Outdoors Archives - @sccjono

Port Talbot Paddlesport

sccjono — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 10:13:32 +0000

What a great weekend spent teaching cadets paddle sport. We travelled to the docks at Port Talbot. This is a venue that Sea Cadets have been using since the 1960’s and although there is less shipping traffic, not much else has changed. We enjoyed unseasonably good weather and some passionate and engaged cadets. Activities included, rowing, sailing, powerboat and myself leading kayaking and stand-up paddle boarding. A huge thank you to all the other volunteers, without whom, weekends like this would not happen.

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Canoe Restoration – Part 1

sccjono — Tue, 04 Jul 2023 19:57:54 +0000

Follow me as I attempt to restore a 25 year old canoe. My Old Town Explorer 158 needs some attention and I am going to give it a try. I enjoy all forms of paddlesport and I am a British Canoeing Coach. So when I got the chance to own an Old Town canoe that needed a bit of TLC, I decided to give it a try. So this is the first video in a series. In Part 1 I begin to strip down the boat and assess how bad things are. I then start to give it a good clean.

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Personal Fall Protection Equipment

sccjono — Mon, 14 Feb 2022 14:43:45 +0000

Part of my work involves me periodically inspecting our Personal Fall Protection Equipment (PFPE) and other Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). This type of PPE is class 3. That means it helps minimise the risk of mortal injury due to falls. It is essential that it is inspected regularly. We have ropes, harnesses, carabiners and other protective equipment that has to go through this process. I had qualified to do this about three years ago. Whilst the IOSH qualification doesn’t technically expire, I thought Brexit may have caused a lot of changes and so I opted to repeat the course. There is very little margin for error, as a life could be at stake. This makes for a very stressful assessment.

However, I’m pleased to say that I did pass. I’m just not sure that I want to put myself through that again. A big thank you to Arco Professional Safety Services.

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Canoe Restoration Project

sccjono — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 13:07:03 +0000

A canoe restoration project, amazing! There is an opportunity to acquire a rather dilapidated canoe, for free, and the plan is to restore it to it’s former glory. My experience of DIY and the use of fibreglass etc., is non-existent but I hope to learn as I go. It’s an Old Town Discovery 158 and it must be at least 15 years old. An initial inspection of the craft tells me that much of the work required is cosmetic. However, there is a gouge in the hull at one end that may cause leaks. So I’m going to need tools, materials and a whole heap of tutorials. I can’t wait!

I’ll be filming the whole process and will release one or more videos on my YouTube channel in the hopes that they will be of use to someone.

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Lakes for Level Water

sccjono — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 15:41:00 +0000

Those of you that know me well will know I am a bit of a fanatic about water. I’m always near it, on it, or in it and I am very passionate about other people getting a chance to experience the same. I was taught to swim from an early age and I consider it a hugely important skill for people to have. I still swim of course (wouldn’t be a great lifeguard otherwise) but I am not a distance swimmer at all. However, I have decided to challenge myself to swim 1km in open water, in aid of Level Water. The lakes of the UK and the Outdoor Swimming Society are supporting Level Water in their mission to provide bespoke, 1-1 swimming lessons for children with disabilities across the UK. Level Water wants a world where everyone has access to swimming. For life.

By donating to this challenge you are helping to make sure that, once pools have re-opened, lessons can continue straight away and children can continue to learn this life-changing skill. Please consider donating via my Just Giving page as every little helps.

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Charity Challenge 2021

sccjono — Sun, 06 Jun 2021 18:05:00 +0000

My employer, the University of Worcester, holds a 24 Hour Charity Challenge every two years. Due to COVID-19 it could not take place last year. So we were extra delighted to help make it a success this time around. In aid of Cure Leukaemia, teams from across all areas of the university competed in several events. Walking, canoeing, running, basketball and a water assault course to finish. Working for our outdoor campus, I was able to help with the design and build of the assault course. Testing it out and lifeguarding were a lot of fun.

My qualifications meant that I could also assist as one of the safety boat crews for the canoeing. Getting up at 2.00am, the plan was for a 16 mile journey in sparred canoes along the River Severn, starting at 5.00am and finishing around 8.00am. The views of the sunrise and the mist on the water were stunning and thankfully only my photography skills were called upon. The best part of course was raising £15,864 for a very worthy cause.

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The Calm Outdoors

sccjono — Fri, 21 May 2021 09:44:06 +0000

My work is not often about the calm outdoors. My focus is usually on the excitement and risk and my videos tend to reflect that. However, the outdoors has much more to offer. The healing and calming benefits of being in the outdoors are undisputed. Much research in to mental health and wellbeing shows that there are numerous benefits to spending time on or near water, in the woods, or just open countryside.

I thought it might be fun therefore to take this one in a different direction. No paddlesport, climbing, zip-wire, powerboating etc. Just a relaxing video featuring the sights and sounds of “my office”. ASMR? Perhaps. Enjoy.

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A Relaxing River Trip

sccjono — Tue, 04 May 2021 11:33:07 +0000

Would you like to join me on a relaxing river trip? One of my roles is that of a Royal Yachting Association (RYA) powerboat instructor. This time though I was taking our boat out solo to provide escort to some canoeists. Our short journey was from Upon-Upon-Severn in Worcestershire, to Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire. I wanted to make some kind of ASMR video, but the noise of the outboard is no good for that. So instead I chose some relaxing music. Enjoy the scenery, watch the wildlife and relax.

By the way, the picture above was not taken on this trip but a previous coastal journey of mine. I am pretty sure that there are no dolphins in the River Severn. Sadly!

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Coach Award

sccjono — Sat, 03 Apr 2021 10:54:08 +0000

I have been working toward my British Canoeing Coach Award for some time. I should have completed it in early 2020, but the pandemic put a stop to that. Last week, after several delays, I finally achieved success. The Coach Award (formerly known as UKCC Level 2) allows me to move on from just facilitating taster sessions, and to begin the coached development of paddlers, in both canoe and kayak. The pandemic has caused frustration amongst many of us of course, but just being able to get back on the water will be amazing.

Hopefully I can add stand-up paddle boarding to my remit very soon, but for now, bring on the sunshine!

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Wildflower Planting

sccjono — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 13:18:21 +0000

I am looking at planting some wildflower seeds at work to create a bee and butterfly friendly space. Beebombs have the ideal solution. I read a scary statistic, that 97% of native British wildflower habitat has been lost since the second world war. These habitats are vital to the survival of both bees and butterflies and I dread to think what the future will look like for our children without them. Also, wildflowers are essential for essential biodiversity.

Not being much of a gardener isn’t a problem for me as Beebombs have made the process very straightforward. I just need to scatter the small, clay “bombs” on to bare soil and be patient. Spring seems to be the right time to plant and we hope for plenty of sunshine and rain. Working on an outdoor university campus I have plenty of scope and I have picked out an area that is suitable. I think it might be fun to produce a video for my YouTube channel on the subject. Anything we can do to help #bringthebeesback.

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