Flybe / November 2018

48 / 116

Take a Break
F L I G H T D E TA I L S
Flybe has flights to Jersey from Birmingham,
Cardiff, Doncaster Sheffield, East Midlands,
Exeter, Geneva (from 15th December), Guernsey,
Manchester and Southampton. Flybe’s franchise
partner Blue Islands has flights to Jersey from
Bristol, Guernsey, London City and Southampton.
life jackets. Looking good, we were
ready to go!
On the beach, we were allocated
our kayaks, and Gary explained to
us that they were sit-on-top kayaks
(relief here, no ‘wet-exit’ drill to
learn), talked us through some safety
rules and demonstrated how to use the
paddles. Twisting your body as much
as possible, rather than just using
your arms, seemed to be key. He also
showed us how to change direction
and how to stop if we needed to. It all
seemed quite straightforward, but I’d
had a few dunkings in the sea recently
when I’d tried surfing – oh, and even
stand-up paddleboarding – and I was
feeling a little nervous about falling
off, particularly with my boyfriend
watching.
It was time to enter the sea. We
paired up to carry the kayaks to the
water’s edge and Gary led the way, as
we pushed them into the (thankfully
very calm) waters and gingerly settled
in. Gary and Richard looked at me
expectantly from their kayaks as I
waded and stumbled towards mine,
my flip-flops sinking into the wet
sands beneath the water, folding
under themselves and making me
splash around in a Mr Bean-style
guide to sea kayaking.
I was amazed to find that, once
sitting down, it was actually very easy
to paddle our way out through the
(not at all choppy) waves, getting out
to swimming depth, then carrying on
until we floated beyond the breaking
line of the waves and onto tranquil
waters. There was the occasional
swell sent from a larger boat further
out to bob over, but it was serene and
idyllic as we made our way around the
coastline, staying close to the rocks
and passing through a narrow gap
in the rocks at one point. Seeing the
cliffs stretching high above us, it felt
as though we’d paddled gently into
our own private waters, with the sun
shining down on us, chatting about
the birds that we could see (peregrine
falcons, guillemots and puffins all
grace Jersey’s coastline, although
we only saw the first two on our
adventures).
HOW WAS IT?
It was so different from what I
expected from sea kayaking and I’d
definitely recommend this if you’re
visiting Jersey. Getting away from
the busy beach with a few strokes of
a paddle was a glorious way to spend
an hour or two – and although it does
apparently happen sometimes, I can
happily report that even a wobble-
prone paddler like me didn’t fall in!
We felt totally safe with Gary’s tuition
and really enjoyed getting tips from
him about local attractions and why
he chose to change from a career in
IT to a life of adventure – and having
experienced it myself, I can’t say I
blame him.
48 / Flight Time / NOVEMBER 2018