the day just gotten better

these are the days of hot, humid summer days with heat over 25'c in the south east..

leaving work with an electrical storm above, listening to the thunder, whilst im cycling back to the car the rain finally comes.. warm, fresh summer rain..

getting in the car after a cycle i brush off the grit on my trousers, and switch on the radio to catch damien rice "cannonball".. sweet.. my arm out the car window feeling rain fill the contours of my hands..

get home to find a few pressies ive ordered recently have arrived >> canoe pole and new plastic whitewater paddle, also sail material, and paddle bag..

and a top delivery from cotswold, some new north face clothes..

oh and someone had gone to ikea and bought me back some sill (herring) and crisp bread..

didnt expect that.. :)

new forest, purbeck and poole - part III

awaking at a time when the air was still made me spiritually awake too... open to all impulses and stimuli.

i left purbeck waving goodbye as i saw it disappear in my rear view mirror, i was heading for poole harbour.. what was in store for me today out on the water?

getting confused with the number of slipways poole had to offer, i decided to just cut to the chase and put in where i could park.. again, i was the only unpowered boat i could see launching, i emerged into the harbour gracefully leaving the noisy engines of the various speedboats back on the shore.

i was paddling with topper sailboats that sailed past, i could not use the wind as it was blowing the wrong way i wanted to go. i spotted brownsea island, and decided to do a tour around it, and perhaps visit its neighbouring islands.

crossing the shipping lanes of the international ferries and huge cruisers proved to be a bit nerve wracking, it was slow progress as the waves slowed me down, i added some weight to the front of the canoe and that improved things.

soon i was in the middle of poole harbour, on the shores of brownsea island. i paddled round to the south side where tourists for the island get dropped off by boat. It reminded me very much of an australian island, with pines and conifers towering into the sky and steep rocky banks.

it was time for a break so i beached in a sandy strip of beach on the island. the tide was going out again, a spring tide as it was full moon so i was interested to see how much it would drop.. from this point in the east i could sail the rest of the harbour... wahey!! off i shot towards furzey islands.. i waved at a few people on beach, and one bloke double took as he was on the phone and said "you've made my f**king day mate!", i didnt expect that one, i thought!

i found a more sheltered and quieter beach on green island for a siesta and to find some shade, the sun was getting more and more intense!

it was 3:30pm the time i woke up on the beach, it was a straight route back to poole quay. sail 2km, then just a 1km navigation back thru the shipping lanes.

absolutely knackered, yet thoroughly satisfied i congratualted myself on completing two days of travelling on new waterways. at the same time, i had fine tuned my kit and paddling techniques, and gave people a few laughs with my improvised sailing along the way.. job done, i thankyou!

new forest, purbeck and poole - part II

everything looked so green and lush as i drove into dorset, i had planned on staying at a campsite overlooking poole harbour, but as i fancied a tipple after a thirsty days paddle i decided to head to my favourite pub in the world - the square and compass @ worth matravers.

i drove past and checked out all the smiley faces as the sun was setting behind the pub, setting off a blaze of golden sunlight across the isle of purbeck.. bliss.. i stumbled across a campsite, and got the canoe of the roof to set up dinner and place to reflect with a cider. a fella who passed me said "are you marooned?", i said "maybe?", i wasnt sure how i felt, but i wouldnt of changed that moment for anything.. the smell of hay, sun on skin and an apple smile.

list of top moments in one evening:

• bivi camping
• canoe
• cider
• full moon emerging from the ocean
• live band
• crickets in hedgerow
• wearing sandals
• stone sculpture festival
• kids laughing
• adults singing
• sunburn
• the best pub in the world
• being back in dorset

so yes, there were quite a few moments.. after a few pints, it didnt take long for me to get off to sleep when i returned to the campsite.

new forest, purbeck and poole

arriving at the Beaulieu estate in Hampshire after a slap up breakfast at tescos in Reading, i quickly set to find a put in point for my canoe.. at buckler's hard marina.

it was a fine day for tides, sunshine and breezes.. excitement and anticipation was making me rush, as i had never paddled in this part of england before.

after speaking to the harbour master i was able to aclimatise to the local waters, initally getting lost in marshland i headed upstream to check out the Beaulieu abbey.. the golf umbrella came out and instantly got a few laughs as i glided past yachts and cruisers just under the power of wind. "oh look george! can i take your photo, mr mad canoeist?" :)

i wasnt in a rush to get to the top of the river so i moored in a inlet and read some more of the dalai lama's latest. a group of kayakers passed and noted how at home i looked chillin in the bottom of my boat with my feet in the water.

on reaching the abbey i couldnt paddle any further due to a weir and as low tide was well on its way, i found it difficult to get a decent paddle stroke..
so after a brief stretch i set off using the tide and wind to take me back to bucklers hard.. mostly just steering the 2 miles back to the marina.

once back on land, i collected my car, and packed up my kit.. then it was just a short journey to poole, the following days destination.