Ravenglass Seaquest

This was a great day out. It's good to have events where there are plenty of alternative activities for the non-paddlers. My wife and sons had fun on the steam train while Lojska and I went off in the boat to do this orienteering event on water.

It was a bit gloomy when we first arrived and there wasn't much water to be seen but things improved on both fronts during the afternoon.
We just managed all the checkpoints in our big yellow barge of a double kayak in just over the allotted three hours. The last checkpoint was a mistake - we gained 30 points for getting to there but it cost us 35 penalty points (for being 15 minutes late back to the start).
Lojska enjoyed herself. She got a bit upset at the end - cold feet on sharp pebbles - but wants to do the event again next year. Hopefully, she'll be able to do her share of the paddling by then!

Thanks to Phil and Annette for organising the race and to all the other entrants for making this such a friendly event. I hope to see such a good turnout at the Fleetwood SeaQuest later in the year.
The course:

Ravenglass Seaquest

We've had a rather nice weekend in the Lake District, attracted to the area by the "Ravenglass Seaquest" sea kayak orienteering event organised by Annette and Phil of Blengdale Runners. We "raced" on the Saturday, camped at the very pleasant site in Ravenglass and then had a gentle potter on Wastwater and some sight-seeing on Sunday.

The format of the race was a bit different from the original Seaquest devised by Peter Roscoe and run each year at Fleetwood. Rather than a set course to be completed as quickly as possible, the event was a number of check points in the tidal sections of the Esk, Mite and Irt. Points were awarded for each check point, with the more distant points scoring higher. Times were used as a tie breaker and penalty points were taken off for exceeding the three hours allowed for the event. Money raised from the event goes to the RNLI.

Lojska and I managed to be the double boat with the most points, coming joint third overall. We had a good deal of fun and our thanks go to the organisers. We hope to take part again next year.

Preparing for the start:
One of the first check points:
A bit wet and miserable during the first hour:
But it brightened up later:
The railway line (La'al Ratty) by the Mite:
Heading for the finish:
And still cheerful:
Our route:
The campsite at Ravenglass:
The Ravenglass estuary at low tide (Sunday morning):
Paddling on Wastwater: