What's on
The brief excursion to Palmaria to celebrate Mauro’s birthday has left us wanting for more and we’ve decided to have a repeat as soon as possible: we’ll be paddling there from the 9 to 11 March. As usual we’ll be camping and in good company!

The following weekend we’ll be going to Aquileia, invited by the locals Canoa Kayak Friuli for a presentation about our excursions along the shores of the Mediterranean.

Then from the 21 to 23 March our itinerant kayaking instruction school we will be in Palermo for the first BCU 3 star course. There are still a few places available…

Other BCU 3 star courses are planned for the coming months in Genoa, Rome, Naples and Trieste. Check out the course calendar found on the courses page on the Tatiyak website. Each course is limited to a maximum of 6 participants and an internationally recognised award - the British Canoe Union 3 star sea kayak award - is bestowed. The participation “instructions” are made clear in the syllabus, course and exam notes that have finally been translated into Italian. They can be downloaded from the same page on our web site.

The plans for the International Symposium Venice Lagoon are also taking shape.
It will be held in Chioggia from the 31 May to the 2 June: note this in your calendar,
there will be some notable guests!

Kayaking snippets
To be able to spend long hours paddling it is essential to have a comfortable seat. Sometimes, all it takes is just to pad out the cockpit seat with soft foam or latex, taking care to seal properly. Doing so will avoid feeling that you’re sitting on rocks, at times even the tiniest grain of sand can feel like sandpaper causing discomfort and damaging materials. Ensure that before sealing carefully with silicone, the material has been washed and dried out properly. Use one or even more layers, you’ll be grateful!

Call of the Inuit
A few months ago I was given a present by a dear friend mine: a book about games published by the Museo Nazionale della Montagna of Torino. The Giochi delle Montagne is a wonderful collection of card and board games, the ones played with dice and special figurines... There is also a chapter devoted to adventures in the Arctic and Antarctic. Although penguins and polar bears often end up in the same space, the images of the boards and boxes containing the games are fascinating, yearning one to take part and play too.
Our passion for games has not abated and although the “Rolling National Championship” is yet to be announced, we still intend to play especially on the water: the appointment with kayak rolls in the pool has been postponed to June, with lots of new features!

Over the horizon
Aleksander Doba is a 67 year Polish gentleman, a retired engineer and enthusiast for long voyages and challenging crossings. Not much is know about him, because as he admits, he dislikes being in the limelight. However, he is certainly a determined character.
After crossing the Atlantic for the first time from Senegal to Brazil, covering 3400 miles in 99 days, he’s now repeating the feat, this time from Portugal to Florida!
Since the 20 December he has been unable to send any messages and from the 15 January he has made little headway due to the storms encountered in the Bermuda Triangle.
He’s well and intends to complete his 5400 mile voyage.
For now, after 125 days, he’s the kayaker with the most time at sea of all time…