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An unusual paddle last night, for many reasons. For a start, we had only 4 people for the later paddle, with slightly more than that showing up for the early one. Great that Geoff’s idea is working well. Mind you, already you can see the rivalry emerging between the early ones (yeah We’re definitely Chelsea A, quoth an unnamed member with a shock of curly blond hair) and the original timers. Good to see that the Minimal Group Paradigm is alive and well. Google it.
But I digress. I am a great believer in making CKC good neighbours – so we take part in the Cardboard Canoe Race at Cremorne, we instigate an outreach programme to our neighbours in Worlds End, we work hard to remain friends with other canoeing and kayaking clubs in London.
Last night we made another outreach gesture, of a different sort. Having paddled against the end of the ebb up as far as the Barn Elms Boathouse, avoided the rowers and turned back downriver, Kate spoke again of her friends at Hurlingham Yacht Club. Well, I’d heard that song before, so there was no escape this time. “Lead on” I cried. “But we haven’t any money” she replied. “Not to worry – let’s make a courtesy call“… and so we found ourselves beaching our boats and walking up the steps to say hello.
Hurlingham Yacht Club has been around since 1924, and is one of the most, if not the most, unpretentious yacht clubs I have ever seen. Proud of its tradition, but not bound by it, a bunch of mostly older men were playing pool and having a few pints. They welcomed us warmly, so warmly in fact, that we decided to stay for one. Phil was summoned from his pondering and Kate borrowed £20 from her mate Alex. And pints were had by all, at the pleasing rate of £2.50 each.
We’d have stayed for more (apparently the club only really gets going after 10) but the flood tide was now building against us so we left it at one and promised to return.
And we will!
Andy
30th 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
Saturday 11th September 2010
After a few weeks back from an amazing trip to Sweden we thought it’s about time we got back onto salt water. We got in touch with Seapoint and as luck would have it their boats and kit were available for a journey on Saturday.
After checking the tides, tidal streams and some local knowledge with Rob at the centre a rough plan was developed which involved heading west towards Dungeness and then back with the wind for some skills stuff. However, the weather forecasts were slightly conflicting everything from modest south westerly’s to gales so it was clear that we were always going to have to revise our plan if needed.
Rob got in contact the day before to say the sea state had really kicked up (more so than was predicted). After a quick email exchange we decided that the anticipated conditions provided us with a great opportunity – it’s not often that we get the opportunity to get out into moderate conditions and practice our boat handling skills.
So a small contingent of CKC (me, Jac, Jacquelin, Miranda and Geoff) headed down to Folkestone with the knowledge that we were all going to get wet and potentially a bit bashed about a bit.
Jac grabbed a copy of Gordon Brown’s book (not the former Prime Minister – the other much more important one) to remind us of what we’d learnt with Owen Burson on the Isle of Wight and other useful bits and pieces of relevance. We particularly liked the bit which covered questions to ask yourself when catching a wave – including can you get off it when you want to? and is your third party liability insurance up to date?…
Arriving at Seapoint first Jac and I nipped onto the beach and the conditions looked ok but with the tide coming in for a good few hours yet it would probably get bigger – and we were right!
Everyone else arrived and after a small amount of faff (really?) we got the boats and kit (including helmets!) onto the beach and picked out a clockwise circuit for us to stick within using two buoys a good few hundred metres apart and out from the shore.
One by one everyone got onto the water attempting to time the wave sets as best they could. Once out it certainly was lumpy and the swell was definitely getting bigger. We practiced going across the waves, turning, experimenting with catching the waves (which were coming in pretty fast), and landings – which given my leg length I’m rubbish at.
Amazingly no one swam as they were pulling their legs out to straddle the boat to come for the landings – although there were a few technical swims I guess. Geoff even did a roll in anger – after his first one (which was set-up) failed him. Jacquelin was all smiles as it was her first time out onto salt water for a long time and did pretty well with the landings although she got a bit of a beating in the waves at times. By the time we got off the water it was definitely sea state 4 and probably pushing a 5. We rinsed all the kit off and headed to the Nutmeg Cafe in Hythe for some well earned food.
All in all a great session and great experience – ok we’re all about trips but if the conditions kick up and scupper your plans they may always be right for a skills session. As ever thanks to Dave Barker and Rob Davis from Seapoint for loaning us the use of their boats and kit.
Phil
At the end of August, 10 members of CKC returned from Sweden, after an uplifting week of wild camping and paddling the Bohuslän archipelago, a group of islands dotted along the West Coast of Sweden.
These days, the area is full of yachters, motorboaters and others with holiday homes who flock to the area in the warmer months, but Bohuslän coast settlements first flourished in the 18th century, with commercial herring fishing. The area was mainly forest until the herring boom led to a major requirement for timber. Now, boating and swimming draw people to the islands, and in the summer, the population of this rugged, beautiful landscape doubles.
The group of islands we toured was between Uddevalla and Rönnäng, West of the larger islands of of Tjörn and Orust. We landed in Göteborg late on Saturday night, and had Sunday to lie in, shop for provisions for our 7 days of wild camping, and make our way to Uddevalla. The hotel in Uddevalla was perfect: Nice bright rooms with comfy beds and plenty of floor space for laying out and packing supplies from the nearby supermarket. Also a swimming pool, steam room and gym. Most of us bought far too much food. eg our 7 days’ worth of water for two people – totally unnecessary, as although the camping would be wild, we would not be totally devoid of human contact. Or shops. The rest of the group, out for dinner that evening, found this quite amusing as they passed us lugging our 18L across the car park to the hotel, but were even more amused when they realised our second mistake – assuming that as the label said “Naturel” it would not be fizzy. Incorrect.
monday
Wind: ENE 16kn, Gusting 24 kn
Outlook: Overcast, Intermittent light rain
Temp: 170C
Distance: 14 km
Sea State: 2
Resisting the temptation to pour another cup of coffee, settle in for the morning, and give the lavish hotel breakfast the attention it deserved, we heaved ourselves up, crammed kit into drybags and headed down the road to Gustavsberg. Upplevelsebolaget Kayak Centre, situated on the bank of Byfjorden, was slick, welcoming, and smelled of freshly varnished wood. Oskar and his colleague greeted us, showed us round the centre and its shiny shop (mmm, lots of drooling over yummy gear) and introduced us to our boats: 4 gleaming brand new Prijon Seayaks, comfy and fully kitted out with day hatches, rudder, painter, foot mats and all sorts; 1 Prijon Touryak; 1 Prijon Marlin; and 2 Prijon Kodiaks – roomy and stable but not sluggish by any means. All shiny and new. We also had the pleasure of the company of 2 Point 65s – one Crunch Rocker and one Sea Cruiser.
After delicious lattes, and herbal tea, the guys gave us a thorough briefing of the area, amenities, suggested route and flexible pick up options. In addition to our nautical chart and terrängkarten – the equivalent of OS maps – Oskar kindly lent us a couple of extra charts, so all of us could navigate for themselves and keep oriented. Also a free laminated guide each. Phil, leader for Monday, led a group briefing, then we loaded boats and lugged them down to the shore. We launched ourselves SW into Byfjorden, and headed out into the wind.
With the wind behind us we managed a brisk starting pace for the first leg of our expedition. This was a 7km paddle, sweeping down the first stretch of fjord, beneath the gigantic Uddevalla Bridge, through Sunninge Sund and out to the more open water of Havstensfjorden. Katie, Toons and I lingered over our first encounter with local wildlife, a plump beige sea bird called Marlene. She seemed to like us, even thought I couldn’t find her on my Swedish bird chart. Before crossing Havstensfjorden, we stopped for lunch on Korstensholmen. Huddled under a patch of trees, we ate our lunch, then had a squiz round the island – pretty interesting – anthill and a toilet. After a brief rest, we launched ourselves back out into Havstensfjorden and made our 5km crossing. From there it was a short paddle to the island of Vindön.
We rounded the North coast, passing beneath Vindön bridge, as the sun stole glances at us from behind the clouds, sparkling a path across the water through the grey. At 1630, we landed on the island of Tviklippan, our home for the first night. After putting up the tents, John and Theresa lost no time in jumping in the refreshing water, for the group’s second opportunity to commune with the local fauna – this time one of the ubiquitous, pretty, peach melba jellyfish, with burgundy swirls on her back and a sting in her tail…
Andy had spent the last hour of our journey mussel-gathering, and Toons and Katie followed suite on arrival at the island. The cookup was grand – mussels in an onion and garlic sauce with tortellini. And a first for me – cooking wild food that I’d freshly caught. Tim celebrated with a quick vid. I felt a bit like Keith Floyd triumphantly describing the foraging process and the simplicity of the recipe, so dedicated the meal to his memory. Jacqui’s pine cones made for a roaring fire, and we assembled to ponder the day’s triumphs, but it was an early night for most.
tuesday
Wind: ENE 15kn, Gusting 20 – 25 kn
Outlook: Fair
Temp: 18oC
Distance: 17 km
Sea State: 2
Jacqui led us out from Tviklippan at 1030. Navigating through shallow rocky channels between the islands South of Vindön, the scenery was ruggedand serene – more peaceful because of the inaccessibility to larger boats. Wild geese bobbed happily up and down on the water alongside, and 6 or 7km later, we saw seals just off the island of Hjältön. Their curiosity and Oskar’s tip of paddling backwards towards them meant that we managed to approach them really closely.We’d made excellent time getting to Hjältön, with the wind behind us, all the more speedy for our pioneering sailing techniques…
Lucky, as it took us some time to find our campsite for the night. We selected a site on the island of St Harholmen, avoiding nature reserves where camping is not allowed, but bumped into a party of two German couples with their double kayaks having a late lunch at the waterside. So we moved on and found a campsite on the larger island of Flatön, but no stopping there – wild camping was the order of the day, and there was a caravan park. Adjacent ground was too boggy, so we paddled a little further on and found the island of St Bjornholmen, which was ideal for setting up camp for the next two nights, with a grassy stretch along the landing beach, and another area nestled further inland. It was grassy, but not boggy, with good forested areas and plenty of big rocks. Perfect amenities! We pottered around, made rather indifferent noodles on our fake tranjia, and jealously eyed Jacqui preparing another of her gourmet vegetarian curries – bag to plate in a couple of minutes thanks to the speedy jetboil! We washed up hastily just before the rain came to send us scurrying to our tents for an early night.
wednesday
Wind: Easterly, 12 knots, Gusting 16
Outlook: Sunny, clouding over later
Temp 20 oC
Distance: 15km circumnavigation
Sea State: Predominantly 1, escalating to 2
We woke up to warm sunshine, and were grateful for the chance to dry some soggy kit. Perching on a rock, warming my bare feet in the morning sun, I mixed the sparkling water into my pre-prepared powdered milk and muesli combo. Quite pleased with myself until I glanced round at everyone else’s efforts – some had more substantial breakfasts – honey and porridge, others more creative, like Anna’s dried fruit and mini weetabix concoction.
We’d woken up late, and the warm sun was a real morale booster. Theresa, Anna, Tim, John, Andy and I decided to make the most of it and head out for a leisurely paddle around the Island of Flatön. Andy lead the circumnavigation. We set out from the South side of St Bjornholmen, passing the Morlanda lighthouse, and paddled NE towards Flatön. As we made our way SW down the shipping channel between Bjornholmen and Flatön, we spotted Phil and Jacqui, strolling along the hill on the North of the island. Jacqui and Katie paddled off for a short trip as well, serenading some unsuspecting yachters, leaving Phil and Toons at camp.
At Flatön, we moored up at the marina for a water stop and a lovely lunch overlooking the water. After a dawdling, sun-soaked start to the day, we upped our pace a little in order to make it round the island before the predicted turn in the weather, which was at 1600. The paddle was delightful, with plenty of birdlife, and interesting sights. On our way out of the marina, we passed a kayak centre, and several jetties with steps to the water for swimming, and motorised dinghies moored up ready for island hopping. As we paddled toward the SW tip of the island, we spotted the chain ferry about to cross to Mälo.
At around ten to four, as we headed toward the Easterly tip of the island for the crossing back down to St Bjornholmen, a steely wedge of grey raincloud loomed overhead, and the rain started to gently patter down. The sea became slightly choppier as we navigated the home strait, and we returned at around 5pm. The rain didn’t last long, and as the sun set after dinner, (corned beef freshly hashed with onions, garlic and paprika on a bed of fluffy couscous – not bad even if I do say so myself), another roaring campfire drew the whole group together. A couple of slugs of whisky helped us find our voices, and a good old-fashioned sing-song was soon in full flow.
thursday
Wind: Nor’Easterly. 17kn, Gusting 22
Outlook: Overcast
Temp: 15oC
Distance:
Stocken Group: 10 km
Bratö Group: 17 km
Sea State: 3
Leaving St Bjornholmen in our wake for Andy and Katie’s last stretch, we rounded the North tip and headed South down the East Coast of Malo into a Southerly force 3 wind. Although the waves were friendly, paddling into the wind against the incoming tide was a fair effort, and we were well aware of our target to drop Andy and Katie off at Hällevikestrand in time to meet Oskar and catch their train back to Göteborg. Not forgetting they had a sauna to squeeze in before their flight back to London, we gave ourselves a fairly ambitious time goal, and as we reached Gullholmen, we realised that not all the group were paddling fast enough to achieve it. Even though we split the group so that six of us could speed off ahead, conditions became tougher as the rain came and visibility worsened, and we covered less distance than expected.
Perhaps we lingered a little too long over the beautiful seascape, as we passed through wide shipping channels, steering clear of the starboard markers to avoid the yachts tacking down the channel, past power cruisers, a fishing boat with its wake of gulls, and the odd pirate ship. We headed between the islands of Hermänö and Lavön and then veered East between some smaller islands to avoid the shipping channel after an interesting interaction or two with pleasure boats seemingly enjoying a game of chicken with our kayaks. We reconvened and discovered that we had covered only a small distance in the last hour, and rearranged the pickup for the closer town of Stocken. Conditions eased as we came further inland, and detoured into the bay towards Stocken.
The plan was to drop Andy and Katie off, and head back out to join the others, who by now were well on their way South. Through the mists we sighted a serene-looking campsite, pretty caravans of different shapes and sizes dotted around the luscious green field along the seafront. All seduced simultaneously by the vision, snobbishness about wild camping evaporated, and we donned our warm dry clothes, peering back out to sea through the rainy mists. There was no way any of us fancied launching ourselves out there again, so after eventual radio contact with the rest of the group, Anna, Tim and Toons and I waved Andy and Katie off, put up our tents in the blustery drizzle, and headed to the shop for some treats, before cooking up meatballs and goulash in the campsite kitchen. Coiffed and buffed by the plush showers (all except for Tim, who shunned these, citing empathy for the showerless group), we headed back to the tents, and after writing the journal, and a mammoth de-ticking session, we hit the hay.
Meanwhile, the showerless wild camping purists had paddled a good distance and made it to the island of Bratö, where they had set up camp for the night.
friday
Wind: Northerly 4-6kn
Outlook: Fair, changing to overcast after lunch
Temp: 16oC
Distance:
Stocken Group: 22 km
Brato Group: 15 km
Sea State: 3
At Stocken, the rain abated overnight, with wind to dry the tents ready for us to be decamped and on the water for 0800. Stiff at first, we made great time despite the wind. Radio live at 0915, but no need for verbal communication – dropping South towards Brato Anna spotted tents, soon Phil, Jacqui, John and Theresa were on the shore waving us in.
The sun came out as we landed, so after a bask in the sun, being plied with tea and chocolate peanuts, the cold tired grumps from a late night of tick picking were left behind. The others packed up camp, and we set off for a bracing paddle to Mollösund, led excellently by Jacqui, all delighted to be reunited. We arrived in good time for a potter round the harbour, then moored up for a delicious lunch of lattes, crayfish baguettes, and calzones.
The last stretch of the day was longer, with a couple of open crossings, led by Toons. The sea was choppy and the visibility not excellent, which made for a challenging afternoon of paddling through the stunning archipelago surroundings. We set ourselves short distances with clear targets such as lighthouses and rocky outcrops, ensuring that we remained in a tight group and navigated carefully past the much larger craft. We reached Hjärterö in excellent time, with some guidance from locals, yelling advice to us from the gardens of their beachside holiday homes (with helpful pronunciation tips in addition).
On arrival at the North aspect, we sent John and Toons off for a reccie of the West coast, as this was where the red splotch our laminated map denoted the campsite. Hjärterö, one of the most Westerly islands of that area of the archipelago, is pretty exposed.
The 1.5m high waves crashing on the shore soon convinced John and Toons that even if the campsite was there, they wouldn’t really fancy guiding themselves in to land there, let alone the entire group, after a long day’s paddling – some of us had been on the water for a good few hours, and most were fairly pooped. After a reccie of the island I clambered back down the rocks to find my boat resting on a pile of driftwood. I had seen little but rocks, bog, and sheep, but after a semi-circumnavigation, we found our campsite for the night, complete with toilet and multiple recycling options.
Althought the sun had stayed out since 10am and provided us with a lovely al fresco lunch, the weather was starting to close in, and as soon as we had parked up and pitched, the rain arrived with aplomb. No-one left their tents that evening, except the odd scuttle to secure guy ropes and check for leakages (of which there were none – hurrah). The rain intensified, but we all slept peacefully through our last night in the archipelago.
saturday
Wind: SW 8Kn, Gusting 16
Outlook: Overcast
Temp: 18oC
Distance: 7 km
Sea State: 2
John lead us South from Hjärterö towards Rönnäng. Immediately our first challenge was upon us, – along the East coast of Hjärterö was a shipping lane, narrow but very busy, mainly with speedboats. We were to follow it for a good 2km before tackling the open crossing of Bäckerö fjord and ducking behind the harbour to Rönnäng. Quickly cutting past an outcrop to calmer waters, we took a detour, before broaching the crossing, again staying close and keeping a consistent pace. We reached Rönnäng pretty soon, and explored its impressive harbour before eventually following the laminated instructions guiding us to the get out in the innermost part of the harbour.
After a stroll to the marina for burgers and ice cream, we returned to the boats to find Ulrika ready to cart us and our kit back to Gustavsberg for a hose down. After we speed-packed our kit in a way that would please Ryanair, Ulrika gave us a lift back to Uddevalla for our bus. We reached Göteborg in good time, and grabbed a meal together before our flight home, squeezing in some sea kayaking kit chat, arguments about the relative merits of different paddle strokes, and reminiscences about a fantastic trip.
Bohuslän ponderings…
Little wooden towns perched on rocks in the far distance like pictures from a fairy tale…
I was chatting with a member of the club last night, discussing rolling.
“I can’t roll”
“Well next time we’re in the pool, we can start learning the pawlata”
“Oh I can do a pawlata”
It’s a very misunderstood roll as it’s often the first roll anyone learns. There is an association with learning so many people just consider it’s ‘just for the pool’. I have used it a few times in white water where my first or second roll has failed and it’s getting to the point where it is a question of rolling or taking a swim.
Going out on little day trips and doing sea kayak training, we often forget rolling and controlling an empty boat is totally different when you have the hatches packed and your life spread out on your deck. There’s a very good article on the roll, which makes an excellent point.
“There are many different rolls to choose from. Since sea kayaks are larger than whitewater kayaks and definitely heavier, taking advantage of a longer lever makes a lot of sense. I recommend to learn as many rolls as you can. Once you have made the Pawlata roll a reliable one you will find it is one that will serve you well especially when the conditions get rough and your sea kayak is packed for a long trip.”
There are some downsides namely
- The roll takes longer to do.
- The end of your roll ends with the paddle in not the greatest position to deal with whatever knocked you over in the first place.
Despite it’s drawbacks you should not be worried about relying on the pawlata as your solid base roll.
Toons
1. Learning about birds (Hey, what’s that bird? A cormorant. Ah, right. And that one over there? Hmm, I’m going to go with ‘a bird’.)
2. Great company*
3. Houses of Parliament glowing pinkish-gold in the setting sun
4. Wildlife at it’s best – ringside seats to a cormorant tussling with an eel for supper. 1 – 0 to the eel.
5. Big Ben’s bells tolling out the hour
6. Catching the tide back from Westminster on a perfectly still evening, the water a mirror under the dusk sky
7. Slicing through the white and honey-coloured Chelsea Bridge reflections, like liquid gold
8. Racing ferries and attempting to catch wake waves in a very un-Harry-like style
9. The well deserved drink(s) in the pub, post paddle*
10. Paddling, just to paddle
* There is no preferential order to this list
Judes
Sunday 25th July 2010
10 of us headed down to the Kent coast for the Club’s first local sea trip today. We were all pretty surprised to discover just how accessible a one-day, low hassle, low cost sea kayaking trip really is – on the actual sea!!!
It is indeed entirely possible to:
- Not have to get up at the crack of dawn and bomb down to the South coast (Folkestone) using your preferred means of transport
- Be on the water for 11am
- Have a fulfilling, relaxed, yet challenging day out
- Squeeze in some skills practice
- Get back in time for the pool session (almost…)
We all arrived at Seapoint Centre in Sandgate at 10am via road and rail and after a quick chat with Rob Davis to glean some local knowledge we were on our own paddling east in a leisurely way towards Dover with the tide and a slight westerly wind. The plan: to paddle into East Wear Bay, stop for lunch and paddle back for some skills stuff.
For a couple of folks this was their first decent experience of salt water and they were all smiles.
We were soon upon Folkestone Harbour, past Copt Point and into East Wear Bay and a fantastic stretch of chalk cliff coastline known as The Warren was in sight. I was so caught up in enjoying the paddle after a quick check of the map I realised that we’d over shot the planned lunch stop (by about 3 km – a-hem…!). Meanwhile up at the front Andy had caught sight of a Union Jack flag and a boat pulled up on the beach. Being the naturally inquisitive Irish bloke he is he headed towards it bringing the rest of the group with him. The group pulled up their boats (after a bit of a hilarious failed attempt at a beach landing by Olwen – amazingly she kept her bum dry!) at Abbot’s Cliff for a spot of food and to enjoy the sun.
Meanwhile Andy disappears and heads over to the boat he spotted and amazingly there is also a cabin, a BBQ and a resident – Jeremy Francis (known locally as Mungo). Turns out some years ago Mungo was on a return journey in his 25 foot cruiser from a summer cruise to the Isle of Wight and encountered steering trouble and headed towards familiar ground (The Warren). On mooring up on the concrete apron, the boat promptly sank in 7 foot of water. The boat had to be moved at short notice and on a very under powered outboard moved it 1.7 miles east and bought it up on the beach. A shelter called “Lavender Cottage” was constructed to provide Mungo with a more comfortable existence whilst undertaking repairs. The cottage has now become a popular tourist attraction and has been photographed many times and even has its own Facebook page – Boat @ Folkestone warren.
The wind seemed to have picked up more than was predicted and after a quick chat we were back on the water with the knowledge that the paddle back to Seapoint may be a bit of a slog – and we were right. Getting past Folkestone Harbour against the wind, in the recirculating currents was a little tough, and the group unfortunately got a bit strung out at this point. It also became immediately apparent we were not going to make our agreed time to be off the water. I headed for the beach at Folkestone and phoned ahead to delay and reunited as a group we paddled on.
We all arrived back safe and sound pulled the boats up to the centre to rinse the kit out with fresh water and headed to the pub for a well earned drink and chat – albeit there was a bit of a collision between Theresa and Jo getting off the water (Note: we need to do a session on safe launchings and landings!). Amazingly although the paddle back was hard going most people found it an amazing experience and fun. Some even commented that the outward paddle was a bit boring – just goes to show what regular paddling against strong tides on the Thames can do!
Lot’s of learnings from the day – not least I will not be taking a 1:25,000 map out with me on the boat again! The group also felt that it could have been tighter in terms of group management and there was a need to modify the Club’s trip procedures a little. However, there was a great sense of group self-improvement following the post-trip discussion, and hope it happens after all our trips, over a pint or a coffee, even if there’s not much to say or much time to say it – everyone’s opinion is welcome, and sometimes just the fact of having a debrief means people are comfortable to make suggestions, without having to bring things up in conversation and feel that they sound narky.
All in all a great trip and a fantastic start to what will be many local trips! Many thanks to Dave Barker and Rob Davis for allowing us the use of their kit!
Total trip length: 11 nautical miles or 20.4 km
Phil
On a perfect summers day in London, Phil and Jacqui took a group of 6 (mostly beginner) girls out on Wimbledon Park Lake to teach us how to paddle!
We had all listened to Jacqui tell us how much fun it was for so long that we thought we’d better see for ourselves! After a fair amount of giggling we managed to get onto the lake in our kayaks in the correct fashion without getting too wet!
Phil taught us the basics (forward, turning, stopping), then some less basics (backwards, sideways), then for the adventurous few, the scary bits (capsizing)!
We finished off with a game of kayak British Bulldog (remember that game from school?) which was great fun but drew a fair bit of attention from those enjoying a peaceful day by the lake!!!
All in all, a great way to spend the day! Thanks Phil and Jacqui!
Jo (a paddling) newbie!)
Saturday 10th July 2010
What do pensioners, pre-teens, cardboard and the Thames have in common? If you’d asked me a week ago I would have been stumped. But last Saturday it became clear: cardboard canoe racing.
Saturday 10 July saw Cremorne Riverside hold its first ever cardboard canoe competition, attracting regulars and newbies, young kids and oldies alike.
25 participants, five teams, 600 metres of duct tape, a few tonnes of cardboard and one hour to build. The aim? Construct a canoe-shaped flotation device to race across 20 metres of open water.
The result? Sadly, two boats started to sink within seconds of hitting the water, but the racers put on brave smiles and ‘powered’ on. Our very own Andy was paddling his team’s boat (which looked more like a Star Wars prop than a kayak) and mighty impressive he looked. His courageous effort got him to within reach of the finishing line before the Thames took hold; however, this was enough to secure second place.
But the real story of the day was the team that won. Two kids – neither had paddled before – scrambled into the cockpit of their double ‘kayak’, and proceeded to paddle all the way to the finish line without a problem…and then gracefully turned around and paddled all the way back to the dock. Their boat was, ironically, called the Sinking saucepan.
The well-deserving participants and fantastic spectators were awarded with a barbeque on the jetty (although we proved that kayakers should stick to kayaking and not take up barbequing as a day job any time soon) and the winning team was presented with a fantastic trophy. Made out of cardboard and duct tape, of course.
And after five hours of sunshine, all that remained was a few tonnes of cardboard*, some left over chocolate bananas, a whole lot of sunburn, and the promise of another cardboard canoe competition in the near future.
* All cardboard was taken to the Riverside Waste Authority for recycling.
Judes
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=127140907326717&ref=ts
Check it out – hope to see a few members there flying the flag for the Club!
CKC Editor
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