in standard sea kayaking,

00:21:11.567 --> 00:21:14.427
apart from the FSK performance world, potentially.

00:21:15.127 --> 00:21:18.807
But as soon as I got involved with surf ski, I was like, this is made for me.

00:21:18.907 --> 00:21:23.727
It's a performance sea kayak, which fits so well and it's comfortable.

00:21:24.307 --> 00:21:28.827
And the more I train, it's almost like the more you push a surf ski, like it doesn't matter.

00:21:28.967 --> 00:21:32.807
Like you could be the best surf ski paddler in the world. You can always be better.

00:21:33.167 --> 00:21:36.427
And I was just like, I was like, no matter how much I train,

00:21:36.587 --> 00:21:39.847
I was like, let's go. Like, and it was, it was great.

00:21:40.067 --> 00:21:46.467
And island circuits were quicker, but it did humble me because I wasn't very good to start with.

00:21:46.887 --> 00:21:49.427
And I was like, thought I was this amazing sea kuyahoga.

00:21:49.867 --> 00:21:52.467
And then I get on a surf ski and I wasn't very good. I was like,

00:21:52.767 --> 00:21:55.527
well, the boat must be wrong or the paddle.

00:21:55.867 --> 00:22:00.167
It was just that I needed to take things back to basics. I need to rebuild my

00:22:00.167 --> 00:22:06.347
skills and relearn and unlearn all that stuff, which was potentially not quite right.

00:22:06.607 --> 00:22:11.267
So it was an amazing journey. And I'm still doing that now. And up here on the

00:22:11.267 --> 00:22:16.187
Outer Hebrides, we've got some of the best downwinders I've ever done.

00:22:16.187 --> 00:22:19.527
And you know you've got these fjords or really

00:22:19.527 --> 00:22:22.487
long sea locks locks they're not

00:22:22.487 --> 00:22:25.627
called fjords here but it's very similar and the wind funnels

00:22:25.627 --> 00:22:28.827
and we've the downwind here john is

00:22:28.827 --> 00:22:32.267
just unbelievable like so and

00:22:32.267 --> 00:22:35.247
it's right here on my doorstep and one thing

00:22:35.247 --> 00:22:40.447
that's guaranteed here in the outer heavenlies is wind so so

00:22:40.447 --> 00:22:43.247
it's good fun but i i'm back in there

00:22:43.247 --> 00:22:46.487
in the sea kayaks now I've moved away from the FSK

00:22:46.487 --> 00:22:49.967
stuff and that's partly because again I

00:22:49.967 --> 00:22:53.387
just haven't been able to buy one of those boats but I do

00:22:53.387 --> 00:22:56.247
really like using a sea kayak for

00:22:56.247 --> 00:23:00.327
what it's good for and more classic style boats and

00:23:00.327 --> 00:23:03.067
then having my my surf ski which is

00:23:03.067 --> 00:23:07.087
kind of like for that performance training

00:23:07.087 --> 00:23:12.687
fitness downwind stuff so I've got my Nord Cap which I love because it's just

00:23:12.687 --> 00:23:17.307
it's good fun and it's great for expeditions it's satisfying to paddle maybe

00:23:17.307 --> 00:23:21.387
slightly slower pace really nice for offshore and crossings and then I've got

00:23:21.387 --> 00:23:25.927
my surf ski which I just take out for a couple of hours here and there you know.

00:23:26.706 --> 00:23:30.606
Yeah, there's definite truth to, you know, like you said, if you want to do

00:23:30.606 --> 00:23:35.846
a big trip and you need to gobble up some miles and do it with confidence and

00:23:35.846 --> 00:23:39.026
do it with kit, then your sea kayak is great for that.

00:23:39.106 --> 00:23:43.166
But if you're really looking for just that quick athletic pursuit and just that

00:23:43.166 --> 00:23:46.666
thrill, surf ski would be your route.

00:23:47.446 --> 00:23:51.046
Yeah, and I mean, you know, these two worlds are emerging.

00:23:51.046 --> 00:23:53.826
We've just had when was it a couple of years ago

00:23:53.826 --> 00:23:57.486
amazing paddler you know absolutely

00:23:57.486 --> 00:24:04.946
smashed the record for going around the uk um on a surf ski and and that was

00:24:04.946 --> 00:24:10.426
just yeah really impressive that was a supported trip slightly different style

00:24:10.426 --> 00:24:15.506
of expedition or or you know circumnavigation but i I mean,

00:24:15.706 --> 00:24:21.606
no one can argue that those craft, the surf skis are just amazing at lots of different things.

00:24:21.746 --> 00:24:25.286
And that one had hatches, so you can still take a small amount of kit.

00:24:25.826 --> 00:24:29.806
And then again, someone's just crossed the channel, the English channel,

00:24:30.026 --> 00:24:32.686
super quick time on the same craft.

00:24:32.906 --> 00:24:34.926
And yeah, so it's starting to merge.

00:24:35.406 --> 00:24:42.166
But for me, like I like to be from my waist down, especially I like to be dry.

00:24:42.166 --> 00:24:46.366
So I do like, on expeditions, I do like to have a spray deck and I do like to

00:24:46.366 --> 00:24:49.746
be kind of dry and have my kit with me.

00:24:50.026 --> 00:24:57.366
There's something nice about a self-supported or self-sufficient trip where

00:24:57.366 --> 00:24:59.646
you're just out there and you don't rely on anyone else.

00:25:00.086 --> 00:25:02.786
But it's just different, you know, it's a different style.

00:25:03.346 --> 00:25:07.926
Certainly. Then you transitioned for a while there to a livery operator, is that right?

00:25:09.326 --> 00:25:13.706
Well, I mean, I've had a couple of businesses and I...

00:25:14.742 --> 00:25:19.902
I had a surf ski company and sea kayak company, and I used to sell surf skis

00:25:19.902 --> 00:25:24.262
and do guided trips kind of off my own back.

00:25:24.462 --> 00:25:28.522
And down in South Devon, which was great, and I used to hire out Kit as well.

00:25:28.942 --> 00:25:33.802
And yeah, that was a good process. And it got to the point where it was like,

00:25:33.922 --> 00:25:38.982
let's ramp it up or let's do something different.

00:25:38.982 --> 00:25:43.042
To make money, proper money from that stuff, you know, you've got to go about

00:25:43.042 --> 00:25:44.482
it in a certain way. Right.

00:25:44.742 --> 00:25:49.522
But I had an opportunity to make a bit of a change and come to the Outer Hebrides

00:25:49.522 --> 00:25:55.642
and step back into kind of the outdoor instructor world.

00:25:55.722 --> 00:26:02.282
And I managed the center and I've my ethos is do what's on your doorstep.

00:26:02.282 --> 00:26:04.402
So I always make sure I can do stuff.

00:26:04.522 --> 00:26:08.402
And that's why Sea Kayak and Surf Ski is so good, too, because you can,

00:26:08.482 --> 00:26:11.922
you know, launch on any water and have a great paddle, like I said earlier.

00:26:11.922 --> 00:26:19.322
But right here, my doorstep is now like, I would say, the best paddling environment,

00:26:19.762 --> 00:26:21.902
one of the best paddling environments in the world.

00:26:23.282 --> 00:26:28.062
So I made the change and I shut down the company and I stepped away from a different

00:26:28.062 --> 00:26:30.282
company and I kind of moved up here.

00:26:30.982 --> 00:26:36.362
And yeah, things are good. All right. So tell us about the Outer Hebrides,

00:26:36.662 --> 00:26:38.702
the Isle of Lewis and the Scaladel Center.

00:26:39.302 --> 00:26:45.242
Yeah, so the Scaladel Centre is a purpose-built outdoor centre,

00:26:45.502 --> 00:26:48.702
and it's on the Isle of Harris. Isle of Harris and Lewis,

00:26:49.680 --> 00:26:56.780
technically joined but they are separated by locks and rivers or burns but this

00:26:56.780 --> 00:27:02.360
this center is is built underneath the highest mountain on the outer hebrides

00:27:02.360 --> 00:27:03.620
which is called the klesham.

00:27:04.820 --> 00:27:07.880
799 meters high and we're

00:27:07.880 --> 00:27:11.460
in glenscaladell but we've got amazing access

00:27:11.460 --> 00:27:14.200
to all sorts of different environments it's a

00:27:14.200 --> 00:27:16.960
multi-activity center kayaking is just

00:27:16.960 --> 00:27:20.300
one of those things but all of our locations are

00:27:20.300 --> 00:27:23.260
tip top our coasteering sites our

00:27:23.260 --> 00:27:26.960
climbing crag the gorge scrambling the kayak

00:27:26.960 --> 00:27:30.580
place you know take people around scalpe just

00:27:30.580 --> 00:27:33.640
on in the lock here c4 violence just

00:27:33.640 --> 00:27:36.380
opposite the center i can get people out to the

00:27:36.380 --> 00:27:39.080
shantz you know i paddled out to the flannans the other day

00:27:39.080 --> 00:27:42.820
and that's just up the road where you'd launch for that we've got

00:27:42.820 --> 00:27:46.620
absolutely amazing seascapes

00:27:46.620 --> 00:27:49.660
and kind of coastal areas here the beaches are

00:27:49.660 --> 00:27:52.480
just unbelievable and it's

00:27:52.480 --> 00:27:55.420
just a fantastic environment you know you've got

00:27:55.420 --> 00:27:58.540
whitetail eagles flying over the center golden eagles as

00:27:58.540 --> 00:28:01.620
well red deer are roaming freely and

00:28:01.620 --> 00:28:04.600
there's a lot of them otters we see quite

00:28:04.600 --> 00:28:07.620
often on the sea kayak trips there's common seals here

00:28:07.620 --> 00:28:11.180
there's gray seals on the west side and

00:28:11.180 --> 00:28:14.900
yeah you can see whales dolphins it's just

00:28:14.900 --> 00:28:18.740
it's a super wild environment and.

00:28:18.740 --> 00:28:22.120
Scotland west coast orkney shetland

00:28:22.120 --> 00:28:25.140
as well like it's very very much like

00:28:25.140 --> 00:28:28.060
that the coastal areas around scotland are very

00:28:28.060 --> 00:28:30.880
wild and very beautiful but for me

00:28:30.880 --> 00:28:35.080
the outer hebrides is almost like a completely different

00:28:35.080 --> 00:28:38.580
kettle of fish it's it's it's

00:28:38.580 --> 00:28:41.480
a seriously beautiful place and as a

00:28:41.480 --> 00:28:44.480
guide it's it it

00:28:44.480 --> 00:28:47.340
really you've got to be on it so you know the weather

00:28:47.340 --> 00:28:50.680
here can change quite quickly and that's

00:28:50.680 --> 00:28:53.420
something that people say like down in the south of the uk

00:28:53.420 --> 00:28:57.060
and whatnot that does happen but usually you're

00:28:57.060 --> 00:29:00.000
you're quite aware of the pressure systems you're

00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:02.960
quite aware of what's going to happen but up here

00:29:02.960 --> 00:29:06.540
because the mountains and the atlantic is

00:29:06.540 --> 00:29:09.200
where it kind of all meets we're almost the outer

00:29:09.200 --> 00:29:12.200
hebrides is almost the breakwater for the rest

00:29:12.200 --> 00:29:15.000
of the north of scotland so we get

00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:22.140
everything and it can you know you know force well 100 mile an hour gusts here

00:29:22.140 --> 00:29:26.940
you know and obviously you wouldn't take people out in that but that is quite

00:29:26.940 --> 00:29:32.920
common here and you could be paddling in kind of force three and it would go up to four,

00:29:33.140 --> 00:29:35.620
six, maybe even slightly more.

00:29:36.987 --> 00:29:39.867
Quite quickly so as a guide you've

00:29:39.867 --> 00:29:42.707
got to be you've got to be on it and that and the

00:29:42.707 --> 00:29:46.347
outer heavities does have this reputation and commercially

00:29:46.347 --> 00:29:49.247
you get a lot of commercial operators coming up

00:29:49.247 --> 00:29:51.947
here trying to run expeditions and stuff and they

00:29:51.947 --> 00:29:55.247
do struggle because you know you could the forecast

00:29:55.247 --> 00:29:58.387
changes every six to 12 hours so

00:29:58.387 --> 00:30:01.647
you know you could only go really three days

00:30:01.647 --> 00:30:04.387
forecast before a trip or whatever and then

00:30:04.387 --> 00:30:07.267
that'll probably change as well so when you plan a

00:30:07.267 --> 00:30:09.887
trip super far in advance it is a

00:30:09.887 --> 00:30:13.247
big risk to whether or not you'll be able to run it but it's

00:30:13.247 --> 00:30:17.107
for me so yeah for me professionally it's fantastic

00:30:17.107 --> 00:30:20.307
and safety is number one and

00:30:20.307 --> 00:30:23.367
we luckily because we've got so many activities I

00:30:23.367 --> 00:30:26.547
can just pick the best activity for the day or

00:30:26.547 --> 00:30:29.287
I can change the plan if i need to and then

00:30:29.287 --> 00:30:32.187
if someone you know if i get people coming up to go and

00:30:32.187 --> 00:30:35.347
do sea kayak trips i can pick different locations

00:30:35.347 --> 00:30:38.727
you know we've got the west coast which is swelly usually

00:30:38.727 --> 00:30:41.967
windier we've got the east side the east coast which

00:30:41.967 --> 00:30:45.187
you've got almost loads of little sheltered like natural harbors

00:30:45.187 --> 00:30:48.107
and sea locks and inlets and

00:30:48.107 --> 00:30:50.867
rocky coastlines so there's always

00:30:50.867 --> 00:30:54.987
an option apart from obviously when it's just really

00:30:54.987 --> 00:31:00.467
windy and stormy but then the center's a lovely place to hang out so if you

00:31:00.467 --> 00:31:06.467
can't get on the water then we can just drink coffee and you know eat cake you.

00:31:06.467 --> 00:31:13.107
Know yeah in terms of being the uh the break wall like you said for uh for for scotland i mean.

00:31:13.967 --> 00:31:17.907
If you get a good wind out of the northwest and you know your last windbreak

00:31:17.907 --> 00:31:21.827
is iceland or Greenland, you're 1,500 to 3,000 K away.

00:31:22.692 --> 00:31:25.532
Exactly and you know it's not just about

00:31:25.532 --> 00:31:28.752
the air and the wind you know the the atlantic there

00:31:28.752 --> 00:31:31.832
the surfers that live up here you

00:31:31.832 --> 00:31:35.252
know the board surfers that live up here on the islands usually they're

00:31:35.252 --> 00:31:38.732
they're pretty on it and the reason why is because a

00:31:38.732 --> 00:31:41.592
lot of the waves are a little bit heavier than what you might find

00:31:41.592 --> 00:31:44.372
in in devon and cornwall and you

00:31:44.372 --> 00:31:47.592
get quite deep water and then it meets these

00:31:47.592 --> 00:31:50.852
islands and then just kind of pushes up so you

00:31:50.852 --> 00:31:54.172
get some big swells hitting these islands and that

00:31:54.172 --> 00:31:57.092
fetch is is a long it's a long fetch you know

00:31:57.092 --> 00:32:00.672
and like you just say there's nothing between us and all those

00:32:00.672 --> 00:32:03.492
places and that makes it fun too and i

00:32:03.492 --> 00:32:10.072
will say that again you know the the things that people say you know talk about

00:32:10.072 --> 00:32:16.232
freak waves and stuff it does happen more here you do end up with bigger sets

00:32:16.232 --> 00:32:21.192
here or there's just an abnormally big set within, you know,

00:32:21.272 --> 00:32:23.852
the swell and it can just pitch up.

00:32:23.932 --> 00:32:26.732
So you just got to be on your toes. And I just love that.

00:32:27.032 --> 00:32:33.092
And for me, I've done this stuff for a long time and it just allows me to progress

00:32:33.092 --> 00:32:40.132
personally with my skills, but also I do need to look after people and I do need to make decisions.

00:32:41.112 --> 00:32:48.592
And a lot of my kind of, again, you know, one of my things is avoidance. It's better than cure.

00:32:48.852 --> 00:32:54.452
So selection of locations and environments is paramount.

00:32:54.792 --> 00:32:58.872
And one of the reasons why I wanted to live here is because I really wanted

00:32:58.872 --> 00:33:03.532
to know this place and I really wanted to understand how...

00:33:04.543 --> 00:33:10.583
The wind, the weather interacts and the character of all these different locations.

00:33:10.903 --> 00:33:14.663
And it's really fascinating because I do think that on these islands,

00:33:14.663 --> 00:33:16.963
there's several microclimates.

00:33:17.423 --> 00:33:21.523
And I'd only really know that if I were to spend a lot of time here.

00:33:22.143 --> 00:33:25.643
And just being here on the Outer Hebrides, it's not even just about,

00:33:25.663 --> 00:33:28.743
it's not even about doing sports all the time.

00:33:28.743 --> 00:33:32.383
Just being here and watching the synoptic

00:33:32.383 --> 00:33:35.583
charts and how that translates into actual weather

00:33:35.583 --> 00:33:38.723
on the ground you know being on the beaches and

00:33:38.723 --> 00:33:42.063
watching the sea you know learning these environments

00:33:42.063 --> 00:33:44.843
I just find it fascinating and I

00:33:44.843 --> 00:33:48.163
knew I wouldn't be able to do that properly unless I lived here and

00:33:48.163 --> 00:33:50.803
I do think I've only been here for just coming up to a

00:33:50.803 --> 00:33:53.523
year and the amount I've learned in this

00:33:53.523 --> 00:33:56.483
year is just unbelievable and i just love

00:33:56.483 --> 00:33:59.423
that you know so when people say i

00:33:59.423 --> 00:34:02.303
want to come kayaking i'm like that's fine and i can take them

00:34:02.303 --> 00:34:06.863
to places and i can avoid like worst

00:34:06.863 --> 00:34:09.763
case scenario situations because i understand how the

00:34:09.763 --> 00:34:13.623
sea interacts and how the wind and the weather and different wind directions

00:34:13.623 --> 00:34:19.683
funnel and all this sort of stuff i just find that quite satisfying for me personally

00:34:19.683 --> 00:34:23.263
and professionally you know yeah it's great personal and professional growth

00:34:23.263 --> 00:34:28.983
so uh yeah so tell us about some of your favorite paddles in the area you mentioned flannan is earlier.

00:34:29.943 --> 00:34:33.103
Yeah so i mean there's an ultra classic

00:34:33.103 --> 00:34:36.163
here which is well known and actually

00:34:36.163 --> 00:34:39.443
it's well known because as a

00:34:39.443 --> 00:34:43.023
offshore ish trip it's

00:34:43.023 --> 00:34:46.183
it's quite accessible and that's the the shantz or

00:34:46.183 --> 00:34:49.123
the shiants and that's out there in the minch

00:34:49.123 --> 00:34:51.823
and it's a great trip out to the

00:34:51.823 --> 00:34:55.223
shance or the shance and there's puffins

00:34:55.223 --> 00:34:59.583
everywhere in the summer there's caves jellyfish you

00:34:59.583 --> 00:35:02.823
get some good tide flowing through there so it's you

00:35:02.823 --> 00:35:05.823
know there's as much the the tide

00:35:05.823 --> 00:35:09.543
through the minch is is stronger than on the west side so

00:35:09.543 --> 00:35:13.043
you've got to be on it with your tidal planning but it's quite short and once

00:35:13.043 --> 00:35:15.963
you're out there it just feels lovely and it's a

00:35:15.963 --> 00:35:19.063
great trip so i can on

00:35:19.063 --> 00:35:23.903
the surf ski i can get out there and back in you know a morning or whatever

00:35:23.903 --> 00:35:28.383
and it's lovely or i could take the i can take the sea kayak and spend a night

00:35:28.383 --> 00:35:34.983
out there yeah i really like the champs but i've been exploring the islands

00:35:34.983 --> 00:35:38.763
on the west side and that's possibly the

00:35:39.148 --> 00:35:42.948
Yeah, I just love it. And the reason why is because you've just got to be on

00:35:42.948 --> 00:35:46.088
your toes a bit more because of all those things I suggested.

00:35:46.628 --> 00:35:51.668
But every island here has a different energy and it has a different feel.

00:35:51.848 --> 00:35:53.248
And it's hard to explain.

00:35:53.648 --> 00:35:58.748
But I just like going to these places and exploring, seeing the wildlife.

00:35:59.108 --> 00:36:04.628
You get a lot of different kind of birds and, you know, lots of gray seals out

00:36:04.628 --> 00:36:06.488
on those kind of West islands.

00:36:07.228 --> 00:36:09.988
But it's just really lovely to be out

00:36:09.988 --> 00:36:12.968
there and there's human history here which goes back

00:36:12.968 --> 00:36:15.948
so on the outer hebrides i think since

00:36:15.948 --> 00:36:19.128
the last ice age people have been here for 9 000 years

00:36:19.128 --> 00:36:23.088
but there's a lot of history which

00:36:23.088 --> 00:36:26.568
is almost pre-clearances which

00:36:26.568 --> 00:36:30.348
is fascinating and and people were cleared from the islands a

00:36:30.348 --> 00:36:33.328
lot of those islands on the west side and small communities hung

00:36:33.328 --> 00:36:37.028
on but you know sort of before the 1850s

00:36:37.028 --> 00:36:39.868
there was really functional communities out on these places

00:36:39.868 --> 00:36:43.488
and you know the farm the farmsteads and

00:36:43.488 --> 00:36:46.568
kind of the farming techniques like the fianican

00:36:46.568 --> 00:36:49.588
and some old buildings and and

00:36:49.588 --> 00:36:52.568
sheilings where they used to go potentially the summer

00:36:52.568 --> 00:36:55.748
residents to kind of look after the sheep

00:36:55.748 --> 00:36:59.648
or they might be there harvesting seagulls

00:36:59.648 --> 00:37:02.608
and feathers and eggs so there's a

00:37:02.608 --> 00:37:05.748
lot of human history out in these places and i've really started

00:37:05.748 --> 00:37:08.928
to get into that i just i just love it and there's

00:37:08.928 --> 00:37:14.948
also much further back you know there's this history from 5 000 years ago uh

00:37:14.948 --> 00:37:19.648
3 000 years ago and you know i'm reading up on a lot of that in the moment and

00:37:19.648 --> 00:37:25.348
you know even like all the old there was some old burial cairns and kists which

00:37:25.348 --> 00:37:28.288
were repurposed to build more modern structures.

00:37:28.568 --> 00:37:32.648
But yeah, there's like a whole timeline of events out in these islands.

00:37:32.848 --> 00:37:36.608
They've been important for centuries.

00:37:37.228 --> 00:37:42.088
And there was Viking Norse influence here. They arrived here in sort of.

00:37:43.389 --> 00:37:46.169
800 AD and then they kind of

00:37:46.169 --> 00:37:49.029
were around for 400 years but they actually never left

00:37:49.029 --> 00:37:52.109
they just kind of merged with the Gaelic

00:37:52.109 --> 00:37:55.589
population but a lot of the names here

00:37:55.589 --> 00:37:59.129
are Norse and I just love that so you

00:37:59.129 --> 00:38:02.049
know I became quite fascinated with the Vikings after watching

00:38:02.049 --> 00:38:04.909
the series and did loads of research and up

00:38:04.909 --> 00:38:08.289
here it was kind of a sea kingdom and yeah

00:38:08.289 --> 00:38:10.989
it was part of Norway so yeah it's just

00:38:10.989 --> 00:38:14.049
i'm still learning you know even some

00:38:14.049 --> 00:38:16.829
of those facts which i was things i've said might not

00:38:16.829 --> 00:38:20.069
be super accurate but i'm still learning and and going

00:38:20.069 --> 00:38:23.189
you know going with the flow but it's just fascinating

00:38:23.189 --> 00:38:26.049
reading up on all this stuff and being out there

00:38:26.049 --> 00:38:28.789
and actually seeing it in real life i just

00:38:28.789 --> 00:38:31.609
like that that's cool i had somebody else

00:38:31.609 --> 00:38:34.609
mentioned the chance i think it was i think it was allison finch if

00:38:34.609 --> 00:38:37.389
i'm not mistaken and i just said that was one of

00:38:37.389 --> 00:38:41.469
her favorite places in the world to go yeah so

00:38:41.469 --> 00:38:44.649
like the chance or the chance is like a bite size

00:38:44.649 --> 00:38:47.649
offshore trip you know it's a

00:38:47.649 --> 00:38:53.549
lovely thing to do it's a it's a real sense of remoteness and wilderness out

00:38:53.549 --> 00:38:58.609
there and it's a nice place to camp it's it's something it's a it's a big big

00:38:58.609 --> 00:39:03.889
trip here in the uk you hear a lot of sea kayakers either want to get out there

00:39:03.889 --> 00:39:07.189
or talk very fondly about when they were out there.

00:39:08.489 --> 00:39:10.469
Are the islands inhabited?

00:39:11.332 --> 00:39:14.292
No so there there's a

00:39:14.292 --> 00:39:17.672
local crofter that has sheep out there and

00:39:17.672 --> 00:39:20.472
there's an old there's an old cottage out there

00:39:20.472 --> 00:39:23.652
which is you can

00:39:23.652 --> 00:39:27.312
stay in it but it's not an open bothy a lovely

00:39:27.312 --> 00:39:30.492
family in that and it's where a guy

00:39:30.492 --> 00:39:33.412
was based and i can't remember the year but he wrote a

00:39:33.412 --> 00:39:36.452
novel he's he was in there and it's the novel's called

00:39:36.452 --> 00:39:39.312
the sea room and he spent some

00:39:39.312 --> 00:39:43.032
time out there just in isolation writing and

00:39:43.032 --> 00:39:47.612
the novel's well known but you've also had like bbc series that have been kind

00:39:47.612 --> 00:39:53.112
of based out there and yeah like it's it's a it's a cool place to be there's

00:39:53.112 --> 00:39:57.792
a really beautiful almost like natural harbour bay and you get lots of yachts

00:39:57.792 --> 00:40:01.672
anchoring in there in the summer and it's cool And literally,

00:40:01.812 --> 00:40:04.332
there's puffins everywhere. Like, you're surrounded by them.

00:40:05.192 --> 00:40:11.372
And razor bills as well. But yeah, it's really worthwhile checking that out for sure. All right.

00:40:11.812 --> 00:40:16.452
That's very, very cool. Very cool. Yeah. So over the years, you've done some

00:40:16.452 --> 00:40:21.432
pretty amazing expeditions. And I've talked to quite a few paddlers who've paddled

00:40:21.432 --> 00:40:24.212
around Ireland. And each story is different.

00:40:24.612 --> 00:40:27.732
And so yours was a speed trip. So I'm going to kind of shift gears here.

00:40:27.812 --> 00:40:31.372
Tell me a little bit about your Ireland. circumnavigation?

00:40:32.132 --> 00:40:39.912
Yeah, so I had a plan, and my plan was I wanted to paddle around the north of

00:40:39.912 --> 00:40:44.672
Scotland, I wanted to paddle around Ireland, and I wanted to paddle around the UK.

00:40:45.532 --> 00:40:53.492
COVID came, so I never got to the UK circumnavigation, and that's still on my list.

00:40:53.852 --> 00:40:56.792
But the island trip was significant I guess

00:40:56.792 --> 00:41:00.792
because it was solo it was

00:41:00.792 --> 00:41:04.912
anti-clockwise and I launched and

00:41:04.912 --> 00:41:10.992
ended in Scotland so I did the crossings as well as part as part of it and that's

00:41:10.992 --> 00:41:17.312
why that one was possibly abnormal in regard to everybody else's circumnavigation

00:41:17.312 --> 00:41:22.992
or the ones that you'll hear about I did attempt or I I'm.

00:41:23.935 --> 00:41:28.455
I looked at the weather and I knew the weather systems before that.

00:41:28.575 --> 00:41:33.295
So I knew the wind directions leading up to that for about a month because I'd been watching.

00:41:33.975 --> 00:41:38.615
And then I looked at the forecast and then the long-term forecast.

00:41:38.955 --> 00:41:46.555
And it wasn't until I got to Port Patrick that I decided the direction and how it would come about.

00:41:46.555 --> 00:41:50.815
I had like some plans in my mind, but it wasn't until I was there that,

00:41:51.095 --> 00:41:56.975
and I was camping in my van the night before that I really made some solid decisions

00:41:56.975 --> 00:42:02.255
and it wasn't going to be a speed record attempt,

00:42:02.255 --> 00:42:06.915
but I knew that I do cover quite a lot of ground and I can,

00:42:07.135 --> 00:42:12.255
you know, I could have a good go at that if I wanted to and things went well,

00:42:12.275 --> 00:42:14.615
but I wasn't going to put pressure on myself.

00:42:14.615 --> 00:42:19.895
So I was in a nice boat and I had all my kit and I went super light.

00:42:20.175 --> 00:42:25.795
I took hardly any kit and just went super minimalist, kind of alpine style.

00:42:26.495 --> 00:42:30.995
And I was watching the weather and we had some Easterlies and I was like,

00:42:31.075 --> 00:42:33.375
I'm going to go counterclockwise.

00:42:33.615 --> 00:42:34.555
I'm going to go anticlockwise.

00:42:34.855 --> 00:42:36.815
I'm just going to make this happen.

00:42:37.775 --> 00:42:42.435
And I loaded up the boat and I set off and it was super foggy, couldn't see anything.

00:42:42.435 --> 00:42:45.755
And i just started heading across the

00:42:45.755 --> 00:42:48.835
channel but also north because i was like i need

00:42:48.835 --> 00:42:51.535
to make as much ground as i can so i may

00:42:51.535 --> 00:42:54.175
as well just even if this is a longer crossing i'm just

00:42:54.175 --> 00:43:00.515
going to start heading to island way up north as well and you know like the

00:43:00.515 --> 00:43:06.935
way i paddle i just kind of just make stuff happen you know and i just i know

00:43:06.935 --> 00:43:12.155
i'll get there like and i'll just keep paddling even if it takes longer and

00:43:12.155 --> 00:43:13.415
I had a really good cross in,

00:43:14.231 --> 00:43:19.171
My GPS broke, you know, on mid-channel.

00:43:19.351 --> 00:43:22.591
And it was literally white out, couldn't see anything. So I was like,

00:43:22.711 --> 00:43:24.211
oh, it's fine. I've got my bearing.

00:43:24.671 --> 00:43:28.951
I know where I'm going to hit land eventually. Like, I know what the tides are doing.

00:43:30.111 --> 00:43:33.091
And I'm just following my bearing. So I just stayed on that.

00:43:33.231 --> 00:43:35.151
And I did. I made it across to Ireland.

00:43:36.011 --> 00:43:40.011
And I was there. And I'd never been to Ireland. And I was really happy to be there.

00:43:40.151 --> 00:43:45.691
And then I was like, let's go. And I just started putting in some big distances

00:43:45.691 --> 00:43:49.031
and camping in beautiful places.

00:43:49.811 --> 00:43:53.391
But I wanted to go and see some of those smaller offshore islands as well.

00:43:53.471 --> 00:43:54.771
So I didn't just hug the coast.

00:43:54.931 --> 00:43:59.711
I kind of did end up going around quite a lot of the islands as part of it.

00:43:59.951 --> 00:44:04.371
And I started making good time. And it was good fun. But it was hard.

00:44:04.651 --> 00:44:08.991
The start of an expedition, your body's, although I did a lot of training,

00:44:08.991 --> 00:44:12.191
and I used to paddle to the Eddystone Lighthouse at night and

00:44:12.191 --> 00:44:15.151
went to the Sillies and back a few times and

00:44:15.151 --> 00:44:18.291
I would tow a buoy like for

00:44:18.291 --> 00:44:22.931
resistance training which I probably wouldn't do now after all the surf ski

00:44:22.931 --> 00:44:27.211
training and coaching so I know how to actually train more effectively but at

00:44:27.211 --> 00:44:32.391
that time I was I was training a lot so I was on it you know I was but I was

00:44:32.391 --> 00:44:35.631
settling into expedition life, settling into the big distances.

00:44:35.991 --> 00:44:40.031
And I was a full-on vegan, devout vegan at the time.

00:44:40.411 --> 00:44:45.271
And I was desperate to, I was, well, not desperate, I was determined to prove

00:44:45.271 --> 00:44:50.131
that vegans could do everything that anyone else can and kind of fully involved with this thing.

00:44:50.951 --> 00:44:54.671
And, you know, I had quite basic food provision and,

00:44:54.871 --> 00:44:58.411
you know, so I did push myself going around Ireland but it

00:44:58.411 --> 00:45:01.811
was just an amazing trip I saw

00:45:01.811 --> 00:45:05.051
some amazing places and you know met some amazing

00:45:05.051 --> 00:45:10.611
people on the beaches just randomly and camped in beautiful places and yeah

00:45:10.611 --> 00:45:15.871
I had a couple of there was a particular time people like the action kind of

00:45:15.871 --> 00:45:23.071
near miss stories but there was a time kind of near Achille Island, I think it is.

00:45:23.391 --> 00:45:31.751
And there was a big weather front coming and there was some big wind and rain

00:45:31.751 --> 00:45:37.451
and I woke up super early and I wanted to get ahead of this to get to somewhere

00:45:37.451 --> 00:45:39.771
else to camp and get some provisions.

00:45:40.811 --> 00:45:46.171
And I was paddling and the weather hit and the wind picked up and it was crazy.

00:45:46.171 --> 00:45:55.491
And I just remember this wall of rain, water coming off kind of over these hills and towards me.

00:45:55.571 --> 00:45:59.671
I was paddling through kind of a channel and I was just like,

00:46:00.485 --> 00:46:04.265
in this crazy condition, so windy and rain, I couldn't see anything.

00:46:04.705 --> 00:46:09.625
And I was like, okay, I need to get my bow into the wind and I'm just going to hold ground.

00:46:10.605 --> 00:46:17.085
And one of my things, I do big kind of cross deck kind of bow rudders or sweeps, bring the nose around.

00:46:17.465 --> 00:46:23.525
And I did this big kind of cross deck stroke and to bring the nose around and my back just went.

00:46:24.065 --> 00:46:27.845
I just remember, but I remember feeling it and hearing it and I was like, no.

00:46:28.365 --> 00:46:34.585
I, I got the bow into the wind and I held ground, had my head down and I was

00:46:34.585 --> 00:46:40.125
just holding ground for about to through the school kind of passed and I paddled

00:46:40.125 --> 00:46:42.245
to the bank and I just led down the bank.

00:46:42.405 --> 00:46:45.165
I was like, oh man, that's not good.

00:46:45.365 --> 00:46:50.225
Like, I think I've probably done something like pretty bad and it,

00:46:50.225 --> 00:46:53.225
and it hurt, but I was like right get back in your boat and

00:46:53.225 --> 00:46:56.205
let's paddle to the the nearest village and

00:46:56.205 --> 00:47:00.465
set up a camp and go and get some provisions and

00:47:00.465 --> 00:47:03.245
I did and set up the camp and that

00:47:03.245 --> 00:47:06.125
was all fine and I gave myself I really didn't

00:47:06.125 --> 00:47:08.865
want to take any days off but I I had to take a day

00:47:08.865 --> 00:47:11.705
off to let my back just recover a

00:47:11.705 --> 00:47:15.205
little bit and actually I'm glad I did and it

00:47:15.205 --> 00:47:18.265
it it did recover luckily and

00:47:18.265 --> 00:47:21.325
it was a bit stiff for two or three days after that but i just powered through

00:47:21.325 --> 00:47:24.265
it and then it and then it was fine but i just remember

00:47:24.265 --> 00:47:27.285
that noise and that feeling of my back just the talk

00:47:27.285 --> 00:47:30.005
through my spine just be like you know

00:47:30.005 --> 00:47:35.965
these big plum bow kind of like you know big kind of bows on these boats are

00:47:35.965 --> 00:47:42.225
so great you know for downwind and for waves but with the beam winds some sometimes

00:47:42.225 --> 00:47:45.665
that can cause a lot of resistance and that's just what the case was basically

00:47:45.665 --> 00:47:49.625
i just kind of I've had a lot of wind on that bow and I, yeah,

00:47:50.105 --> 00:47:53.945
cross, cross deck stroke might not have been wise in that, in that particular time.

00:47:54.925 --> 00:47:58.165
Quite an experience though. That's for sure. Yeah.

00:47:58.425 --> 00:48:01.465
Well, the whole of the Island thing, you know, I didn't get the record.

00:48:01.465 --> 00:48:04.105
I think I, you know, the record's 23 days.

00:48:04.365 --> 00:48:09.865
I think, uh, you know, I, I kind of managed 26, but I was so proud of that.

00:48:10.485 --> 00:48:14.265
And especially with the crossing and, you know, I was covering some big distances

00:48:14.265 --> 00:48:16.105
and it was just such a cool.

00:48:16.445 --> 00:48:22.425
Thing to do and uh yeah when i arrived back in port patrick i was just like

00:48:22.425 --> 00:48:27.645
i was like a machine like i could have just kept going around the uk like i

00:48:27.645 --> 00:48:33.105
would have just kept going when you get used to paddling like that and those distances and.

00:48:34.081 --> 00:48:37.881
I don't know your body just changes and you just become like literally a machine but.

00:48:38.501 --> 00:48:42.021
I did have to stop i was meeting my then kind

00:48:42.021 --> 00:48:44.961
of fiance for a small holiday

00:48:44.961 --> 00:48:48.681
but i was just like i just want to keep going but i was just so

00:48:48.681 --> 00:48:52.281
kind of happy with that achievement and

00:48:52.281 --> 00:48:55.101
i'll be honest the reason why i didn't get the ferry across and do it in

00:48:55.101 --> 00:48:57.941
a tactical way like a lot of

00:48:57.941 --> 00:49:00.821
people do the circumnavigation that are going for a speed

00:49:00.821 --> 00:49:04.121
kind of yeah a speed circuit is

00:49:04.121 --> 00:49:07.481
is because i just couldn't afford the ferries okay so

00:49:07.481 --> 00:49:10.861
so i was like i just get a paddle from from wales

00:49:10.861 --> 00:49:13.941
or scotland and port patrick to northern

00:49:13.941 --> 00:49:17.121
ireland that's that's the closest kind of passage and i

00:49:17.121 --> 00:49:20.001
was just like that's that's gonna happen i'm just gonna let's just

00:49:20.001 --> 00:49:22.901
go so but i like that i like the

00:49:22.901 --> 00:49:25.721
fact that you just do it make it

00:49:25.721 --> 00:49:28.881
happen that's kind of what i do you know yeah that's resourceful

00:49:28.881 --> 00:49:31.821
so you that that paddling light

00:49:31.821 --> 00:49:34.821
and fast you know i i understand and respect

00:49:34.821 --> 00:49:37.781
that ethic yeah so i think

00:49:37.781 --> 00:49:41.181
the thing is with my personal paddling

00:49:41.181 --> 00:49:44.201
and the way that i paddle i can always suss

00:49:44.201 --> 00:49:47.201
out a natural harbor i can always suss

00:49:47.201 --> 00:49:50.601
out a place to land and i'm

00:49:50.601 --> 00:49:53.641
always quite confident that i've got another five

00:49:53.641 --> 00:49:57.081
or ten miles in the tank no matter how tired

00:49:57.081 --> 00:50:01.021
you think you are you can always keep going so I'll

00:50:01.021 --> 00:50:04.401
always make a plan to get to a certain point if.

00:50:04.401 --> 00:50:07.561
I can't get there for any particular reason I know

00:50:07.561 --> 00:50:10.861
that I'll be all right like the again the co-steering skills

00:50:10.861 --> 00:50:13.541
I'm pretty good at moving across rocks if I

00:50:13.541 --> 00:50:16.521
do have to bail I I'm I'm pretty

00:50:16.521 --> 00:50:19.421
sure I'll be okay even if it's like barnacles and rocks

00:50:19.421 --> 00:50:22.301
for my feet but i'm very

00:50:22.301 --> 00:50:25.481
confident i can make it to those harbors or

00:50:25.481 --> 00:50:28.361
behind those headlands or i can

00:50:28.361 --> 00:50:31.801
land through surf which is sandy anyway you know

00:50:31.801 --> 00:50:34.901
so like sandy beaches the fella

00:50:34.901 --> 00:50:39.381
that climbed all the 8 000 meter peaks in a certain amount of time and broke

00:50:39.381 --> 00:50:45.801
the record he said that when you feel absolutely done you're actually only like

00:50:45.801 --> 00:50:49.981
60 done or something like that and when And he was something like that.

00:50:50.061 --> 00:50:52.081
And when I watched that, I was like, yeah, I completely agree.

00:50:52.421 --> 00:50:59.441
Because I've always got, especially in an almost extreme situation, there's no choice.

00:50:59.601 --> 00:51:02.401
You find that energy. You find that ability.

00:51:02.921 --> 00:51:09.241
You snap out of that negative mindset and you switch into a positive go-get-em attitude.

00:51:09.841 --> 00:51:13.021
And I like almost putting myself in those situations.

00:51:14.081 --> 00:51:19.661
But I've kind of got that ability to do that. So our bodies will go much farther

00:51:19.661 --> 00:51:20.961
than our brains think they can.

00:51:21.956 --> 00:51:28.216
Yeah, seriously. And, you know, the ocean is big and the distances are vast.

00:51:28.516 --> 00:51:32.296
And one thing I've learned is that planning is really important.

00:51:32.936 --> 00:51:40.396
And on my trips, when I am covering distance, I like to know how long that's going to take.

00:51:40.576 --> 00:51:45.156
So for example, there's a headland, I can see it, I'm going to paddle to it, but it's 10 miles away.

00:51:45.316 --> 00:51:49.236
I know how long that's going to take, I check my watch and that's

00:51:49.236 --> 00:51:52.256
so good for psychology and if I'm looking in

00:51:52.256 --> 00:51:55.156
short I can see features and I almost

00:51:55.156 --> 00:51:57.916
like tick them off as I go and I know

00:51:57.916 --> 00:52:00.936
the distances and where I'm at and I found that

00:52:00.936 --> 00:52:04.236
not just paddling kind of aimlessly or

00:52:04.236 --> 00:52:07.096
just you know kind of like

00:52:07.096 --> 00:52:09.816
just going for it and not really knowing how long it's going

00:52:09.816 --> 00:52:13.276
to take or just having a kind of unplanned approach

00:52:13.276 --> 00:52:16.316
I've learned that that's not wise you know

00:52:16.316 --> 00:52:19.496
you can set your pace you know where you are and i

00:52:19.496 --> 00:52:23.176
find that that's just that really helps so

00:52:23.176 --> 00:52:25.876
yeah like there's there's some logic to it

00:52:25.876 --> 00:52:32.036
all fast paddling is not just about you know going for it and nutrition is really

00:52:32.036 --> 00:52:38.136
important and just making sure you can eat as you go and you can recognize when

00:52:38.136 --> 00:52:43.416
you are getting low on calories you can recognize when you are getting dehydrated and,

00:52:43.416 --> 00:52:45.896
and making sure that doesn't happen because that's,

00:52:46.076 --> 00:52:49.716
you're going to take a huge crash, which is, is not helpful,

00:52:49.856 --> 00:52:51.996
especially when you're offshore on your own. True.

00:52:53.016 --> 00:52:56.716
But, but yeah, like, and other stuff I just, I just cut out,

00:52:56.896 --> 00:53:01.276
you know, like I gave myself a limit on how much water I'd carry because water

00:53:01.276 --> 00:53:05.416
weighs a kilo a liter, you know, which is a lot.

00:53:05.416 --> 00:53:08.236
So you know i kind of like would only

00:53:08.236 --> 00:53:11.236
carry four liters sometimes i've had i'd be short on

00:53:11.236 --> 00:53:14.456
water if i'd camp on a headland or an

00:53:14.456 --> 00:53:17.496
island to make sure i can keep my line for example

00:53:17.496 --> 00:53:20.336
for the day after and i don't go too far

00:53:20.336 --> 00:53:23.156
in shore because it just adds distance and

00:53:23.156 --> 00:53:28.336
time so sometimes i'd be short so i'd be cooking with seawater sometimes and

00:53:28.336 --> 00:53:32.916
even reflecting on that the amount of salt you know some people will say well

00:53:32.916 --> 00:53:36.316
you're taking on loads of salt so you're gonna have to rehydrate more or or

00:53:36.316 --> 00:53:40.936
hydrate more and now i'd be like yeah that's right but when you're in that situation,

00:53:42.256 --> 00:53:47.556
you just make it happen like you just you just do what you gotta do and uh it

00:53:47.556 --> 00:53:52.756
was it was full on and it was definitely i learned a lot even then and if i

00:53:52.756 --> 00:53:57.996
was to go around the uk now i think i would again i take some of those things

00:53:57.996 --> 00:54:01.416
and i'd i'd do things slightly differently probably All right.

00:54:01.736 --> 00:54:05.016
So good learning experiences. Congratulations on that trip.

00:54:05.516 --> 00:54:08.496
You mentioned other trips. What's next?

00:54:10.816 --> 00:54:15.976
So there's a big reason why I'm here on the Outer Hebrides, and that's because I can see St. Kilda.

00:54:17.248 --> 00:54:27.768
And St. Kilda is possibly one of the most full-on open crossings you can do in the UK.

00:54:28.248 --> 00:54:35.108
And it's a long way offshore, and it's over 40 miles offshore, which is big.

00:54:35.148 --> 00:54:38.088
So if you paddle to the Scilly and back without getting out of your boat,

00:54:38.268 --> 00:54:40.328
that's kind of where you need to be at for that.

00:54:41.308 --> 00:54:46.808
And I just really want to be out there. I want to be doing that.

00:54:47.248 --> 00:54:52.908
And North Rona, you've got some other, that's one of the other islands off the

00:54:52.908 --> 00:54:55.188
tip, off the top, just north.

00:54:55.568 --> 00:55:00.748
And yeah, I just really got a big fascination with these places.

00:55:01.088 --> 00:55:05.608
So that's what I'm looking at at the moment. I really want to paddle around

00:55:05.608 --> 00:55:09.048
the Outer Hebrides, you know, on an expedition.

00:55:10.108 --> 00:55:15.408
And I would love to paddle around the UK and I'd love to paddle around South

00:55:15.408 --> 00:55:18.628
Island, New Zealand as well. But the thing is, John, you know,

00:55:18.868 --> 00:55:20.988
work, I'm an outdoor instructor.

00:55:21.248 --> 00:55:25.028
I used to work in schools and I'd take those summer holidays and I'd do exhibitions.

00:55:25.508 --> 00:55:31.608
I work in an outdoor center and it's very busy. So that's a big,

00:55:31.788 --> 00:55:32.868
you know, most of the summer.

00:55:33.568 --> 00:55:37.668
But that's why I was looking at the Southern Hemisphere and looking at,

00:55:37.748 --> 00:55:42.948
you know, New Zealand or wherever, because that could happen.

00:55:43.128 --> 00:55:45.328
Because obviously I can do that in our winter.

00:55:46.128 --> 00:55:49.228
Beautiful. i i certainly understand the uh

00:55:49.228 --> 00:55:52.028
you know the the situation that you're in i work in

00:55:52.028 --> 00:55:58.288
the recreation world as well and we work when people recreate so yeah no that's

00:55:58.288 --> 00:56:01.908
exactly all right so it's just a different thing you know i can take the winters

00:56:01.908 --> 00:56:07.728
off now whereas before working in schools you can take the summers off which

00:56:07.728 --> 00:56:11.008
just is back to front but yeah so that's kind of but,

00:56:11.568 --> 00:56:14.488
you know like my my kind

00:56:14.488 --> 00:56:17.288
of outlook's changed and one of the reasons why

00:56:17.288 --> 00:56:20.888
i love surf ski is because the the

00:56:20.888 --> 00:56:24.208
trips i do on those boats are just so much

00:56:24.208 --> 00:56:26.988
fun and i've learned that you can get a

00:56:26.988 --> 00:56:30.028
lot out of a shorter trip now and again the

00:56:30.028 --> 00:56:32.888
human history and the natural history behind areas i

00:56:32.888 --> 00:56:36.388
just find it so fascinating so would i

00:56:36.388 --> 00:56:40.148
if i went around the uk would i do it quickly well i'm

00:56:40.148 --> 00:56:43.048
not sure actually i think the people that

00:56:43.048 --> 00:56:48.628
have done that quickly and set those times and records you know john willesey

00:56:48.628 --> 00:56:54.328
joe leach and the chap that did it on the surf ski that's so cool so part of

00:56:54.328 --> 00:57:00.008
me thinks that it's almost like well congratulations guys like why put myself

00:57:00.008 --> 00:57:01.888
through a masochistic kind of.

00:57:03.925 --> 00:57:07.225
Just push myself to the limit to try and do that

00:57:07.225 --> 00:57:10.085
who am i doing it for what am i doing it for and that's

00:57:10.085 --> 00:57:13.105
a question which i've i've been

00:57:13.105 --> 00:57:16.025
thinking about in the last year or two is who am

00:57:16.025 --> 00:57:19.645
i doing these things for why am i doing these things and

00:57:19.645 --> 00:57:27.865
what's the purpose and i think that i i just love the history of our sport i

00:57:27.865 --> 00:57:33.165
love the history of our communities i love even the natural history and how

00:57:33.165 --> 00:57:37.305
our landforms and shapes and islands and mountains have come to be.

00:57:37.765 --> 00:57:44.005
And I love the nature. And I think that maybe that would be a bit of a focus,

00:57:44.005 --> 00:57:48.325
but I would still be covering big distances and I would still be paddling in

00:57:48.325 --> 00:57:51.965
a committed kind of like, I don't know,

00:57:52.605 --> 00:57:54.425
kind of fast and light way probably.

00:57:54.745 --> 00:57:59.885
But I think it would be, I want to meet people and I'd want to watch the birds

00:57:59.885 --> 00:58:01.605
and I'd want to find the whales,

00:58:02.205 --> 00:58:06.325
and i think that's yeah i think i'd kind of go for a middle ground if you see

00:58:06.325 --> 00:58:10.965
what i mean yeah i can say almost exclusively when i've talked to paddlers that have,

00:58:11.565 --> 00:58:17.225
paddled something big gone around something big whether it's uk or ireland or or whatever else,

00:58:17.865 --> 00:58:21.905
when we talk about that particular aspect almost every one of them says i would

00:58:21.905 --> 00:58:25.305
do it a little bit different and then that difference would be i'd take in the

00:58:25.305 --> 00:58:27.265
atmosphere i'd slow it down just a little bit.

00:58:27.925 --> 00:58:33.185
Yeah, I think, you know, there's certain areas which I probably wouldn't hang

00:58:33.185 --> 00:58:38.485
around in, which would probably be the East Coast of the UK or whatever,

00:58:38.825 --> 00:58:41.625
the open crossings, you know, you can smash them out.

00:58:41.725 --> 00:58:45.925
But there are certain areas where I think spending more time would be...

00:58:46.839 --> 00:58:50.859
Probably just more enjoyable and actually i

00:58:50.859 --> 00:58:53.919
might even want to do it with someone but i do struggle to

00:58:53.919 --> 00:58:56.939
find people that paddle in a similar way but i

00:58:56.939 --> 00:59:02.959
think having a team or you know doing it with someone else you just would have

00:59:02.959 --> 00:59:08.559
such a good time and create a really a really good bond so but who knows man

00:59:08.559 --> 00:59:15.359
you know like i i'm focusing on different things i've got my climbing my surfing my surf ski,

00:59:15.739 --> 00:59:18.479
my sea kayak and running.

00:59:18.839 --> 00:59:25.239
So there's lots of stuff going on. And if I get some spare time or a spare month,

00:59:25.599 --> 00:59:30.559
then I definitely want to go on a long expedition, but we'll see where that is, you know?

00:59:30.859 --> 00:59:32.999
Good. Well, we'll look forward to seeing where that takes you.

00:59:33.619 --> 00:59:38.079
And again, you know, congratulations and great work on all these different disciplines

00:59:38.079 --> 00:59:42.099
and weaving them all together and learning how each of those makes you better

00:59:42.099 --> 00:59:45.959
in the other discipline. and it just makes paddling more enjoyable.

00:59:46.339 --> 00:59:49.759
So I appreciate the opportunity to talk to you and appreciate the opportunity

00:59:49.759 --> 00:59:54.059
to see it through your eyes. So how can listeners connect with you, Tom?

00:59:54.519 --> 01:00:01.899
So the center here at Scaladel is focused towards the young people of the islands and youth groups.

01:00:02.059 --> 01:00:07.899
I do work with tourists and people coming for adventure or looking to come up

01:00:07.899 --> 01:00:11.739
to the Outer Hebrides to get out to certain places and guiding trips.

01:00:11.739 --> 01:00:18.619
But the best way is my Instagram Tom L Thorpe and just yeah if you want to ask

01:00:18.619 --> 01:00:24.859
any questions or if you want to know any advice about the Arabides or whatever or yeah just

01:00:25.159 --> 01:00:30.439
send me a message but yeah the islands fill up as you know,

01:00:31.229 --> 01:00:35.349
It's crazy busy in the summer, and everyone should come here and check it out.

01:00:35.469 --> 01:00:39.209
It's absolutely beautiful. So hopefully I'll meet some of your listeners.

01:00:40.009 --> 01:00:45.629
But yeah, I just really appreciate the opportunity, John, and it's been lovely to chat to you.

01:00:46.049 --> 01:00:49.169
Sure. Thank you. So to everybody who's listening, you've just got the invite

01:00:49.169 --> 01:00:53.709
there. Come out to the Scaladel Center and to Isle of Lewis and see Tom.

01:00:54.069 --> 01:00:58.949
So with that, Tom, I've got one last question for you. Who else would you like

01:00:58.949 --> 01:01:01.089
to hear as a future guest on Paddling the Blue?

01:01:02.629 --> 01:01:05.549
So i'm aware that you've chatted to a

01:01:05.549 --> 01:01:09.809
lot of people but there's one paddler which is

01:01:09.809 --> 01:01:12.689
it sticks out in my mind and he he is an

01:01:12.689 --> 01:01:16.129
amazing guy and he's been involved with sea kayaking

01:01:16.129 --> 01:01:18.929
for a lot of years in lots of

01:01:18.929 --> 01:01:21.989
different ways and that's a guy called howard

01:01:21.989 --> 01:01:25.449
jeffs who's a top level coach and has

01:01:25.449 --> 01:01:28.769
been involved with building sea kayaks and designing

01:01:28.769 --> 01:01:31.869
his own kit yeah super humble guy

01:01:31.869 --> 01:01:34.929
a really really lovely guy i think would be worthwhile

01:01:34.929 --> 01:01:40.369
chatting to him for sure fantastic well i've had a recent conversation with

01:01:40.369 --> 01:01:45.129
robin riddick and on episode 133 and we talked about a number of things and

01:01:45.129 --> 01:01:48.969
he had also mentioned howard jeff so we got a couple of references to howard

01:01:48.969 --> 01:01:52.809
jeff's here so we'll definitely look forward to getting howard in the show and

01:01:52.809 --> 01:01:54.569
learning from his experience as well.

01:01:54.689 --> 01:01:57.689
So thank you very much for the referral and thanks again for the opportunity

01:01:57.689 --> 01:01:58.769
to chat. I appreciate it.

01:02:00.100 --> 01:02:03.800
Nice one, John. And yeah, like you should come over to the Out of Hebrides as

01:02:03.800 --> 01:02:06.500
well. We'll go for a paddle. That sounds great. I'd love to.

01:02:07.240 --> 01:02:09.720
Nice one. Thanks a lot. Thank you. Have a great day.

01:02:10.520 --> 01:02:14.300
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01:02:56.340 --> 01:02:59.960
Thank you to Tom for joining us to share his experiences. He may be the first

01:02:59.960 --> 01:03:04.320
anti-clockwise Ireland circumnavigation paddler that I've had the chance to talk with so far.

01:03:04.540 --> 01:03:08.940
I especially loved his comments towards the end there, where he gave us thoughts

01:03:08.940 --> 01:03:14.420
on considering the why we do things and who we do them for, and making sure

01:03:14.420 --> 01:03:17.020
we're keeping those right reasons in mind when planning a trip.

01:03:17.160 --> 01:03:22.000
In today's social media-fueled world, it can be easy to do things for glory rather than joy.

01:03:22.520 --> 01:03:26.800
And Tom brings a great joy for exploration, for learning, and new experiences.

01:03:27.060 --> 01:03:30.100
And his experience shows that you never know what's behind the next door.

01:03:30.260 --> 01:03:32.500
If you'd like to learn more about Tom and the Outer Hebrides,

01:03:32.820 --> 01:03:34.200
I'll add links in the show notes.

01:03:34.360 --> 01:03:38.380
And thanks again to our partners at OnlineSeaKyaking.com and now Online Whitewater

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for extending that special offer to you.

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Until next time, thanks again for listening, and I look forward to bringing

01:03:54.360 --> 01:03:56.780
you the next episode of Paddling the Blue.

01:03:57.340 --> 01:04:00.940
Thank you for listening to Paddling the Blue. You can subscribe to Paddling

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01:04:06.480 --> 01:04:09.400
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01:04:14.860 --> 01:04:20.420
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01:04:20.660 --> 01:04:23.740
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