Imagine you are at the edge of the sea on a day when it is difficult to say where the land ends and the sea begins and where the sea ends and the sky begins. Sea kayaking lets you explore these and your own boundaries and broadens your horizons. Sea kayaking is the new mountaineering.
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Sunday, September 12, 2010
Clear skies over Gigha.
The forecast for mainland Scotland was not looking good; with the possibility of torrential rain and thunderstorms but lightish winds. We looked west to Gigha, which is a beautiful low lying isle of the west coast of the Mull of Kintyre. I reckoned it would not have enough area to create a thermal uprising for a thunder cloud.
Donald had been going to head up to the far north west but had been equally dubious about the weather there. So we met up with Phil at Tayinloan pier.
Donald loves the sea but is not exactly a sea kayaker. He explores the west coast in a little inflatable boat powered by a 2.5hp outboard with another 2hp outboard as backup.
It was not long till we were afloat...
...and heading across the Sound of Gigha. The distant Paps of Jura heaved above the low hills of Gigha in the foreground.
At first, dark clouds rose above us but...
...we soon left the clouds above Kintyre behind and...
...by the time we had crossed the Sound of Gigha, the sky was clear. We landed on Gigha at Port na h-Atha near the Boathouse...
...with its little white sand beach, backing a bay of crystal clear water. Donald's little boat looked quite at home between the two kayaks.
It was still a little early for a cold drink but I noticed that since our last visit, the Boathouse Cafe Bar now serves draught beer. They have also installed a filter coffee machine, so we settled for some coffee, while we planned the rest of our itinerary...
You can follow Donald's view our trip to Gigha here.
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