Last week was an interesting week here at Canoe Kayak Trader due to the fact that we all went on a long over due staff trip away! The week started of with the guys from Pyranha inviting us up to there factory for the day, this was a great opportunity for us to have a look at all the new exciting products and have a tour around the factory. After a day looking at boats it was time for us to head for our 1st bunk house on our tour of Wales, for some tips on outfitting, and a lovely dinner of bangers and mash cooked by Chris.
The second day Pyranha had organised a day out on the Tryweryn with team paddlers Chris and Dan, as well as Dave from the sales team. We got to paddle all the boats we had spent the day before discussing, giving us a great chance to try all the different boats back to back on the same stretch of water. We were all excited about having a first go in the Nano - which turned out to be favourite among some of our staff, and lots of time was spent in the loki too - pyranha's classic river playboat - which was awesome boat for the Tryweryn. After a lunch break we split the group up with half heading down the lower T and Matt, Pete and Me heading down the Conway to try out the burn Everest and the Shiva. After a great little paddle it was time to head to our next bunk house in Anglesey for a spot of sea kayaking.
We woke up Thursday morning to a very windy and wet Anglesey cost line so we all decided to go for a walk along the cost and look at the massive swell that was hitting Holyhead. After a morning of getting blown around we all decided to split in to groups and go of on mini adventures. I had the great idea about going for a swim in the sea forgetting that the others all had wetsuits and only had boardshorts but it was nice to get back in the sea. Some of the others went for a walk to South and North Stacks, and up Holy Mountain - after enjoying a great view from the top they had a interesting time planning a route back down.We all headed back to the bunk house were Jenna then cooked us a lovely warm meal.
The next morning was completely different from the day before - the wind had died down and so had the swell so couldn't resisted a sea kayaking adventure. We paddled from Treaddur bay, teaching the ww paddling staff some sea kayak techniques, and then had a fantastic trip out and back along the coast, with lots of rock hopping, some cave exploring, and a little bit of surfing. Turns out some of our ww paddling staff get sea sick... mentioning no names.... After a great day out on the sea, it was time to load the trailer and most of the staff had the joy of the long drive home, while Matt and myself got to stay in Anglesey for another beautiful couple of day sea kayaking with Hinkley canoe club (Blog post below this one).
All in all a great trip was had all round, Would like to say a big thanks to the guys at Pyranha and all the staff at Canoe kayak trader for making it a great trip, and Matt for letting us all out for a week and taking us on a holiday!
Alex
