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Who was Gino Watkins?

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So who was Gino Watkins? There has been plenty written about him over the years. The most recent book being published fairly recently in 2008. His biographer J.M.Scott opens his book with the phrase 'Watkins Explorer England' and describes how Watkins was so famous these four words were sufficient for a cable to be delivered to him at The Royal Geographical Society HQ in 1932. Today however it is a different story many people young and old will never have heard of him but, to me and many other like minded sea kayakers he is an inspiration, a legend even. So why is he given this status? the best way to understand this is to read about his life and his exploits. This is a selection of the many books written about him which are available on-line: Gino Watkins by J.M Scott - pub. Hodder & Stoughton 1935 & 1946 Watkin's Last Expedition    - F.Spencer Chapman - pub. Hazell Watson & Viney 1953 Gino Watkins                    - John Ridgway (of Atlantic Rowing f

14 Days in Greenland - Kit Review

I purchased a fair bit of new equipment to use on my Greenland trip. Deciding which items to buy took many months of trolling the internet and talking to other people about what kit they use. Hopefully some of my experiences might be useful to other paddlers who are embarking on similar trips. This kit review is written from my Greenland trip perspective, quite a few of the items have reviews on the websites where they can be purchased and I realise that these reviews are more eloquent and go in to greater detail than mine. I have given the various items a mark out of ten, this only reflects on whether or not they did the job. You will have to decide for yourself if you wish to purchase any of it. I have also given certain items a star rating this is for the best bits I bought. **Tent: Terra Nova Quasar Superlite . terra-nova.co.uk/superlite-quasar-tent/  I chose a lightweight tent due to the 20kg baggage allowance imposed by Iceland Air. We were penalised for excess baggage on ou

14 Days in Greenland 8

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Today was Tuesday and our flights out of Greenland were not until Friday morning. It was a little disappointing that our trip was being cut short by a couple of days but that is one of the things that has to be expected  with a trip such as this. Our last expedition campsite was only a few kilometres to the east of Tasiilaq so this was going to be a short paddle back to base. First we had to launch. The wind had picked again and this produced a few waves which led to a tricky launch off the rocks. Quite a bit of Martins gel coat was unfortunately left behind. We launched one by one assisted by the team members that were awaiting their turn to launch. Martin heroically took the last place and was faced with a wet entry. Once we were all afloat we regrouped and headed out into the North Atlantic. Most of the ice had dissipated since the previous boat trip so there was no protection from the Atlantic swell. However, we had a tail wind and could make excellent progress surfing a

14 days in Greenland 7

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This was going to be a day of two halves. The pressure had dropped significantly over the passed twenty four hours and we were aware things were going to change. For now the morning was the same as the day before except the temperature was much colder.   The pogies came out to combat the wind and cold. We headed south out of the channel and then turned north west up yet another narrow channel called Ikasak. We were now paddling directly into the wind and there was no mistaking where we were. As we approached Angmagssalik Fjord once more a fog bank was clearly visible on the west side. Our planned route was to take us further south down the Fjord first on the east side to Avtonalik where we would then cross the Fjord to Nugartik. This was open crossing of six km into a fog bank. We had lunch just north of Avtonalik where there is a new hut. Unfortunately the hut was fully occupied by French sea kayakers who were not paddling that day due to the fog. We had gotten u

14 Days in Greenland 6

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We left the campsite and the horrendous flies at the Ikateg airbase early as we were anticipating a long days paddle. The wind was forecast to increase over the next few days and we wanted to knock off a few miles in order to reduce the distance back to Tasilaq. Our return route took us south west along the north west coast of Qianarteq until we joined  Angmagssalik Fjord at Igterajik Kiateq where a burial cairn was clearly visible on the cliff.  An outstanding last resting place.  We had the option of heading straight down Angmagssalik Fjord but chose to take a route eastwards and to the outside of an unnamed island which was potentially more exposed but gave superb views to the east. This also involved our first real open crossing but with clear blue skies and despite a strong headwind we made good progress.  There was plenty of ice about and we kept close to the shore. The weather was really superb, we were out of the wind with not a cloud in sight. Some of t