“Until you step into the unknown, you don’t know what you are made of” – Roy T. Bennett
10th May 2019: The Seeds That Were Sown
This is the beginning. Although if I’m honest, I know the journey truly began one year ago. When we get to know each other a bit better I’ll reveal what knocked my kayaking confidence so badly, but for now I’ll just say I was left questioning my ability to continue in a sport I once adored.
Being bloody minded has its advantages however and in one last-ditch attempt to prove to myself that kayaking was my calling, I decided to go on a little trip. A week long circumnavigation of Mull, an island off the west coast of Scotland. Alone.
This would be the second time I’d paddled solo. The first being a short day trip out of Whitby which for some reason left me feeling nervous in a completely smooth sea, so whether paddling around Mull was a sensible decision is for you to decide. However I set about planning the journey meticulously and set off at 12 noon on 16th July 2018. Paddling out on that first day, I felt no nerves, only freedom. An incredible journey followed. Sun, rain, wind and thick fog. Otters, eagles, seals, dolphins, porpoise and whales. Smooth beaches that wouldn’t look out of place in the tropics, monstrous dumping surf breaks on stony landings, hair raising wind over tide voyages around headlands and strangers on beaches with their own incredible stories to tell. 120+ miles. 5.5 days. It was pure heaven, and the seed had been planted.
The British Isles by Sea Kayak 