Sea Kayakphoto.com trip index 2008

I have been posting little snippets of various trips concurrently. For those who would like to follow the thread of a single trip, I hope this index will be useful.

Less is more round Lismore!
27/12/08

What a carry on round the Mull!
15/12/08 The Mull of Galloway

Another West coast sunset! Firth of Clyde
14/12/08 Bute from Portencross,

Dunure from Maidens, Firth of Clyde
06/12/08

The Four Castles of Carrick, Firth of Clyde.
02/11/08 Turnberry to Ayr

The River Fleet from Fleet Bay
17/10/08

Loch nan Ceall and the Sound of Arisaig
13/09/08
14/09/08

To the Corryvreckan
30/08/08 Seil to Scarba via the Corryvreckan
31/08/08 Scarba to Seil via the Grey Dogs and the Cuan Sound

The Mull of Kintyre
26/07/08 Macrihanish to Sanda via the Mull
27/07/08 Sanda to Davaar Island

To Islay
12/07/08 Claggain Bay
13/07/08 Traigh Bhan
14/07/08 An Claddach
15/07/08 Port Askaig

To St Kilda
30/05/08 Loch Roag
31/05/08 Taransay
01/06/08 Monach Islands
02/06/08 Hirta and Dun
03/06/08 am Village Bay, Hirta
03/06/08 pm Boreray and the stacks
04/06/08 Loch Reasort to Scarp
05/06/08 Pabaigh Mor and Bhacsaigh

To the Garvellachs
10/05/08 Seil to the Grey Dogs via the Corryvreckan
11/05/08 Grey Dogs to the Garvellachs and Seil

Lady Isle
08/05/08 A busy night at Troon

Ailsa Craig
05/05/08 Gannets and granite

Fleet Bay
02/05/08 Solway sunshine

A misty Firth of Clyde
27/04/08 Maidens to Ayr

Arran
18/03/08 Portencross to Brodick via the Wee Cumbrae, Bute and Glen Sannox

Mull of Galloway
17/02/08 Ardwell Bay to East Tarbet

Dorus Mor
12/02/08 Craignish through the Dorus Mor to Crinan and Loch Craignish then back through the Dorus Mor as the sun set.

The four maritime castles of Carrick
20/01/08 Turnberry to Ayr.

The Cumbraes and Bute
12/01/2008 A day trip in the Clyde from Largs

Grimsay boats.

On the morning of 2/6/2008 we were awoken by the "put put" of a single cylinder diesel engine puttering round the turquoise waters of the Monach Islands. When we came up on deck our spirits were raised by the start of a fine day, this was the day we hoped to reach and paddle round the shores of St Kilda but at first we could not see the source of the sound.


Then a lobster boat took shape as she emerged from the burning reflection of the early morning sun. This was no ordinary GRP lobster boat. This was a Grimsay boat. The Grimsay boat is to the Outer Hebrides what the Model T Ford was to the rest of the World. These boats proved to be versatile for both transport and fishing throughout the isles. Since the 1840's it is estimated that over 1000 Grimsay boats were built by the Stewart family until their last full time builder died in 1994.

It was a joy to see this Grimsay boat being handled by Donald Brady from North Uist as he checked his lobster pots on the Monach islands. The Grimsay boats were of wooden clinker construction but with an exceptionally deep and fine keel. This allowed them to handle the Atlantic swell and surf found on the west coast of the Outer Hebrides. Due to the lack of harbours on the west coast, these boats were built in sizes of 10 to 28 feet. This allowed them to slip through tidal channels between the islands to sheltered anchorages on the east coast.

In 1928 the Grimsay yard launched the Morning Star. She was the link between the mainland of North Uist and the isolated community on the Monach Islands. She carried passengers, supplies and the mail. In recent years she had lain in disrepair in a mud berth in a creek of Loch Maddy in North Uist. She was restored and relaunched in 2007 by apprentices working at the Boatshed in Grimsay.

02/06/2008


We had seen other other Grimsay boats in various stages of restoration at Bhaltos when we first arrived on Lewis.

30/05/2008

Red rock at sunset

As the sun sank to the west of Loch Roag on the Isle of Lewis the grey rocks of Lewisian gneisss began to glow red.


Paddling under these great cliffs we basked in the radiated heat that had built up during the day.


The sun finally set on the western horizon, below which our destination, St Kilda, still glowed in the last of the day.

30/05/2008

Arrival at Loch Roag

The MV Cuma was due to leave for St Kilda on the afternoon of Saturday 31st May from Miavaig in Loch Roag on the west coast of Lewis. We were so excited that we did not want to miss the boat so we arrived on the Friday evening. We set off from Bhaltos to paddle round the many islands in the loch and find a camp site.


We paddled late into the summer night with an ever mounting sense of anticipation.

30/05/2008

Lonely Loch Einich

As we made our way further up Gleann Einich we came across the Alt Ruigh na Sroine, the first of many streams to ford.


Later on the Beanaidh Bheag river was to prove far tougher and necessitated a change of socks.


As we gained height the mountain landscape became more dramatic.


Under wild skies the granite ridges were dusted with the first snows of winter.


The air was filled with the sound of burns tumbling down from high corries and rattling the boulders in their beds.


At last we breasted a moraine and below us lay lonely Loch Einich.


We were dwarfed by the scale of the landscape.


Loch Einich lies at a height of 598m. It is seldom visited, even in summer. On the 9th of September this year, Rothiemurchus Estate's head stalker, Peter Ferguson made a very sad discovery. He found a dead body inside a tent which had obviously been pitched for several weeks. The man had been a writer and photographer. I hope his death was peaceful as he was so far away from help and his family.


We started the long descent to Glen More as the clouds lowered from the high corries.


In the valleys it was still autumn and bright October sunshine had yet to give way to winter.


This little lochan reflected the beauty and tranquility of this wonderful place. By 16:30 we were a world away, back in Glasgow.

05/08/2008