Alice Lawson

2014

What is your job and briefly what does it involve? 

I work in Recruitment for Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, which involves carrying out pre-employment checks on new staff joining the Trust.

What 3 words would you use to describe yourself?

Active, adventurous, social.

What is your favorite & best stuff:

Food – Lots, most vegetarian foods

Music – The Editors/The Killers/ Of Monsters and Men

Interests - Kayaking, canoeing, climbing, walking and photography.

Movies – Into the Wild

Books – an eclectic mix

What does sea kayaking offer you? 

Sea kayaking is the opportunity to go on an adventure and explore places from a unique vantage point.

What have you achieved, to date through paddling with Roger and Coastal Spirit?  

Roger Chandler trained up a group of 3 of us (sea kayaking novices) for our 3 month sea kayaking expedition from England to Finland in the summer of 2012.  We could not have possibly done the trip without the training and expertise of Roger in the run up to and throughout the course of our trip.

Why Coastal Spirit? 

At the University of Warwick I took up white water kayaking and went on a sea kayaking trip one summer which I greatly enjoyed.  In my final year two friends and I decided we wanted to finish University with something big and developed the idea of going on a sea kayaking expedition.  This then formed into a plan of kayaking from England to Finland.         

At this stage we looked up sea kayaking coaches as we realised this was not something we would be able to do without training and help.  We had the good fortune to come across Coastal Spirit, subsequently going to see Roger with our somewhat ambitious trip proposal. 

We could not have been more fortunate, as Roger went above and beyond to support the education and training necessary for our expedition.  Roger taught us all the necessities for the trip including theoretical work on tidal planning and practical coaching on our paddling technique. He also passed on a huge amount of sea kayaking knowledge on trip preparation in terms of key equipment, necessary supplies and food.

Not only did Roger support us in the run up to our expedition, he also accompanied us on the first stage across the channel, I’m not sure we would have even made it to France without Roger!  Unfortunately we couldn’t take Roger with us the whole way, but he continued to support us via text and email throughout the trip and offered advice when we needed it.

Thanks to Coastal Spirit, Erin and Mark and I had the courage to take on a challenge of a life-time in setting out to kayak from England to Finland.  It took us 3 months but we did make it to Finland thanks to help and support from Roger and Coastal Spirit.

I would strongly recommend Coastal Spirit for anyone looking to embark on an expedition, as the training and support we received from Roger was outstanding.

What are you looking forward to and where would you most like to paddle next and why? 

Short term I’m looking forward to an annual open canoeing trip on the Medway, which will be nice and relaxed.  More long-term I’m looking forward to doing some white water paddling in Scotland in October and the French Alps next summer.  I am also keen to get back on the sea in the future .....

Choose 3 words to sum up your time with Coastal Spirit?

Enhancing, Awesome, Magic!