What happens when three seasoned adventurers from the West of Ireland get together a for paddle? A night crossing of the Irish sea no less! 

I am just coming up on my fourth week here in Australia and the trip so far has been action packed. I arrived on September 15th and its been non stop. I have competed in four races, two K1 and two Ocean ski races. I have been to the Snowy mountains camping and fishing, and completed a whole load of training.

​After finishing up in Patagonia I caught a 4000km flight north from Punta Arenas to Calama on the 20th of December. I flew with Sky Airlines and luckily I had no problems with the strikes that were going on with airport workers in Chile.
Arriving in Calama the sun was baking the ground and the change in landscape was dramatic. I had a transfer organised to take me straight to San Pedro De Atacama where I hoped to get on a tour to Bolivia via the Uyuni Salt flats. Before I got to San Pedro I didn’t really have a plan as I had mixed information about getting tours on the Salt flats during Christmas. The internet was full of horror stories of drunken guides and businesses closing for Christmas.

I have just returned after leading a kayak trip along the Magellan Strait over the last three days with a final dash by Zodiac to Cape Froward - the end (or start) of the South American mainland. This trip also marks the end of my time in Southern Patagonia. 

I am just home from a fantastic two weeks  kayaking in the south of England with Sea Kayaking Cornwall. I was there as part of an Erasmus Plus work experience program with the aim of improving knowledge, skills and competencies in the delivery of coaching, leading and guiding in sea kayaking among Irish kayakers. The program was put together by Landon Carver, SKC and Irish industry professionals. A group consisting of 12 kayakers from Ireland with various backgrounds and levels of experience were selected for the program and I was privileged to be offered a place.

After circumnavigating Achill Island in 2014 with Tim Healy I was really keen to go back and have a go at a solo mission. I have been watching the weather all summer and it looked like it was't going to happen this year. Luckily we finally got  decent high pressure over Ireland for the last few days of September. I had one free day in the diary and I knew it was my absolute last chance to have a crack for 2015.

Here is my quick step by step guide to reproofing Goretex Dry suits or Cags. When you get a new Dry suit or any outer shell garment for that matter, it will have a DWR coating on the fabric. This coating helps to repel water by beading it on the surface. With use over time this coating will wear off and the fabric will start to "wet out". It will still be waterproof but its performance and breath-ability will be greatly reduced. So it is necessary to give you kit some maintenance now and again, to keep it at its best.
I like to wash and reproof my dry suit about once every season depending on how much use it is getting. Below are the steps I take to get it back to life. 

*Note: This is the method I use and find effective. But please check with manufactures guidelines and instructions before treating your expensive garment!

I did  my first crossing of the North Channel in 2013 when I piggy-backed on a group trip over on a sunny day in June. I don't know how long it took - probably about 6 hours or more. Ever since I have been wanting to go back and have a proper attempt - solo and as fast as possible. 

A brief window in the weather and a clear day in my diary gave me the perfect opportunity to make for Eagle Island on the Westerly side of County Mayo. One of Ireland's most exposed and battered islands, this rocky out crop is situated only a mile from shore, but bears the brunt of the biggest Atlantic swell and ferocious storms. 

Kayaking the longest river in your country has to be high on every kayakers list of achievements and the River Shannon has been on mine for a couple of years now. Not only is it the longest river in Ireland it is also the longest in the British Isles. For most people kayaking this mighty river is a leisurely trip, enjoying the sights and sounds that could take weeks to complete but I wanted to take a different approach. My plan was to kayak as fast as possible from start to finish and set the standard for the "Shannon Sprint".