Back to Scotland in December 03 and I was immediately on the lookout for work and I fell on my feet at Splash. Pete had just bought what was a failing raft company based on the banks of the Tay in a small Perthshire town called Aberfeldy. The crew was the best in the country and Pete was keen to build a successful business. I will return to a healthy company this summer that whilst keeping its roots as the best quality company in Scotland has grown to be a adventure sports power house. We canyoneer, river bug, raft, kayak, canoe, duckie, abseil, climb, bridge swing and have a good time doing it. Summer weekends on the Tummel are a fun time. The Orchy, which is our winter descent is a proper test piece river and when its full will challenge even the best paddlers. Feldy is set in stunning surroundings, a real adventurers play ground and I’m stoked to be going back and too be working with the Splash crew again.

http://www.rafting.co.uk/guides.htm

also check out Chris Wain's entrepreneurial exploits

www.waingroove.co.uk

www.gumbigear.co.uk

www.webvideoeurope.co.uk

So an update from autum 07. What a great season of rafting its been. Wet almost all summer and the Tummel dam being worked on has meant some absolutely huge water conditions. The Tay was high almost all summer which kept the pain to a minimum but the real fun was had on the Tummel. Proper rafting everyday of the week for 4 months. Scotland may never have it this good again. Huge waves, hydraulics to make you shit your pants, no eddies, very fast water, pushy features, trees everywhere and the same big drops. We worked hard to keep everyone safe and on the whole succeeded even if it was a touch hairy at times. With the village gone, social life was quieter than past years but life at Shave Campbell/Whore Master's joint was entertaining, as you would expect with 4 river pigs under one roof. All the boys are still on good form, going harder than ever. Its good to see! 

Check out 'Man of Steels' excellent short canyon movie. Filmed on Acharn Falls by Loch Tay, starring the Splash massive dressed as punters freezing our balls off in holey wet suits.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb4teYXBtIc

Up until I returned to Scotland my paddling was limited to rafting and bit of canoeing. I’m sure the Splash boys would probably say my paddling is still limited to rafting and bit of canoeing but I have come on a little in a kayak. I bought my first kayak off Si for 100 quid, a Prijon Rocket. A river beast, no edges but indestructible. Loved paddling it, it boshed through a lot of holes that my paddling alone wouldn’t have made it through. That should say something of my early paddling career. Wait for the country to go under water then go paddling with Tobs, Si, Joe, Moff, Graham etc and get my ass pounded!! Swim, swim, swim, swim, swim, swim…… I suppose I learnt a lot in the process but man was it ever frustrating, sore and cold. Remember a lot of this paddling was done with snow on the ground! I’ve been recirculated twice, the first on the Tully was very unpleasant and whilst I suppose I was probably quite close to drowning at least the water was warm, the second was on a swollen Gower in the middle of winter and was the result of some very poor paddling from Doug, a chunky class IV rapid and a ridiculously shite throw from safety cover Graham.

After getting spanked on rivers all over Scotland in my kayak I actually got some official instruction in late 2004. Good fun, good learning and paddling that was actually within my ability.

In the late summer of 2004 I did the River Spey descent in canoe from Loch Inch to Spey Bay. A great trip it is really the only one like it in the UK and we were rewarded with a super good trip. 4 days with excellent camping spots all along the way.

My second sea paddling trip came as part of a 3 week long expedition with my university course to the Outer Hebrides in May of 2005. There were 11 members of the group, each person taking on a different responsibility within the exped. The second element of the exped was a week long paddling trip around the archipelago and it was my job to coordinate this. I got in contact with Tim at Adventure Hebrides to hire boats and he soon persuaded me that we would also need a guide. Good advice. We met Murdy and the boats at Leverburgh and set off for our week on the sea. The islands of the Outer Hebrides are a paradise. Although they may not have the climate or appeal of the Caribbean they have a uniquely Scottish charm, with stunning crystal blue seas and pristine white beaches to match any tropical Island. We skipped from island to island camping on a different beach each night. My 26^th birthday was spent around a campfire eating Tomas’s outstanding fresh mussel stew and listening to a melee of pipes and drums. As the week progressed the weather slowly degraded until the point where everybody and everything was totally drenched when we reached Loch Maddy. The final day was a daunting passage across the 25km exposed Sound of Harris. We set off unsure of how the journey would develop and to be honest it turned out to be about as bad as we could have expected whilst we still succeeded. Paddling onto the teeth of a 30 knot wind and 2-3 feet seas made for a trying crossing. Relief was massive on arrival Leverburgh. That night we camped by the coast and whilst we sheltered in the van drinking beer and singing songs of celebration our tents suffered 60 knot winds. Only half survived.