Great paddle today on the Upper Findhorn with Andy, Fiona, Kenny, Jim, Caz and Paul.

Levels were probably a good medium-high and the put in at Dulsie gave no time at all to get warmed up; perhaps that was the reason for the three swims?!!

Poor Jim got a gash above his eye (stuck back together with Fi’s steri-strips), Caz managed to cling to a rock above the main drop (while I chased her boat down the gorge) and poor Kenny made it all the way to the end, only to trip up on the last wave – almost there matey!

But, epic start aside, it was a grand day out on the water, with Andy and Paul showing the lines on U-Bend and the rest of the river moving reasonably quickly with some nice wee waves, a few playful stoppers and a nice roller-coaster finish at JCB.

So, my new Nomad successfully passed it’s first real test. Handled Dulsie like a breeze, particularly once I removed the seat paddling that I put in last night (you can have to much oadding on your ass), and rolled with ease. Still hanging onto the Diesel 75 for a wee while just in case, but so far so good…

PS – well done to Matt’s BCU 3 Star assessment group who were also on the Upper Findhorn – I heard they all passed!

So, I’ve been spending a little time outfitting my new Nomad. While I sort out photos for posting here on KayakScotland.net, I thought I’d share the following link which has an excellent guide to fitting out a creek boat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i4V7YmdX9k

Lovely sunny paddle (surprising for October!) down the Averon (Abhainn Abharan) today. Bit of a scrape, but a great chance to try out my new Nomad…

Lovely boat, felt at home it in within minutes. Easy to manoeuvre, easy to roll (not that I had to for real) and really responsive; looking forward to more Nomad paddling to come!