Sea Kayak by Gordon Brown

Published 2006 by Pesda Press

Paperback

ISBN 0-9547061-7-X

Price £15.99

There has been some discussion about this book for months and many members of the sea kayaking community have eagerly awaited its publication. The question is whether the wait has been worthwhile?

The sub heading is “A Manual for Intermediate and Advanced Sea Kayakers” and so the book’s target audience is immediately defined as being different to many of the other guides to sea paddling. This is designed to be a handbook for those paddlers who already have some knowledge of the sport; it is going beyond the basics.

Most sea kayaking books devote very little space on how to handle a kayak but “Sea Kayak” has 30 pages on kayak handling. Forward paddling is covered, but it is important to remember the target audience, so strokes such cross-bow jab, Colorado hook and cross bow draw are also covered. The ability to handle a sea kayak smoothly in a variety of water conditions requires a wide range of strokes and techniques and Gordon introduces these in a comprehensive fashion. Some of the techniques may challenge the preconceptions of many of the readers but that is one of the strengths of the book, it is not just a rehash of the standard strokes. The content reflects what many of the more experienced practitioners are using on a daily basis in the more demanding waters around the world.

The chapter on weather is a concise and accurate introduction to a subject, which a number of paddlers find relatively confusing but a good understanding of which is essential for safe kayaking on the sea.

There is some useful advice on rough water handling skills and controlling a sea kayak in surf. How to surf over reefs in a swell is a technique, which is rarely covered in other sea kayaking books. Those of us who paddle regularly in areas with interesting tidal streams will be familiar with eddy line spins and eddy hopping upstream but where else is it mentioned in the kayaking literature?

A dramatic selection of photographs are used to illustrate the various chapters with some having the stamp of Gordon’s character. The day trip to Coruisk is stunning but I am not certain that it is the finest days paddle in the world. Gordon has clearly forgotten about the Ecrehous!

Gordon Brown and Pesda Press are an authoritative combination. One of Britain’s most respected publishing companies and one of the countries most talented coaches have joined forces to produce a book, which will be the bench mark for many years to come.

It would be possible to carry on extolling the virtues of the book, highlighting the positive aspects of each chapter etc, but that would be a waste of space and effort. All that needs to be said is that this is a book, which challenges many of our preconceptions, contains a huge amount of useful information and should be on the bookshelf of any self respecting sea kayaker.

Kevin Mansell