Welcome to Episode 15 of ‘Paddle and Flow’ Kayak podcast with Alex and Nicola.

This week we have a special episode as Alex talks about a recent flare demonstration he attended with Lothian Sea Kayak Club.

Pyrotechnic flares are one of several pieces of emergency/safety kit that kayakers may choose to carry on the sea.

In this episode, we discuss the different types of flares available, when to deploy them and how to do this safely. We also cover the RNLI recommendations for carrying flares.

If you carry flares as part of your emergency kit, remember to keep them where they are immediately accessible and take a glove to protect your hand from the heat. We don’t need to tell you that saltwater corrodes everything so remember to regularly inspect your flares when checking the rest of your gear for signs of corrosion 👍

As this was a demonstration of how to safely deploy flares, it may be useful to watch the video over on our YouTube channel (link below).

Thanks for listening. Happy paddling, stay safe 🙂

Paddle and Flow - YouTube

⁠⁠⁠ELKayak Fish - YouTube⁠⁠⁠ - Alex’s kayak fishing channel.

⁠⁠⁠P&H Custom Sea Kayaks⁠⁠⁠ - Nicola’s P&H Virgo MV

⁠⁠⁠Sturgeon Sit On Top Fishing Kayak - Galaxy Kayaks⁠⁠⁠ - Alex’s fishing kayak

Welcome to Episode 14 of ‘Paddle and Flow’ Kayak podcast.

With the podcast now over four months old, there was only so long we could avoid the paddling-related phrases that annoy Nicola! This week we’re talking about swimming. This is still a kayaking podcast but… are we all just between swims?!

Leading on from last week’s episode about the fear of failure, Alex starts by asking “Do you need to fall in to learn?”

We also consider a slightly different slant on this often seen on social media… if you’re not falling in, you’re not trying. This is not necessarily our view!

If we fall in, we can learn from it, but can we learn if we’re not falling in? Do we learn if we’re not making mistakes or does failure teach us more than success?

We finish off by talking about our big swims and whether we learnt anything from them.

We’d love to know what you think when it comes to learning and staying upright.

Thanks for listening. Happy paddling, stay safe 🙂

⁠⁠ELKayak Fish - YouTube⁠⁠ - Alex’s kayak fishing channel.

⁠⁠P&H Custom Sea Kayaks⁠⁠ - Nicola’s P&H Virgo MV

⁠⁠Sturgeon Sit On Top Fishing Kayak - Galaxy Kayaks⁠⁠ - Alex’s fishing kayak

Welcome back to Paddle and Flow!

After a three week break, Alex and Nicola are back with their 13th Episode - The Fear of Failure.

This topic felt like a natural next step following our multipart discussion about paddling and social media. We’re interested to find out whether a fear of failing is something we’re seeing more than we used to when it comes to paddling.

Had the thought of making a mistake stopped you from going paddling?

Alex talks about his experiences with kayak fishing and the prospect of not catching fish, while Nicola shares her fear of trying a new boat in front of an audience of strangers.

We chat about the internal and external factors that might be at play when we decide not to do something we’d planned to do, and we ask how we measure failure.

Are we afraid to start something because of the fear of not being able to complete it or because we’re scared we’ll mess up?

Are we more likely to avoid situations that might not work out as we’d hoped or do we embrace our mistakes, learn and move on? Can we improve if we don’t try?

What makes us feel safe to try even if we may not succeed?

Does the fear of failure feature in your paddling and how? We’d love to know your thoughts and experiences.

Thanks for listening and remember, if you never try, then you’ll never know! Happy paddling, stay safe 🙂

⁠⁠ELKayak Fish - YouTube⁠⁠ - Alex’s kayak fishing channel.

⁠⁠P&H Custom Sea Kayaks⁠⁠ - Nicola’s P&H Virgo MV

⁠⁠Sturgeon Sit On Top Fishing Kayak - Galaxy Kayaks⁠⁠ - Alex’s fishing kayak