For those who would like to follow the thread of a single trip, I hope this index will be useful. Unfortunately the Google "search this blog" function is not working properly at the moment so the link may not recover all the relevent posts.
2009 running total distance: 890km
December:
The Cumbraes, Firth of Clyde, 27km
The Mull of Galloway tide race, at full belt! 21km
November:
Sannox synchronicity: Portencross to Brodick, Arran, 31km
Maidens to Ayr, 20km
October:
A trinity of tide races: circumnavigation of Scarba 38km
September:
Fleet bay Solway Firth, 3km
Islay, Oronsay, Colonsay, Jura, Islay 109km
August:
Seafield, Ayr, Firth of Clyde, 7km
Lady Isle, Troon Firth of Clyde 9km
June:
Ardnamurchan to Coll, Gunna and Tiree
Inner Hebrides
15/06/09 Coll to Ardnamurchan, 18km
14/06/09 Gunna to Rubha Sgor-innis, Coll, 34km
13/06/09 NW Coll to Scarinish, Tiree, 40km
12/06/09 Ardnamurchan to the Cairns of Coll, 28km
A Solway smugglers' Ccave
Fleet Bay
09/06/09 Solway Firth 9km
Full Moon at Rumblekirn
Fleet Bay
08/06/09 Solway Firth 14km
Sea shells and egg shells
Fleet Bay
01/06/09 am Solway Firth 10km
The great dun of Carrick
Fleet Bay
31/05/09 pm Solway Firth 19km
Three Pillars of Knockbrex
Fleet Bay
31/05/09 am Solway Firth 12km
Plumage and blossom on the Solway
Fleet Bay
30/05/09 Solway Firth 13km
Sea eagles and coral sands
Loch Eishort
23/05/09 Isle of Skye 19km
A big day!
Portuairk to Mull and return.
10/05/09 Ardnamurchan Point 42km.
Surf's up on Ayrshire's Atlantic Coast
Finnarts Bay to Lendalfoot
02/05/09 Firth of Clyde 21km
Arran Direct, Firth of Clyde
19/04/09 Kildonnan to Brodick 19km
18/04/09 Lendalfoot to Ailsa Craig then Pladda then Kildonnan, Arran 41km
Dumfries to Southerness in search of the Nith bore!
13/04/09 Solway Firth 25km
The Islands of Fleet
11/04/09 Solway Firth 12km
Fairlie to Little Cumbrae
04/04/09 Firth of Clyde 20km
The Islands of Fleet
02/04/09 Solway Firth 11km
Troon Ballast Bank to Lady Isle
01/04/09 Firth of Clyde 11km
From Portencross to Bute and Arran
21/03/09 Firth of Clyde 31km
"End of the Winter timetable!"
By ferry to Loch Ranza on Arran and return to Portavadie
19/03/09 Firth of Clyde 30km
The Carrick coast, Maidens to Ayr
15/03/09 Firth of Clyde 20km
The islands of Loch Leven
01/03/09 Firth of Lorn 11km
Port Appin to Loch Leven
28/02/09 Firth of Lorn 29km
"Any port in a storm on Great Cumbrae"
21/02/09 Firth of Clyde 19km
Bute from Seamill.
15/02/09 Firth of Clyde 23km
Surfing from Turnberry Point to Carrick Shore
08/01/09 Firth of Clyde 9km
The MacCormaig Islands from Carsaig Bay
02/01/09 The Sound of Jura 35km
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query "12/06/2009". Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query "12/06/2009". Sort by date Show all posts
Monday, January 05, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Sea kayaking Ardnamurchan to the Cairns of Coll.
We drove over the summit of the Ardnamurchan peninsula 4.5 hours after leaving Glasgow. The Cuillin of Rum and the Sgurr of Eigg boldly broke the blue vault of the sky.
We loaded our gear at Portuairk as quickly as we could...
...as the tide was ebbing fast.
Soon we were on the water with Muck and Rum to the north.
As we approached Ardnamurchan we met two sea kayakers coming the other way. We were delighted to meet with our regular paddling buddies, Gavin and Tony, who were nearing the end of their Kayak Caledonia expedition. They had covered 770km but amazingly we had been the first kayakers they had spoken to!
After a very pleasant half hour catching up on each others news, we went our separate ways. Tony and Gavin headed for a 2 hour snooze on the beach to the left of the lighthouse. They then went on to complete a 60km day from the Sound of Mull to Loch Moidart. We turned our bows to the distant Cairns of Coll.
A banana is a great pick me up on a 17km crossing.
In mid channel we were surrounded by a blizzard of Manx shearwaters who wheeled round us with wingtips flashing past our bows.
Jim looks SW to the tops of the distant Treshnish Isles that were "hull down" below the horizon.
P&H have very kindly lent me a new Cetus to try. It is beautifully finished with a glitter blue deck. Jennifer blagged first go. I will post a review once I have tried it in a variety of conditions. You can rest assured that it will be unbiased as I have 4 very nice sea kayaks in my garage and so did not "need" another to go paddling!
I expected it to be bigger than my beloved Quest but it is a much more delicately proportioned kayak. I like the look of it a great deal.
12/06/2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
The Cairns of Coll
We made landfall at Suil Ghorm, one of the islets in the Cairns of Coll ,which lie isolated by the tide races to the north of Coll.
It was a relief to stop paddling in the shelter of the Cairns. It was just after springs and the tide was stongest just to the east of the Cairns. We came across lots of swirlies and boils and our final approach was complicated by strong eddies and counter eddies.
Within the Cairns grey seals bask on every available rock ledge.
These two otters were completely oblivious to our passage as they devoured a recently caught fish.
We took a welcome break on these stunning white sands. I went for a swim in crystal clear water but did not last long as the icy water gripped my muscles.
To warm up, I climbed to the top of the islet. As there were no sheep or rabbits, the summit was covered in a blaze of wild flowers which smelled so fragrant after the salty air of the crossing.
In the distance, the Suil Ghorm light house stands guard over the channel to Rum.
12/06/2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
The poetry of distant mountains' names.
Leaving the Cairns of Coll, we paddled down the NW coast of Coll. As we did so a cold SE wind got up as a front moved in across the sky. We knew that this would bring rain and force 5 winds but that it would pass through within 24 hours. We had come to this area in search of the pod of orcas which yachting friends has recently spotted here. We left without seeing any but sharp eyed Jennifer drew our attention to two breaching minke whales. Fantastic stuff!
We found this bay, which was protected by an offshore island. Magicseaweed.com had predicted a surf height of 4.5' for the next day, so it would make for an easier launch than some of the bigger surf beaches.
We set up camp with the distant mountains of Barra and South Uist in the Outer Hebrides breaking an otherwise empty Atlantic horizon.
A disadvantage of such a sheltered spot was that the entire local midge population joined our evening meal in what proved to be a feeding frenzy, until we donned midge hoods and jackets. Fortunately our midge jackets still allow you to enjoy a cup of coffee in relative peace.
We then set up a little heart warming.
Fortunately as the breeze got up, the midge attack lessened and we were able to emerge into the night from our jackets like giant insects casting off a chrysalis. The aurelian paddlers of Coll were now masters of the night again and not the pesky Culicoides impunctatus.
As we enjoyed our Bowmore and Glenfiddich, the sun slowly went down behind the hazy blue mountains of South Uist. These lay 80km distant, over the now dark Sea of the Hebrides. From the left, we saw Beinn Ruigh Choinnich 276m, Triuirebheinn 357m, Stulabhal 374m, Beinn Mhor 620m, Beinn Corradail 527m and Hecla 606m. We pondered the poetry of their names as the pink clouds slowly faded to ruby red and their summits disappeared into the night.
12/06/2009