12. Does attitude make you paddle faster?

School has started again and blog posting has taken second place to teaching, but I thought that this one should go live. With less than two weeks to go before the Brave Duo start paddling, the pile of gear in the spare room is getting sorted, sponsor money is rolling in and Eleanor goes around in her sveldt Helly Hanson gear looking like a young Lara Croft.

Also I need to give a big thank you to the pupils of P5-7 at Keills Primary School, (where I teach), who politely pointed out to me that we could take a tour of the Great Glen using Google maps - brilliant idea guys. They also informed me that Loch Ness is nearly 227m deep, (that's about 750 feet) - how comforting.

11.Capsizing at Sannaig ...

Sadly no basking sharks to add that extra excitement to capsize practice, but it was a gloriously sunny warm day, (we've had just the one this summer on Islay), and Eleanor prepares to take the plunge! We did try to point out that in an emergency she might not have time to put on goggles and hold her nose but ...

...anyway, they both enjoyed tipping each other out of the kayak. Because it is so stable it's remarkably difficult to turn it over, but because it's an inflatable it's easy to flip back the right way and to climb back in - "good" says the support team.

Thanks very much to Ian and Margaret Brooke who were our official photographers at Sannaig. For those of you who don't already know and might be interested, Ian has a bird blog where you can find out all the latest info on what's about and where on Islay.

10. Bruichladdich sponsorship.

We're really chuffed about this one - thanks to Mark Reynier of our local distillery, Bruichladdich, we are able to offer our Amber Liquid Sponsorship Opportunity, (sorry, so niaff couldn't resist it) to those of you who love your single malts! Very kindly, Mark has given the go ahead for a special 'kayak' edition case, (that's 12 bottles), of Bruichladdich Rocks featuring El, James and the kayak on the label. Bruichladdich's designer, Roddy MacEachern, has come up with a great label incorporating a brill photo taken by our friend Michal Sur, (you can check out Michal's website - he's an amazing photographer).

We are auctioning bottle 1 of 12, but other bottles are up for grabs to anyone who would like to sponsor El and James £50 or more - first come, first served. As I write, we only have four bottles remaining, so if you're interested drop us an email at grainel@googlemail.com and we'll reserve one for you. Of course if you are a collector and need to have that first bottle, 1 of 12, in your collection, then let us know and you can have the opportunity to lodge a sealed bid - the auction will close at the end of September and the bottle goes to the highest bidder.

Just to give you a taste - so to speak - of what could be yours - here are Eleanor and James, collecting the whisky at Bruichladdich distillery.

Meanwhile - the sun is out and we're off to Sannaig at the north end of Islay for capsize practice - well obviously I won't be able to get wet cos I have to take photos. We were up there yesterday with friends from Edinburgh and there was a huge basking shark cruising around in the bay so we're hoping he'll be back for capsize trials today!

9. Eleanor taking her training seriously ...

Eleanor has found a way of working on her aerobic fitness, ("Aerobic fitness training? - I was just having fun Mum.") and watching the football at the same time, in her pyjamas.

8. Eleanor enjoys some apres kayak ...

Apparently the water was really warm ... and the buoyancy aid works!

7. Training on Islay - and they're paddling ...

So what does Eleanor think? "It's good on the waves and it is really stable. It goes really fast and is easy to paddle in waves. The best bit was when it was wavy around the Port Charlotte lighthouse and along the Strand. I got a bit wet because we didn't use the spray skirts but not as wet as dad and not as wet as when I jumped in the sea at the end."

And what are James first impressions? "It paddles remarkably fast especially when I give Eleanor a kick. It tracks well and feels very safe."

Praise for the Advanced Elements Tandem Kayak!

6. Training on Islay - look what we've made!

Eleanor and James can put this thing together in about 30 minutes - and they are getting faster. First put the rigid backbone in place, then inflate the two main chambers, the floor, deck combing and deck lift valves. (I've already been doing the big sell on this kayak and promoting the trip so I can talk technical now - Sal).

5. Training on Islay - first make your kayak!

Eleanor and James had their first outing in the tandem kayak this Sunday, paddling from Uiskentuie Strand to the Port Charlotte Hotel ... and back ... into a brisk north westerly. First of all they had to put the kayak together ... which meant handing dog to the support team - sharp teeth + inflatable kayak = disaster.