Loch Sunart, a day of three otters

From inside the van, blue sky beckoned temptingly, steel and glass being a good barrier to the biting easterly wind. I launched near Glen More, on the southern shore of the Ardnamurchan peninsula, and was soon reaching for pogies as cold fingers refused to follow instructions. Within a kilometre I had encountered my first otter swimming unconcerned near my boat.

I picked my way along the north shore of Loch Sunart, past Glen Borrodale and Risga Island until I was opposite the island of Carna and made the short crossing into the wind. This was the home of otter number two, busily munching on a fish as I photographed him on the rocks.

I paddled through Caol Charna into Loch Teacuis through a narrow channel. Here I saw my first human of the day. Continuing on a circuit of Loch Teacuis I found respite from the wind on reaching the tree lined far shore. Now with an empty stomach a lunch break seemed in order. The new unscratched gelcoat beneath me meant I was super-fussy about where to land, but eventually picked my way against current through the narrows to find a spot both sheltered from the wind and benefiting from full sun. Coffee was soon brewing as I lapped up the sunshine.

I came to my senses as ominous looking clouds appeared over the hills of Arnamurchan. Narrow channels to the west of Carna had significant flow as Loch teacuis filled up so I hunted out the slack water and made easy progress. In the distance I spied another otter – too far away for a picture but I sat for a while enjoying watching it swim around oblivious of my delight.

As clouds lowered, I made my way quickly back to Glen More where my home-from-home yellow van stood out on the shore like a beacon.

This is where I went, a total of 25km paddled.

It's March. Why is it still winter?

It's another freezing cold weekend so where better to go than Anglesey. Seven well dressed paddlers assembled at Church Bay ready for a trip with the tide round Carmel head to Cemlyn and back. That was the plan. Jimski in his plastic fantastic decided to test out every little nook and cranny of the coastline. At one point he decided he didn't even need water.

Or paddles.

Here he is checking for damage, fortunately none found. Those Delphins are made of tough stuff.

There were caves and arches to explore.

And Claire even took a dip.

Anything Jimski can do, Norbert will try and follow. Here he is giving his skeg some air time.

After lunch, the Skerries looked enticingly close, so with a few guestimated tidal calculations Jimski led us in what looked like an impossible direction. What he of course knew was that the tidal flow was increasing rapidly and was at a rate faster than we could hope to paddle against. His enthusiasm was so great that we had to do an abrupt about-turn to avoid overshooting the island group.

The picture makes it look like summer but I can assure you it was pretty cold.

Here's the team on the top of the Skerries, with Carmel Head gap in the background.

What a day!

Another Chilly One

Stunning winter weather again, so what better place to go than Anglesey. The west coast this time and a short trip from Cable Bay towards Malltraeth Sands. The first landmark is this tiny church cut off from the shore at high water. We stopped to investigate, but only briefly as the cold wind was biting.

 Once again Jimski is happiest when he's grating the gelcoat on barnacles. Here he is demonstrating his choice of fashion headgear.

 Here's Claire proving how narrow her boat is.

 And this time I'm investigating a deep cleft in the rocks not far from Rhoscolyn.

 Right now I'm sitting in my boat, deep in a gully beside the white arch at Rhoscolyn. This wave is making me wish I was somewhere else.

 This lazy creature just about opened its eyes as we paddled past, not remotely bothered about our presence.

Another fantastic weekend of cold but enjoyable paddling, more precious as the fine weather cannot last much longer.

Cold weather paddling

 February 16th and 17th was forecast to be another blue sky winter day. Six NWSKers donned thermals and pogies for a North Wales weekend. Here Jimski warms his hands up in the outfall from Wylfa power station. That's not spray in the sir, it's steam. The water was like bathwater.

 We paddled from Cemlyn, along the north coast of Anglesey to Bull Bay, past caves and spectacular rocky scenary. The sea was calm enough to permit close inspection.

 Bull Bay was our lunch stop and a chance to soak up some rays. Out of the chilly breeze it felt quite warm in the sun.

 The return journey was tide assisted, and so a more direct route was taken. We couldn't resist this cave for a second time though.

 The following day was just as blue and calm, so another trip was in order, this time round the Great and Little Ormes. Having sampled the bathwater yesterday, Jimski felt in need of a shower and tested the hood on his drysuit in one of the many waterfalls to tumble from the heights of the Orme.

 Birds were very much in evidence, with hundreds of guillemots standing to attention along every ledge in the cliffs.

 More birds on the return journey between Great Orme and West Shore. This time the Oystercatchers line up facing into the wind as though in formation.

 Seals laze on a beach near Little Orme, pretty much oblivious of our presence.

What a fantastic couple of days, stolen from winter. It almost felt like spring was springing.

Sunshine at Bass Rock

On my way home from a week working at Glenmore Lodge, I stopped off for a day out in the sunshine at Bass Rock. Conditions were great, with little wind and small swell.

I paddled with Gianni, who lives in Edinburgh, just half an hours drive from this little gem. The island is the remnant of a volcanic plug, and is now home to about 150 000 pairs of gannets. Approaching closely you get a good whiff of the gannet guano.

I came across this little chap doing his best to drown beneath the steep cliffs of the rock. As I hauled him unceremoniously aboard he looked more dead than alive, and I planned to find a rock ledge on which to give him a chance of recovery. Within minutes though he was recovered enough to make me worried for my own safety. His huge beak was very close to my face and he was starting to take an interest in his rescuer. As he moved around it became obvious that he had a broken wing and stood a very poor chance of survival. One more lunge towards my face and I'm afraid his fate was sealed as I left him floating around on the sea. I hope he didn't suffer for long.

This is Gianni exploring a narrow rock cleft close under the remains of a castle on the Bass.



Bass rock is just 2km from the mainland and is a lovely paddle, with views to Tantallon Castle. We launched at North Berwick, paddled out to the rock, and then returned along the rocky mainland shore. We passed the most amazing hidden harbour carved out of the red sandstone rock. If we hadn't seen another group of kayakers disappear into a cleft in the rocks we would have missed it.

Oban Sea Kayak Race

Last Saturday was the third Oban sea kayak race. The event kicked off at the Kilbowie outdoor centre, which sits right on the shore in the Sound of Kererra. After a delayed start, due to many of the participants getting caught up in a road closure, boats were duly laid out on the grass for inspection.

Once on the water, the flotilla of fifty boats paraded into Oban bay. It was fantastic to be part of such a big group of kayaks.

Photo courtesy of Graham Milne

In this picture we have just started and are heading for the Sound of Kererra. Conditions are perfect with a northerly wind and no rain.

Photo courtesy of Graham Milne

Crossing Oban Bay

And this is me, 2hrs 20minutes later crossing the finish line in Oban Bay

Photo Graham Milne

And here are the race results

I was the first woman to finish in a time of 2hrs 20mins. Previous women's winning times have been in excess of 2hrs 30mins so I was pretty pleased with my time. Now of course I will have to go back next year and see if I can do better.
The event was very well run, and well supported locally. Local sponsors had covered the running costs so that race entry fees and raffle takings were donated to the Oban lifeboat, about £1500 I believe.

The Roadtrip Part 7 - Skye

After a very enjoyable week around Arisaig, the paddlewaggon took me to Skye. Here I met up with Julie for five days paddling in wonderful conditions.

Near Kyleakin we came across a bloom of jellyfish all trying hard to strand themselves in the receeding water.

Next day we paddled into Coruisk from Elgol. The view into the Cuillin was spectacular

In the absence of a sandy beach, we made do with a landing on rocks at the Scavaig river. Having enjoyed weeks without rain, Skye was parched dry and the river was just a trickle.

Next day, we set off from Elgol in the opposite direction in the search for Spar Cave. Cliff scenary was spectacular.

The first cave we found had some pretty stalactites, but was clearly not Spar Cave

Here it is, from a very undramatic entrance, a passageway leads up over gour pools to a chamber lined with calcite.

The gour pools complete with cave pearls bear a striking resemblance to the surface of tripe.

For the next two days we paddled in Kyle Rhea but sadly no photos.