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Into the Elastic zone The theorists reckon it's about "extending the Adventure zone". In practice it means taking a drink from a Force Six sea! Contact: info@skyakadventures.com You can learn a lot from a book. Studying pictures and trying to practice the strokes they describe is helpful, as is the well-meaning advice of more experienced kayaking friends. But to make a true step change you need to call in the professionals. "He's one of the top men in the world", confided the lady who ran the B&B where we were staying at Camus Cross on Skye, "but he doesn't like to boast about it. Trains people in America, and special forces too." The chap in question is Gordon Brown, who with his wife Morag (and their new daughter) run Skyak Adventures in Sleat, one of the long legs of the Isle of Skye. At first, when we'd been told he charged £65 per person a day, we thought that was a bit steep. But after we'd completed our two days with Gordon we were so impressed, we stayed and paid for a third day. Professionals earn their money. I'm sure subtleties escaped me, but Gordon's coaching technique appears to have two distinct aspects. First, as with all good kayak coaches, he manages to highlight the linkages between strokes while at the same time, separating them into distinct movements so you can learn them. I'll give an example. (If you're an experienced paddler who learnt all this ages ago, please stifle your yawns and try to remember when this was new and exciting to you too.) Pass the blade of the paddle, upright, through the water edge first, and it has almost no effect on movement. This is neutral. We worked on that, felt comfortable with it, and then over the course of the three days, Gordon gradually developed the linkages to the sculling draw, bow rudder, cross bow rudder, hanging draw and much more. It all seemed to flow together, which of course it does. The other facet of his coaching is to extend one's personal competence zone. I've frequently heard adventure sports broken down into three or more "zones" - comfort, competence, adventure and mis-adventure (or disaster!). In the comfort zone you're bored. In the competence zone you're achieving, but well within your abilities. In the adventure zone, you're pushing yourself and learning, close to the boundaries of your skills and experience. After that, it all goes pear shaped. Gordon's aim was to push all those boundaries and, if we strayed into the last zone, pluck us to safety. That last bit turned out to be rather important for me. Day one had started with skills (and a private assessment of our abilities) during which we learnt how to make our sweep strokes considerably more effective. Within a couple of hours we were paddling in bigger seas than Liz or I had ever faced, heading into force 4 winds gusting to force 5. Using our "new and improved" sweep strokes, we turned on wave crests, and raced back on the following sea, trying to "catch" a wave and surf on it. Exhilarating! Gordon talked us through white and black water, how to read the best part of a channel to approach, and how it was possible to get astonishingly close to rocks, provided they were being washed with black water. The next day we did all again. Only in much, much bigger seas. It was blowing Force 5 gusting 6, and individuals frequently disappeared from sight in the valleys between the wave crests. (Hence no photos!) It would have been utterly insane for us to have been out there on our own, but with Gordon's encouragement and support, even I felt comfortable. In fact, in such situations, with a "safety net", I tend to push myself a little too far. Why not? It's a rare opportunity to find out where the edge of the Adventure zone really is. Which is how I came to cross into the disaster zone. Three times! Firstly, I tried to get in close to some rocks, but the black water turned white and I was swept up against them. I should have edged towards the rock and slid down, but in my panic, I leaned the wrong way and capsized. I bailed out, Gordon X-rescued, and within a minute, I was back in my kayak. I had anticipated a ducking today, so I wore a wetsuit rather than my usual salopettes, and was deeply grateful. Paddling into big waves is surprisingly stable. After all, the boat is designed for this. Turning is trickier, and was the position in which we all felt least stable. We repeatedly paddled out and tried to ride back on the waves, but they were travelling too fast and escaped under our hulls. So I decided to "go for it" on one of the return rides. So I paddled like stink, then when I felt the wave, paddled even harder. The effect was like a giant turbo. A huge, powerful hand, picked me up, perched me on the wave crest, and hurled me forward with huge force. Wonderful.... more!! I kept the power on, hoping for another ride and sure enough, my speed allowed me to catch the next one. Whoompf - it shoved me out into space and forward. One moment it was all going so well, the next, I had swallowed a fair quantity of the Sound of Sleat. I emerged from my boat, laughing my head off - what a rush! Another x-rescue and I was back in the boat, but brought with me so much water, the boat was off balance and I promptly capsized a third time and had to clamber in again. I learnt a great deal from the dunking, including what emergency clothes we ought to pack. In fact, the entire three days was a learning experience, even though some of the lessons weren't fully realised until some time later. The following week, Liz and I paddled around the Summer Isles (photos here) and further North. We were far more enthusiastic about facing big seas. Indeed, Liz positively relishes them, and has improved far more than me. There's no doubt, we've made a step change in our paddling abilities and confidence, so we're now going to enjoy patrolling the waters of our new, larger Adventure zones. But we'll try not to stray too close to the edge. Full photos here Contact: Gordon & Morag Brown 01471 833428 info@skyakadventures.com http://www.skyakadventures.com/