Sea Kayaking: Gusting F7 Lismore & Castle Stalker Feb 2023

[@davidpoots8362]

Tough conditions handled with skill, nice one

[@geoffburke]

Thanks for joining me David, great to have you along and thanks for your feedback 😀 😊 Yes, it was a tough day with difficult decisions and safety implications. I think we made some wise choices with a very experienced group. Loads more to come, the editing keeps mounting up after every trip 🙄😂!! Best Regards Geoff 👍

[@davidtaylor5394]

Never underestimate an old man in a kayak! You are livin my dream sir and I envy yoy

[@geoffburke]

Hi David. Thanks for that, I believe age isn't a barrier to life...purely a head thing !! In my head I'm still a teenager, my body however, tries to tell me otherwise 😂😂 I also belive 🤔you make your own dreams happen 🙃😉 I'm pleased you are enjoying my adventures with loads more to be uploaded soon. Please feel free to browse and share with friends and join me on my next trip.👍

[@thierrybayle4338]

super, merci

[@JamesFleming888]

Loved it, great narration.

[@geoffburke]

Hi James and thanks for your comments!! It's nice, because I really struggled with my voice buying loads of different mic's to try and capture clearer sound so some of my earlier video's may not be as good. Please feel free to browse and share any with friends. I look forward to more of your comments as I'm editing loads of footage at present to clear the backlog with other new trips planned starting this coming weekend. Best Regards and thanks again!!

[@S4WYERonPC]

Another fantastic video!

[@geoffburke]

Thanks for your feedback Sawyer, nice to have you along with me again !! I'm struggling to clear my backlog of editing, everytime I get close I'm out paddling again, then back to square one 🙄😂 I need to re-edit some of my older more challenging/scenic kayaking video's and improve them to my current workflow/audience satisfaction so stick around for new content...Best Regards Geoff 👍

[@pamfreeman5197]

Please forgive me... and all your viewers... I've only just found your channel and am utterly blown away by it. I love your local knowledge coupled with the wind, water and sea knowledge. Here goes: do you ever, have you ever pointed out this brand/type of sea kayak that you and your fellow paddlers use? Obviously not all of them but, say, the odd three or four that you "group" with? It's probably a daft question for which I ask your tolerance! Fabulous videos. I'm definitely hooked! Take good care. Pam

[@geoffburke]

Hi Pam and thanks again. I think I understand what you mean... as in explaining to viewers the various pieces of equipment I and other friends use throughout our Sea Kayaking Adventures If I'm right...equipment is a very debatable issue and to most a very personal thing. But also, kayaking in its broad sense has so many specialisms which require very specific equipment for each, and each one has a huge variety of different craft and equipment for that specialism. Breaking that down even further, individuals needs/preferences can be so different too, it's all a very personal choice tailored to the individual. I've been asked many times, what equipment I'd recommend and can I do a video specifically around my recommendations even down to how I pack my kayak and which pieces of camping gear I take and why... this list is endless really. I hope I've got your question correct and have answered it satisfactorily. I come from a training background so I always say...'there no such thing as a daft question' !! Please let me know if I've got it right and fire away with anything I can help with in the future, in the meantime keep enjoying my Adventures as there's loads on the channel although there's a lot now in need of a revamp as my knowledge of editing improves. Thanks as always ! Regards Geoff I

[@pamfreeman5197]

@@geoffburke thank you Geoff. I've taken to the Cetus and Valley Etain. I'm just nosey and wondered what thought others put into their craft. So I'll keep following your exploits instead! From down here in the West Country, you're doing a single-handed brilliant cover of that part of our coastline. Take care. Pam

[@geoffburke]

@@pamfreeman5197 Hi Pam and thanks again. Thats great, It feels so good when you find a kayak that you feel comfortable in, allowing you to relax and enjoy the water movement and your surroundings, everything else then become subconscious movements as you react to wave, swell and maneuvering your craft. I love the West Country particularly the area around Treyaron Bay, Cornwall where I've been holidaying regularly since I was 10 and still return most years...love it!! My Avatar picture of me surfing was taken there. Please keep browsing, there's loads of hilarious stuff to enjoy 😉

[@JBWalton03]

recently purchased a 2 seater inflatable, we are just pootling around the conwy river on it for the summer getting used to just been on it. One day, with sturdier Kayaks, we cant wait to venture further afield. Dont think ill ever have the bottle to go out in those conditions though. Nice vid, subscribed.

[@geoffburke]

Hi JB, thanks for your comments and pleased you're enjoying watching my adventures. Yes, we all had to learn start from scratch to build on the basics, progressing to more advanced techniques till they become a subliminal act/reaction to condition. I started over 50 years ago, but even now it's often a fine balance of judgement, assesing conditions, timing, and confidence before entering tricky features.

[@massimoaugu]

Hello and congratulations on your adventures well represented by these videos. I can ask for advice. I'm considering a sea kayak suitable for light weights and wind and wave situations for hiking. What characteristics should it have (width, rocker, bow and hull design, keeled or not)? Can you cite models that are well representative of these characteristics? Thank you

[@geoffburke]

Hi Massimo and thanks for your kind comments, tough one as I'm not sure what you mean by hiking?? Are you talking about muliti day kayak camping as shown in my other video's, just to be sure I can give the best advice ??

[@massimoaugu]

Excuse my Italianized English and thank you for your availability. I am referring to 90% daily trips and 10% multi-day trips with light load

[@geoffburke]

@@massimoaugu That's not a problem and my fault I tend to get fixated on specific words and wanted to answer correctly 😂😃 There's no great issue with most sea kayaks unless you want to go really light weight composite materials for lifting onto cars etc. The natural displacement buoyancy of the kayak is doing the lifting and carrying but a heavy boat will be slightly less maneuverable when empty (day trips). I have a really heavy 'layup' fiberglass North Shore Sea Kayaks, 'Atlantic' built to my specifications as I like to get in close through tight channels in stupidly rough conditions (rock dodging) and I use it for everything, that way I don't have to readjust to a different boat, and everything is the same each time I go kayaking! In an ideal world I should have a plastic kayak for day trips and a lightweight one for multiday/expeditions. As I'm not sure what Kayaks are available to you in your part of the world, I'd always recommend trying as many as possible to ensure that ; it suits you, It 'feels right', is stable (don't go for anything that needs to be loaded to feel stable), maneuverable. Kayak weight isn't that important in my opinion and most Kayaks with good dry hatches would be suitable for the odd multi-day trip. I certainly wouldn't be spending heaps of money on super lightweight carbon fibre materials that you'd be reluctant to get scratched, they get damaged almost as easily as standard fiberglass and in my opinion impact on my type of paddling 😂 Sorry for the long post and hope it helps Massimo. If I can help further just ask, Best Regards Geoff

[@massimoaugu]

thanks, so for daily outings plastic is preferable. But do you think kayaks like the Dagger Stratos or the Wave Sport Hydra could be good? I read that they are slower than a classic sea kayak like the Atlantic LV but if this lower speed were negligible over distances of 30-40 km I would benefit in terms of maneuverability and logistics.

[@geoffburke]

@@massimoaugu Sorry Massimo, I've maybe muddied the waters regarding plastic, purely from the point of the risk of me damaging boats while rock dodging. A standard fiberglass kayak around 16ft that you feel stable in would be lighter, and have better performance than a shorter, heavier plastic kayak. The key point here is "a stable kayak that fits and suits you and your paddling style" in the water conditions that you will be most frequently paddling in. You mention 30 - 40km, I rarely paddle more than 30kms per day and although I may paddle a lot faster, when planning I always work on around 3mph taking into account, sight seeing, playing around etc, etc, so around 7hrs paddling a day and that's without taking a lunch stop into account. I think the difference in boat speed you talk about only comes into consideration in adverse conditions but technique/paddling style and ability are more important and that can only come from a boat you feel comfortable and relaxed in the first place, in order for you to develop those skills. I've not paddled either of the boats you mention so it would be wrong of me to suggest either and feel something longer than 14ft range more appropriate. I hope this helps. Cheers

[@gjrkayakero]

Thanks for sharing this excellent video. Could you give me data and the website of the manufacturers of the paddle you use? Thank you so much!!!

[@geoffburke]

Thanks for your kind feedback, there are loads more Kayaking Adventures on the channel, feel free to browse and share with friends. My paddle is a 'Mitchell Blades' medium Bomborra. Lance Mitchell's website can be found here, www.mitchellblades.com/ I tried to contact him a couple of weeks ago but he was closed for the winter, however he may be back by now. Please mention me when you contact him, he's a great guy and his paddles are much better than Werner in my opinion. Clean entry and exit, great 'catch', the cranked shaft has an excellent oval giving perfect 'indexing' in your control hand so you know exactly where it's at, the join clamp allows for 10cm of length adjustment. Thanks again and I look forward to you joining me on the next one. Best Regards Geoff

[@gjrkayakero]

@@geoffburke Thanks for your help!!!

[@geoffburke]

@@gjrkayakero No worries Juliàn, only happy to help. Are you based in the UK

[@gjrkayakero]

@@geoffburke No, I am from Argentina (South America). I really enjoy your videos. I have a Skorpio from P&H Sea Kayaks and I would like a paddle like the one you use. I'll contact the manufacturer to see what can be done. Greetings and keep enjoying kayaking and life !!!!

[@johnnash6755]

What do you like, about the northshore atlantic, as iv just bought a carbon kevlar northshore atlantic, so id welcome any advice, i really enjoy your trips.

[@geoffburke]

Hi John and thank you so much for your kind comments. Excellent choice in my opinion and certainly lightweight built in carbon kevlar. I was very fortunate being a good friend of Mike Nelson (designer & builder) of former NorthShoreSeaKayaks as I was able to help in building my own boat and customise the 'lay-up' to suit my mad paddling requirements, adding extra strength (and weight 🙄) to areas that I thought would benefit from it. Its certainly stood the test of time (and abuse 😂). In my opinion and that of the wider kayaking community the 'Atlantic' design has always been front runner and copied by many other manufacturers, for its seaworthyness, predictability, solid handling and stability but also 'feels right' the moment you sit in it! With regard to advice there's nothing much I can say... I can only recommend you think carefully to modify its outfitting to suit you, as we all have different requirements/equipment to suit our needs. A keel strip is always a good idea especially for Carbon Kevlar but the main thing is getting out regularly to ensure your paddling strokes become subliminal as you react to changing conditions. The Atlantic can handle much more than we can and there's no substitute for 'time in the boat' 😂👍 So pleased you're enjoying my little adventures and loads more new content being added to the channel as I'm always well behind with my editing and just returned from a stunning 5 days off the West Coast of Scotland. Keep the comments coming and best wishes for your kayaking future 👍 Regards Geoff 😀

[@calatoruldac]

Hello my friend 🤗The sea seems a bit choppy, or is it just me?

[@geoffburke]

Hi Viorel, good to see you joining me on this one, yes the sea was being whipped up a little by very strong gusty winds up to Force 7 = over 50kmh at times and very unpredictable. Nice to ride with it though 😃👍

[@calatoruldac]

@@geoffburke 👍 Have a nice weekend my friend! 🍻

[@rogersimmons8788]

It's just you!

[@geoffburke]

@@rogersimmons8788 Just couldn't get a straight downwind run, but still enjoyable with a great group too !!👍

[@juleskayak]

Great videos Geoff - can I ask what camera you're using ? a lot better than my Olympus TG4

[@geoffburke]

Hi Jules, thanks and pleased you are still enjoying the adventures....more to come and I'm off tomorrow on a 7 - 8 day kayak camping trip off the same area but a bit further South around the Garvellachs, Scarba and Jura, so watch this space for the video's 😂😂

[@geoffburke]

Sorry Jules, just realised I hadn't answered your question...I use a GoPro Hero 10 but I did use a Olymus TG 4 then a TG 6 both very good cameras. If you're interested (as I noticed on your channel that you snorkle and dive) I have a dive housing for the TG 4 in hardly used condition, once on the barrier reef and twice in the Red sea. £80 Let me know if you're interested and I can send pics. Thanks and sorry for asking but thought it might help

[@simonlenton4063]

Geoff excellent trip and throughly enjoyable watch. Quick question how do you fix your GPS can’t quite work out the configuration on the video.

[@geoffburke]

Hi Simon, thanks for your comments, it was a cracking few days around a fabulous area. I've just returned from 5 incredible kayaking days out from Easdale around 20 miles south of Oban. Please be patient for the video's though, which I can say without doubt will be outstanding!! We had days with over 20 miles covered, wind speeds of continuous Force 7 gusting F8 and kayak speeds over 10 mph...one of my best trips ever !! A few people have asked about the GPS mount, it was made from a combination of the supplied belt clip attached to a simple piece of closed cell packing foam shaped with a dremil and attached to the deck elastics. To that end I've taken several photos showing it in more detail. If you send me your email I'll forward them to you. As always, loads more content on the channel, please feel free to browse and share with friends.