Equipment...

My lovely 18 foot Valley Nordkapp RM is my main boat. Forget the stories of Nordkapp's being wobbly & unstable as it's just not true, she inspires confidence & puts a grin on my face.

I can't help feeling smug when out on the water, not only am I out sea kayaking, but I'm in a Nordkapp too. 'Happy days'...

My other boat is a 15 foot Pyranha Orca, she a little more roomy than the Nordkapp, not so snug & probably better suited to a novice. She's very stable & goes where you point her with the rudder down.
I'm not a huge fan of rudders but she weathercocks like mad without it. If she had a skeg instead of the rudder I would love her evan more.
I've had loads of wonderful trips in her but I mostly let my mates paddle her these days...

Only the front one is mine...

My final boat (Project Nordkapp) is currently a work in progress.

She's a 18 foot fibreglass Racing L model & I'm itching to get her finished. I've just cut away the front of the huge cockpit & will be reworking it into the more familiar keyhole shape.

I'll be using her as a day boat, no hatches & I'll also be fitting a skeg.

She's really light & will be well sexy when she's finished...

Clothes wise I'm rather partial to Reed Chillcheater. Above left I'm wearing an Reed Aquatic Pro Buoyancy Aid & Aquatherm long sleeve top. Under that I got a Peak rash vest & Palm sleeveless wetsuit.
My shades are Seaspecs, my scarf from Buff & a Playboater deck...

When it's a bit cooler I also wear a Reed Chillcheater touring cag & thats a Pro Tec helmet on my bonce.
In my hands is a my fab Werner Tybee paddle with a carbon cranked shaft...

My trust Fuji XP10, it's as tough as hell & has been really abused. If I stick to wide angle then the shots are fab though the focussing struggles when zoomed in. It takes fab video footage too, as a budget camera I'd definitely recommend it.
Below is my beloved Canon 5D MK2 in a Dicapac WP-S10, I can't recommend this camera enough though it has met un untimely demise since getting wet during a capsize. It was in a dry bag on deck but that wasn't enough to save it, R.I.P.

My Towline is a Palm Ocean Pro, despite the bag being quite tight I decided to get this one as it matched the colour of my PFD (LOL). It's very well built & nice & compact but I would suggest stuffing the rope in your PFD after use & packing it properly when you get back on land...

Shipping me & my kit is the lovely 'Myvanwy', my camper van & home...

Some of my smaller but just as useful Items Are my GPS, Spot Messenger & VHF.

I find my basic GPS ideal, I use it mainly as a speedo. For instance, if I'm traveling at four knots I know it will take 1 hour to travel 4 nautical miles.

I also find the trip odometer & average speed very useful.

One of the few things that I don't use it for is navigation (LOL). I will follow a course if I'm heading somewhere thats too far away to see but that doesn't happen often.

It's worth pointing out that personally I prefer to have mine set on latitude & longitude (rather than grid) as you can give your position to the coastguard if needed.

You can pick one of these up for 60 notes & I'd highly recommend it...

I bought the spot messenger on E-bay for 30 notes primarily so you can follow my progress every 10 min's on a map during my 'Around Wales Expedition'. I needed to purchase a tracking subscription for this (£130 per year), though basic subscriptions are cheaper.

A very useful feature is the SOS button which when activated will relay my position to the emergency services...

My first VHF, a Pacific didn't last too long despite being supposedly waterproof?
This one, A Plastimo SX200 is great, it too is a waterproof model but I keep it in an Aquapac just in case.
Unlike my previous VHF it's very easy to use & the buttons are intuitive & easy to adjust. It has a 5 watt maximum output & is very compact.

My North Face, Westwind tent, (FAB). Wasn't cheep this, about 400 notes but worth it. She's a doddle to put up & if its calm 6 pegs will do or 4 if you just want to use the inner. If you choose to use all the mounting points I doubt a hurricane would bring it down.
I used to dislike the fact that you have to erect the inner first but its so quick to pop up that it really don't matter.

An Exped essential. I got these from go outdoors, there chunky & about 8 inches long. Perfect for pitching your tent on sand.
Although there big I find that if I load my kayak & then wedge them into a spare gap at the front then they just use unwanted space.
Would have meen stuffed on my Wales trip without these.