What is this?
It's an online Guidebook for sea kayakers, mainly aimed at UK and Irish waters, but also including material about anywhere else in the world!

It's run by sea kayakers, for sea kayakers and is about sea kayaking.

The aim is to gather and share as much information as possible on sea paddling - anywhere - and to get paddlers out there paddling!

Together with our 'sister' site, the UK Rivers Guidebook.co.uk the Guidebook websites and Community Forum are by far the most used UK paddling sites and we have 5-8000 different visitors per day.

The Guidebooks are totally "non-commercial" - there is no direct financial benefit to anyone involved with the sites.

How do I get started in sea kayaking?
There's some good general advice here and here. Also check the Almanac where you'll find lots of useful information and links to BCU, WCA and SCA websites.

I'm looking for advice or information about sea kayaking.
Post a question on the Community Pages here. These pages are by far the most used UK paddling forum.

Also check out the Almanac which has a massive amount of material ranging from links to previous Community discussions, articles written for UKSKGB and links to useful external resources.

The discussions contain a lot of excellent information from some very experienced and well-informed people - and sometimes quite a lot of banter.

If the banter is a problem for you, this isn't the place for you but thanks for visiting.

I'm a River / Open Canoe Paddler.
Take a look at our 'sister' site, the UK Rivers Guidebook.co.uk - it contains a wealth of material including river guides, articles and reports.

I'm having technical problems with the site - how do I get help?
Post on the Community Pages - someone will know how to fix it, or give you advice. We have plenty of tech support.

If it's something like a log-in problem, don't fret, tell me. Or Mark Gawler, who can be contacted here.

Is the info here reliable? Anything you read here is the completely untrustworthy and biased opinion of whoever wrote it. Such is the nature of the internet, especially when it comes to a Forum.

Seriously, if you find something you know or feel to be misleading or inaccurate, tell me and I'll update it. The Community is usually excellent at spotting waffle and ill-informed posts are generally spotted for what they are.

Article and Trip Report Content doesn't follow a standardised format, each contributor does so in their own style as this is very much a "community" of paddlers.

Where a topic takes you to a discussion, they haven't been edited in any way. You get to see the original, including all the "off-topic" content and inevitable banter. But it also means you can add to the topic if you want to.

UKSKGB is intended to be an easily accessible resource about sea kayaking, but it's up to you to make your own informed decisions about where to go, in what conditions and when.

The same applies to any of the technical or "gadget" ideas. You should make your own decision whether or not they are right for you.

There are plenty of sites to visit if all you want is to be told what to do by an "expert" - UKSKGB has a different philosophy and encourages input from everyone.

Weather, tides and local conditions all play a significant role in making paddling decisions, as does your own experience and that of the people you choose to paddle with.

There is lots of material in the Almanac to help you.

How do I contribute?
If you've found a good link or think an article from the Community Pages should be included in the Almanac then let me know.

Or, use the Community Pages. You'll need to register and then you can post to your heart's content and enjoy the immediate gratification of seeing your words on the Web - once we've approved your account that is.

My Community post has had " ^ " added to the title! What's that about?
That'll be me. The " ^ " just acts as a marker to me that there's a reference to that discussion somewhere in the Almanac or Trips pages.

How do I post pictures and links in a Community message?
Full details are here.

I've found a "broken link"
Oh dear. It's hard to keep all our thousands of links up to date - that's the nature of the internet.

If its a worthwhile link, tell me. And, if you can tell me the correct / new location, that would be very helpful too!

My post has been deleted!!
Really? There's a few reasons why that might have happened.

Our philosophy is to be very "light" on "posting rules". Other than this one.

So, we appreciate the appropriate use of capitalisation and punctuation. Please don't use "txt spk" - you'll have noticed all these things as you browse the forums. Your post will get deleted on sight if these simple requests aren't followed.

Don't bother whinging about it - we don't feel the need to justify moderation / editorial decisions and frankly life's too short to engage in protracted conversations about the rights and wrongs of your post being deleted. So we don't.

You'll also have noticed the lack of "flaming", "spamming" and the other irritants common to many un-moderated groups and forums. There's a reason for that.

A lot of people spend a lot of time making this a pleasant place to be - enjoy the results of that pro-active approach.

What's the Access situation for sea kayakers?
Generally, sea kayakers don't have access problems but you should be aware that the UK does have some strange access laws in some places, notably England and Wales. I have no idea what the situation is in Ireland or elsewhere.

Speak to the British Canoe Union or if you live on the wrong side of Offa's Dyke, try the Welsh Canoe Association.

Scotland has it's own legal system, and the Scottish Canoe Association's view on Access is outlined here.

The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 grants some useful Rights & Responsibilities. Please exercise them appropriately.

As sea kayaking grows in popularity, the impact on the fragile wilderness areas in which we operate grows too.

Please Tread Lightly in our wild spaces so that we can all share the pleasure of a pristine landscape.

Doesn't sharing info about places to go cause problems?
The hope is that the more info paddlers have about the places available, the less likely they are to crowd the same areas.

Don't just paddle the areas described in here, or in books, get out and explore!

Keep looking for new places, and then tell others what you found by contributing to UKSKGB or post on the Community Pages.

Please consider whether you should specifically identify wild campsite locations though. If you do, there's the risk of them becoming over used with all the environmental impact that causes.

How do I find places to go?
Have a look at the Sea Trips page for ideas, post on the Community Pages or take a look at the numerous books available.

Also check out the Community pages where events are often advertised. The Almanac's front page also has a link to current symposiums and other events.

Can I use the info here however I like? What about copyright?
Not if you are intending to make money from it or publish it elsewhere. Use the website content freely for enjoyment of our sport.

But, if you are planning to publish it or circulate it elsewhere, or use other people's ideas for kit or gadgets described in the site to make money, please get in touch.

You will need permission from the individual author of a trip report, article or other content here. Copyright is asserted as appropriate by those authors.

Please feel free to link to any of our content although we'd appreciate a reciprocal link and (where appropriate) an acknowledgement of the source.

I'd like to run an advert on the site - how do I do that?
This is dealt with through Mark Gawler who can be contacted here. If we want to include your ad, we will.

Or post about it on the forums - we do ask that "commercial" postings on the Forums (generally those where you seek to make money from a business or event) are posted in the Products & Services Forum.

If you want to advertise things, do it in the appropriate place - and that's generally not the activity specific forums.

If you don't, you'll find we'll move or delete it anyway and please don't whine about it.

After all, it's free to use the Forums to advertise, although we ask for a small contribution to running costs for commercial posts. Details are on the relevant forum pages.

What about safety?
Sea kayaking is a potentially hazardous pursuit, partly because of the nature of the environment in which we operate.

Safer sea-kayaking is a consequence of appropriate coaching and knowledge. To receive suitable training join an appropriate local club or contact a commercial centre.

What's in this for you?
As of October 2015, Mark Gawler now runs the site, and receives no money or profit for running it although he does receive a small commission on books sold through the Bookshop section and advertisers have sometimes provided kit and/or discounts. The costs of providing the Community Pages and webspace are paid for by Mark.

This discussion gives an insight into the general philosophy behind the site and Mark Rainsley's attitude to its overall ethos. This ethos still applies.

Some of the advertisers have also supported me with paddling kit on occasion. Believe me, we don't do this for any material benefit.

The work that we (and numerous others) do in creating, maintaining and editing the sites is done in our (limited) free time and although some people work within the IT sector, most of us have day jobs which are nothing to do with websites.

What does it cost to join UKSKGB /UKRGB? Do I need to register to access the site?
Nothing - the sites are free. You don't need to register to use the site unless you want to post on the Commuity Forums.

Contacts

Mike Buckley - Ed, UKSKGB