Wednesday, June 04, 2014

Planing a a fully loaded expedition sea kayak: paddle sailing through the Pladda tide race.

I was just timing my departure from the little harbour at Pladda when a baby seal popped up right in front of me (it's just below the highest bit of the wave). I hung back before powering....

 ...through the narrow entrance into the Sound of Pladda which was...

 ...surprisingly bumpy.

 Once out of the harbour we turned SE to circumnavigate Pladda clockwise.

 The spring tide had nearly finished its fourth hour but...

 ....the water was still stirred up a bit.

 We got some good runs...

 ...running diagonally down the waves.

 The water stirred itself some more as we approached....

....the east point of Pladda then...

 ....yee hahh...

 
 ...I just love sea kayaking.

 Rounding the east point freed the wind so it was time to launch the sail...

 ...and the speed picked up even more.

 What a great feeling, .flying down wind,...

 ...overtaking the waves in front and...

 ...planing a fully loaded expedition  kayak for...

 ....hundreds of meters at a time.

 Sadly the bouncy bits...

 ...all too soon came to an end as....

 ...we broke out into the lee of Pladda.

 We completed our circumnavigation in calm conditions before...

 ...crossing theSound of Pladda and landing...

...on a sandstone slab between basalt dykes on the Kildonan Shore of Arran. Time to do luncheon!

If you fancy expedition sea kayaking with a sail, we use Flat Earth Kayak Sails from Australia. In Europe they are available from Kari-tek and P&H also supply their sea kayaks with sailing rigs.