Rounding the Cape

Some time ago, it was decided to organise a KKC paddling trip on the north and west coast of Scotland.  At some point, Hairyaker said ‘we could round Cape Wrath’ which seemed to lead to me saying I wasn’t coming unless we went round Cape Wrath.  This was in the middle of weeks of howling northerly gales.  Like that was going to happen.

Last week the weather was OK and it began to look as if the Cape might just be possible after all.  The week went on and the weather got better and better and better.  I phoned the MoD and they weren’t bombing that weekend either….  Something wasn’t right.

And so it was that we arrived in Durness on Friday night in beautiful sunshine and cloudless skies with a lovely fat ridge of high pressure sitting on top of us.  The Cape was most definitely on. What were the chances of that?

 Hold up on the shuttle run

After the usual faff with shuttles, we launched from Balnakeil Bay north of Durness.  The surf was ankle deep and the sky still utterly cloudless (to those reading abroad, the weather in Scotland is never like this!). We were in our t-shirts and shorts!

The launch site

Setting off

Who could have asked for better conditions?  The sea was flat, the wind was nothing and the scenery was stunning.  For 18 miles!

Getting in and about the rocks 

 

First view of the Cape

We stopped near Kervaig for a quick lunch break, mindful that the tide had turned and the west going stream had started.  We knew with the weather and swell conditions and the speed of the tide, we were unlikely to meet anything too nasty, but with any new trip, it seemed best to err on the side of caution.

Lunch in the tropics

We carried on towards the Cape, I for one excited to actually be there.  I never really believed it would happen. As we approached things became even more stunning, with two arches going though the headland beneath the lighthouse.

In a Geo not many people see 

Right hand arch through the Cape

After we passed through the arch, a bit of tide was evident but nothing to trouble us and we carried on on our merry way.  By this point in the afternoon the land had heated up a lot through the day, it must have been 30 degrees at least, and winds started to form where the hot air met the cold air over the sea.  This meant we met some strong gusts in all kind of directions as we paddled south towards Sandwood Bay.  By this point I was beginning to get cranky, but answering a call of nature (with a blooming annoying landing) and having a bite to eat cheered me up no end and I was ready for the final push.

West Coast scenery

 Safely landed at Sandwood Bay

Camp

Watching the sunset

After a well deserved rest, we were up early in the morning to escape the midges and to prepare for the second leg of the trip.  Although some of the group were going to go on to Kinlochbervie, I had a ferry to catch from Thurso at 7pm so I had left Phyllis at Droman Pier to the west.

Surf launching

We had fun launching off the beach into some fun little waves, a great way to cool down on another scorching hot day.  We headed to the end of Sandwood Bay and to the prominent sea stack we could see from the beach.

Neil at the stack 

The next few miles of coastline had some interesting rocks and gaps to play in and we had fun in the bit of swell there was as we wended our way south.

Catriona waits for the gap

After another few kilometres, we arrived at Droman  Pier, where Phyllis was waiting.  Everyone landed with a few of us heading away and the others intending to carry on to Kinlochbervie after a spot of lunch.

Phyllis waiting at Droman

Lots of food! To be eaten at reasonable times!

All too soon it was time to take Hairyaker back to Durness to collect Nanavan and for me to head on to Thurso for the 7pm ferry.  The others had a whole week of fun to look forward to.

What a fabulous trip in perfect conditions.  A once in a lifetime experience.

The trip

Training

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine asked me about paddling across the Pentland Firth and happened to mention he was also planning to paddle to Foula.  I hate open crossings but for some reason, the thought of going to Foula appealed to me.  However, it is a long way…..

I have decided that there is no way I can manage the trip unless I train and was advised by one who knows about these things to concentrate on my forward paddling technique and use good technique to obtain maximum efficiency with minimum effort.  She asked if I had ever tried a wing. I hadn’t.  In Mackayak’s cupboard is a wing, so I asked very nicely if I could borrow it.  She asked to borrow my crappy old buoyancy aid…..

There is a nice wee paddle from Holm to Scapa which makes a lovely solo evening trip and from where it is easy to be picked up.  I did this route the other week and moved much faster than I expected.  A new game formed in my mind.  Why not paddle from Holm to Scapa but try and get quicker every time?  But always try to do so with a comfortable cruising speed and good technique?

Today the weather was beautiful so I was determined to get out in my boat.  Holm to Scapa Timetrial, day one, was on!

Ready for the off

My housemate took me to Holm and literally threw me out of the van (he wanted to go to the gym).  It was probably the fastest I’ve ever got on the water!  While I was paddling I was concentrating on my forward paddling technique as I went along so didn’t take many photos (that would have meant stopping) but I did get a few.

 View in Scapa Flow

The interesting bit

Happy Northern Kayaker (I found the shades in Easter Island, hence why they are so unflattering!)

I carried on, thinking about my stoke, spending most of my time trying to get used to the wing.  It seemed to force me to paddle properly with a good active posture and a high angle stroke.  I felt though that I needed to move my footrests a bit closer to allow full connectivity and power transfer.  I think, however, that a 215 wing is too long for me and ideally I would want a 210 like my standard paddles.  Not that I can afford a wing anyway…. I tried to maintain a good comfortable cruising speed all the way, but the last kilometre to the pier seemed to go on for days.  Eventually I reached it and found Phyllis and my (impatient) housemate waiting at the slip.

The last time I paddled from Holm to Scapa, when I wasn’t really trying, I managed the route in 1 hour and 35 mins.  Tonight I managed 10.1km in 1 hour and 25 mins. With a max speed of 8.6km/h and an average speed of 7.2km/h.

With a bit more work on my technique, I’m sure I can better that, then I will have to find a 15km timetrial route……

The housemate was pleased to see NK at Scapa 

Sunset over Scapa

Summer in Moray

This weekend was the second Scottish Women’s Paddle Symposium based in Findhorn in Moray.  The aim of the event was to encourage the participation of women in paddlesport by providing a female only environment in which ladies could learn without pressure.

  Findhorn Bay

This year, I was asked to coach on the sea kayak team which was a massive honour but also a little bit daunting!  It did mean I got a red hoody though!

 Red hoody invasion!

On Saturday, myself and Anne led a 3* trip from Lossie to Hopeman.  The conditions were good 3* conditions so the ladies were challenged but all looked happy and confident in their boats.  With the wind and swell running the way it was, we talked a little bit about surfing along the waves to use the conditions to our advantage and also thought about how the boats handled in the conditions.  Having rounded a sandbar on a headland, after a bit of inspection, we paddled in closer to the shore to see some more scenery. It wasn’t a day for getting in caves though. 

3* journeyees

Lunch time came and I went scouting on ahead to find a landing spot.  None were great and after checking out two or three, I found a friendly sandy beach and came in without incident.  I radioed Anne and she sent the ladies in one by one.  Surf landing was a new challenge for many of the ladies but they all did brilliantly. 

 Timing their landings 

Once safely on the beach, we talked some more about surf landings and launches and about how to read the conditions to make things easy for yourself.  We all had a look at the map and saw where we had been and where we were heading to.

Discussing some coaching points

After taking a minute to chat about how we were going to launch again, everyone prepared to get back on the water with me going on ahead as a marker to launch to (and to take the photos!).

Getting air!

Happy ladies!

As I waited for the ladies to come out, I heard some definite whoops as they came over the waves.  I think they enjoyed their surf launches!  With Anne safely on the water, we set off again towards Hopeman with the wind and waves behind us.

Heading for Hopeman

After a nice meal in the Royal Findhorn Yacht Club and winning a t-shirt in the raffle, it was time for an early night and preparation for Sunday.

Sunday morning saw Kate Duffus, Carol Laing and I head back over to Hopeman for a spot of rockhopping.  We each had a group of 4 and worked with them on the strokes and concepts needed to have fun about the rocks.  The conditions were not ideal as the NE wind and swell were still coming in and the rocks were a bit bottom scrapey.  After thinking about a few strokes in the shelter of the harbour, we went out side to find some rocks.  Conditions were a little bit too much for what we wanted to do so we retreated round the other side of the harbour wall and spent a bit of time manoeuvring around a rock using combinations of strokes.  We then headed down the coast and played around a few rocks, thinking again about timing and how to approach what we wanted to go through. All the ladies had a go in and around the rocks, despite feeling not feeling hugely confident at the beginning.

Lynn heads in after the rockhopping session

In the afternoon it was back to Findhorn Bay for a session on rescues with Alison French and Aggie.  We started by running through the rescue on the shore with me getting to play the casualty while the ladies worked out how they were going to rescue me.  We then split into smaller groups with me taking Lynn and Rebecca.  We worked on peer rescues and talked a little about towing and assisting others.  The tide was whoosing out of the estuary so putting a tow on the rescuer was actually a useful thing to do for real!  We finished by emphasising that emptying boats and rescuing should be physically easy and that it was all about finding things that work for you and practicing them.

The rescue group

Soon the day, and the event, were all over and after another round of boat wrangling, it was time to head off home. 

I think everyone would agree it was another great event so well done to the organising committee!  Roll on 2014!

Phyllis Paddlewagon

Surf’s Up

So after all the hard work of the last few years, getting coaching and leading qualifications, I decided that 2012 was to be a year of fun.  First on the agenda were the Scottish Surf Kayak Championships held at Farr Bay on the north coast of Scotland last weekend.

Last year, with some trepidation, Hairyaker, the Teen and I made our way over to Thurso for the event, our first foray into competitive surf kayaking.  I was downright rubbish but Hairyaker came home with bronze in the novice category, while the Teen won silver in both the Junior Long and Junior Short classes.

Hairyaker and the Teen show off their 2011 medals.

Having come home from our first surf kayak competition with medals, there were expectations for the 2012 competition and a bit of extra pressure…  My personal aim was to actually score at least one point, while the Teen had one final year in which to defend his Junior Medals.  Hairyaker was banned from the Novice class after winning a medal in 2011 and had to compete with the big boys!

Surf kayaks lined up at Farr Bay

The conditions at Farr were tough, lots of messy waves and a strong wind made getting out back a real fight.  I don’t think I’ve ever had such a pounding in 20 minutes as I did in Ladies long boat.  I think I must have rolled at least 25 times and apparently about 5 times on one wave.  I was knackered!  However, despite getting pummelled, I caught a couple of waves and tried to do a turn or two (not very well).

Setting off for Ladies Long

The Novice class was over on the other side of the bay and by this point the waves were more mushy.  I didn’t really have the strength to keep battling out back as there was nothing decent out there when you arrived!  I tried to get a few waves and succeeded in getting much less trashed.  I was just out having fun by that point.

Come the end of the day there was the traditional prize giving where I was very surprised to win a bronze medal in the Ladies Long class.  The Teen was awarded gold in the Junior Short class and silver in the Junior long class, bettering his 2011 performance.  Hairyaker, now up with the big boys, had made it through to the Mens Long final and achieved a very respectable 4th place against others with much more experience.  The Novice category was then announced and I was again surprised to get the bronze medal.  Our friend The Vet from Shetland did extremely well in his first competition and only went and won the class!

Scottish Surf Kayak Championship medal winners 2012

 

The Vet and his huge trophy

Team Surf Kayak Orkney

Back home, the surf forecast was looking good for Monday evening, so I started badgering Hairyaker to get out after work.  My persistence paid off and we headed out to Skaill for a couple of hours.  As the tide rose, the right got better and better and my last wave was absolutely awesome.  Everything clicked at once, my favourite part was turning back off the white and screaming down the wave a second time.  I wish someone had seen it!!!  It was a beautiful, calm evening and it really reminded me of the great things about living in Orkney.

Hairyaker waiting for the next set

Tuesday night was again gorgeous and I managed to get a lift with a friend to have another play on the waves.  I didn’t manage to recreate the wave of my life, but I did have a couple of good runs and pulled a couple of comedy moves on my last wave…..

Surf kayaking most definitely rocks.

Fog, Firth and fatigue

The forecast this weekend was very good, with no wind at all.  It was the best weather in months.  We decided to go for a paddle involving some time for a bit of 4* practice.  We chose to go from Craigiefield which is on the north-eastern edge of Kirkwall, to Tingwall in West Mainland.  It was a spring tide so, although the sea was flat and the wind almost non-existent, there were several noticeable tidal streams to negotiate on route.

It was slightly foggy when we left Kirkwall but still easy enough to see where we were.  We soon arrived on the west side of Thieves Holm ready to negotiate the String.  This runs at 4kns at Springs but had only started ebbing about an hour before so was probably only doing about 2kns.  We got a couple of the guys who are going to do 4* training soon to take a bearing over to Stromberry Point on Shapinsay and to tell us how we were going to cross the tide so that we would end up where we wanted to be.

 The Diver heads to Thieves Holm

Over on Shapinsay, the fog was thicker and a cold wind was coming off the land.  I had to root around in my day hatch for my lucky hat.  I love that hat (it was a present from my closest friend, the keeper of voles, and it got me my 4*), thus negating the whole point of it being supposedly an expendable paddling hat….. I’d be really upset if I lost it!

Anyway, around the Holms to the west of Shapinsay, we knew the tide would be running at around 5kns maximum and had started at around 12.30pm, so we wanted to go and have look at it and have a bit of a play around. Unfortunately, however, we couldn’t see the holms…… Nor could we see the approaching creel boats until they were about 200m away.  After a brief stop for footrest adjustment and for some lunch, the surfer demonstrated his laser vision by spotting Vasa Skerry through the fog.  

Footrest stop

After lunch, we paddled back up the eddy and across the flow to Vasa Skerry.  It was funny to see how it ran at different speeds in close proximity.  The Surfer and Hairyaker were whizzing along on the flow, while I, only a few metres away was in a much slower part.  We arrived at Vasa Skerry and couldn’t see much…..

Vasa Skerry in the fog

Having finally got myself organised for 4*, I had loads of useful things about my person and so Hairyaker and I were well equipped for a bit of compass work.  We decided we wanted to head westwards, hoping that the flow would carry us northwards towards the holms.  Off we set on a bearing of 300 degrees.  We couldn’t see anything but each other in any direction.  It was eerie.  Eventually, a huge island loomed out of the fog.  It was at least 100m high.  ‘Look, look, it’s Gairsay’.  We paddled towards it.  We crossed another strong tidal flow and tucked into an eddy.  Up close it was small. it was not Gairsay, it was Grass Holm….  Map work successful! 

  The tide runs behind the Tall One 

We decided to go anti clockwise around Grass Holm then head west.  We were more concerned about not being taken too far north on the tide than visiting the next holm (which we couldn’t see) so we set a course well south of it so that at the very worst, we’d bump into Gairsay.  As it happened, after a few hundred yards, Taing Skerry became visible so I adjusted course and headed for it so we could pause again and set another course.

Again we really didn’t want to get taken northwards on the tide so we set a bearing that would take us into Gairsay Sound, even if the tide pushed us north, as we knew it would.  Again we were paddling blind but once again, land slowly resolved from the fog.  Pausing again on Holm of Boray, we knew we were were pretty much where we wanted to be.  I set off due west and then became very disorientated with the fog.  I knew I had to follow my compass, but my internal compass was sure we were going the wrong way. It was a very unnerving feeling.  After a few minutes we could hear the throb of an engine and my hand was clutching my radio when an inter-isles ferry passed behind us on the other side of Holm of Boray.  It was shrouded in fog and seemed very odd indeed.

Paddling onwards, land appeared on my right and I knew it was Gairsay.  It seemed better to paddle where we could see something so we made for Maes Taing and then followed the coast of Gairsay to The Taing where we could make the shortest crossing over to the mainland.

 Hairyaker heading over to Tingwall

The tide through Gairsay Sound again pushed us northwest and we made landfall at Wass Wick.  After a few minutes more paddling, Tingwall pier appeared from the fog and we landed before the arrival of the evening ferry.  A good day out and fun to test those navigational skills!

The route

Mackayak had been disappointed to miss out on this trip as she wanted to get some more experience in tides and I am sure she would have enjoyed navigating her way across Wide Firth.  She suggested that we go to the Falls of Firth on Sunday morning instead.  The Falls of Firth are nothing like the Falls of Lora but we can pretend….I said (as a test) “what is the tide doing tomorrow then?” and was promptly given an answer, thus proving she can work these things out perfectly well, whatever she claims….  We arranged to meet at 9.15am to make sure we got the maximum flow.  We trussed ourselves up in our full kit and set forth….

Mackayak breaking in

We did some breaking in and some breaking out, some ferrygliding and some rolling in the flow.  Which was good because it was really hot!  At about 11am the flow reached its maximum.  I don’t know how fast it goes but I couldn’t paddle against it at 10am so it must have been running at 5 or 6 knots at its maximum.  On the north side of the flow the eddy line was really well defined and I had lots of fun breaking out by edging and letting the flow flick the back of my boat round.

Rolling in the flow

Playing around in the maximum flow

Don’t mess with us!  We have blue helmets! 

Next was a pool session with sea boats.  Mackayak wanted to try some more things in her ‘euro’ kit in the warm water.  I was just pratting about.  I did some rolls and some re-entry and rolls and some self rescues.  I couldn’t butterfly handroll my Avocet and my butterfly rolls in general were a bit ropey.  I didn’t really care though.  I’ve done all my hardcore practising, now I am just going to have some fun for a while.

Firstly I dislocated my shoulder. I called for help from the Keeper of Voles.  He was amusingly unsympathetic ‘I know it hurts but I have to get you in the boat’ etc.  It was like something I would say. Just when he thought it was safe to paddle off, I suddenly became unconscious and capsized again.  Although I had to keep speaking ‘I can’t help you, I’m unconscious’ etc etc.  Lots of scoop practice all round!  We then did some rescues with another participant and helped him practise a self rescue method.  It’s funny to realise that people see you practising things and want to try too and it’s always really good when you can help them.

After this, Hairyaker proposed another paddle.  I was keen, but then the continuing saga of my disastrous private life intervened.  I slumped in Mackayak’s car and realised I was completely emotionally and physically drained.  I went home and fell asleep in a deckchair.  Maybe I had done enough for one day….