Thursday, September 11, 2008

The Great Race of Corryvreckan


We paddled down the exposed west side of Scarba.


Jura lay far to the south.


As we approached the Corryvreckan, plan A did not seem quite such a good idea. Plan A involved sticking close to the Scarba shore and using an eddy to carry us into the Corryvreckan against the full force of the flood tide. As you can see, a slight swell made the edge somewhat rougher than we (fair weather paddlers) choose to paddle in.


We entered the Corryvreckan on Saturday at 1552. Although it was the last hour of the flood, the flow was still running at full belt! The rule of thirds does not apply here!


We found ourselves in a patch of calm water between the eddy and the Great Race of the Corryvreckan. The Great Race extends for 5 nautical miles out to sea. It is not a place to get into trouble.


It was with some pleasure and dry mouths that we found ourselves paddling into the shelter of the Great Gulf of Corryvreckan.

30/08/2008

5 comments:

  1. I can almost see the heart in your mouth from here. You brave souls!

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  2. Thank you Stan :o)

    Michael, When Tony and I want a bit of fun in rougher conditions, we go on our own. We are roughly of the same ability ( I flatter myself) and turn back from things at the same level of fear. Neither of us have egos and we turn back lots of times. No peer pressure results when you know you are with someone who you know not only considers turning back but has turned back with you on many previous occasions.

    In the summer Tony and I turned back from the Mull of Oa. If it had just been the two of us we would have probably gone on but we had David with us. He was keen to go on but we felt he did not have the insight or the experience to appreciate what the conditions ahead would be like, so we made the decision for him. David as the least experienced person was not put in a position to have to decide whether we (the group) should go on or turn back.

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  3. what fantastic photos!
    you sir have a new follower!

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  4. Placid, thank you and I am delighted to have you "aboard"!

    :o)

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