TnadT56

Irish Sea Kayaking Association

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! ! ! Medicine

Kayaking Injuries- Kayak Fishing- Birdlife in Winter- Rotator Cuff- Elbow Problems- Wrist Problems

Hi folks,Welcome to TnadT. This issue is themed around the medical aspects of kayaking. I initially envisaged an issue that would cover all the emergencies faced by kayak-ers but it soon became apparent to me that your best way of learning those skills is to do a REC or similar outdoor skills course. I know from experience that reading it on a page is poor substitute for practicing the skills on a course (or in real life). So if you want to learn how to relocate a dislocated shoulder, manage a spinal injury or stop bleeding, do a REC course. Instead the focus has shifted toward those medical as-pects of kayaking unlikely to be covered in a first aid course. We focus on those is-sues which most kayakers get which over time can seriously interfere with your pad-dling. We have excellent contributions from Dr. Robert Scanlon, a GP and from Eoin Ó Conaire, a chartered physio. We also have an excellent article from Sean Pierce on winter bird life and another from Gary Rob-inson on fishing from a kayak. This will be my last TnadT as editor. Hopefully, I have made some useful contri-bution to the community and certainly the feedback I have received has been great. I took on the role as editor when it was va-cant. I saw it as an excellent and selfish opportunity to expand my knowledge of the sport and pick the brains of the many ex-perts out there on any topic I saw fit. My “themed” idea for issues did result in ne-glecting the community aspect of the magazine ( I was of the opinion that the BB had taken over this role). However, future editors will put their stamp on the maga-zine. Sue Honan is taking over from me. She has a fantastic vision for the magazine and will be a great editor. The main diffi-culty for her, as for myself and every pre-vious editor, is to find articles for the issue. Please contribute. Even if you are new to the sport, and I do feel I neglected the newcomer aspect during my tenure, please contribute. Finally, my thanks to two ISKA committees I served with and my great thanks to those who contributed to the magazine, many of whom contributed more than once. I do intend maintaining the on-line repository of the TnadT articles for the next while. Tadhg

Blisters

Regarding blisters, prevention is better than cure. The best form of prevention is habituation. The more regularly you pad-dle, the less likely you are to get a blister.

Blisters can appear when you change any single thing about your paddling. Change your grip, your feather, your blade size, your finger grip and you almost guarantee yourself a blister. Even if paddling regu-larly, a change from fresh water to salt water can produce one. So paddler regu-larly and try not to change your gear. Don't underestimate a blisters ill effects especially in multiday paddling, they can seriously affect your grip strength which in turn can affect your stability in the boat. Gripping the paddle too tight all the time can predispose you to blistering. Try to use a looser grip and keep as loose as possi-ble during the recovery phase of the stroke. Gloves and pogies. Gloves obviously pro-vide a sacrificial layer between you and the shaft. If you already have the blisters, they can still hurt, even under the gloves, so if a strategy, use early. A downside of gloves is that they prevent the habituation neces-sary to prevent blisters. Pogies, useful this time of year for the weather, can make the hands very warm and moist, predisposing you to blistering.If you have large hands, consider enlarg-ing the paddle shaft with a fingerboard and some large volume tape like tennis racket tape. Some paddlers advocate using Vaseline on the hands. You apply it about half an hour prior to paddling. By the time you get on the water, it should be well enough ab-sorbed not to interfere with your grip. I also use a strategy of wiping my hands over my hair and face every hour or so. This pro-vides a small amount of sebum- the natural oil our skin produces to keep itself supple and waterproof- which I find often provides enough lubrication of prevent blistering. Some paddlers argue that keeping a very clean smooth shaft helps reduce friction and thus blistering. I tend to adopt the op-posite strategy. I have a very “grippy” shaft utilising physio' strapping tape. I find that more more grip available on the paddle,


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the looser I can hold it, thus preventing blisters. There are now some commercial anti blis-ter stickers available such as “Moleskin,” which come in waterproof variety. I haven't used them so cant comment. Early Intervention. My number one inter-vention is wrapping the digit in electrical tape. It's narrow enough to fit on a digit but not interfere with a finger joint. A second intervention is to remove any feather in the paddle blade. This can be useful for inner thumb blisters. Cure; The main question is to burst or not to burst. The jury is still out. However, if I have a blister and access to a small alco-hol wipe and sterile needle, I will, after sterilising the area, tend to puncture the blister in a couple of corners, point the needle up and away from the digit.A blood blister is obviously more serious. I still adopt the above strategy as regards bursting but the chances of the skin re-adhering are much smaller. Time to con-sider electrical tape or gloves.

I would tend to adopt a more intensive strategy if I the blistering was severe and I wasn't paddling the next day. Extensive dressings aren't practical if you need to paddle again the next day. Wash your hands thoroughly and the af-fected area gently. Sterilise the top of the blister with an alcowipe.Wear disposable surgical gloves.Sterilize a thin disposable needle with al-cohol or a flame (the carbon left on the needle from the flame is sterile). Obviously leave alone if coming from sealed sterile packaging. Try not touch the sterile needle off anything.Penetrate the blister through the dead skin, pointing the needle away from the blister. Then gently eject the fluid. A couple of punctures might be a better strategy rather than a single one and lots of pressure to eject fluid. (An excessive amount of pres-sure might further tear off the overlying skin.) After the fluid is ejected, I will apply a slightly tight circumferential plaster which h o p e f u l l y w i l l p r e v e n t f l u i d r e -accumulating- some suggest using a donut type plaster over the blister but my issue here is that the fluid can re-accumulate under the skin again. With a bit of luck, the skin above the blister will re-adhere, recover and give protection for the next

days paddling. Some electrical tape pro-tection the next day usually gets me through.Sometimes, the pain or loss of mobility caused by the blister requires draining the bleb:

Broken blister. These are more serious in that the chances of skin readhereing are smaller and there exists the chance of in-fection past the broken skin especially if outdoors. Infection is a serious, potentially tripending problem. Use only sterile sup-plies with an open wound. Your manage-ment depends on the medical supplies you have. If you have only sterile dressing (boiling cloth for five minutes will sterilise cloth), the best strategy is probably to clean and cover. Replace sterile dressings daily. Get yourself to a doctor.If you have access to medical supplies, then the better strategy may be to remove the dead skin (as it can act as a focus for infection). I will usually wait a day or two to decide whether or not to remove the dead skin. It can offer some protection in the early stages, and often in some small blis-ters, slight shearing off of the blister doesn't mean it cannot re-adhere. If you need to remove the dead skin- it smells or is simply drying up, follow the below pro-cedure; Wash your hands and the affected area thoroughly. Wear disposable surgical gloves.Trim off the dead skin with a sterile dis-posable scalpel or sterilized scissors. Dont damage or tear anything close to healthy skin. Remove any debris by soaking in warm, sterile water (cooled boiled water) or by irrigating with a large-gauge syringe or a bag with a hole.Cover the blister with sterile, impregnated gauze such as Aquaphor or Jelonet. This a marvelous stuff, an antiseptic-impregnated gauze that won’t stick to the wound.Pad the blister with sterile gel such as sterile 2nd Skin.Cover the area up using sterile OpSite or similar waterproof/breathable tape. If there is no sign of infection, change the bandage every second day or daily of any concerns about infection.Blister Kit;Sterile Gloves.Sterile needles.Alcohol wipes or similar steriliser.Sterile scalpel.


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Electrical tape.Jelonet dressings.Meepore dressings and tape.

Sea Kayak Fishingby Gary Robinson.

Let me start by saying that I am very much an angler and was not a paddler at all until a few years ago. I had paddled kayaks on a couple of occasions but I was far from what anybody would have referred to as even a part-time paddler. It was my love of fishing that started me ‘kayaking’. It all started about six years ago. My girlfriend and I purchased a pair of sit-on-top style kayaks. We enjoy the outdoors and we fig-ured that paddling trips would be a great way of getting exercise, fresh air and a dose of nature. But it was not long until the angler in me started to assess the suitabil-ity of a kayak as a fishing platform!A couple of internet searches showed me that I was not alone in my ideas. America, South Africa and Australia already had blossoming populations of kayak anglers. That was all the encouragement that I needed. I started to amass a selection of accessories and rigged out the kayak. I fitted fishing rod holders, an anchoring system, a visibility light, an echo sounder and many other extras to make a day out on the water more comfortable and to try to facilitate catching a few fish!The kayak’s benefits as a fishing vessel are many. A kayak can be launched from a lot more areas than a boat can. Easily transported, a kayak opens vast tracts of Ireland’s coastline for the intrepid explorer. Not requiring fuel the kayak is a stealthy vehicle and I have paddled over the heads of pike for them to not even flinch; a very handy craft for following wary adversaries. Kayaks can also be used to gain access to fishing areas that are cut off from other boats. Recent excursions on Lough Corrib have allowed me to travel deep into some of the extensive reedbeds in search of pike. Shallow stretches of water that would be inaccessible to boats due to their pro-pellers are easily reached with a kayak. Every little spot that a fish occupies can almost be reached with a kayak. So many ‘out of the way’ fishing areas become within easy reach on a kayak.Then of course, there are the fish them-selves. Ireland’s sea, lakes and rivers offer home to a plethora of species both fasci-

nating to observe and mysterious in their habits. To spend a day on the water, con-necting with some of its inhabitants by catching, admiring and then releasing them is a remarkably satisfying way to spend a couple of hours or longer. I return a lot of fish that I catch to fight another day. I do, on occasion, like to eat fish and I will keep some of my catch from time to time. For me, this has many benefits. I know exactly how fresh my fish is. Irish cod can be quite special when there is no more than two hours between catching and cooking. The same goes for mackerel, pollock and a host of other species found in our waters. Just be mindful that the sea’s larder is not an infinite resource and to take more than you personally need is irresponsible.Fishing in Ireland is as varied as our weather. There is plenty of variety there to keep every level of angler challenged and entertained. There are many different spe-cies at many different levels to be pursued. I started out fishing for the likes of mack-erel, a summer visitor to our shores. Caught easily when present, they are one of the first and only fish that many people catch while trying their luck during their summer holidays as children. Catching the humble mackerel is usually the fish that starts a young angler onto a lifetime path of fishing. I progressed to wrasse and pol-lock, looking for a bigger challenge and found myself fishing in some truly beautiful locations around the country. The list of species that I try to catch is ever expand-ing and the highlight so far is one of ‘mini’ shark species, a tope as long as I am tall.I have taken the idea of kayak angling and sprinted with it. I am convinced that they are a fine craft for many varied fishing ex-peditions. Fishing for sharks from a kayak is not for the faint hearted and surely is at one end of the spectrum, but carrying a basic fishing kit that will cater for a small selection of species will undoubtedly be very rewarding for most people looking to sample this exciting branch of angling. As an angler first and paddler very much sec-ond, I have little or no experience sit-in style kayaks. The general consensus amongst sit-on-top kayakers is that the SOT models far surpass the sit-in when it comes to stability. I know my SOT is stable enough for fishing for large predators but due to lack of experience, I cannot recom-mend a sit-in as a big game angling craft. For anything thing smaller they should function perfectly.


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A small kit that may be functional for kayak fishing within Irish waters should consist of a rod, reel, line, lead, lures, hooks and ac-cessories. For the occasional angler or sea-kayaker that is thinking of trying fish-ing from the kayak a telescopic rod may be of benefit. When fishing on a kayak a rod of eight feet is cumbersome, seven is more than long enough, six would be easier again to manage. Being telescopic, it will fold neatly for ease of transport and stor-age. When buying, tell the tackle dealer that you want something short for kayak fishing which of medium action. A good tackle dealer will supply you with gear that is fit for the job. Two reputable dealers in the Dublin area include Southside Angling, Cork Street and Dublin Angling Centre, Longmile Road.Following a rod, you will need a reel. For starters, ask for something suitable for saltwater fishing for the likes of mackerel, pollock, wrasse and bass. It should be loaded with line that is somewhere in the region of 25lb breaking strain. This will stand up to some of the nicks and abrasions that go hand in hand with fish-ing along coastline rocks. Again, a tackle dealer will be able to advise what should work best far more comprehensively than I could in one article. The one thing with fishing gear to remember, especially when it comes to rod and reel, is to thoroughly rinse them with freshwater after each use. If not, any metal parts will soon be ren-dered useless after salt corrosion from the harsh marine environment but being sea kayakers, most of you are probably well aware of this.Next on the list is lead and in most cases whether you are using natural, live bait or whether you try artificial lures, you are most likely going to need something that makes them sink to get them down to the

fish below. Lures and hooks are what catch the fish. Lures work as they are, hooks need to be adorned with bait and choices here are limitless. A small range of hooks and a selection of lures will also be ad-vised by a dealer, depending on what you want to catch and where you want to fish. In terms of fishing gear, supplementary to this all you need are some small accesso-ries to make life a bit easier – swivels and sets of feathers or hokkais.The kit covered in the last couple of para-graphs could be amassed for somewhere in the region of €100-€150 which repre-sents very little outlay for an exploratory step into the world of kayak fishing. If you find the sport as addictive as I have then you may wish to trade up at a later date. That choice is yours but the tackle men-tioned above will be enough to give any-body a good taste of what fishing in Ireland is like.

What you may wish to add from a kayak-ing point of view to start out would be a rod holder. These can be mounted to a kayak for a finished rig-ging job that is flush with the rest of the kayak body. They are the handiest way to hold and transport fish-ing rods when on the water. They are eas-

ily mounted with minimal tools. Shops such as Bantry Bay Canoes should carry the necessary mounts and rigging hardware. A second very good idea would be to bring a spare paddle leash for the fishing rod. I’m not sure about sea kayakers but kayak an-glers have a saying when it comes to gear carried on board; ‘leash it or lose it’! Other than that, perhaps a forceps for unhooking fish and a lightweight camera to record your first catch and you are all set to get started.Fish are a valuable resource that every-body should benefit from but as mentioned earlier, they are not in infinite supply. Only


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take home what you will use. Killing fish for them to rot is abominable and should not be allowed to happen. By all means take a few for the pot though – nothing finer, more rewarding and satisfying than a good meal of fresh fish that you caught for yourself. For any fish that are to be returned; please try to minimise the stress so you maximise their chances of swimming away strongly. Try to unhook them as quickly as possible and always use wet hands to avoid moving their protective coating of slime. They may need holding alongside the kayak until they have the strength to swim off. Treat Nature with respect and hopefully it will be reciprocated.The sport that is kayak fishing in Ireland is blossoming. Getting out onto the water for a couple of hours is priceless and catching a couple of fish make for a superb bonus. It is an exciting way to spend a few hours

and can carry you to some of the most magical parts of the country. The freedom it can offer is hard to beat. Be mindful of your surroundings, like you would when kayaking anyway, and this engaging activ-ity is there for the taking. Start small; get a feel for what you are doing and before long, who knows what you will be target-ing! An article like this can only scratch the sur-face of kayak fishing in Ireland. I recently launched my own website that showcases kayak fishing in Ireland through blog posts, rigging projects, media articles, underwater photography, gear and tackle advice and

much more. Have a look at the kayak I use and the fishing gear that I use. I hope soon to be able to explain fishing techniques too. Follow me on www.kayakfishermanireland.com for regu-lar updates and to see what an Irish kayak fisherman sees. If anybody has any que-ries you can contact me through the web-site.

Painful numb legs in kayaking

by Eoin Ó Conaire

I have a unique personal attachment to this common condition in kayakers. I am currently a chartered physiotherapist spe-cialising in musculoskeletal problems and sports injuries and a keen paddler of K1 racing boats. However, several years be-fore I even started my training as a physio-

therapist I used to suffer terribly from numb painful legs when I went canoeing. At the time I was about 15 or 16 and had just started to do a few marathon ranking races in Ireland. I got occasional numb legs in most boats that I paddled but the problem really started in ear-nest when I started paddling a Gola Sprint. This was about 1988 or 1989 and the Gola sprint was taking the General purpose racing class by storm. For those not familiar with it, it was basically a K1 style general purpose boat. It looked like a wildwater racer kayak that had been on a diet. Crucially it sat-isfied the criteria for the GP class. Basically if you could

stay upright in it, you could win races!

It was an absolute flyer but very tippy and I found that I got terrible cramps, pain, pins and needles and dead legs after only about 5 mins paddling. I tried to ignore it and push on through but the pain became agonising and I would either capsize or struggle to get out and feel my legs col-lapsing under me with pins and needles and numbness. I was advised to raise the seat with a few seat-pads but this made no difference other than to make me a bit more unstable! I was advised to stretch my hamstrings – no difference. It got to the


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http://www.kayakfishermanireland.com

http://www.kayakfishermanireland.com

stage where I just couldn’t paddle the boat and reluctantly sold it.

I drifted away from canoeing for many years and then in my mid-thirties (now an experienced UK-based physiotherapist) I took up paddling again – joining the fantas-tic Elmbridge canoe club on the Thames in Surrey where you have no option really but to race! It was great fun getting back into paddling but once again even in K1 boats, I started to get those numb cramps in my calves, hamstrings and even up into my hips – especially as I started upgrading to faster more unstable boats and paddling longer distances.

However now with all my new knowledge of anatomy, biomechanics and neuromus-culoskeletal conditions, I had a fair idea what was causing the problem and set about sorting it out so that I could get maximal enjoyment out of my paddling.

I have always had tight hamstrings (after years of football and running) but tight hamstrings don’t directly cause pins and needles and numbness. These sensations are associated more with nerves or occa-sionally blood vessels (circulation). The position that we sit in a kayak (particularly if you are a bit slumped) is very similar to one of the tests for sensitivity of the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve and its main divi-sions basically run from the nerve roots in the low lumbar spine deep into the gluteal muscles along the outside hamstrings, down the calf muscles, behind the ankle and into the sole of the foot. Therefore when we sit slumped in a kayak with our feet up against the foot-rest we are ten-sioning the sciatic nerves in each leg. Con-tinuous tensioning of the nerve can cause irritation and nerve pain anywhere along the course of the nerve. In addition if there is compression of the nerve anywhere along its course then this pressure on the nerve can bring about the symptoms of nerve pain.

I deduced that my problem was as follows:

1 Very tight gluteal, ham-string and calf muscles pulling me down into a slumped position and tensioning the sciatic nerves in both legs.

2 Long term nerve tight-ness in the sciatic nerves and its branches

3When I paddled less sta-ble boats I didn’t have enough “leg drive” i.e. not pushing hard enough with the opposite foot as I rotated my trunk and pulled the paddle through the water – causing in-creased tension in the leg muscles

I therefore set about systematically ad-dressing these problems. I carried out a series of nerve gliding / tension exercises to improve the mobility of the sciatic nerves. Alongside these I worked on my hamstring, gluteal and calf length with a series of exercises. I found yoga-style poses the most effective for this. This is because when you have tight muscles your body will subtly try to cheat and avoid stretching the tight muscles. The yoga poses generally aim to stretch a series of tight muscles rather than isolating one. I also worked on my core stability and in particular with my new-found hamstring length, my ability to sit in a neutral spinal posture (i.e. not slumped) in my boat. Fi-nally I paid extra attention to the leg-drive element of my paddling technique.

As a physiotherapist I specialise in assess-ing an individual’s musculoskeletal system and then prescribing a custom exercise programme tailored to their needs. There-fore there is no one “cure-all” exercise programme that I can write about. In fact doing so could be dangerous for some people – particularly those with a history of back problems, sciatica, disc prolapses etc. However I have thought carefully about this and would like to give some ba-sic guidance and exercises that will help the majority of people with this problem. However the best advice is to see your lo-cal chartered physiotherapist for assess-ment and treatment.

As detailed above, the development of pain, numbness and “dead legs” when kayaking is almost always related to your sitting position in the boat causing tension, stress or compression on the sciatic nerve and its branches which run all the way from the low back to the soles of the feet. The following usually helps this problem


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1) Mobilising the sciatic nerve

2) Stretching the hamstrings and calf muscles

3) Stretching the gluteals

4) Improving sitting position in your boat – so that you can sit in a more upright po-sition

5) Improving paddling mechanics – with particular attention to pushing harder with your feet i.e. the leg-drive component of paddling

The key is to make very gradual improve-ments in the length of the tissue. Begin with sitting with your feet wedged against a wall, your knees straight and your trunk slumped forward. You nod your head for-wards (about seven times works well) and this will tug gently on the nerve tissue. You then rest briefly by looking upwards and repeat the process – reaching a tiny bit fur-ther each time. Carry out about 9 or 10 sets of 7 nods. Then follow this with the next exercise outlined below.

Sciatic nerve mobilisation

This exercise is a classic yoga pose called “Downward Facing Dog”. You can find it all over the internet and You Tube – usually being demonstrated by supple, flexible yoga teachers-see below!

It is perhaps more realistic to see it dem-onstrated by me – stiff, inflexible kayaking physio guy. In fact when I first started do-ing this exercise, I couldn’t get near the floor with my hands. Again the key to this

exercise is to gradually build up the flexi-bility over a period of weeks. “Listen to your body” and don’t push things too far but do enough to make a difference to the tissues. If you are very tight then use a step or a thick book to rest your hands on and hold for about 25 – 30 seconds and feel all of the tissues on the backs of your legs getting a great stretch. Repeat three times.

Perform both of these exercises twice per day and within a few weeks you should find that the numbness is taking longer to come on or disappearing altogether.

Not wanting to sound like a broken record but these two exercises are the most gen-eral exercises for helping this problem but a physiotherapy assessment would enable a more tailored approach to improving your flexibility and paddling position.

Eoin, a chartered physion can be reached at http://www.ebtc.ie/

[email protected]

Tel: (091) 727777

Evidence-Based Therapy Centre1st FloorGeata na CathrachFairgreen RoadGalway

Health Measures for Kayakers

Back HygieneOur modern lifestyle often involves a large amount of time seated. We sit for leisure, travel and work, an activity which is fun-damentally hard on the back. If you are a tradesman, a lot of time can be spent bending over and lifting, also wearing on the back.

Add to this a sporting activity which is seated and you have a recipe for back pain. Once you have started to get back pain, it is rare that you stop. Assuming the back pain is not trauma related, doctors no longer speak of “curing” back pain. Instead we focus on the more holistic notion of “back hygiene.” The idea is comparable to brushing your teeth. You perform a regular


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mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

activity to help prevent dental caries. Simi-larly with the back, you perform a set of regular activities which maintain the health of your back. If you fail to do these, and continue to insult your back with prolonged seating or indeed heavy one sided work, you will suffer.

This all assumes no major fractures or disc prolapses are present (minor disc pro-lapses are not unusual and treated with a similar back

hygiene strategy. Sitting strains the back in the following areas; with your knees flexed, your hamstrings shorten. The small of your back- the lumbar area- loses that nice concave curve. Your glutes are stretched across your sciatic nerve and atrophied. Your hip flexors on the front of the hip tighten. Your abdomen becomes lax. After hours, then days of such activity, to sud-denly challenge your back and core with a weekend of kayaking is a big ask. So what

exercises can you do to offset the detri-mental effects of seating? On these pages are a series of sketches of back and core exercises for person with a reasonably healthy spine.

The basic philosophy is to redress the imbalance caused by sitting. It involves three components; Stretching those mus-cles that have become shortened, improv-ing the tone of those muscles that are ne-glected and strengthening those muscles that have become weak. Muscles to stretch; Hamstrings, Hip flexors, glutes (bum muscles- you stretch these to make more room for the sciatic nerve), spinal muscles.


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The basic method for stretching is a quick easy stretch for a couple of seconds, shake out, then stretch for 15 to 30 sec-onds. Remember; Stretch, don't tear.

Muscles of improve tone; the focus here is on the “core,” that multitude of muscles in barrel of our thorax that give excellent support to the spine when active. Muscles to strengthen; hamstrings, glutes and spine.How frequent? Twice per day can be nec-essary for some periods then reducing to three times per week if things are under control.

Remember, if you have acute significant focal back pain, particularly after an inci-dent where you lifted or pulled something improperly, these exercises and stretches

are definitely too challenging. You should see a chartered physio. They will usually educate you on simple stretches to initially loosen up the back, then prescribe some far simpler movements to begin your re-covery.

Some kayakers’ problems come not from the low impact paddling side of the sport but in the activities which occur be-tween periods on the water. We try to land on rocky shores, drag laden kayaks above the high water mark, then scramble onto grassy banks carrying kilos of gear. An-kles, knees and backs are very vulnerable to injury, particularly if the kayaker has spent a long time on the water, is fatigued and dehydrated. Firstly, pulling the kayak out of the surf can be dangerous. Always keep to the seaward side of your kayak. If you jump out on the landward, and a wave catches your laden boat, even a small wave can drive the kayak under you. Get the kayak emptied asap rather than taking the lazy way of trying to drag both kayak and load up. Always be very wary of pull-ing a back muscle. Drag the boat only as far as you have to out of the worst surf, always using proper lifting technique, straight back, bent knees, then empty. Use help from others where you can. Lifting a kayak onto a car roof is always difficult. Again, use help. Hopefully, our manufac-turers will begin to use lighter materials such as carbon or kevlar for a reasonable price which will make this whole process safer. The cute sea kayaker always parks their car bonnet into the wind; easier for loading and unloading and warmer for dressing and undressing behind the boot.


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Try to pull the toggle using both hands rather than relying on one hand thus over-stressing one forearm and side of your spine. Obviously, if you have help, share the load.

Acute back pain; Unfortunately common, standard ad-vice if rest for 24 hours, then resume usual activities slowly and carefully, avoiding any heavy lifting for several weeks thereafter. People often worry about “slipped discs,” however these are thankfully rare and al-though a scan such as an MRI will often show some degree of discs poking out from between the vertebrae in most peo-ple, that is a long way short of the serious medical condition when discs press into the spinal cord causing profound weak-ness, numbness or paralysis of a limb.

Elbow tendonitis. Paddlers, even experienced ones, can be prone to a particular type of elbow tendonitis which can occur on the bony prominences either outside or inside the elbow. An outer tendinitis is known as ei-ther lateral epicondylitis or tennis elbow while the inside, medial epicondylitis is also known as golfers elbow. To manage these tendonitis, it is necessary to take a fairly holistic view of the area. We expect the hands to perform the most subtle and complex of actions such as sew, play a pi-ano or type. At the same time, we paddlers expect them to be strong enough to trans-mit the accumulative strength of out leg drive, core rotation and upper arm contrac-tion. Its a fairly broad range of skills and unsurprising the arms occasionally com-

plain. The basic anatomy is worth consid-ering. Our muscles are set into tendons which in turn are anchored into bony prominences. Those muscles are also bound circumferentially by fascial sheaths.

These sheaths are vital in allowing mus-cles slide over each other, particularly in the forearms where different muscles will contract (shorten and expand) at different times to allow separate isolated finger movements. Into these sheaths we need to pump blood to keep muscles fueled and to allow waste be taken out. Very subtle changes in wrist angle will cause signifi-cant muscle expansion at different levels inside those sheaths and place focal starin on those tendons. In kayakers, the prob-lem may result in a paddle stroke which in which the wrist is excessively flexed ( me-dial epidcondylitis) or excessively ex-tended (lateral epicondylitis). Current thinking is that rather than a purely inflammatory process, there is a in-appropriate modeling in the region which ultimately leads to pain. Cure lies in mod-elling the tendon/muscle into a structure more appropriate to paddling. In the short term, stretching and massage can ease symptoms. For a long term cure, the pad-dling stroke and a graduated strengthening programme are required. Regarding stretching, the standard forearm stretches are illustrated below, but these should also be accompanied by stretches of the hand and fingers, stretches of the biceps and triceps and the entire shoulder joint. It is worth massaging the affected areas and indeed the entire forearm to try break down any tightness in the area. This can be done by hand, or us-ing a tennis or hockey ball rolled over the forearm. These can provide short term re-lief. Regarding activity, study in detail how your arm pulls on the paddle shaft. (Re-member always that the ideal is that the paddle should be stationary in the water, you should be pushing the kayak past the paddle.) How do you catch the water? Does your wrist project in one way or an-other as you catch? Are you pulling back properly? Again how does your wrist travel back? How is your grip- appropriate or ex-cessively tight? And on exit, does our wrist follow the line of the blade? Try to keep a straight line between the centre paddle shaft, centre of your wrist, and elbow. The ideal grip would be quite neutral however, as our fingers are small levers, we tend to be slightly stronger in slight wrist flexion when pad-dling, fine if you don't have problems but you should certainly look at neutralising the wrist if you are having any problems.


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Examine then your wrist during the recov-ery part of the stroke. Is your hand recov-ering ie loose and neutral? Is your paddle feather appropriate, necessary and effec-tive? Many paddlers travel perfectly ade-quately with no feather whatsoever. Look at how much water you are throwing up on each stroke- you are not working well with your blade if there are buckets of water flying about you, and tossing those buck-ets about during the vulnerable recovery phase of the stroke is definitely going to stain your shoulders and elbows. Similarly, are you slapping or causing cavitation when you catch? An overly aggressive, early or misaligned catch causes this slap-ping and leads to tremendous unsustain-able strain on the forearms. Pause before the catch, slow the catch down, let the noise disappear. Keep your entire stroke as quiet and soft as pos-sible. This is a good guarantee to prevent injury.

The ultimate cure appears to lie in a graduated programme of increasing strength. Regarding strength, again, some excellent forearm strengthening exercises are illustrated, particularly the rubber tube roll (this can be replaced with rolled up towel) but the emphasis of the effort should always be on strength in the neutral

position toward extension (if medial epi-condylitis) or flexion (if lateral epicondyli-tis). You are trying to bring a better bal-ance into your wrist usage so strengthen-ing the side opposite that to which the wrist is being pulled off to, if that makes sense.

Its also worth looking at other activities outside of kayaking particularly those re-quiring repetitive use of the arm. Can the other hand be used? With epicondylitis, you must first rest, which is to say, zero paddling, usually for a couple of weeks. When painfree in day to day life, then be-gin a daily programme of exercises, tai-lored to suit your issue. After a week or so of this, begin paddling gently again, but only paddle short distances with a light boat and focus on paddle technique. Try to fix any obvious errors. If you’ve got it right, painfree paddling should be the reward. If youve got it wrong, back to the drawing board. It is always worth going through things with a chartered physio to check your diagnosis and exercise technique. There isn’t too much point in attending your GP as most of us wont know enough to advise rehab exercises. Medications and rest are not going to provide a long term solution if the underlying asymmetry remains.

Kayaking injuries

by Rob Scanlon

“Body, Boat, Blade” is the mantra that we often hear when learning to kayak and im-prove our technique.Damage to the latter two can often look dramatic, make for good sound effects and a good story in the pub at the end of a day, but an injury to the first part of that trio can have you shorebound for a long, lonely time!

Most injuries I hear about when kayaking are musculoskeletal from paddling with the wrong technique or for sudden prolonged distances. This is when the “i know I’ve been paddling” Monday morning ache be-comes a problem that impedes more trips out.

It is pure common sense, but it is best to avoid injury in the first place by keeping fit,


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using good technique and avoiding sudden unaccustomed bursts of exercise. How-ever, we all know what it is like when a stunning high pressure come in and you can convince yourself that you can do the extra mile or ten.

Wrist: Wrist tendonitis often affects people after a long break from paddling. Rapid and repetitive forearm movements under pressure can inflame the lubricating sheaths around the wrist tendons, causing inflammation. Instead of gliding, the tendon then sticks to the inside of its sheath, causing pain on even the smallest move-ment. A typical site of pain is in the wrist diagram below, at the level of a watch strap.

You can feel and sometimes hear the ten-don scraping along the inside of it’s sheath. I had this once and it made a nightmare out of working and cooking, let alone paddling. Rest, anti-inflammatories and even steroid injections can help, but it is really worth trying to figure out what has been the underlying cause. Some people find crank shafts help and i know one per-son who has had to resort to cutting the latex wrist grips out of his dry suit to pre-vent this problem for occurring. People also suggest relaxing the thumb on the up-per, pushing hand when paddling so that the thumb isn’t held tightly against the shaft for hours at a time.

Rotator cuff injuries: Our shoulders are wonderfully mobile and the only bony connection between our arms and our trunk is at the collar bone. The shoulder blade just floats in a bed of muscles. Anything that is very mobile is prone to injury though. The body prevents this by having muscles that keep the head of the upper arm bone ( humerus) tightly applied to its socket. These muscles are the rotator cuff. Our rotator cuffs degenerate with age and half of people over the age of 60 will have a tear on MRI, often without symp-toms. It is all too easy to suddenly injury the rotator cuff with a sudden pull on the shoulder or an awkward fall on seaweed. These injuries can be caused with a diffi-cult X rescue or high bracing with the up-per arm away from the body. There may be a dull ache in the shoulder, that is much worse when you raise the arms away from your side, go to brush hair or do up a bra strap. Usually, lying on the affected arm at night is quite painful and disturbs sleep.

The symptoms will often get better without surgery with rest, physiotherapy and antiinflammatories. It is important to strengthen the remaining muscles after an injury to protect the joint. Joint injection with steroids and local anaesthetic can be of help but in an active person who wants to get back out again, I would usually get orthopaedic advice if physiotherapy isn’t helping. Surgical repair may be considered in this case.


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anonymous 16/03/2014 19:35

The Athlete and the Common Cold

I sit here in with a slightly swollen throat, a slight tightness in the chest and nose running like niagra falls. I can't or shouldn't train properly so I am twitchy as hell; endorphin withdrawl. Its been about three days since this illness started so its been three days since I've had a decent “hit-out” as the Aussies say, on the water. It's a typical northern European winter here in Ireland- temperatures fluctuating be-tween 2 and 10 degrees Celsius for the last couple of months. Perfect flu weather. Both in practice and in paddling I fre-quently get asked can I train? What can I do? How much? This article is intended to address those questions. However, it does not attempt to provide a simple catch all answer, rather it will address the full com-plexity of the answer, and hopefully within it, allow you find a solution. My background is bicycle road racing as a teenager and in recent years as an adult, sea kayaking, marathon K1, downriver and surfski pad-dling, so my focus is on power endurance type competition. We know little about viruses and their role in humans. Our relationship with them is highly complex. Recently, it has been postulated that viruses may help us facili-tating rapid genetic shift, faster than natu-ral selection may otherwise provide for. So the relationship may not be entirely preda-tory. Most people will typically get five to six viral infections per year, with most of those occurring during winter. Athletes ap-pear to be prone to them due to the stress of exercise diminishing their immunity. If ever there was evidence for karma as a living concept, viral infections are it. When you get a virus, your immunity usually de-feats it or at least contains it, you then re-tain that immune response and can deal with similarly structured viruses more effi-ciently for about ten years into the future. If you don't get infected one year, you wont have immunity so you invariably get hit pretty hard the next time something similar comes round; karma. Think of it like a li-brary. You need to get these viruses in or-der to keep your library of immunity well stocked.

So if your training partner is flying because he hasn't been sick all winter, fret not, their comeuppance will come. Their quota of infection is out there waiting for them. There may be an argument that the com-petitive athlete should allow themselves be exposed to plenty of these infections dur-ing their off- season, to build up a wide ranging library of immunity, so that during their racing season they are far less likely to be caught out by a virus to which they are naive, but you didn’t hear that from me. Generally, in my winter training pro-gram, I won't incorporate rest weeks. Now I know rest and technique weeks are vitally important and will use them in spring and summer, but I also know that I will probably be getting sick at least three or four times during the winter. Instead these sick weeks will constitute my rest weeks. Another difficulty is that winter train-ing often involves slow endurance training; 2/5 hour paddles/ cycles. These are par-ticularly stressful on the body, demand large amounts of energy and take place in pretty inhospitable conditions. More than a hard interval session, they seem to culture respiratory tract infections. Such sessions can take days to recover from, even for a healthy athlete. Again factor into your time-table that you might end up with a cold or flu after such a session. Avoid doing long slow endurance sessions when you are fighting a mild infection because such a session will almost invariably allow it be-come a significant one. How do you know if you have a cold? Generally, most begin with the char-acteristic signs of a watery running nose, popping bunged up ears, muscle aches, a couple of days of fever and a sore throat. Viral infections tend to produce a multitude to diffuse mild symptoms which migrate from nose to throat and occasionally to your lungs (and occasionally other organs)


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Generally, with a viral infection, your appe-tite will remain. If your infection remains above the neck, you can usually continue to train but always keep warm. Work on shorter ses-sions and be constantly mindful of trying to avoid stressing yourself such that the virus descends onto the chest. Sometimes you can rid yourself of the virus in a couple of days and resume train-ing at full intensity. On other occasions, despite your best efforts, the virus can de-scend onto the chest causing a cough. Typically with a mild virus, you will cough for one or two days, often producing a little green or yellow sputum- as the cough “breaks.” The sputum should cease after a couple of days but the cough can persist for a couple of days after. For the athlete this timeline has two important junctures. When the infection is above-neck, it may be possible to still train but one should do all possible to “keep it off” the chest. If it goes below neck, ie onto the chest, athletic performance will be impaired. Aerobic and endurance efforts should be stopped. The second juncture is when the infection is below neck, ie cough-ing, wheezing and producing sputum. Rest is the only sensible option here. The dis-tinction of above the neck and below the neck is an important one for the athlete. Generally, if it above the neck, you can do some training and if it is below the neck, ie on the chest, you need rest. The first thing to do when a cold be-gins is to reassure yourself. You have time. Muscular strength doesn't deteriorate with inactivity for around one week. VO2 doesn't deteriorate over a similar time frame. Cardiovascular fitness may diminish a little sooner but not substantially. So ba-sically, you have time to recover from most simple viral infections without any loss in form. You may find when you return to training that your threshold heart rates run slightly higher but you should be capable of similar muscular and respiratory efforts as prior to the infection. We'll address the numerous anecdo-tal “cures” for the cold next. The one factor which unites most of them is heat. We don't get viruses so much during our sum-mer months; the viruses that are prevalent in winter don't like heat much, so we heat ourselves to kill them. Probably the most effective strategy is to stay warm and stay indoors as much as possible. This means we are inhaling

warmer air, again creating conditions which are inhospitable to a winter viruses. Wrap up warm, again in an effort to maintain a local climate inhospitable to the virus. Sweat is out. This strategy used by cyclists involves wearing excessive cloth-ing and cycling for a short low intensity endurance ride in which the body tempera-ture is kept artificially high- sweating it out. (Remember that most of the energy we burn produces heat rather than move-ment). It can be effective. However it has two potential downsides; 1 Training out-doors will still involve inhaling cold air, which can increase the chances of the in-fection affecting the chest. 2 It is important not to tire yourself with the effort such that the effort actually weakens the bodies abil-ity to fight the infection. For the kayaker, this would involve indoor ergo training, fully clothed low-medium intensity effort ie 20-30 mins keeping the HR well below AT ie around 50-70%. You want to get to that place where the body is hot but you are not having to breath deeply. Obviously, af-ter the effort, don't hang around sweating as you will cool quickly- shower and get warm again quickly. Chicken Soup; Hot Whiskey; Again, their primary benefit is probably in the temperature of the fluid rather than its con-tent, but consume away. Honey; An oft used “cure” particularly in eastern Europe. Again evidence is lim-ited but it wont do harm. Steaming; Again the strategy of using heat to create inhospitable conditions for the virus. Obviously don't scald yourself or your airways and it might help. It is important to remember that the strategy of warming the body to kill the vi-rus will dehydrate you. Thus it is important to keep well hydrated when fighting in this fashion, particularly if using the sweat it out strategy. Two additional strategies. First is to put on the heating in the car when com-muting full pelt. This means dressing down to a t-shirt (so I don't arrive at work cov-ered in sweat) then put the car's air con at as close to full heat as I can tolerate. The air con delivers a warm dry air which can be directed toward the airways. The second is to place a small radia-tor in the bedroom at night, to maintain a consistently warm room while sleeping. People like to treat their running dripping nose, which they find unsightly


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and inconvenient. Typically this is treated with antihistamines or a vaporub like Vicks. However the athlete needs to remember that a dripping nose is a mechanism the body is using to clear the virus from the nasal passages. It is a physiological re-sponse with years of evolution supporting its use. In as much as is tolerable, the run-ning nose might be best left alone. The athlete also needs to note that some of the nasal sprays used to treat nasal problems contain steroids, even the ones given to you over the counter by a pharmacist. TUE time? A similar argument is to be made with both fevers and coughs. People are always eager to treat fevers with antipyret-ics, fine for small children who are at risk of febrile convulsions. But remember, fe-vers are not the illness, they are your body's method of killing the infection. If you can tolerate it, the fever might be best left alone to do its job. The cough is a re-flex action intended to clear secretions and infections form the chest. While it may at times become debilitating and inconven-ient, it works. There should be no need to immediately dive into cough suppressant medication at the first hint of a cough. Leave the cough do its job. While it might be ill advised to train your aerobic and anaerobic systems during an above neck illness, it is usually possible to train other aspects of your fitness. For kayakers, that means you will probably be able to do gym. You should emphasise lower reps rather than getting yourself out of breath doing 100 burpees. Cyclists could probable do some leg and core gym work. Warm up properly. Make sure your gym is warm. Rather than sticking with your bench press/pull routine, do a mini- programme up which can hit the different muscles over five days. Again, keep well hydrated. For kayakers, it is a good oppor-tunity to do some rotator cuff work and some stretching to correct some of the asymmetries that the repetitive pulling mo-tion of kayaking causes. One situation in which I would avoid such gym would be if my muscles were sore due to the virus- the typical muscle ache usually felt in the large muscles of the shoulders and legs, your muscles are sore when you poke them. These inflamed muscles need rest, not fur-ther stress. For cyclists, gym could also be useful working on the usual cycling muscles; low back, quads, hamstrings, calves and core.

Cyclists tend to ignore the upper body, lest they gain unwanted muscle mass. Other cycling techniques could include erg ses-sions which involve one leg pedaling to develop a more fluid pedaling motion and good stretching sessions. Consider using the time to do some video analysis of your stroke/ pedaling motion. On the bike check for shoulder rocking, check your back position, check your breathing. You will probably feel poor after the illness having lost some of your on-water- coordination, some little aerobic fit-ness and then challenged your muscula-ture with several days of lower rep gym sessions; but you should notice returns in the following weeks. Obviously, some viruses can cause a more pervasive and persistent illness, which require even longer periods of rest. The influenza virus for instance causes significant fever associated with muscle aches and pains, a feeling of “being hit by a truck,” as well as a multitude of other typical viral problems. The fact that you are unable to train will be readily apparent. Bacterial infections can be far more serious. They tend to begin isolated in one area; an ear, the throat or the chest only- and produce a significant and persistent fever. Do not train if diagnosed with same until the doctor says so. There are certain situations when you should not be doing any training whatso-ever; when a fever is present, when you are producing green/ yellow/ red phlegm from your chest or when you feel to unwell to train. See your doctor. Get checked out. Most people are aware that the viral flu cannot be treated with antibiotics. Anti-biotics only treat bacterial infections. Cir-cumstances which would make one con-cerned about bacterial infections would include fevers lasting more than three days, persistent symptoms occurring in isolation such as a sore throat alone, cough alone, sinus problems alone, green sputum from the chest for longer than four days. It can sometimes difficult for a doctor to differentiate between a viral and bacterial.(The most bestest usefulest tool we have to help us differentiate between the two is time. So don't be surprised if you are asked to “wait and see” and return in a couple of days if you don't improve.) See your doctor if things aren't get-ting under control for you. One final word of warning. As stated, the fit athlete who is regularly stressing the body with training is


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more vulnerable to infection. Rarely, even simple viral infections, which either through bad luck or continued stressful training can have serious complications particularly upon the heart which can result in a serious inflammation of the heart or can affect the heart valves, illnesses which not only end ones athletic career but can also cause a lifetime of illness. Always, al-ways err on the side of caution.

Knot (Canutus canutus)

Winter Sea Kayaking; Taking a Natural History Perspectiveby Seán Pierce

Sea kayakers are uniquely placed to dis-cover and experience the natural world in a close up and intimate way. Our means of transportation along Ireland’s coastal mar-gins is quiet and unobtrusive and our pas-sage is very much within the rhythms of the natural world. There is no engine noise to dull the hearing and our two foot perch above the water surface allows sea kayak-ers a close approach to wildlife causing minimum disturbance. The Inuit invented a wonderful craft for hunting purposes. Modern sea kayakers can utilise the same craft to engage and closely observe and come to understand the yearly cycles of Ireland’s coastal wildlife.

Sea Kayaking along the Irish coast in win-ter can open up a multitude of experiences for any kayaker. Individuals with an in-quisitive and curious mind can add another dimension to their winter trips. There is much to discover regarding the origins and life histories of those animals and birds

that we regularly encounter on our coastal voyages.

Background

Ireland lies between 51-56 degrees north and is subjected to the vagaries of a tem-perate oceanic climate. Winters are de-scribed as “cool and moist with no great extremes of temperature” in the geo-graphical literature. While this means Ire-land has no shortage of rainfall, it also means that our bays, estuaries, coastal waters and islands remain ice free in win-ter. The latter situation is extremely impor-tant from the perspective of millions of birds who exit the Arctic from August on-wards.

Ireland lies on the western approaches to Europe but it is an integral and important location within what is known as the “East Atlantic Flyway”. The “flyway” links a dis-continuous band of Arctic breeding grounds that stretch from Canada east to central Siberia with wintering grounds in Western Europe and West Africa. Each autumn, huge numbers of arctic migrants, especially water birds, converge on West-ern Europe from the far north. Coming from the Western Hemisphere (Canada, Greenland, Iceland) are arctic breeders including ‘Light-bellied Brent Geese (Branta bernicla hrota) and Greenland White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons flavi-rostis). Arriving from the Eastern Hemi-sphere (Scandinavia, Arctic Russia and North West Siberia) are the Eurasian equivalents; Dark-bellied Brent Geese (Branta b. bernicla) and ‘European’ White-fronted Geese (Anser. albifrons

Redshank (Tringa totanus)


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For many arctic migrants, especially ducks, geese and swans, Western Europe and especially Ireland is the final destina-tion. For others, it is a stepping stone on a journey that eventually concludes at win-tering grounds in Africa before the flyway routes begin again in spring back north-ward to the arctic.

Birdlife International estimates nearly 6 million birds of some 267 species utilise the” East Atlantic Flyway” annually. Ireland plays a really important role in providing wintering/spring and in transit stop over quarters for many of the Western Hemi-sphere visitors to the western European seaboard. Canadian, Greenlandic and Ice-landic birds dominate our winter shorelines but they are supplemented by Scandina-vian, Russian, Scottish, Faroese and Sibe-rian birds which also flock to our coastlines in huge numbers.

Thus, on an average day’s winter sea kay-aking, any single bird species rising off the sea or from the shoreline has a fascinating life history behind it. The bird’s place of origin, the route way selection to find a particular stretch of the Irish coastline to ‘over winter’ on is determined by global factors and migration patterns forged over millennia. Some of the birds seen may be Irish born and bred but by and large the

individual or flock which takes flight ahead of one’s kayak comprises of individuals from many of the lands of the East Atlantic Flyway.

The spectacle, beauty and fascination pro-vided by Ireland’s winter wildlife requires time, knowledge and patience to experi-ence and search it out. Yet all of Ireland’s major bays, estuaries, islands and beaches have sights and sounds waiting to be discovered.

The following is a personal selection of suggested winter wildlife “must do at least once” kayaking trips! All the trips require the usual planning regarding tides and weather, safety and respect for the envi-ronment considerations. A pair of good binoculars is essential to really enjoy the action.

October.

Barnacle Geese (Branta leucopsis)

Location: Kincashla, Co. Donegal

Route: Kincashla-Inishillintry-Owey Island

Target: Autumn Migration of Geese and Swans on the East Atlantic Flyway

Kayak amongst the islands of North-West Donegal between the 6th-14th October and experience the ’V’ formations coming off the Atlantic formed by skeins of Barnacle Geese (Branta leucopsis) from Greenland and Whooper Swans (Cygnus cygnus) from Iceland as they announce their arrival over the Irish coast. One can sense the relief as they call and honk and whiffle down losing height after the long open sea


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crossing. The birds will have flown directly from their breeding grounds or may have staged briefly in Iceland waiting for the weather window to allow safe passage. This wonderful sight that marks the pas-sage of the seasons from autumn into win-ter.

November

Location: Inishark & Inishgort, Co Gal-way. Route: Aughrus Beg.

Target: Atlantic Grey Seal colony

Seal Pup (Sealus fluffycutus)

The trip combines a kayaking trip of real quality with a dramatic wildlife dimension.

Atlantic Grey Seals give birth to their pups on many of Ireland’s offshore islands, on the more remote beaches and particularly favour quiet storm beach areas within cave systems. Although, the majority of key sites are on the south, north and west coast, small colonies also exist on the Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford coastal ar-eas. Do not disturb the animals by walking through colonies but observe quietly from a safe distance. The nursery areas are full of the eerily “child” like cries of the pups and there are few of Ireland’s mammals that are so “cute” as newly born Grey Seals in their “whitecoat” phase. Be patient and watch the comings/goings of the fe-male and dominant males on and off the beaches.

December

Location: Wexford Town

Route. Wexford Town to Raven Point Target: Roost Flight Spectacle

White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons flavi-rostris)

A trip to Wexford Harbour in deep mid-winter can make for a very special and memorable kayaking experience. This trip involves positioning one’s kayak at Raven Point or somewhere discreetly tucked in along the North Slob foreshore. Timing is critical as one should plan to be in position towards dusk.

The first clues of the forthcoming event are the obvious increase in the sound lev-els of the calling birds. The birds on the Wexford slobs begin to take to the air all calling loudly and that triggers the evening roosting flights of thousands of Greenland White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons flavriostris) off the slob lands.

The birds fly out over head in flocks of varying size and density heading south and east to their overnight roosting areas on the sand banks of Wexford Harbour. There are often flocks of wading birds also involved in the spectacle that “wheel and turn” in perfect unison and add further in-terest to the occasion.

A clear, crisp, frosty evening will give memorable views of the geese silhouetted against a winter sunset. The experience is one of Ireland’s best winter wildlife events.

January

Location. Carrigaloe, Cobh, Cork Harbour.

Route: Carrigaloe-Marino Point-Belvelly-Rossleague-North Channel, Great Island, Co Cork.

Target: Winter Ducks/ Waders and Geese.


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Wigeon (Anas Penelope)

This is one if those early morning winter kayaking days that can be imitated all over Ireland especially on any of our larger es-tuary areas. The route above is one that combines a nice variety of habitats and has a high density of bird species over the winter months. Ideally, the day should be planned to coincide with one of those rare, calm but very foggy days with perhaps oc-casional clearances.

The trip is a journey into the audio rather than the visual aspects of natural history. The passage of the kayaker should be slow and full of pauses, drifting gently on the flooding or ebbing tide to listen and then listen again, navigating by hand-railing the foreshore and occasional com-pass bearings.

The reward is a sea journey dominated by the sounds of wild ducks, waders and geese who call persistently and evoca-tively through the fog. The whistling calls of Wigeon (Anas Penelope), the gentle pip-ing of Teal (Anas crecca) and loud quack-ing of Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) seem heightened as they penetrate the low fog. The sounds of birds scuttling across the water as you approach will be heard as will the calls of many of the wading birds on the mudflats as the kayaker’s presence is detected. Curiously, though the birds are uneasy and suspicious and calling con-stantly, few will take flight and most will remain quietly and tantalisingly out of sight. The kayaker travels in a slightly sur-real world where the auditory feedback is intense and the visual is impaired. A great part of the experience is to later try and figure out what bird species makes what sound as surprisingly, the calls will be well embedded in the mind.

February

Location: Boyne Estuary, Co Louth Route: Boyne Estuary- Ben Head- Sker-ries, Co Dublin

Target: Common Scoter (Melanitta nigra)

Common Scoter (Melanitta nigra)

This is a stretch of the Irish coastline that receives little attention from sea kayakers primarily because the coastline is domi-nated by kilometres of low lying coastline and sandy beaches. There are no offshore islands or dramatic cliff faces to provide interest. However, it has its own charms and one of the real and rare wildlife expe-riences found in only a very few Irish loca-tions. Plan the trip which does involve a shuttle or drop off to begin at Mornington, Co Meath. The route to Skerries is off-shore once clear of Boyne Bar and passes Ben Head and a possible way stop is on the Cardy Rock’s, 2km north of Balbriggan. The trip is best done on a falling tide.

The views and sheer numbers of these tough sea ducks are well worth the effort. The vast majority of the wintering birds are of Scandinavian origin. The sounds of their whistling and wing beats will stay in the memory long after the event. Watch out for other offshore species like Grebes, Divers and seabirds interspersed amongst the scoter flocks.

March

Location: Ballyvaughan Co. Clare Route: Ballyvaughan to New Quay, Co Clare


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Target: Great-Northern Divers (Gavia im-mer)

The day’s kayaking objective is both an audio and visual experience. If at all pos-sible, pick a calm anti-cyclonic day. The trip is timed in early spring to coincide with the growing and ever increasing movement back northwards on the” East Atlantic Fly-way”. Three species of Divers over-winter around the entire Irish coastline. These are Red-throated Divers (Gavia stellata), Black-throated Diver (Gavia arctica) and Great- Northern Divers (Gavia immer) also called Loons in North America. In March, increasing numbers assemble along the Irish west coast preparing for their long haul flights back to Iceland, Greenland, Scotland and Scandinavia. Inner Galway Bay is a particularly favoured location. The wildlife interest is two- fold. The first is to attempt to view the birds which are stunningly beautiful in their fresh spring breeding plumage. The second is to listen out for and experience their haunting and highly evocative calls. Loons have a long quavering even eerie quality to their mat-ing and territorial calls. It easily transports the listening kayaker northwards to visual their breeding quarters on the lakes of the tundra and boreal forests.

As stated above, all six trips are personal favourites of mine. There are many other similar and undiscovered experiences pos-sible all around the Irish coastline. Enjoy.

Rotator Cuff Strengthening

ExercisesThe following are an excellent list of strengthening rotator cuff exercises from American Academy of Orthopaedic Sur-geons.


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