The PSK Hub – Performance Sea Paddling Stuff
Training tips and suggestions
by John Willacy
This was the one that set them all off for me, my first record – the genesis of Performance Sea Kayaking. Both my paddling and writing styles have moved on since then, but the desire to find a challenge hasn’t…
by John Willacy
‘Strong tidal streams with eddies, races and overfalls can occur in certain areas of this chart and can be dangerous to small vessels. Streams setting through the Gulf of Corryvreckan are very dangerous.’ – Admiralty Chart
Not far above, glides a cold, grey October sky. There is a brittle wind from the northeast and things are a little tense. Around the corner lies the Corryvreckan. I’m not sure what to expect, there’s not much swell today, but you never just know. The tide timings can vary, and the wind makes a difference from day to day – it’s not a place to take for granted…
by john Willacy
These are the accompanying notes for a presentation given on the topic of Warm-Ups for Canoe Slalom paddlers.
by John Willacy
My arms had been making circles for 11 hours now, the tide had long since turned and the speed was dropping. Should I work against the flow, straight line to the headland, or take a chance and head to the cliffs, aiming to scratch my way up the eddies? Looking across I could see all the clapotis and chaos below the cliffs. The clock was ticking; time was tight. Some days I just wish someone else would make the decisions for me…
by John Willacy
Well, nobody can accuse me of not knowing how to show a girl a good time! It was a grey Sunday morning, blowing a hoolie and we were staring out through sleepy eyes at a tide race. We had arrived on the Isle of Man with a couple of fast boats on the roof and an aim to improve on Freya Hoffmeister’s record for the circumnavigation of the island; but things didn’t look too good…
by Brian Turnbull
The days are growing shorter, temperatures are on the decrease, the sea and rivers are losing some of the gentility they showed us over the past few months. This usually means we start to get that urge to stay in and ease off on the paddling – but why stop paddling over the winter? If we do then we are likely to have lose a lot of the physical conditioning we had built up towards the end of the previous summer. With a little imagination and some enthusiasm I believe it’s not that difficult to keep a degree of fitness over the winter months.
by Jonathon Males
Jonathan Males is a sport psychologist and executive coach, who I met through our mutual work with the Canoe Wales Slalom Team. He has been kayaking since 1975, covering pretty much every aspect of the sport. Over the years his delight in paddling has been interwoven with a fascination for the inner world, the psychology of Performance. Perhaps this was kicked off when he first realised how much his own performance as a slalom paddler was influenced by his thoughts and feelings. Jonathan offered to write an article for the PSK Journal after we had a lengthy discussion about the role of Self-Confidence in my 2012 and 2015 UK Circumnavigation trips. This article is based on writings from within Jonathan’s book – ‘In The Flow’.
by Joe Leach
Prior to my 2015 solo Ireland circumnavigation I took some time to reflect on how best to train for expedition kayaking. What we sea paddlers do on expedition requires honing a peculiar set of skills and yet, like the coastline itself, our journeys are shaped by environmental factors beyond our control…
by John Willacy
An article aimed at higher national level canoe slalom competitors in relation to rest and recovery within a training programme.
by John Willacy
An article aimed at higher national level canoe slalom competitors preparing for a specific race.