6th Storm Gathering, I'm going, are you?

Duke of Edinburgh's Award Silver Expedition

Last weekend I supervised a group of girls undertaking a sea kayak journey for their Silver Duke of Edinburgh's award. The weather was perfect; sunny and calm and the scenary was stunning as only Scotland can be. here is where we went.

The group paddled well and completed one of the best expeditions I have accompanied. I wish them well with their plans for Gold.

A great week away

It's not often that a week of planned paddling coaching coincides with a week of fantastic weather, but that is exactly what happened last week.
I had a group of six people, all intent on learning to sea kayak and explore the best of the west coast of Scotland. Conditions were just perfect; enough wind to keep the midges away but not enough to affect our choice of paddling venues.

We were able to visit Shuna, Lismore and Castle Stalker, Arisaig, Loch Ailort, and play on the tide race beneath Ballachulish Bridge. All in all, a most enjoyable week.

Scottish Womens Paddle Symposium

Being English and living south of Hadrians Wall I felt doubly priveliged to be invited to coach sea kayaking at this fantastic new event. I was a little unsure of what to expect as I have never attended an all women event before. I needn't have worried though as the enthusiasm for every form of paddlesport was there in abundance. Sessions were programmed to include surfing, canoe, white water kayak, playboating and of course sea kayaking. Groups were small, each led by two coaches to ensure a maximum amount of fun and learning (in that order!). Here are a few pictures.

Another day in the office

Paddling around Walney island with a group, I had the good fortune to meet this little fellow. He was curious and had a good chew of the toggle on my bow before trying to climb onto my boat. Amazing!

Galloway and Ailsa Craig

With four days off work, good weather and nothing planned, I set off in my trusty paddle waggon to see where I would end up. The Mull of Galloway looked enticing on the map, and for good measures, it was spring tides too.

I parked up at Sandhead in Luce Bay, threw a few bits and pieces in the boat and was under way in less than half an hour. Visibility was not that great...

...but the sea was lovely and calm.

As I approached the Mull, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. I could hear a roaring noise from a long way off but couldn't see any frothy stuff.

I couldn't really see anything much. The GPS said I was shooting past at 20 km/hr so I guessed that I was actually in the race. It was a bit hard to tell it was so flat. Finally I found an eddy line and paddled in to the cliffs.

Loads of fantastic crinkly rocks. Just as I was thinking of moving on, I saw the flash of a paddle in the distance. As I got closer the blur resolved itself into two paddlers, and who should I bump into but Mark and Heather Rainsley. I think they were out paddling when they should have been working, but don't tell anyone! We made a very tentative plan to meet up on Ailsa Craig on Thursday and then went our own ways. In my case this was to camp at Port Logan.

Next morning I was up early and on my way, to see if I could get within striking distance of Ailsa Craig. The coastline was spectacular, loads of stripy, crinkly cliffs and plenty of birds nesting. I stopped for lunch at Port Patrick and then had a favorable tide speeding me on my way north.

I found a perfect camp spot in Lady Bay, just within Loch Ryan...

...where I could watch the ferries as I cooked my dinner.

Next day, I was up and packed early ready to set off for the 28km crossing to Ailsa Craig. Mark told me he'd be leaving Lendalfoot at 10, so I reckoned I'd leave Lady Bay at 8 and meet him there at 12. As I set off I could see the outline of Ailsa craig on the skyline but it wasn't to last. About 3km in, the mist appeared and I was on my own with just a compass course to follow. Finally about 10km from the rock, I could see it.

I arrived to find the island deserted. I thought I had been stood up. After no more than five minutes I saw paddles over the pebble bank and Mark and Heather appeared round the corner.

We explored the area around the buildings, had lunch and then set off for a circumnavigation before heading back to Lendalfoot. The cliffs on the far side of the island were spectacular, more so because every ledge had a nesting gannet in situ.

Finally, our time was up and we set off for Lendalfoot together. The crossing was soon over. Just having company made the paddling easier.

Here's a map of my route. Thanks are due to Mark and Heather for suggesting a trip to Ailsa Craig. I probably wouldn't have thought of it myself.

Ravenglass Seaquest 2011

Seaquest is a sort of cross between sea kayak racing and orienteering. This years event at Ravenglass was delayed 24hrs due to strong winds and took place in perfect conditions today. At eleven o'clock all competitors lined up besides their choice of craft ready for the off. It was certainly a broad range of boats that made their way round the three estuaries of the rivers Irt, Mite and Esk. Most were in sea kayaks, some in canoes, double kayaks, river kayaks and a single surf ski. There was also a fair contingent of Epic and Taran racing sea kayaks. The idea of the event is to navigate round as many checkpoints as possible within a three hour time limit, with points for checkpoints visited and points deducted being late back.

This years course was perhaps shorter than last time I entered, and I managed all checkpoints with about 15 minutes to spare. The distance I covered was about 21km. I was assisted somewhat by having John Bunyan just in front of me all the way round, both as a target to chase and to help find the checkpoints.

I came first in the womens sea kayak class and was also pleased to see that I was the first person to finish in a touring boat as opposed to a race boat. I think I would have been third in the mens' race too!

This was a fantastic event and thanks must go to Annette and Phil for organising it once again.

Pre-race 'which way are you going' discussion

In the Esk

Making a run for the finish