For white water I have a pair of Lendal kinetic XTi which are now in their third year. They are Fantastic blades and in CF pretty much indestructible ……..   but dont run them over !
The carbon shaft snapped at the varilock adjustment and the blade spigot throat split apart. The shaft has glued  up fine with some epoxy (just lost the adjustment) but the blade was written off

Desperate Measures   of Nottingham recently had a stocktake and clearout of Lendal Blades, their ‘odds and Ends’  were offered for just the postage charge or Free to collect here

Today I received my new ‘free’ blade, I am grateful to Danny and Mark, some excellent and helpful service to my enquiries, and the postage charges to France are fair and reasonable.

The Glénan archipelago is  an enchanting group of islands off the Southern shore of Brittany.  it is now home to the famous Les Glénans sailing school where a number of record breaking yachtsmen have learnt their trade.

There can be some confusion between the ‘Archipel des Glénan’  (no “S”  )  the Islands, and the Sailing school  ‘ Les Glénans’  (with an “S” )    the sailing school has a number of sites around France and abroad, so yes you will find ‘Les Glénans’ in Baltimore Ireland

On a Sunny warm day it really is easy to imagine you are on a tropical island paradise, the islands have beautiful white beaches, and the central lagoon contains crystal clear water reflecting the blue of the sky.

The island of St Nicolas hosts the smallest nature reserve in France, here you will find the Glénan Narcissus, it doesn’t grow anywhere else in France.
Attempts to protect it in 1974 (visitors were digging up the bulbs and trampling the land bare) fencing was errected prohibiting entry. This allowed the natural vegetation to grow (gorse and ferns) which then overun and choked the Narcissi. The next move was to allow sheep to graze, but this was still not effective. Finally the land is now mowed just prior to the new growth of the Narcissi, and the plant is now recovering.
The Archipelago lays some ten miles off the coast, but an easy paddle with the tide. The Islands are private and permission should be sought before camping.  The environment is very fragile with no water supplies, you must take your own.

Continuing from the previous post on mapping, an explanation follows for the coordinate system used on French IGN maps.  l’Institut   Géographique  National (IGN)  is charged with carrying out functions similar   to the  Ordnance Survey of UK.

The 1:25000 Série bleue  Carte de randonnée  is described here. Several coordinate systems are marked on these maps, early editions have no grid overlay but scales around the borders of the sheet,  (see above) this made plotting grid references  in the centre of the sheet difficult. Current editions now have a light blue 1 Km grid overprinted on the sheet, from this Grid it will be easy to identify which set of coordinates to use. The grid is the UTM WGS84 and is compatible with GPS. The coordinates are still shown around the border of the map   (Below)
To obtain a grid ref, use the same procedure you would use for an OS map,
write the Easting first, followed by the Northing.  ie. For the spot height 241 “La Petite Etoile,   6837 E  53856 N   this gives an accuracy of 100 meters.

OS maps in the UK are grouped in larger grids designated by two letters. Similarly, UTM uses a Number & Letter  grid.  If you look back to the previous post to the UTM Grid picture, you will see France is covered by 6 UTM Grid squares.  So now to complete the UTM Grid reference above, add the number & letter  :   30U  6837 E  53856 N

Brittany falls on two UTM grids, 30U  (the Northern coast) and 30T  (Southern coast)

In summary, the UTM Grid is international and Google Earth can be set on the Preferences menu to show UTM coordinates, while the UK has the OS grid, the Channel Isles are not covered and so uses the UTM grid.

As kayakers, we use multiple navigation aids to plan our varied passages. We enjoy the land detail on ordnance survey maps, but we also like the navigation detail found on Marine charts, then we often search Pilots, cruising guides and the internet for waypoints. In the UK that means we’ll probably have two sets of coordinates the Ordnance Survey grid on land maps alongside Latitude and Longitude from the Marine charts and nautical publications. If we then paddle abroad we will also find other coordinate systems in use. Converting between coordinates is not straightforward.

Here is a link to an Online Coordinate converter created by Alan Morton.   http://www.dmap.co.uk/ll2tm.htm

Now you can take your Longitude and Latitude from google Earth and accurately plot them on your OS map, or enter them as OS grid refs in your GPS

This small island sits close to the southern shore of mainland Brittany. Whilst it is easy to imagine that Groix is just a small chip of rock from the mainland it is in fact structured very differently geologically.

Some 300 million years ago two ancient continents joined creating the Super-continent ‘Pangaea’ The Amorican land mass which was very much smaller was caught in between and squashed upwards creating mountainous peaks and folds of metamorphic rock through the softer sedimentary layer, this land mass much weathered and reduced in height now forms North West France. The High pressures acting on the Amorican land mass created a high temperature metamorphosis of the sedimentary rock forming the Granite and limestone rocks of the mainland, Groix however is the result of a low temperature Metamorphosis (subjcted to lower pressures) and as such the rock is far richer in mineral content. There are over 60 different minerals identified in the rock, and has created interest amongst Geologists around the globe. The Southern and Eastern coasts have been designated a Geologic Reserve.

One of the minerals present is Garnet, easy to identify in the rock around Pointe des Chats and it also gives rise to the red sand on the beach ‘Sable rouge’

Taking a tour round Groix is refreshing, from the busy harbour of Port Tudy to the wild and dramatic coastline round the North West point of Pen Men. The South Western part of the coast is open to the full force of the Atlantic swell and contrast sharply to the protected Northern coast.

For over a decade I have been regularly travelling between the UK and France, mostly by ferry but also by rail and air. As a paddler I invariably have at least one kayak, often several on the roof, and this can really push the cost up of your cross channel travel.

Without any doubt, one company stands head and shoulders above all the rest when it comes down to ‘pound notes’ DFDS Seaways who operate a service from Dunkerque to Dover have single crossings starting from around £30. This particular route was originally a commercial service for truckers, the original ferries used on this route were quite basic with smokey lounges, but all this has changed with the new ferries now operating. A major advantage for paddlers with this service is the way fares are calculated. Height always adds a premium to the fare, it is common for ferry operators ‘car’ fares to restrict the height to 1.85 metres, but in the case of DFDS their first fares include height up to 2.4 meters. In my case I drive a Mercedes Vito with a Karitec rack and the kayaks arranged to sit flat, this comes in at just under 2.4 meters

To put this into context against other operators, to take my van and kayaks across to the Isle of wight would cost £36 each way traveling mid week in January. For a trip across the Channel using Brittany Ferries from Portsmouth to Caen for the same dates, you will have to part with £278.

Of course, as with everything there are disadvantages, Dunkerque is a long way from Brittany you should allow around 8 hours for the trip but with a couple of drivers the driving will not ‘wipe you out’ Outside of the major bank holiday times, driving on french roads is generally stress free and considerably cheaper than driving in the UK. For those in the South East, Dover Dunkerque will always be the best route, while those in Plymouth are more likely to opt for the Plymouth Roscoff / St Malo route, whilst being more expensive, it cuts out 14hrs of driving and all the fuel costs.

Surprisingly, the ferry cost from the Channel Isles to France is expensive, however it is always possible to paddle across via Les Minquiers and Îles Chausey, or the Ecréhou. The more adventurous may want to try via Alderney.

Taking kayaks aboard as a foot passenger is another option. Its difficult to get information from the ferry companies as generally they have no published policy on this, ( excepting DFDS who cannot take foot passengers due to HM Customs and Immigration regulations)

Blue sky, flat water and no wind, throw in a dash of bright afternoon sun with midday temperatures of 14°C  …  It’s hard to believe it is the middle of December !

Coming over the next few days are some posts giving you the low down on travel to France. If you live on the South coast, you really have some great options for a long weekend paddle, and opportunity to take advantage of out of season accomodation.

Still the weather will break, and we do get our fair share of storms, but most times you are able to find somewhere sheltered to spend an enjoyable couple of days.

A sobering video for all users of the sea
The music full of feeling by Denez Prigent, used in “Black Hawk Down”

As a French resident paddling on French tidal waters I am required to comply with state legislation. One of the requirements is to have to hand in my cockpit a résumé of the COLREGS  or in France RIPAM

This has led to an explanatory text published here  ( my page COLREGS) and the production of an ‘aide memoire’ that can be laminated an taken on board

Please download the files and use, but acknowledge their source, as expected there is a disclaimer, so use your own judgement.

You should always be aware that these Regulations can be supplemented in every respect by local National regulations, this is particularly so in busy Ports and Waterways … for example Port of London and Southampton.

In short this article should heighten your awareness of ‘legal obligations’ on tidal waterways.  Wherever you have doubt,  or do not fully understand, investigate further.

I have used my own reasoning in the production of this A4 aide memoire, whilst I believe I have included the most important rules, you may believe differently. Please contact me with any suggestions or omissions, it is an important subject that should be accurate.

Here is a link to “Jersey Kayaks” site, it has some great information re Visibility and the Tragic Collision accident report  of a high speed ferry.  A quite frightening read !

http://www.jerseykayakadventures.co.uk/2011/10/30/sea-kayak-visibility-2/

Sadly high winds flattened the surf Saturday, so a new plan saw us take off to the River Elle and “Les rochés du diable” in the Black Mountains of Brittany…… not really salty water, but a great place to paddle.

The site on the River Elle hosts National and regional selection events that bring some first class paddlers,  and is fantastic entertainment.