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NOVEMBER 2018
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Flight Time
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47
Take a Break
SEE JERSEY’S BEAUTIFUL COASTLINE AND
MARINE LIFE WHILE FLOATING ALONG IN A SEA
KAYAK ON A PEACEFUL GUIDED TOUR
WHAT
A sea kayaking session in St Brelade’s
Bay with Jersey Kayak Adventures
WHY
I’d roped my boyfriend Richard into
walking around the coast of Jersey with
me, but found out that he had a real
hankering to get out on the ocean and
try sea kayaking. In my head, this meant
braving choppy waves in a precarious,
self-navigated ordeal that was bound to
end up with me submerged under the
sea, but in the name of selflessness, I
decided to look into it.
HOW
As soon as I looked on the Jersey
Kayak Adventures website, I was
reassured. They offer guided sea
kayaking tours for groups, as well as
private tours, with adults and children
all welcome. It looked comfortingly
safe and non-terrifying, with plenty
of pictures of people on flat seas,
smiling. Once I’d booked us onto a
session, of which there are a few per
day, including sunset tours, it was a
matter of waiting for the night before,
when we’d receive a text message
from Gary, one of the instructors,
who would tell us where to meet him
the next day.
Jersey’s renowned for its huge
tides, part of what makes the
island such a rich and fertile place
for seafood, and it means that the
kayaking instructors have to assess
what the conditions will be like, along
with taking into account the learners’
previous experience, before deciding
which part of Jersey’s amazing
coastline to take them to.
Happily for us, we were meeting
Gary at St Brelade’s Bay, one of
Jersey’s most beautiful, sandy tourist
beaches – and one that we were
already planning to walk to that
morning, on our coastal walk from
St Helier. We found Gary in the car
park at the far end of the beach, with
kayaks at the ready and a van full of
wetsuits and other active essentials (he
even had rubber lanyards so we could
keep our sunglasses on without fear of
losing them to the sea). He told us we
probably wouldn’t fall in, but it was a
watersport so we could wear wetsuits
if we’d like to. Once I explained that
I’m very wobbly aboard most on-sea
craft we were soon clambering into
sleeveless wetsuits and bolero-style
Paddle power