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.
We left the shelter of The Eileans in Millport Bay on a millpond to find somewhat different conditions off...
...Farland Point where the wind was at the top end of F4 against an ebb spring tide in its third hour.
These photos can only give an inkling...
...of the fun conditions we experienced.
Once round the point we entered the main tide race with the wind behind us.
There were some great waves to catch and the combination of the Flat Earth kayak sail and paddling very hard (I do like these VE paddles) meant we could get onto the plane (in fully loaded sea kayaks!) and overtake the waves in front.
It is a great feeling accelerating down a wave face then breaking...
....through the wave in front then resurfacing with spray flying everywhere.
I hope this video will give some idea of the speed and fun.
Unfortunately not everyone was having fun. As we paddled into the shelter of Largs the VHF radio traffic was busy with calls as the Largs inshore lifeboat and a Sea King helicopter from HMS Gannet were called to assist a small motor boat that had got swamped south of the Great Cumbrae.
All in all our overnight trip to Inchmarnock had proved a wonderful experience. Camping, bonfire, good company, a swim, a pilgrimage to Saint Blane's monastery and some wind over tide race fun all made it unforgettable.
