Performance Sea Kayak Info
Circumnavigations
There's something 'tidy' about a circumnavigation; it's satisfying to see your start point come into view once more, knowing you've covered the distance entirely under your own steam.
There are a many islands dotted around the UK coastline that provide an obvious appeal to sea kayakers. There are some that provide a 'because it's there' challenge, an achievement just to complete the distance. And there are others that provide a draw for those looking to beat the tides with an eye on the clock. There are a good number that seem almost to have been purpose built for a sub-24 hr challenge - Anglesey, Isle of Man, Isle of Mull and Isle of Wight being the more popular and the more challenging.
The challenge of the circumnavigation revolves mainly around using the tides to the optimum as the distance often dictates paddling over more than one tide phase. When you combine the complicated tidal flows with committing coastlines, open crossings and tide race/overfalls it can take some serious planning along with some demanding paddling to complete a circumnav.