THE COPPER COAST WITH DAVID WALSH SEA KAYAKING
A side quest for a good cause and a weekend exploring a new stretch of coastline
Last Saturday, April 20th, 129 teams of sea kayakers circumnavigated the island of Ireland in one day. Meanwhile, teams of hillwalkers summited county high points all over Ireland. Their shared purpose was to raise money for the Irish Motor Neuron Disease Association in the name of Adrian Harkan, an Irish sea kayaker living with MND.
Irish paddlers have been talking about this project for over twenty years, but as far as I know, it has never been done.
There was no weather window. April 20th was going to be the day regardless of conditions. Fortunately, an area of high pressure centered directly over Ireland brought settled weather and sunshine to the whole island.
I joined David Walsh (who was with me for the first week of last summer’s ‘round Ireland attempt) and Gerry Conlan, a fast and light paddler, to complete the Tramore to Hook Head stretch.
After camping in a cove Friday night, we made an early (and chilly) start, deliberately underdressed for a fast paddle, stowing the warm layers we had been wearing in camp.
Gerry paddled a Tide Race Pace 18, a fast boat in the hands of a fast paddler who makes it look effortless. David and I paddled the tandem Nigel Denis Triton he uses for guiding along the Copper Coast. We completed our leg in two hours and five minutes, in glassy calm with a slight headwind and weak tide against us approaching Hook Head and the oldest operational lighthouse in the world.
We parted ways with Gerry at the Head after checking that the GPS tracker provided by the Summit 2 Sea fundraiser had logged our progress. We took the scenic route home, crossing inside the Waterford Estuary and taking in every cove on the way back, following the sea cliff walk outside Tramore.
We gave each other a hard time over who was pulling who through the water.
Back in Tramore, we swapped the fiberglass tandem for a pair of plastic boats. We spent the rest of the weekend paddling the majestic Copper Coast in sections, going into caves and through arches, stretching a few miles of coastline into much longer paddles by handrailing in amongst epic rock formations.
On this tour of his home waters, David showed me all the things I would have missed if we had taken the headland-to-headland approach.
One cool thing about this trip is that you can do it too…
David runs an ISKGA Expedition Center, David Walsh Sea Kayaking. He takes paddlers of all levels on full-day and half-day outings along the Copper Coast.
Check him out if you’re in Ireland this summer.
Thanks for reading,
-Charlie
Kokatat is the official gear sponsor of The Lap.
The lap will be fueled by Resilient Nutrition’s Long Range Fuel and bars.
Expedition coffee by 3fe.
CH Marine will be providing a VHF radio and other safety equipment.
Camp kit and cooking gas provided by Paddle & Pitch. Trolley by KCS.
REAL Field Meals at a discount from Adventure.ie.