Exmouth, Devon, England ....A kayak wedding

Some of you may have seen me mention in previous posts that there was to be a kayak wedding. Well this took place over the weekend of September 25/26 . John and Helen have been regular contributors to the anglers afloat kayak fishing website in the UK. They are a lovely couple who have raised hundreds of pounds for charity through raffles and auctions and are the official AA site fund raisers.
The meet took place at  on the south coast in the fair county of Devon.
As per usual this has been copied and pasted from the AA website.


After a leisurely drive down from Kent I arrived at Ladram Bay a little after midday. I put my Bivvy up in what I hoped was a quite and fairly flat part of the field. It was not long before the wedding party arrived and we were soon putting up the marquee and pagodas before covering them in England flags.




Amos and then some of the Welsh contingent arrived, beers were opened and jokes cracked….the weekend had begun !

Amos and myself went into Exmouth to replace my rod tip [ that was 2 in 2 days ] and pick up more beer in Tescos. Later in the evening we went down to the club house for food and beer. Then back to the field for more beer .

The following morning I felt rough and didn’t get on the water till early afternoon. Amos assured me there were Mackerel to be found further out . There was a stiff breeze blowing so I set my sail and was soon heading out to some distant pot buoys. I caught one macky and then sat there with a thick head feeling sorry for myself. The wind really picked up and I was feeling a bit exposed out so far out on my own. So when the wind eased a little I headed for shore. I could not make Ladram Bay under sail and ended up on a small beach under the cliffs to the West. My hangover was much improved by then, so I got out my sushami kit and ate my Mackerel. Surprised I didn’t throw up to be honest, it was about 3/10 for disgustingness.




The following day I was much more bushy tailed and was up and ready for the forthcoming events. I had a bit of a sail and paddle while towing a shiny new yozuri lure. Then headed for the beach before stripping the yak down to a bare seat and paddle ready for the post blessing polo match.



There was a great atmosphere on the beach as all the yaks were pulled up and blues brothers hats 'n' glasses were donned. A dozen or so yaks were lined up to make an isle and an arch of paddles were made by the throng of kayak anglers that lined it. The wedding party arrived by kayak from the sea and made their way up the isle and the ceremony began. It was a lovely scene on the beach, the sun shone and the sea washed gently on the shore. All to soon the ceremony was over and the married couple were launched down the beach in a decorated double kayak. Perfect.





We all launched and a few of us rafted up, Craig decided to run across the back of the assembled kayaks, I video'd this but forgot keep hold of his yak …….woops.



Now it was time for water polo Wales v England [blues brothers]. There were no rules, only not to keep hold of the ball . The Welsh had to hit the Eastern stack and the English the West . It was frantic with Ben playing the joker by tipping people out at random. It was all played in good humour and it was terrific fun. Although I think it must be pointed out that England won 2-1 .



By now evening was approaching and it was time for the festivities to begin. There was a hog roast, burgers and barbecued meat galore plus Amos doing a fine job as DJ and karaoke master. I will leave the photos to paint the story of the evening.










Sunday morning I was up too late for the Mackerel challenge, but was well pleased when I heard that Harriet had Won ;D .
We spent a little time rigging up Amos's yak to take a sail, before heading for the beach. We headed out to some pot buoys and tied up. Amos, Ben and myself, soon we were joined by Paul a new member from Yorkshire. We fished and chatted in the sunshine but caught little. A few mackerel, a whiting and for Ben a Weaver fish I tried to video this but the camera was playing up.
Then it was time to head for the beach, drag the yak up '
THAT HILL
' one more time before saying goodbye.
It was a brilliant weekend and was a hoot from start to finish. To see John and Helen on the beach on Saturday was just perfect and I wish them all the very best for their future together.

Holy Moly, now that is a gathering!! Happy to read the tremendous support and love shown Love the Blues Brothers theme/donning!! Thanks you for sharing with us all

what a beautiful wedding and gathering, thanks again for another great report form across the pond, TM, cameron

What fun! And fun to read.  Good to see the betrothed so well prepared to "take the plunge"!

You guys know how to party!

All I can say is England must have cheated... no way you could have beat Wales in a square match

Great story,Pics. & Vids., you blokes sure know how to do it up right.
Congrats to the happy couple............

if i coulda had a wedding like that!!!   That is what true love is all about!
Congrads to the bride&groom!!!   and thanks for doing all that clicking(of the cameras)

Who's next to have a YakWedding on this side?   

GREAT! I love the Yakaty Sax for the set up video! Wish them the best from the West Coast!

Thank you Todd for the wonderful kayak wedding report.

 LOL. sounds like it was a good time.... Cheers to the happy couple!!!

not sure the wife would go for this

WOW! Congratulations to the happy couple CHEERS

Very cool!