Ferry Fares Fall to the Outer Hebrides

February 26, 2008 on 9:36 pm | In Uncategorized | No Comments

Interesting news today, the Scottish Government have announced the RET (Road Equivelent Tariff) is to be tested on the ferry routes to the Outer Hebrides (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7264040.stm). They are predicting a third reduction on the shorter ferry routes.

This has got to be good news for the tourist market, as it will make it cheaper for people to visit the islands and it has to be good for the people who live here, as we will be able to travel to the mainland for less.

I suspect, the people who will win the most are the haulage companies who bring just about everything here, are they going to reduce their prices by the predicted third fall in ferry costs? Are we going to see the cost of our groceries fall? I would love to think so but … The opportunity to make more profit, umm?

I am happy it will make getting clients here cheaper and going away to race more afordable. All we need now is for Cal Mac to start the long over due Sunday ferry.

Tim Pickering
http://www.canoehebrides.com
My regular mantra - Everyone should visit the Outer Hebrides, it is the extreme outdoor capital of Scotland. CanoeHebrides.com - Sea kayaking Expeditions BikeHebrides.com -Quality Mountain Bike Hire

Surfs up in the Hebrides

February 12, 2008 on 10:12 am | In Kayak Surfing | No Comments

Ahhhh ! it is good to have been out in my boat again. Sunday saw the wrap round of the massive swell running on the west side, so the breaks on this side were working. We dropped into the water on the break at Tong and what a session.

Tong is a sand bar at the entrance of the river and is the longest break in the islands. You get on and exhausted, off three weeks later with a beard. It is a left hander which is usually fast and steep, Sunday, it was fast but not too steep, good for me as I hadn’t been in a boat for a while.

It was setty but when they were coming through there were enough to go round as it was a little busy with about seven people out.

So I am now looking at the predictors to see when the next swell is due, although I do need to paddle my sea kayak as the deadline for the guide book to the Outer Hebrides has been set and we need to get writing and taking pictures.

Tim Pickering
http://www.canoehebrides.com
My regular mantra - Everyone should visit the Outer Hebrides, it is the extreme outdoor capital of Scotland. CanoeHebrides.com - Sea kayaking Expeditions BikeHebrides.com -Quality Mountain Bike Hire

Facinating Turns

February 9, 2008 on 11:08 am | In Sea Kayaking | No Comments

As I am sat here in the office, I am supposed to be working, well, it started as working, I was researching one of the books I am writing at the moment. I was looking at the history of adventure racing and was chasing round the internet to find Anna McCormack who is a professional racer, who I know from when I was racing. I wanted to e-mail her some questions.

It is fascinating to read about her exploits as a professional racer, I then realised I would be able to get her details from Karen Darke.

I can hear you asking where is this all going?

I sea kayaked with Karen, through the John Muir Trust’s Equal Adventure trips to Uist, so my search lead me to be looking at Karen’s web site. I am now sitting with a feeling of awe and inadequacy at what Karen has achieved, in the same breath it leaves me inspired to realise what you can really achieve. Read Karen’s book and I defy you not be be humbled and motivated.

Karen sea kayaking with seals off Uist

Tim Pickering
http://www.canoehebrides.com
My regular mantra - Everyone should visit the Outer Hebrides, it is the extreme outdoor capital of Scotland. CanoeHebrides.com - Sea kayaking Expeditions BikeHebrides.com -Quality Mountain Bike Hire

It is Offical, Scotland is the best place in Europe for Sea Kayaking

February 5, 2008 on 5:09 pm | In Sea Kayaking | No Comments

Below is the link to the leaflet giving some ideas on the best paddling to be had in Europe.

As I read it I discovered there are a few places I am going to need to go to and get the boat wet. I was particularly drawn to the Northern Isles. This was helped after Rob from the Canoe Club was up there for work and managed to get a couple of paddles in and was blown away by the place.

The Best Sea Kayaking in Europe

Time to get the maps out and plan the summer’s expeditions

Tim Pickering
http://www.canoehebrides.com
My regular mantra - Everyone should visit the Outer Hebrides, it is the extreme outdoor capital of Scotland. CanoeHebrides.com - Sea kayaking Expeditions BikeHebrides.com -Quality Mountain Bike Hire

Surf and Snow

February 3, 2008 on 3:26 pm | In Kayak Surfing | No Comments

When most people look at the weather forecast they see northeries and start getting out the winter clothes and complaining of the cold. Here it is slightly different as northerlies mean fantastic swell. So I had been watching the forecast all week and anticipating the great swell due to arrive here.

We watch a variety of sites but good one is magic seaweed, as with all these things you need to apply what is says with some local knowledge and the view of various other sites but it was predicting good waves.

So you can imagine how I felt when I woke on Saturday morning feeling terrible and it was difficult to get out of bed. Made worse by the thick covering of snow and three children desperate to go sledging on the golf course.

I dragged my corpse kicking a screaming to the sledge run and pulled Murray up and then rode down, for what seemed an eternity. Then it was back to the sofa and some shut eye, when the phone rang an Mike was on his way to change in the warm. Because we live so close to the break the house is the changing room and the shower and tea bar after.

I drove down to the break and found Donnie watching the break with Ian Lawson was out on his surf ski and Mike was quickly out as well. On a reasonable size day it makes a good spectator sport with some top thrashings being handed out. I still would have liked to have been out there but we laughed lots.

So I am doing a wind dance for more notherlies so I can get out there.

Tim Pickering
http://www.canoehebrides.com
My regular mantra - Everyone should visit the Outer Hebrides, it is the extreme outdoor capital of Scotland. CanoeHebrides.com - Sea kayaking Expeditions BikeHebrides.com -Quality Mountain Bike Hire

Wind Farms in the Outer Hebrides

January 25, 2008 on 3:15 pm | In Uncategorized | No Comments

Interesting news today on the BBC web site: (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7208991.stm)

It is says it looks like Scottish ministers will not approve the massive wind factory development which was in planning for northern Hebridean island of Lewis. Assuming this is correct this is great news for the island’s tourist industry as they were a black cloud hanging over us.

The concern is there is no research or information to say if development of wind farms has any effect on tourism but the anecdotal evidence is there will be a detrimental effect. Assuming the value of tourism to our economy of over £35 million even a 10% downturn would be very bad for us.

All we need to do now is to get those in charge to realise we are not against wind farms per say but massive ones, ones defacing areas of outstanding natural beauty or in environmentally sensitive areas.

Tim Pickering
http://www.canoehebrides.com
My regular mantra - Everyone should visit the Outer Hebrides, it is the extreme outdoor capital of Scotland. CanoeHebrides.com - Sea kayaking Expeditions BikeHebrides.com -Quality Mountain Bike Hire

EVEREST FOR EVERYONE

January 8, 2008 on 6:49 pm | In Surfing, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

OK, this has absolutely nothing to do with surfing or watersports, but I couldn’t help but comment on the following…

French outdoor gear manufacturers Millet are running a competition with the first prize being the chance to summit Everest.There will be requirements of the winner that they do possess the potential to get to the top of the world (one wonders what these may be - getting to the top of your stairs without a tea break, perhaps?) but egad, how the mighty have fallen (by which I mean Everest).

Alf Alderson
http://www.alfalderson.co.uk
Multi-award-winning freelance journalist and author of Surf UK - the definitive guide to surfing in Britain.

HERE COMES THE SUN

January 8, 2008 on 3:06 pm | In Surfing | No Comments

It may not feel like it, but right now we’re heading away from dark and dismal mid-winter to the more cheering days of summer – and for those of us who spend our leisure time up to our necks (and frequently more) in the water, that can only be good news. 

Scotland in particular gets a raw deal in the cold season, for not only are the air and water temperatures the lowest in Britain, the good citizens of Cornwall also enjoy almost two hours more daylight in mid-winter than those equally fine individuals residing in the north of Scotland. 

The sun in Penzance shows its head above the horizon at 8.21am on midwinter day, whilst you’ll be gazing east for another 43 minutes before you see those warming rays lighten up the sky if you’re in Wick. Likewise, sunset down south was at 4.20pm on December 21, but up in Wick it had already been dark for an hour by then. 

This is probably even worse news for surfers than the cold temperatures. After all, a good wettie will see you through pretty much anything, but if its pitch black you’re scuppered – and worst of all is when you surf a break that only really works at a particular stage of the tide… 

Let’s say your favourite break goes off at high tide, and high tide on an especially good mid-winter swell in northern Scotland happens to occur at 3.15pm that day. Well, you’d better have your waterproof headtorch ready if you want to make the most of it since you have two minutes of daylight left and you won’t be catching it the following morning either unless you’re a total lunatic (perhaps literally…). 

But were you in, say, Sennen, you’d still have over an hour of daylight left for that afternnon session. Not fair is it…? 

However, let’s zoom forward six months. On those same tide times you could catch that 3.15pm session no problem in Caithness, and unlike Cornwall, you could even surf the morning high tide in twilight too. 

And that’s where Scotland truly comes into it’s own for surfers (and anyone else who likes to play outdoors for that matter). There are very few places in the world, after all, where you can (if you have the stamina) surf for over eighteen hours a day. 

Indeed, in some ways you don’t have any choice. I remember once staying in a caravan outside Thurso in June when the threadbare curtains were allowing daylight to stream through the windows almost before I’d even gone to bed. By 4.30am it was pointless trying to get any sleep so what better to do than go surfing? 

And if money is tight – as it was on that occasion – we saved our beer tokens by being out in the waves when last orders were called. And I know which I’d rather be doing… 

So, surfers of Scotland, be not of faint heart, for summer is acoming. By my calculations you’re getting an extra 122.5 minutes of daylight per month between now and mid-June, which is 30.6 minutes a week or 4.37 minutes a day. 

And those extra 4.37 daily minutes should be enough for at least one more wave per session… 

Alf Alderson
http://www.alfalderson.co.uk
Multi-award-winning freelance journalist and author of Surf UK - the definitive guide to surfing in Britain.

Insurance Rant

January 6, 2008 on 1:08 pm | In Uncategorized | No Comments

It seems to me that the insurance companies are making being in business difficult. The cynical part of me thinks because the car and house insurance market is so cut throat they are hiking up the prices to businesses who have no choice to have insurance to be in business.

I have been looking at the figures for being in business this coming year and the biggest running expense is insurance. So I called in the insurance company to see what I could do about reducing the cost. The conversation went something like this:

‘My current premium is £… and I would like to reduce it?’

‘You are a limited company?’

‘Yes’

‘If you go back to being a sole trader then you will have exactly the same cover and it will be half the price.’

‘What, so I become a sole trader again and I will have exactly the same level of cover and pay half the premium?’

‘Yes’

Well as you can imagine I was a little taken aback by this.

I have the feeling I am being ripped off … The big problem there are to my knowledge only two companies who will provide cover.

What would be good is if I could buy insurance for a client when the trip starts and I would know the exact cost per person per day. I remember buying a Carte Niege when skiing to cover the cost of getting off the mountain if you had an accident, wouldn’t it be nice if you could do the same to get the relevant level of insurance for adventurous activities.

Tim Pickering
http://www.canoehebrides.com
My regular mantra - Everyone should visit the Outer Hebrides, it is the extreme outdoor capital of Scotland. CanoeHebrides.com - Sea kayaking Expeditions BikeHebrides.com -Quality Mountain Bike Hire

Bliadhna Mhath Ur

January 3, 2008 on 9:59 pm | In Uncategorized | No Comments

Bliadhna Mhath Ur - Happy New Year

We had a party in the barn, laid out tables, served lamb hot pot and organic salmon, a couple of barrels of Hebridean Ale (Seaforth Ale and Moo Coo), there was music and singing, the children played until the wee hours, some rockets were launched and apparently the festivities ended at about six in the morning. I was tucked up in bed way before that though.

New Years Day saw a few bleary eyes and I am not sure how, although I blame Mike, it was suggested a swim in the sea would clear the head.

Gress beach was decided and towels found. The evidence is below and it did clear the head. Note: Mike is the one wearing the black wet suit !

Tim Pickering
http://www.canoehebrides.com
My regular mantra - Everyone should visit the Outer Hebrides, it is the extreme outdoor capital of Scotland. CanoeHebrides.com - Sea kayaking Expeditions BikeHebrides.com -Quality Mountain Bike Hire