The family adventure store’s very own jenny and terry have just returned from participating the world famous Vogalonga event in Venice. The event first took place in 1974 when a group of Venetians planned a race around the island of Burano as a protest against , to protest against the growing use of powerboats in Venice and the swell damage they do to the historic city. Ever since the 30 km race has been an annual event and has become infamous amongst the world wide rowing and kayaking community.
Ever since the couple first discovered the event in 2003 it became a ambition of there’s to participate, and in order to celebrate there 25th wedding anniversary and to mark the 10 year anniversary of the family adventure store. There children booked them the flights and off then went. they paddled the event in the inflatable Sevylor pointer K2. This way all they had to do when they arrived in Venice spend 10 minutes pumping up the boat and then spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the canals of the historical city.
On the day of the race the pair got up bright and early to secure a good position in the mad scramble that was the start line. Jenny and Terry documented the rest of the race on the GoPro HD hero camera. Please take time to watch the video below to watch the madness unfold from view of the sevylor.
Yesterday we made Bath’s busy city centre a little bit more colourful, with a wide range of Canoes and Kayaks.
Our Ergo was also getting a good beasting with some very competitive shoppers eager to win the prize of the £50 FAS voucher and a canoe lesson with Bath Canoe Club.
Congratulations to Mark for getting the fastest time to paddle 100 metres in a amazing 24seconds. Your voucher is on its way
I have owned the previous Palm Stikine suit for 3 or 4 years now and loved paddling in it, it kept me warm and dry and never leaked. However when the new Spark suit came out last year I thought it would be worth a change and try something new. I paddled all over the spring and summer of 2012 in my Spark suit and was one of the best bits of kit I owned, I raved about it to people all the time and still do! The plus sides to the Spark over the old Stikine was the weight, it was so much lighter to wear and paddle in, almost as light as wearing just a cag. This was one of the first suits to feature Palm’s new cut which was designed to be much more flexible and articulated, well I can say it defiantly works!
Another change to the Palms suits was the zip, the new zips has a more articulated shape and are designed to fit around the shoulders rather than across the back, I found this meant that the zip doesn’t restrict movement like I found with the old Stikine suit.
Now onto the new Stikine suit, which I have been waiting for its release for a while and I can say I’m glad I waited! However the downsides of the Spark suit were that I didn’t have socks so my feet got cold a few times and the neck seal isn’t fully dry when I was taking a purposeful swim. So I’ve only used my new Stikine suit a few times so far but here are my thoughts. The new zip works very well and its cut doesn’t prevent movement even with the stiff copper zip unlike the previous suit. Palm have also changed the sock design in the new suits which works a lot better, they have made the shape more adaptable for more sizes of feet, the new shape also means that the sock doesn’t ruckle up in shoes like previously. Palm have also moved their new articulated cut over to the new Stikine suit which means what is a heavy suit is still very flexible to paddle in for day after day. So in my opinion the new Stikine suit is one of the best out there and will be for some time, if the cost is a little out there then the new Torrent suit is defiantly worth a looking!”
Desperately want a canoe or kayak but have no-where to store it?
Well that no longer works as an excuse! Whilst out on our travels in half term we spotted some Canny Cornish solutions to the age of issue of storing a boat.
No space in the garage? No problem, invent a pulley system to store your boat upright against the garage!
Ok but I don’t have a garage or a shed! I really don’t have anywhere to put one. Ah ha! Think again, dear customer! Think outside the box and use the features already in your garden, just like this clever cornishman!
Of course, a tree is kayak storage made by mother nature herself! Genius!
Here at FAS, We would love to see your ingenious storage solutions so like us on Facebook and enter our competition to win …
Alternatively, if you’re struggling for storage take a look at our website for ready made ideas! www.familyadventurestore.co.uk
Last weekend saw Terry & Jenny along with old friend Frankie complete the Trailplus Camberley Caper. 144 teams of 3 convinced themselves that they were having a really great time. All off road 2x 5k runs and 2x 8 mile mountain bike trails, oh and a too short a kayak paddle around the lake for our liking ( we can pick people off in this section)
The hardest part was the obstacles; scramble net ok , silly 3 man skis in the sand ok, slippery wall really NOT ok. Take a close look at Terry and you will notice him grimacing in pain! How long does it take to mend a broken rib???
Globe 360′s Lovely Mike Wilkes collected a new boat for the club today donated by The Family Adventure Store in recognition of the kind help and effort that Globe members put in to assist FAS on their demo day Mike tested out the kayak for size stating; ”If I can fit in the cockpit any of our members can!”
Here at the Family Adventure Store good causes are close to our hearts. Tim Harrison’s daughter Annabelle is 2 years old, she was born 12 weeks’ premature. Soon after, she was diagnosed with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy as a result this leaves her unable to walk. Tim has been undertaking challenges to raise money for her much needed £55,000 surgery which would allow her to walk for the first time. He is now looking at kayaking the Thames to continue fund raising. Please take the time to check him out http://www.justgiving.com/AnnabellesDreamKayakhttp://www.justgiving.com/AnnabellesDream
It’s that time of day at the Southampton Boat show. The heady and relaxed atmosphere of the show combined with it being nearly hometime has driven our Terry to have a bit of fun!
Just Add Water!
If you want to have a look, Go and visit them on the Old Town and Ocean Kayak stand
The team back at the shop would like to see him out on the water though!
