It pretty hard to fully convey the intensity of the Ubaye Gorge in pictures. It takes real commitment, focus, trust and teamwork to get through safely. A pleasure to paddle with these guys today.
A little bit of magique at the end of a great rapid on the river Guil in the French Alps.
Have I told you it's lovely out here? @suck_kayak on the water once again!
It is rather lovely out here! Moderate water leader training with a top team from Cardiff Uni.
I like this view! #machyes #creekmachine
I've had the pleasure of sharing time on the water with some very special boaters over the last few weeks. I've learnt a lot, made some great lines and made some bad ones too! I've also really managed to get a feel for making my boating really flow rather than just going from eddy to eddy. Had a bit of a light bulb moment last night getting off the river as to what I need to do to move forwards with my personal paddling, which is actually really exciting and motivating. Onwards towards Garmish tomorrow for the next phase of this Euro adventure, just after one last run on the alpine sprint.
Fun working with the highly motivated team at @boxendpark today doing rescues and scenario training. One scenario I came up with on the spur of the moment was, "Chris has dropped his phone in the water trying to film himself on the slide, how do we get it back?" Fortunately there were some goggles on hand and I managed to find it! Sometimes even I surprise myself that I call this work!
Fun in the sun yesterday delivering a @british.canoeing SUP support module yesterday at the coaching matters event down at Haven Banks. There's just something about sup that never fails to out a smile on everyone's face. I also had the best head to head race that I've had in ages, burning arms and core. Need to practice my sprinting! First time on the water too with a beautifully crafted wooden SUP paddle from Don Paddler, a very special and unique piece of equipment. Life is sweet! #suplove #istilllovekayaking @palmequipment @redpaddleco @go_kayakingnw @mountbattencentre
I'm easily pleased
Lots of paddling, leading and decision making on the @british.canoeing moderate water whitewater kayak leader training this weekend. Thanks to all the team for bringing their skills, knowledge, experience and smiles! #leaderlove
Heading back down from an excellent couple of days up in Scotland. New rivers, Great water, observation of some quality coaches in action and even a mini sup adventure. To top it all off, I might even have added to the tan!
It's been a busy old week involving some kayaking (of course) staff training, sup paddling and delivering safety and rescue training too!
How do you make a cool dude even cooler? Give him a kayak dude sticker!
Safety first!
In case you have been thinking that I've given up climbing, here is a generic picture of my climbing shoes. Now which banana should I eat??
Great fun today delivering a @british.canoeing sup discipline support module for the staff at the Anderton Centre. Im yet to find someone who doesn't smile when they paddle a sup!
Day 1 complete with this amazing crew out on the Lahn River in Germany. Always great to paddle in new places and to keep exploring. 30km done, bring on tomorrow.
Last week I had a few days off the water to complete a qualification I started nearly ten years ago. It's been a long journey, very rewarding and insightful and has had a big impact on my life both personally and professionally. People often ask how do I stay calm in stressful situations and when dealing with challenging behaviour. So much of this is due to understanding and applying choice theory. Thanks so much to Ruth at developing youth practice for arranging the certification week and for getting me on track to complete. #notjustaboater