Wednesday, May 12, 2010

No egos at Portencross!


When we arrived at Ardrossan on sunny morning in early March, the flags in the ferry's rigging were snapping in the wind. But we were protected by the high sea wall and could not see the sea, so we left two shuttle cars and drove the other two cars with the kayaks to Portencross. We planned our usual route, Wee Cumbrae, Bute, Sannox, Brodick and ferry home. There were white horses to the horizon as SW F5 wind blew across the Clyde from Arran. The waves were crashing in on the rocks. It looked like it might be a tricky launch. Tony, Jim, Phil and I looked at one another and, as one, shook our heads. There are no egos at seakayakphoto.com. We are at the gentlemen end of the sea kayaking spectrum. There was just time to return to Ardrossan! Plan B was to ferry glide across to Brodick on Arran and enjoy a Calmac breakfast aboard MV Caledonian Isles!

Unusually we were asked to to tie the kayaks up to the ferry's sides on the car deck. The crew expected a rough crossing. Phil felt a little queasy after his second sausage but later as the ferry pulled into the shelter of Brodick Bay, her motion eased and stomachs settled.