Sea kayak paddle sailing and tacking upwind.

At the paddle sailing sessions at the recent Flat Water Symposium many people were surprised that it was possible to make progress to windward. I have previously asked the question "is it worth tacking upwind with a Flat Earth kayak sail?" At that time I thought that it was not, especially in lighter winds. I would like to revisit this question considering stronger winds and the use of recent forward fin developments.

In a long unmodified kayak, such as a Cetus (photo above), Taran 16 or Nordkapp LV, I have found that it is possible to paddle sail to about 45 degrees to the wind which is much the same as a dinghy like a Laser.

In shorter kayaks such as the P&H Aries (phopto above) the kayak can still beat upwind but it points about 15 degrees less high i.e. about 60 degrees to the wind. 

Geoff Turner from Kari-tek and Graham Mackereth from P&H have each developed forward fins ("ventral fin" and "forward board" respectively) to allow kayaks such as the Aries to point higher. I have carried out a number of experiments using the GPS to measure the effectiveness paddle sailing upwind in F4 and the effectiveness of the forward skeg and when best to use it.

This shows an Aries fitted with a forward fin in the fully down position and the rear skeg in the fully up position tacking 1km upwind from point A to point B. The wind was Force 4 with a fetch of about 50 km and there were short steep waves.

I used Garmin Mapsource program to analyse the data from my GPS tracklog.

The first thing to notice is that the angle between each tack is about 90 degrees which means that the Aries is now sailing about 45 degrees to the wind. The speed through the water was 6.7km/hr and the velocity from point A to point B was 5.1 km/hr.  In those wind and waves just paddling (without the sail) in a direct line from A to B my speed was 4.9 km/hr. In lighter winds I could have paddled the Aries about 7-8 km/hr into the wind and so it would not have been worth hoisting the sail and tacking.

This experiment (and others I have done) shows that in a good F4 on open water, tacking upwind with a sail  is marginally faster than just getting your head down and paddling directly into the wind and waves. What the figures don't show is how much more fun paddle sailing is. Also in this experiment I lost speed each time I tacked (which was 5 times). I could have gone from A to B using two longer legs and only 1 tack which would have further increased my speed. 

More tomorrow...

West coast paddlers flat water symposium.

Today it was a real pleasure to take part in in the West Coast Paddlers flat water symposium at Lochwinnoch.Registration took place in the club's bell tent (complete with wood burning stove)

I arrived early as the stands and demo fleets were being set up. This was the RNLI stand and next door was...

 ...Stuart Wagstaff's fleet from Sea Kayak Oban and...

 ...Roddy McDowell from Kayak Bute was just across the road. Geoff and Ann Turner from Karitek were
just behind but I put my camera away before they set up.If I had had the time I would have loved to try some of the huge collection of kayaks in this amazing demo fleet. However, I was taking the two kayak paddle sailing sessions and so I had to pass by.

Richard Cree the organiser talks to one of the coaches Roland Woolven prior to the morning  briefing. There were over 120 people signed up for the various sessions. I doubt whether Lochwinnoch has ever seen anything like it before!

 We even had a piper playing to see us off!

The forecast was for an easterly breeze which...

 ...funnelled down the loch. Ideal conditions for...

 ...kayak paddle sailing.

 I only took a few shots at the beginning of the session as I was soon paddling backwards and forwards helping people get going. One of the morning participants, Dave Marquis, had his first experience of paddle sailing. Dave and I first sailed together in his Firefly dinghy in 1971! It seemed just like yesterday and it was really good to catch up.

Both the paddle sailing sessions were fully booked so it was hard but enjoyable work and I was ably assisted by my regular paddling buddies (David and Phil) and Iain from Westcoast Paddlers. In the morning session everyone managed to sail on run, reach and beat and there were no capsizes.

The wind got up in the afternoon (no photos) to the extent that the local windsurfers were planing on short boards and this made things more challenging for the tyro paddle sailors. Everyone got some great runs but the wind began to increase and there were two capsizes. However, such was the keenness to continue that in the afternoon (as in the morning) the paddle sailors were the last group to leave the water. Well done everyone.

I was amazed to discover I had paddled almost 19km in such a small loch! It is a great testament to the P&H Delphin the Flat Earth sail (P&H branded) and the Karitek gear that novice paddle sailors (most had done no sailing of any sort before) had such success with paddle sailing in the challenging conditions.

A great deal of thanks must go to Richard Cree and his team from Westcoast Paddlers for all their hard work in organising the Flatwater Symposium. As I was packing up I could not help but notice the many happy faces of people ranging from their teens to their eighth decade.Clearly a flatwater symposium has fulfilled an unmet need.I would not have dreamt of taking novice groups of 8 and 9 people on the open sea in the wind we experienced. The coaches were very well looked after in the club's bell tent with woodburning stove and I particularly enjoyed the expertly cooked beef burgers with all the trimmings at the evening barbeque. A collection was made for the RNLI at the barbeque.

Tomorrow's sessions include Lochwinnoch, the Little Cumbrae and the Great Cumbrae.

Thanks again Richard and the Westcoast Paddlers! :o)

Whiter than snow in a dark sky.

Phil and I enjoyed a brief break in the clouds but all round us there were ...

...heavy squalls making dark, dramatic patterns in the sky.

A loud "wup wup wup" noise from above announced the arrival of a low flying swan. Its straining wings were snow white against the dark clouds. Its plumage was even whiter than the snowfields at the summit of distant Ben Lomond.

 Another fantastic day had come to an end at Seafield shore.

Looking back, the Heads of Ayr seemed to be in another World, yet they are only 5km away from the town beach.

Heading for Greenan.

Although it was not a particularly strong wind we made very good speed and soon left the Carrick coast behind us.

 We now approached the Heads of Ayr and soon we were in both...

 ...the lee of the wind and the shade of the sun. Dark basalt ridges soared from the shore to the top of the...

 ....long line of cliffs and it was a relief when we left their shade and got back into the sunlight..

 Greenan Castle sits precariously on the very edge...

 ...of the next headland.

 We were still in the lee of the Heads of Ayr but...

...despite the light wind we soon left the ancient walls of Greenan behind.

Waterfalls and a chinwag at Carlandcheek.

 Phil and I enjoyed paddle sailing up the Carrick coast but we broke out into...

 ...the lee of Bracken Bay where we enjoyed a...

 ...second luncheon and chinwag while we sheltered from the biting cold wind.

 Blustery squalls continued to roll in across the Firth of Clyde so it was soon time to...

...paddle on, under the cliffs of Carlandcheek where the Lagg burn tumbled to the sea.

Desktop kayak paddle sailing.

I was delighted to spend yesterday evening with Richard Cree and the crew from West Coast Paddlers. As a club, they have decided to take up kayak paddle sailing. It was a busy night and teenagers Greg and Thomas really got stuck in with drills, screwdrivers and spanners and knot tying. They can now tie fisherman's knot, bowline and adjustable grip hitch! They had ten of the new P&H sea kayaks  branded Flat Earth Code Zero sails to fit to members and club boats. These will be available for the Flatwater Symposium to be held on the last weekend in March. I will be delivering two kayak sailing sessions assisted by my regular paddle sailing friend Phil.

As I was the first person to import a Flat Earth sail into the Northern Hemisphere it gives me very great pleasure to see a kayak club take it up so enthusiastically. I was originally delighted that accessory maestros Kari-Tek had become European distributors for Flat Earth sails but is wonderful to see that P&H, a mainstream kayak manufacturer, has now  got behind paddle sailing. The P&H sail comes with a Kari-Tek supplied mast and modified fitting kit. P&H sea kayaks now come with fore decks reinforced for mast bases.If you are thinking of fitting a Flat Earth sail to your kayak you can find some fitting tips here.

 What better way to finish the night off than with some desktop paddle sailing!

A fair wind past the castles and coves of Carrick.

 Phil and I emerged from the pub in Dunure to find that...

 ...the wind had dropped. Nevertheless it was still a...

 ...fair wind and so we hoisted our sails and...

 ...started paddling north again...

 ...along the headlands and...

...coves of the Carrick coast.