What's on
Two trips abroad in September: the first to Helsinki for three days of mentoring - required for 3-star leader training - in the company of Lee Pooley, Trenk Muller and Eva-Lotta Backman. Followed by an equal number of paddling days on the Finnish lakes and the Baltic Sea. Then to Naples,

specifically to Casapulla, to retrieve the Mauromobile…

Travelling for various courses will continue in the subsequent weeks:
- a BCU 3-star course in Savona from Monday 28 to Wednesday 30 September (only one place available and note that it’s being held mid-week!)
- another BCU 3-star course in Menorca, just after a week paddling around the most beautiful island in the Mediterranean with “Menorca en Kayak” (the full programme of the event - in Spanish - can be found on their blog).
- and a final BCU 3-star at Vietri sul Mare (Salerno) from 17 to 19 October (places still available but note that it will take place on Saturday, Sunday and Monday!).

Then it will be the turn of the BCU 4-star with Phil Hadley, again at Vietri sul Mare, that includes a one-day coastal voyage, on the 23 October.
During November, Tatiyak will be organising 3 courses in Sardinia, to be held in the bay of Cannigione, Arzachena gulf, and around Palau:
- BCU 3-star (only one person has signed up; a minimum of two persons is necessary to hold the course - anyone interested?);
- BCU 4-star course with Ella Wilkinson e Nigel Dennis from Wales (six places available but you need to book before the 15 October!);
- BCU 4-star assessment with the above coaches (available only to those who have done the training and satisfy the assessment requirements).

There will soon be other little announcements - stay tuned!

Kayaking snippets

The “Sicilia Kayak Tour 2015” was completed within the allotted 5-week time frame but it was remarkable for the meteorological phenomena encountered. More than anything else, it was notable for the frequent and prolonged thunderstorms, both forecast and not, that we experienced, luckily never at night! Technical foul weather gear (oilskin jacket and hat) was stowed in the Voyager’s third hatch, not thinking that it would ever be needed.
We were proved wrong as the weather is unpredictable - just like life.
The most important lesson we learnt this summer is to keep all that is necessary for a kayaking expedition close at hand in the third hatch.
The sea is full of surprises and nothing was more welcome,
after landing ashore, to have a quick fortifying alcoholic shot!

Call of the Inuit
After five years of preparation, the second volume of the DVD

“This Is The Roll 2” has been published by the acclaimed Justine Curgenven together with the two masters of Greenland-style rolling,

Cheri Perry and Turner Wilson. The trailer is very appealing, just as the various explanations given by Justine in her blog post dedicated to the launch of the DVD. “This Is The Roll 2” will be available as from the 25 September: it contains 3 hours of instruction comprising 22 different rolls, from the butterfly to norsaq and hand rolls right up to the straight jacket!
Tatiyak has already ordered a few copies, drop us a line
if you’re interested in receiving one!

Over the horizon
They’ve done it!  They are the first to have completed the circumnavigation of the Svalbard Islands, north of the the 80th parallel, paddling 2200 kilometers in 71 days! “They” are two Kiwis, Tara Mulvaney and Jaime Sharp and the Norwegian PG Porsanger who have battled glaciers, polar bears and walruses, crossing fjords some of which were 65 kilometers long and requiring 15 hours of paddling. Tara has kept a blog of the expedition
that includes some curious and engaging anecdotes, including one of the 28 August where she describes a close encounter with a total of nine bears!  Tara is no newcomer to extraordinary adventures: she was the first woman to complete the circumnavigation of New Zealand’s three main islands
and is an accomplished writer with a captivating pen.
It was a real pleasure to follow their compelling kayak voyage!