Posts by phil:
- If you’re not sure how to use a skeg seek advice from a fellow paddler – if you’re in any doubt don’t use it at all!
- Don’t use skegs on the Thames sessions – there is generally no need to use them in this environment
- Skeg slider / control (to the left of the cockpit) when fully functioning does not go all the way forward in its groove so don’t try and force it further forwards (there is a good inch or so left to the end of the groove when the skeg is fully up)
- Make sure that the skeg is pulled up when coming into land so it doesn’t create resistance, break, or kink the cable (see photo)
- As a general principle, if you want to do any complex moves or get into tight places the skeg should always be up!
Kilchoan 2015: Planes, trains and automobiles. And a Frenchman in a van.
June 21st, 201530 May – 6 June 2015: Kilchoan, Ardnamurchan
Not the title of a crappy sequel to the classic John Candy movie, but how a dozen CKC members got to this remote part of Scotland.
SATURDAY, 30 MAY 2015
Kilchoan is the most westerly village on the British mainland. It is so remote that you have to travel 26 miles down a single track road to get there. England is at least 5 hours away by car. A few of us (Dan, Kenneth and me) got the train to Edinburgh and were then lucky enough to get a lift in Alex’s car the rest of the way. Dave flew to Glasgow and got a lift from there. Others drove from various parts of the UK. And Philippe came in his van.
Lorna (coming from the Norn Iron branch of CKC), Geors, Richard, Phil & Jacqui (and 6 month old Ollie) and Sue completed the group. Geoff and Alex were the official leaders on the water.
Geoff was the driving force behind the trip and with his wife Sandra gave all of the CKC group tremendous hospitality on arrival. A dozen people turning up at odd times through the afternoon and evening, but all got a good feed and a glass or three of wine at their house in Kilchoan. Sandra’s pavlova was the subject of much comment, most of it suitable for mixed company.
At the last minute, Alex took the executive decision to rent a third holiday cottage to add to the other two. This had the benefit of less people having to share rooms. With a week long trip, this was well worth doing.
SUNDAY, 31 MAY 2015
Windy, from the west. F6 out in the main channel between Kilchoan and the Isle of Mull. However, we were keen to at least wet the kayaks, and so we hugged the coast just for a mile or so west of Kilchoan. Even well inshore, progress against the wind was hard work.
Eventually we reached a small bay in the lee of a headland and had a rest. Geoff gave us the option of heading out into the channel for some surfing. Three of us declined this “opportunity” but most of the group ventured out. Even the more experienced paddlers said that turning in the wind made the boat feel a bit “wobbly” but no-one capsized. Until …
What do a dancer called Kenneth and a Frenchman called Philippe have in common? They both re-defined “rock-hopping”. Both of them had finished out in the big stuff and were coming into the little bay side by side.
My recollection is that they were alongside each other parallel to the rocks when a wave caused Kenneth’s boat to hit Philippe’s causing him to capsize. Philippe got out of the sea and onto the rocks but in the confusion a wave then took Kenneth’s boat onto the rocks. More wave action ensued until for a split second Kenneth was sitting in his boat perched on a rock completely proud of the water. Anyway, the waves kept on coming, Kenneth managed to stay upright, and eventually he was back on the water.
MONDAY, 1 JUNE 2015
Very very very windy. No kayaking. Not even Katie and Lee (see Katie-and-Lee-at-sea on Facebook) who were circumnavigating Britain went out in it today.
So we had a 6 mile walk to Ardnamurchan lighthouse for a brew and a piece of cake.
In the evening, we all repaired to the local pub for a few drinks at the Kilchoan Hotel. This was a pattern to be repeated throughout the week.
TUESDAY to THURSDAY, 2-4 JUNE 2015
A weather window appeared for a few days, so the decision was taken to do a 3 day/2 night wild camping trip to Loch Sunart, a sea loch.
On Tuesday, the wind still had a bit of bite in it, so the first 2 mile crossing from headland to headland as we headed east in a following sea was testing for some of us. But no capsizes!
My experience is that each time I go out in conditions that test me, I get just a little bit better at dealing with them. Some titbit of advice on a course from way back or from a more knowledgeable paddler pops into my head and I try to apply it.
The sea conditions are unpredictable even as you get further up the sea lochs. In the space of 10 minutes or so the sea can go from benign to very choppy. Waves close together and a bit confused, rather than long regular swells, seemed to be the norm.
Tuesday evening we arrived at the spot Geoff had earmarked as our campsite for the night. Problem: it was boggy after so much rain and the spring tide meant that we had to be a good distance above the high water mark. Strike one. Dave then paddled off to scout around the corner but that location was too boggy also. Strike two. Then we got lucky and found a bit of level dry ground just across from the SE corner of Oronsay.
The feeling of remoteness, wild scenery and yet being with a lot of good company was priceless.
Throughout the week, there were so little signs of human activity. We may have seen just one sailing craft each day. The coastline was usually devoid of people.
After a night’s camping we left our gear there and headed further east up Loch Sunart, reaching Salen.
After a second night’s camping, we struck camp and headed west. We had to be on the water by 9.30am to catch the high tide in the creek so we could go directly west. Any delay and we would have had to go the long way around Oronsay. We made it.
We eventually headed around the point opposite Tobermory. We edged up the coast and then made the crossing to the south of the small island just south of Tobermory harbour. Just outside the harbour there was a waterfall which some more hardy paddlers went through. The reward for our efforts over the last few days was fish and chips in Tobermory.
After lunch there was a choice of an open crossing to Kilchoan or getting the ferry. A few of us opted out of the crossing as the inshore forecast was eventually for F5 to arrive. As it turned out, most of the crossing was in benign conditions with just a bit of lumpiness at the end. Oh well, there’s always next time.
FRIDAY, 5 JUNE 2015
The group split between those opting for a short paddle on the north side of Ardnamurchan, or a walk tracking the kayakers route. We all met up at Sanna beach where Kenneth led an impromptu dance class. Yes, really!
In the evening it was a farewell dinner at the local pub. The manager arranged what was in effect a private dining room for all of us, but at budget prices.
SATURDAY, 6 JUNE 2015
A long slog back to London for many of us. Some took the opportunity to see more of Scotland.
The Thames just doesn’t seem as awesome after experiencing Kilchoan. Ah well, next year!
Tudor Grashoff, June 2015
(Photo Credits: Richard Gooderick and Alex Hester)
Drama and manoeuvres in Shepperton
November 16th, 2012As training sessions go, this one seemed to skip along happily like a kayaker in the wake of a Thames party boat. The three newbies, Dan, Dave and Nick figured a beautiful autumnal day along the quiet Shepperton river banks lined with post rehab rocker villas would be like chicken soup for their busy London lives. Little did they know that ‘wet work’ isn’t another term for drinking on the job. By the end of the day, they learnt just how fast you can spin around your bum in icy water wearing wetsuit tutus.
The day started out with a couple of ripples and grumbles from various leaders. It’s always interesting to see who can come up with the best excuses to be late. As Geoff single handedly loaded all eight kayaks down at Cremorne, various texts arrived on his phone.
Phil and Jaqui – “Our hamster got stuck in the chandelier!”
Judes – “Sam Neill is stalking me!”
Once down at Shepperton, under Phil’s direction the main training got underway and the newbies trailed up and down, zig zagging along as Judes kept calling out “Rudder to the left of them, rudder to the right of them, rudder in front of them, Volley’d and thunder’d; Storm’d at with shot and shell, Boldly they rode and well, Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of Hell!” A little sense of drama never hurt a paddler, especially when a leader is trying to get that stern rudder steering into your head before you manoeuvre around on the Thames. In the end Geoff and Jacqui even managed to get Slow Dane to paddle backwards blindfolded and singing ‘God Save the Queen’ while hitting her head with one paddle and taking out a couple of signets with the other.
As the day finished off, the group rounded Desborough island and slalomed around a couple of near sighted rowers. Once back on land the three boys earned their BCU 1 Star + status, slow Dane narrowly escaped flushing herself down the seventies Sci-Fi toilet and we finished off the day with a well-deserved drink on dry land.
Solvej (aka the Slow Dane)
CKC Christmas Party 2011
December 20th, 201133 CKC members and partners congregated together at the Hurlingham Yacht Club on a clear crisp Friday night to celebrate its second Christmas together.
Thanks to Richard Bate bringing along a last minute extension cable we were up and running with a compilation of the years trips via big screen slideshow, bringing back memories of the 16 paddling trips we had over the year and hopefully inspiring those who missed out to sign up to more in 2012. Miranda threw in a last minute ‘Caption Competition’ with Tim Mansel being the star feature!! Andy managed to take the large box of choc prize with ‘Join CKC it’s a great ‘crack…’
John the Chef provided a fabulous 3 course meal leaving everyone loosening their belts and in need of good long hard paddle to work it all off.
Throughout the evening members added memories from past trips and ideas for upcoming 2012 trips to the UK + southern Ireland map Miranda handily bought, along with pens and post-it notes to boot. Looks like it’s going to be a busy year…
The evening rounded off with a few games of Giant Jenga and quiet drinks… perfect!
Can’t wait to see what’s in store for the coming year!
Jac x
PS see also see Andy’s blog from 2011 giving a fab round up of the year.
Isle of Wight Symposium
August 31st, 2011August Bank Holiday Weekend, 2011
Six of us from the Club (Jac, Toons, Miranda, Debs, Ann and I) attended the inaugural Isle of Wight Symposium which took place over August Bank Holiday weekend. The Symposium, organised by Isle of Wight Sea Kayaking, was put on to to fill a bit of a gap given that the Jersey Symposium will most likely not be happening anymore.
45 sea kayakers and some of the UK’s top sea kayaking coaches descended on the island for a long weekend of wet and dry workshops including practical navigation, open water tidal planning, incident management, rolling clinics, expedition skills, 4 Star Leadership Practice, boat repairs, forward paddling and intermediate handling skills.
This was my first symposium and to be honest I’d always been a bit reluctant to go on one before because of a perception that they’re a bit “cliquey” or perhaps more appropriate for the seasoned sea paddler. But I have to say there was a great atmosphere over the three days and everyone was very friendly and approachable.
The first day (Saturday) saw most of us from the CKC contingent doing practical navigation in the morning from Fort Victoria – it was certainly interesting conditions out on the Solent – it certainly was shifting! Miranda and I were in a group with James Bachelor who used white-water analogies to get the group, each taking turns to lead, to navigate over to Hurst Castle Spit. After a bit of discussion the group decided that getting back to Fort Victoria may be a bit challenging so it decided to ferry glide through the tide race into Colwell Bay to be shuttled back. In the afternoon we did a 4 Star Leadership session with Kate Duffus and James Bachelor out in Freshwater Bay in conditions approaching the top end of the remit.
Whilst all the sessions I attended were good, I have to say that the one of the best sessions was the boat repairs workshop led by the great Howard Jeffs. Lots of great handy hints and tips – I believe Miranda may be writing a blog up on this soon (so watch out for that!). Valley were also on hand and they helped us fix one of the Club boat’s skegs.
Bank Holiday Monday saw most of us split up into different workshops and I did an all day incident management session with Jeff Allen and Phil Hadley which was excellent. Miranda and Toons opted for the open water tidal planning course and Jac fell in love with a set of wings after her forward paddling session.
The symposium was organised not just for us paddlers but also to help raise money for the Freshwater Independent Life Boat Service.
The event was felt to be such a success that Isle of Wight Sea Kayaking already plan to organise a second one at the end of August next year. It will then alternate tnereafter every other year with the Skye Symposium which will take place in 2013 (or that is the plan anyway).
Phil
Kentish Sea Paddling the Return
August 15th, 2011Saturday 13th August 2011
In sea paddling terms can the Kent coast be compared to say Cornwall or Pembrokeshire or even Dorset for that matter? No, possibly not but in its own way it is unique and even has some great paddling gems if you go looking for them and you get your tidal planning right. Given our London base you’d think the Kent coast would feature as a regular trip destination – in reality though the Club had only previously paddled along sections of it twice before. The previous paddles saw us paddle out of Sandgate (near Folkestone) to Abbot’s Cliff and meet Mungo Francis (quite accidentally as it happens) last summer and more recently in April we paddled 5 miles out and back from Herne Bay to the wind turbines. I was responsible for planning and organising both those trips and as I have a bit of an affinity to Kent (I am after all technically a “Kentish Man”) I thought it was about time another was organised.
For some time I’d had it in mind to organise a paddle along the eastern most tip of Kent from Ramsgate to Margate (or vice versa) – ok those locations are not particularly great but the coastline between the two takes in the seven sandy bays of Broadstairs. Each bay has its own character – the northern most of these bays is Botany Bay and is famous for its chalk stacks, Joss Bay is a popular surf beach and more importantly Kingsgate Bay has a chalk arch (which can be paddled through if the tide is right!).
After checking some local knowledge with Rob Davis I set about planning an outline trip – which was a 14km paddle round North Foreland from Ramsgate to Margate or the other way from Margate to Ramsgate with the aim of getting to Kingsgate Bay around high tide (or thereabouts) to go through its arch. I then set about looking at the tidal information (tide times and tidal streams) for the best date – and Saturday 13th August it was with Ramsgate as the launch location! The tidal streams were not completely perfect and after discussing things with Keith we agreed we had to be past Foreness Point by 2pm to avoid paddling against a significant current to the finish at Westbrook. The weather was the other factor – the forecast was for SW winds at the top end of a Force 4. If the weather and conditions got too bad during the trip the route had plenty of “pull off” locations. Plan B was a skills session if the weather really kicked up!
After a very early start we all eventually managed to rendezvous at a large carpark in Ramsgate (just north of the marina). There were nine of us and as it happened it was also Mel’s first time on the briney blue and Abdul’s first ever Club trip. The usual faff ensued as boats were unloaded and packed, etc and the drivers dashed away to do the shuttle – consequently we were about three-quarters of an hour late launching than planned. It was also pretty miserable – cold, raining and overcast.
We were launching into moderate surf with SW Force 3 winds (yep, Keith got his wind meter out to check). I launched first through the waves to an area beyond the significant swell and each person in the group followed one at a time with Keith being the last to launch. Although several white knuckles and interesting facial expressions were observed the launching was “incident free” and we were off heading northwards (rather quickly as it happens with the tide and the wind).
The coastline sped by and as we moved northwards the sea settled down and the sky became increasingly blue! Paddling effortlessly we reached Joss Bay and saw the Kingsgate Bay chalk arch ahead in the distance. Olwen and Keith checked out the surf in Joss Bay whilst the rest of us paddled on – fingers crossed I’d timed it right so we could pass through the arch – and luckily I had!
After agreeing the hand signals and setting up “lines of sight” most of the group took the opportunity to pass and re-pass through the arch timing the swell accordingly – a great bit of experience for several in the group.
Paddling on we passed the famous chalk stacks of Botany Bay and looked for a landing site for a lunch stop – ideally one that would be less prone to significant surf. We decided on an area just to the north of Foreness Point. Richard, Jac and Keith also decided to have a bit of a swim having been enticed by the clean sea and shining sun.
As we had around an hour to kill Keith proposed a skills session involving deep water rescues, self-rescues and rolling. It is easy to forget that skills such as these will diminish over time if you do not regularly practice them and the chance to do this in warm clean water was a welcome opportunity that could not be passed up by most in the group.
The group rounded Long Nose Spit and headed west to the finish point at Westbrook (just beyond Margate). Keith and I knew that we would have a bit of a current against us – nothing compared to what the group is used to as they all paddle regularly on the tidal Thames. What we hadn’t bargained on was for the wind to kick round more to the west so the journey to the finish was a bit more of a slog than we’d thought. But then Tim did say that the paddling had been way too tame up to that point – that’s karma for you I guess!
Off the water we got changed and loaded the boats onto the trailer as quickly as possible and most of the group headed back to Ramsgate in search of fish and chips – which turned out to be amazing and to quote Jacquelin the “best she’d had since she’d been in the UK” – before heading back to London.
Phil
Norfolk Wild Canoe Camping
August 15th, 20115 – 7th August 2011
After paddling over 80km from Marlow to Chelsea in two days the previous weekend I was looking forward to what was meant to be a relatively relaxed paddle along the River Bure in Norfolk in good company and good weather. Well… we I guess two out of three ain’t bad I suppose…
Whilst CKC focuses on sea kayaking and touring we don’t get very many opportunities to do open boating (given we don’t have any of our own). So on the general principle that we should run an open canoeing trip at least once a year we were on the lookout for self-guided options. We decided to book a self-guided open canoe camping trip through The Canoe Man after seeing them at The Outdoors Show in January.
We rendezvoused at The Goat Inn in Skeyton ready to be met to be taken to the “get in” at Aylsham. There were eleven of us in total – including a few “firsts” for some people. It was Katie’s first CKC trip of the year, Pia and Bunny’s first CKC trip ever!, and also Pia’s first ever time in an open boat (it’s not big in Denmark apparently).
Most of us had camped over the previous night at The Goat Inn – and due to a communications cock-up on the part of The Canoe Man we had to stay in tipi’s as there was not enough room to pitch our own tents – which initially we were quite pleased about (i.e. no faff with tents, etc) until it started raining. Yep it turns out that the tipi’s were not very water tight and as we weren’t warned about this some people and kit got a bit wet during the night…
Saturday morning started out pretty miserable and we were all a bit concerned that it was going to set in all day. After a bit of faff the boats were loaded, people deciding who their tandem partners would be (tandem open boats are not called “divorce boats” for nothing…), and a short briefing we were off with the weather improving each hour! Did I mention that Bunny was paddling solo – yep as ever he wanted a challenge (he would however be regretting it by the end of the day).
Did I also mention that this was supposed to be a relaxed paddle? Well the first days paddle was meant to be around 15km (or thereabouts) to the wild campsite. The second day we could decide how long or short we wanted the paddle. With this in mind we progressed along the river figuring we could have a chilled lunch stop at the pub at Coltishall. As we progressed and tackled each portage with ever growing frustration (including having to deal with a rather irate home owner in Buxton Mill who had an issue with us getting out where the briefing sheets told us to) it became apparent that something was wrong… This was on top of the fact that Toons was repeatedly moaning that this was the “worst trip ever!”
Still there was a bit of a comedy moment as we were putting back into the water below Buxton Mill – being the cheeky chappy that Gieve is he wanted to do a short seal launch – “no, no, no!” pleaded Pia – “yes, yes, yes” Gieve said. The next thing we heard was a scream, a splash and Stu laughing his head off as the boat had in fact turned over and Gieve and Pia had taken a plunge along with all their kit!
We paddled on and it wasn’t until we got to Coltishall around 5pm (or thereabouts) absolutely starving and Toons and I looked at the sheets we noticed that there were distances along the bottom… It turns out that The Canoe Man had messed up yet again! We were meant to actually start the trip at Buxton Mill not Aylsham! Consequently we’d already done 16km and still had another 11km to go! Therein lies a lesson for me – do not necessarily trust everything a provider says – do your own due-diligence as well!
Still no real dramas and with a quiet determination we paddled on as fast we could in an attempt to get to the wild campsite before dark. The group split Jac and I, Kate and Stu, Gieve and Pia and Bunny found ourselves at the front and Toons, John, Katie and Miranda had dropped behind quite a way. As we reached Wroxham to phone The Canoe Man for some directions to the wild campsite – we heard mass grunting which then broke into songs as Toons and Katie had rafted alongside John and Miranda to create a “Ca-ta-noe”. By this time I should perhaps mention that Bunny was lagging too – finally we had found something that had broken him!
Pulling into Wroxham Broad we eventually found the wild camp location, pulled the boats up, pitched the tents, chatted around the disposable BBQ we had bought with us, and settled in for the night – yep we were absolutely knackered! We had paddled the best part of 27km and had tackled 4 portages.
The group awoke to a fabulous day and had a very slow start to breaking camp and getting away – much to Bunny’s frustration. A decision was made to go for the shorter paddle and had a nice and relaxed 6km paddle in the sun to The Swan Inn at Horning including a stop along the way for a “99” from an “ice cream boat” (!?!) and various attempts by some to ride the wake of the Sunday day-trippers.
Although there were some cock up’s the trip ultimately went well and The Canoe Man’s equipment and team on the ground were excellent. At the end of the day everyone had a great time (helped by what turned out to be amazing weather) and we will definitely be doing another self-guided canoe camping trip next year – suggestions on location anyone?
Phil
Use your Skeg!
June 26th, 2011With the Club’s fleet of sea kayaks fast approaching their first birthday the Scotland trip a few weeks ago presented an opportunity of giving them a bit of well earned TLC.
With some people moaning that their skegs were not working, upon inspection it was immediately apparent that most of the skegs were not in a very good shape at all – this was mainly due to the accumulation of silt and sand causing them to jam up, but there was evidence of misuse in a couple of instances.
A bit of a recap on what a skeg is and how to use them then…
Generally most sea kayaks when evenly loaded will weathercock – that is the front (bow) will turn into the wind. This is because it is generally anchored in the water whilst it is moving enabling the unanchored back (stern) to be blown downwind.
The skeg is a dropdown fin which if used correctly can provide extra resistance at the stern from being blow downwind making it easier to paddle in a straight line in windy conditions.
All the skegs in the Club’s sea kayaks are adjustable using a stainless steel braided cable to pull the skeg up into the recess in the stern or to push the skeg into the deployed position. This enables you to set it to the right depth in the water for the wind direction and strength. This requires fine tuning and is not a simple skeg up or skeg down exercise. Adjustments are made until the least amount of correction is required when paddling forwards in windy conditions.
When paddling into the wind the skeg is not required to maintain direction (i.e. skeg should be completely up), when paddling with the wind on the front quarter have it a quarter down (i.e. diagonally across the wind), when paddling across the wind it is halfway down, when paddling with wind on the rear quarter it is three-quarters down, and when paddling downwind the skeg is fully down. This is only a general guide you need to experiment as trim and kayak design will have an effect. On the recent Wallasea Island paddle I was forever adjusting the damn thing as we paddled around!
On the infamous Scotland trip in 2009 which ultimately lead to the formation of the Club I remember Jules McLeod suggesting we use the Grand Old Duke of York nursery rhyme to help remember how a skeg should be used. When you are travelling up against the wind, pull your skeg up, when you are travelling downwind put your skeg down, and when the wind is neither coming nor going, your skeg should be neither up nor down.
Some Top Tips
Happy paddling!
Phil
Open Boating Coaching
May 30th, 2011Sunday 22nd May 2011
It’s not often I get to coach open canoeing, so when a small group of CKC paddlers asked me to provide them with a day’s coaching I was more than happy to oblige.
Feeling a little exhausted from the previous days paddling on the Solent I headed over to Thames Ditton to meet Gieve, Miranda, Judes and Abdul.
Taking them steadily through the canoe bits of the 2 Star syllabus – from tandem to solo and rescue skills – all progressed very well. Although it was their first time in an open canoe, as experienced kayakers Gieve and Miranda expertly drew on their kayak skills whilst for Judes this was an opportunity to practice and refresh the skills she learnt at Cremorne last summer.
The one drawback was that the westerly winds were a little too strong at times during the day particularly for solo work – however the great thing about the Thames Ditton venue is that you can usually find suitable shelter somewhere. So after lunch we battled against the wind to the island area a few hundred metres up river. This provided sufficient shelter to practice solo skills, more advanced turning (e.g. bow jam), rescue scenarios and low brace support strokes. In respect to the latter, much to Abdul’s dismay Gieve took this very seriously and attempted to edge the boat over as far as he possibly could.
All in all a great day and as ever a big thanks to Alan Pearson for allowing us to use the Thames Ditton facility and equipment. Glutton for punishment I headed back home for a brief rest before heading to Brixton Pool to take the session for Paddy as he was away.
Phil
Some Like it Rough!
March 22nd, 201118th to 20th March 2011
We finally made it over to Pembrokeshire after what seemed like an impossible trip to organise. Nobody could agree on dates before Christmas and once a date in January had been agreed could you believe it we had to postpone it because the weather was too rough! Several people also pulled out due to injury or illness too. So it was with great trepidation that 9 of us from CKC headed westwards to Wales in the hope that the sea conditions would be suitable but the weather would not be too dire. It also happened to be the first CKC away trip for Fiona, Paul and Judes!
We had arranged a bespoke moderate to rough water handling course with Sea Kayak Guides (Martin Leonard and Nige Robinson). All of us had something slightly different to get out of the weekend – for me, I wanted to supplement the 4 Star Sea leader training I received last year because conditions at the time were relatively calm.
Arriving at various times on the Friday – Judes and I arrived to find a drunken contingent loosely playing Junior Scrabble in the bunkhouse kitchen. I say loosely because I didn’t recognise any of the rules they were playing to… For one Olwen seemed to be challenging John for using words in every day usage – apparently she had never heard of “toe-day” before…
Saturday morning arrived and the sun was shining – after a quick briefing we headed off to White Sands Bay in the knowledge that we may well be heading over to Ramsey Island to experience The Bitches. Despite suffering from an immense hangover Olwen was beside herself with excitement as The Bitches had been on her “To Do” list for as long as she could remember – she would never have guessed that her first experience would be in a sea kayak though!
Nige, Martin and Denise got us doing various manoeuvring exercises before taking us to an area of modest current to practice breaking in and ferry glides sea kayak style. We then headed off to Ramsey Island and pulled up into the harbour area for a lunch stop to wait for the tide to turn and the race to begin (not before a quick trip further along the island to see the seal colony). The spring tides combined with a little swell made for exciting conditions, big grins (and a few unplanned swims…they will remain nameless). After the session on the tide race we regrouped and headed as a tight group over Ramsey Sound to get back to White Sands Bay – very strange water to be paddling over and I found myself wondering how a shorter kayak would ever make it back without tripping over the funny eddy lines and swirls. We all surfed into White Sands Bay in a relatively controlled manner – unfortunately I did not have my camera ready to capture an amazing roll Olwen had to resort to in the surf! It was also Stu’s first time at surfing.
Back at the bunkhouse we quickly showered and John and I came up with an outline plan to head to the north coast for Sunday to discuss with Martin in the pub and we headed over to The Ship Inn for good food and to generally chill out before turning in early (for us anyway).
Sunday arrived and was as forecast – overcast and generally gloomy – the outline plan discussed the night before was still on and we all headed to Abercastle. We headed out through the harbour and turned west along the coast with the eventual aim of ending up in Abereiddy.
John and I were given opportunities to lead various sections as the group headed along the coast rockhopping and practiced surfing and group leadership techniques (such as around headlands). I even got the opportunity to practice a rocky landing. The weather certainly kicked up during the trip and at times we were on the upper bounds of a Force 4.
All in all an amazing weekend and everyone got a lot out of it – and a great first away trip for Fiona, Paul and Judes! For John, Olwen and Dave T the weekend was a mere warm up for the Severn Bore they rushed off to do when they got off the water (see their trip report on the Battersea website).
Phil
Scilly Isles Sea Paddling
October 16th, 201030th September – 4th October 2010
The Isles of Scilly have been on my “must do” list for ages so when Miranda suggested a Club trip / reccie out there it was something that could not be turned down. After all this was just the sort of trip the Club was set up to do!
It was a very small group from CKC – five – who headed out by different modes – road, rail, sea and air. All slightly concerned about the absolutely rubbish weather forecast for the weekend!
Geoff, Miranda, Debs and Toons opted for a hellishly early start and drove down to Lands End from London (or in Geoff’s case Scotland!) and then a short hop by plane to St Mary’s and arrived on the Thursday afternoon. True to form, I went with the low carbon option and took the sleeper to Penzance on Thursday night and the Scillonian III ferry on Friday morning. I also had the benefit of having no luggage restrictions so I got to take all my paddling gear (!).
Friday
The seas were damn rough on the way over and taking Rob Davis’ (from Seapoint Canoe Centre) tip I headed as low as I could go and grabbed one of the bunks and went to sleep – after all the ferry is not nicknamed the “vomit comet” by the locals for nothing!
I arrived into Hugh Town dock (St Mary’s) feeling pretty good – all things considered – on Friday lunchtime. I thought the others may already be on the water but no – the weather was just too bad in the morning and had opted for shopping instead (albeit Toons just stayed in bed apparently). Trudging through the wet streets of Hugh Town I grabbed a taxi to the cottage in Porthlow and I was told we were all heading out in less than an hour to venture on to the sea. Chris from Kayak Scilly (where we were hiring the boats from) had briefed the others the day before about the tides, tidal streams and weather and was optimistic that the weather would clear in the afternoon – we were less than sure (as it turned out we should have had more faith).
We headed over to where the boats were kept with the rough plan of heading out into St Mary’s Pool and northwards along its coast (nothing too adventurous). A quick chat was had with Murray, we grabbed the boats (a mix of P&H Capella’s, Wilderness Systems Sealution’s and a Dagger Atlantis) and we were off. The going was tough against the north-westerly wind that was coming straight at us with some pretty big swell as well. However, as we headed further out away from the coast onto “The Road” the wind pretty much instantly died and the sun started to shine through the clouds with more and more blue sky appearing. An instant decision was made and we headed straight for Tresco. As we approached the island inquisitive seals suddenly appeared in front of us – this was to become a common sight over the next few days. Geoff, Toons and I pulled up onto the beach between Crab’s Ledge and Green Island to have a bit of a wander. Meanwhile the girls decided to get the fishing line out and bob about a bit.
We turned westwards along the southern coast of Tresco and paddled over to Samson to have a look at what the Atlantic swell was up to. Geoff decided to jump onto Samson’s sandy beach and claim it as his own! We then made our way back southwards before heading back to St Mary’s. We all got changed and headed into town for food at the Mermaid Inn.
Total estimated distance paddled: 9.4 km or 5.2 nautical miles.
Saturday
We had a plan to be on the water by 10am – hmmm – I see Debs and Geoff have perhaps not been on many trips with the rest of us before! However, amazingly we were on the water by 10.30am – got to be a record? Chris had phoned in with an updated forecast in the morning and we had an outline plan of heading across to Tresco, up between Bryher and Tresco and poking our noses out to see what the Atlantic was doing and whether to go around the tip of Tresco and back down its east coast. We had a southerly wind with us for the open crossing – at Tresco, Toons had a quick pit stop to adjust his footrests and we continued northwards. The sights and landscapes on either side of us were amazing as we approached Hangman Island (the locals had even put a mock gallows with a skeleton hanging from it…) and Cromwell’s castle on the northwest point of Tresco. We poked our noses out into some pretty big swell and after a quick chat decided we’d have to venture out quite a way to avoid the breaking swell and clapotic waves that were occurring a modest distance from the shore. So we turned back and pulled up on Bryher’s beach and had lunch and coffee at Fraggle Rock Cafe (!).
Back on the water we headed southwards along Bryher’s coast and decided to semi-circumnavigate Samson, picking our lines carefully along its west coast to avoid being beaten broadside onto rocks by the breaking swell and surf. A few seals hailed their hellos as we paddled through. Toons taking the lead decided to go for a wave which nearly ended in tears with him being flipped and having to resort to a punt off the bottom (or Italian as we call it) to get himself up (but hey whatever works I guess).
After a bit of a session practising in some surf on the southerly tip of Samson we pulled up on its sandy beach to explore it a bit. Samson is the largest uninhabited island in Scilly and comprises two hills which are connected by an isthmus on which its former inhabitants built cottages – the remains of which can still be seen (it was depopulated in 1855). We headed up North Hill to take in the views across to Bryher, Tresco and St Mary’s and could even see across to the Bishop’s Rock Lighthouse beyond St Agnes.
We then headed back across to St Mary’s with very little wind and glorious sunshine. Most of the group practised their rolls and rescues before heading in to get changed and eat in the Mermaid Inn again (as it turned out everywhere else had stopped serving at a stupidly early time!).
Total estimated distance paddled: 17.3 km or 9.6 nautical miles.
Sunday
Sunday was supposed to be a complete wipe out with severe weather predicted. However, when we woke up things could not be further from the truth – it was an amazing day. The plan was to head across “The Road” and along the east coast of Tresco. There was very little wind and the seas were pretty smooth going as we paddled across with some amazing views across to the Eastern Isles in the sunshine.
We took our time paddling along Tresco’s sandy east coast, past Old Grimsby and its Blockhouse and landed on Northwethel to look across to Men-a-vaur (Murray had said it was possible to time the swell and shoot between its rocks). It looked seriously choppy out there with crashing waves going through it every 4 to 5 seconds or so. After a quick bite to eat as a group we headed out to Men-a-vaur to get a bit closer, picking our route carefully past the various rocks and surf zones along the way. Paddling through some pretty big swell it was clear that it was not going to be possible to shoot through, not without significant risk of injury. As we turned around to head back to head towards St Helens – I caught a glimpse of a fin, we all turned to look and saw a dolphin jump literally metres from our boats (amazing!). Unfortunately no time for photos as the swell was so big we did not want to hang around.
I pulled up on to St Helens to look at the remains of its ‘Pest House’ (a quarantine station) – in the 1760s an Act of Parliament decreed that any ship approaching the British isles via Scilly would have to abandon any of its passengers or crew who showed signs of any contagion in the stone quarantine station on St Helen’s until they either died or recovered (most did not recover).
The group headed off towards Tean and Tean Sound – Geoff and Toons opting for a route which took them between Pednbrose and Tean whereas the rest of us paddled around the north of Pedbrose. Reunited we headed towards Lower Town on St Martin’s to grab a coffee and cake. Luckily we came across a local couple in a tandem sea kayak who informed us that the cafe was shut but to go further on and pull in at Old Quay in Higher Town, head up the road and Polreath Cafe should be open – and indeed it was (no substitute for local knowledge!). Cream teas and cake were had by all.
We headed back across “The Road” past the Eastern Isles to the northerly tip of St Mary’s and back along its coast to Hugh Town. We pulled up the boats, rinsed the kit and head back to the cottage to chill out and cook up all food we’d bought.
Total estimated distance paddled: 18.7 km or 10.4 nautical miles.
Monday
No paddling was to be had on Monday as we had to pack up to go our various ways back to the mainland – which was a shame because the weather was probably even better than the previous few days.
All in all an amazing trip and with the weather forecast against us from the start we were damn lucky. The weather got progressively better each day we were there. I guess the Isles of Scillydoes not mean the “Sun Isles” for nothing! Many thanks to Miranda for organising!
Getting to Scilly is the hardest part! Once there it is a truly unique environment and has something for all sea kayakers – stunning landscapes, seas to cater for all abilities, diverse wildlife, limited traffic on the water and not many people around to bother you. CKC will be heading back there in the future that’s for sure – the only thing is do we opt to paddle there from the mainland next time?
Phil