A trip up the Mersey Part 2

Along with my good friends Brian and Christian, we took advantage of the fine weekend weather and a 9.8m tide to go up the Mighty Mersey this weekend...

At one point we were whizzing along at 14.5 kph!

Sometimes you feel a bit inferior...

33.5 km in a mere 4hrs 23mins.

A grand day out!

Update on 'Tootega': The kayak has worked out very well. I had to lower the stern keel by 1.5" to help with the tracking as it was out of the water most of the time unless the boat was well laden.

I had a wee problem with the hatches which was solved with some extra silicone sealant.

I also replaced the minicell foam seat I made with a fibreglass copy of the seat from my Valley Aquanaut.

I am very pleased with the performance of the Karitek skeg unit, and the Immersion Research 'Reggie' backband too. [IR even featured it on their website]

All said, 'Tootega' has been the subject of many flattering comments on all of the trips I have made this year in Scotland, Wales and the Lake District.

I have designed a new boat, Sedna, a lightweight 17' Greenland style, which should start to take shape in October. Here we go again!

On the sea at last..

Five of us launched at Crosby beach on Bank Holiday Monday for a wee trip on the Mighty Mersey.

Nicky kindly carried the paddles....the new boat is so light it is self-supporting...

The trip got off to an auspicious start when I tucked my VHF radio under my deck elastics, and my water bottle plopped into the murky river.

5 minutes of 'follow the bottle' passed before I gave up.

We went over to New Brighton for lunch, back over to the Liverpool side alongside the Arena, Albert Dock , Pier Head and Liver Buildings and back to Crosby and the Iron Men.

23.5k/14.5m in 4.45 hrs, a very pleasant day out with excellent company.

My nephew Stan provided admirable backup bringing paddles and using great imagination by sending my watch over the beach by the simple means of attaching it to my incredibly intelligent Labrador, Freddy, who ran 200m to bring it to me!

Crosby 'Danger' sign aka the Sh*t Outflow..

Where's me bottle?...

My new kayak has now been christened 'Tootega' following a suggestion by my brother in law Clifford following my 'Pimp my Kayak' post!

In Inuit mythology, Tootega is a wizened old goddess, who lives in a stone hut and has the ability to walk on water.

I like the water bit .