Tony and I had been trying to complete kayaking round Islay
for several years and despite frequent visits, we had been unable to paddle the
west coast of the
Rinns of Islay. This was to be my third visit of the year
and only a few weeks before, had already turned back from the Rhinns after
meeting huge swell in otherwise benign conditions. Prior to this trip, a succession of days with SE winds had flattened the Atlantic swell, which is the
"Governor" on this coast. Although the weather was to be mixed, the
tide times were ideal. It would be one day after neaps and the north going
flood would start at about 0900 hours at
Portnahaven on the south end of the Rhinns.
It was 0820 as we drove down the steep road into the tiny
hamlet of Portnahaven. The hamlet almost impossibly manages to cling to the
rocks of this untamed coast. In the shelter of Portnahaven it was difficult to
judge the wind strength as it was SE and offshore. The smoke blowing
horizontally from the chimneys suggested it was about 3-4. It was time for the
Clyde coastguard Marine Safety Information (MSI) broadcast on the VHF marine
band.
"This is the
inshore forecast for Mull of Kintyre to Ardnamurchan Point, issued by the Met
Office at 0500 UTC Friday 6th August and valid until 0500 UTC Saturday 7th
August. 24 hour forecast. Wind: SE or S 4 to 5 veering NW 6-7 later. Sea state:
moderate or rough becoming very rough. Weather: showers, rain later.
Visibility: moderate becoming poor."
"Later" means 12 hours or more by which time we hoped to have cleared the Rhinns. The SE or S would either be cross offshore or cross shore as a tail wind so we decided to go for it...
...and after several visits to the public toilets, we launched in the calm of Portnahaven harbour. We passed the conveniently situated pub,
An Tigh Seinsse (house of the singing) but it was shut and our mouths remained dry.
Portnahaven was built as a planned crofting and fishing village during the 19th century...
...and its cluster of whitewashed cottages crowd round a sheltered inlet off one of the roughest pieces of water in the British Isles. None of the local boats showed any sign of leaving their moorings that morning. A combination of Atlantic swell, strong tides, shallow, reef infested waters and high average wind speeds make it an interesting place to kayak...
...these were the conditions which had caused us to turn back a few weeks before.
