North Wales sea trip: Mull preparation weekend

NOTE: booking as a led paddler will initially be available to only those who are already booked or on the waiting list as led paddlers on the September 2022 Mull trip. If any places remain on 16 May, they will be opened to the whole club. Peer paddler booking is open to anyone from now. 

Dave Southern will be leading a preparation and skills weekend for our planned September 2022 Mull sea kayak trip, in North Wales, on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 May. Exact location will be based on weather and sea state closer to the time.

The trip will be an opportunity to learn and / or practice essential skills for the Mull trip. The trip will include skills sessions mixed with journeys. We hope to include a wild camp on Saturday night and paddle with full boats, depending on the weather.

Dave is the club safety officer, and we want all paddlers on the Mull trip to have paddled with Dave before September. It is therefore expected that everyone going on the Mull trip will paddle with Dave at some point over the Summer - this weekend will be a good opportunity to do so, and we would like as many Mull paddlers as possible to come on this trip.

The trip will include both a led group and an experienced peer paddler group.

Cost: There is no cost, though there might be parking charges and depending on whether we wild camp, camping charges. People will need to organise their own food.

Location: North Wales, exact location to be decided week of the trip.

Led paddlers: Dave will lead 6 paddlers. You need to be able to paddle a sea kayak and have a confident capsize.

Peer paddlers: need to be able to make judgements as to the suitability of yourself, your kit and your skills in the prevailing conditions, and take responsibility for yourself and your fellow peer paddlers.

Trainee leaders: if you are a trainee leader, and would like to help Dave, for log book experience, please choose the "Trainee leader" option when registering.

Registration: The trip is only open to registered members of the club. There will be unlimited peer paddler places. There will be 6 led paddler places. We will run a waiting list for led paddlers - please put yourself on it if the trip fills up, in case of cancellations etc

Club boats: Club sea kayaks are available for hire. If you wish to use one, please arrange for and pay for this separately.

Kit list

The weekend is an opportunity for you to test out what you have and to find out what you might need to buy before the Mull trip in September. As well as paddling kit, you will need camping kit suitable for overnight kayak trips.

Paddling basics - everyone is expected to have these:

• Suitable paddling clothes
• Suitable paddling footwear
• Buoyancy aid
• Whistle (e.g. attached to BA)
• Spray deck
• Paddles
• Helmet
• Sunhat and sunglasses
• Suncream
• Warm hat
• Phone in a submersible waterproof phone pouch
• Snack bars accessible while paddling (eg in BA)
• Water accessible while paddling
• Sponge - not essential, but good for your comfort

Emergency kit - all peer paddlers are expected to carry these items. Led paddlers, please do bring if you have them, but do not buy especially - we will discuss kit:

• Spare split paddles
• Paddle float
• Pump
• Tow line
• Contact tow
• Knife
• Sling and karabiners
• First aid kit
• Survival bag
• Repair kit
• Maps, charts, compass, navigation kit, waterproof map case
• Head torch and spare batteries
• Communication: each group of paddlers should carry several different ways of communicating with the emergency services and attracting attention, such as VHF radio, phone, PLB, flares, strobes

Water - in addition to what you might drink while paddling, you will need to carry enough for two days drinking and cooking. Depending on what you plan to cook, five litres should be sufficient, in multiple bottles, bladders, or in a food grade 5l plastic container. Make sure it is not going to leak on your kit!

Wild camping kit - see the image below for suggestions (ignore the ticks against items). Note that there may be some overlap with some of the above - no need to duplicate