What's on
After an absence of ten years, I finally returned to my original paddling ground in the seas that lap the shores of Naples. And once again I was reminded of the odour of tuff stone that permeates the air, making the Gulf of Naples so special.
The circumnavigation of Ischia and Procida were so extraordinary that we were galvanized to organise a new guided tour of the islands of Ponza and Palmarola, already fully booked.  Realizing the beauty of these islands and the surrounding seas, we’re sure to repeat the event next year... stay tuned!

During September we continued holding courses on Lake Maggiore despite the autumnal weather that made us yearn for the seas further south... The advanced course taking place

on the 5 and 6 October is a special one in that we’re combining paddling techniques with

trip planning to a seaside camp site as well as safety procedures and other aspects...
Here’s to hoping for good weather in this last course prior to returning to Naples!
Sure enough, we’re happy to announce a new basic skills course at Cape Miseno (Naples!)

on 19 and 20 October. It will be held at Lory Marchese’s “Culturavventura” nautical centre,

a few places are still available!

In November, we’ll be chasing the last flickers of summer in Sicily, with a full week of BCU courses on the island of Vulcano. From the 10 to the 17 October we will be partnering up with Eugenio Viviani’s “Sicilyinkayak” and will be full of new activities including an evening yoga course held by a qualified master and expert canoeist. What more could you ask for from a study-relaxation holiday in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea?

Kayaking snippets
For years, I have always included a tub of Vaseline in my first-aid kit.
It remained unused because no-one ever explained to me its utility; noteworthy were

the wry comments by friends over the fact that a woman had a tub of lubricant with

unrespectable uses stowed in her kit. Then Gianni Montagner, "Il Capitano", revealed its secret in the course of a kayaking trip to Ithaca: Vaseline is always used by competing athletes or during a long voyage, smeared in those areas affected by abrasion from PFDs

or sprayskirts or those areas continuously saturated by a combination of sweat and saline.

It’s great to avoid those red abraded areas as well as looking like a lobster...

Call of the Inuit
Nathalie and Alain Antognelli are photographers from Monaco whose work we’ve been following for quite some time. This summer they accomplished the impressive feat of paddling 740 km amongst the glaciers of the Ammassalik region! After spending three years living amongst the west coast they decided to follow in the footsteps of Paul-Emile Victor, who lived amongst the communities of the eastern coast of Greenland. Their mission was to continue his anthropological studies and Arctic exploration. The two photographer-canoeists have noted a surprising contrast between the east and west coast populations: little outside contact, less rituals and an extremely reserved community. They have recently returned to Monaco and are presently working on publishing their photos; the taster from their blog is both spectacular

and thrilling: we anxiously await the remainder!

Over the horizon

Sarah Outen is an exceptional young woman, motivated like no other!  She has been busy

going round the world on her “London2London” challenge by bike, rowing boat and kayak.

Last year a typhoon in the Pacific Ocean stranded her as well as destroying her boat.

This year she attempted to row from Japan to Canada but after 4 months of continuous contrary winds and seas, she altered her route and after 150 days at sea she finally arrived on Adak Island in Alaska. Far from giving up, she will continue in the spring of 2014,

making her way south in the company of none other than Justine Curgenven:

here’s to the success of these two brave women!