A naescent team?
Johan paddleboarding round Walney Island
In the autumn of 2020 I was signed off work, a difficult time for all concerned but I took to heart my doctor’s advice to spend time outside with family and friends. Among the difficulties I also had some great moments and two days were notable to our story. Johan Hoving is a friendly, enthusiatic and very capable man with an enviable record of skills and achievements, he also owned some stand up paddleboards. I am a committed ‘late adopter’ and despite being a paddler, stand up paddleboarding had passed me by but when Johan suggested having a go at paddleboarding the 26km round Walney Island I thought I’d have a go. We had a cracking day on crystal seas and began talking about the idea of canoeing round Ireland and the boat that I was designing. Johan seemed sceptical but we arranged that the next windy day we would go out canoe sailing together.
Kite surfing…upstaged!
Among other things Johan enjoys kite surfing, a sport where cool people fizz along on tiny boards before carving great arcs through the sky only to land and skim down the face of a wave. Canoe sailing, even in the strongest winds is pedestrian by comparison. Johan suggested we visit Devoke Water, a local mountain tarn known for ‘reliable’ winds. A strong westerly was blowing and Johan had soon left me behind, skimming the tarn at breakneck speed on his kite surf while I fought to keep my sailing canoe from the apparently inevitable capsize. Relieved to be on dry land I caught up with Johan at the top of the tarn and a chat about the relative merits of each approach led us to try sailing my canoe using Johan’s super powerful kite. We took the canoe sail down and moments later my dog (Skye) and I were crouched in the back ready to steer while Johan wedged himself into the front of the little boat.
Have you ever experienced the immense power of a large kite, I hadn’t?
My first attempt at kite canoeing, just before we capsized…
With his kite hovering benignly above, Johan shouted ‘ready?!’ (for what? thought I) then brought it down into the power zone, it was as if my canoe wanted to fly. A wall of white water formed ahead like smoke round a rocket, I was wrenched backwards (no, I wasn’t ready) the dogs ears streamed and we leaped forward faster than my humble canoe had ever considered possible. Screaming forward I began to giggle then laugh, a deep therapeutic laughter at the riddiculousness of it all. However it wasn’t long before we tried something more ambitious and the inevitable capsize occured.
Perhaps something clicked, could I work with this lad? He certainly seemed to know more than me…about most things.
It wasn’t long before the next trip emerged, a two day 130km canoe journey taking in the coastline of the Isle of Arran and things got interesting.
Rich Ensoll