Is it worth tacking upwind with a Flat Earth Kayak Sail?

 There was a 12 knot headwind blowing directly from our destination the Heads of Ayr.

I decided to try and tack upwind to see if it would be quicker than just putting my head down and paddling straight for the Heads of Ayr.

At first I tacked upwind while both paddling and sailing. I covered 1600m over the ground but only 600m upwind in 15.28mins. The over ground speed was 6.3km/hr but the upwind speed was only 2.4km.

Next I dropped the sail and paddled directly upwind. I covered the next 600m in 6.72mins which meant the upwind speed was 5.4km/hr.

It was good to take a rest at Bracken Bay and work all this out. My conclusion is that it is not worth tacking up wind when kayak sailing but if you can lay your destination sailing closehauled it is worth kayak sailing. In this example the close hauled speed was 6.3km/hr and the paddling only upwind speed was 5.4km/hr.

Of course the downwind blast home was much more fun...

...my maximum speed regularly went over 14km/hr with a max of 14.6

Yee Haa!

New Year's Day

Contrary to popular opinion, not all Scots have a hangover on New Year's day. Tony, David, Phil and I met in the early morning at Seafield car park in Ayr.


It was bitterly cold as we paddled south towards the Heads of Ayr...


...but the stunning view of Arran's wintry mountains made it worthwhile.

Of geology and pakora!

We landed at Bracken Bay to the south of the Heads of Ayr. This area must be a geologist's paradise. The Heads are a well preserved lower carboniferous volcanic vent but these adjacent weathered cliffs...


..are composed of the most wonderfully coloured layers of sedimentary rocks, which appear to be sandstone on top of a conglomerate layer.


Relieved by our exploration of the geological features we made our way onwards to Ayr. Phil is as pleased as punch with his new Quest. Just as well, as it was to be well tested twice within the week.


On arrival at Seafield in Ayr, David rushed off to Ayr India to obtain supplies of Scotland's national snack...pakora. All that talk of once hot rocks had given us an appetite for some hot food! We ate with gusto, as the sun went down behind the Heads of Ayr.


From Maidens to Seafield is 20.5km. Tony and I hit 15.5km surfing on following seas in the section south of Dunure.

15/03/2009

Greenan, the fourth castle of Carrick, and a corpse.

Leaving Dunure (and its quickly receding tide) we made good progress NE towards the Heads of Ayr.


Spying a convenient landing spot, we took a short break at Bracken Bay.


We passed the Heads of Ayr, which are the remains of the lava flow from a volcano on the Carrick Hills. This was active (at the same time as Ailsa Craig) when Europe and America began to drift apart as the Atlantic Ocean widened.


At last we paddled past Greenan Castle, the fourth castle on this sea kayaking tour of "the four coastal castles of Carrick".


This photo (from a previous trip on 09/11/2003) shows the castle's supreme defensive position on the very edge of a cliff to the south of Ayr. There have been defensive buildings on this site for over a thousand years but the present tower house dates from the 16th century.

In 1602 Sir Thomas Kennedy of Culzean spent the night at Greenan prior to setting off on a long ride Edinburgh. Unfortunately he only made it a few miles to St. Leonard's woods in Ayr. He was ambushed and murdered there by a kinsman, Thomas Kennedy of Drummurchie, who was a Bargany Kennedy. The Culzean and Bargany Kennedys were bitter enemies and their long and bloody feud was immortalised by Sir Walter Scott in "An Ayrshire Tragedy" and by SR Crocket in "The Grey Man".

The road where Sir Thomas's corpse was discovered was renamed Corsehill Road. I used to live in Corsehill Road and on stormy nights, when the wind was howling through the trees, it was always a relief to shut and bolt the door!


The day was nearly done by the time we got back to Seafield beach at Ayr. We made our way home up Corsehill Road in the gathering winter darkness. Of Sir Thomas, there was not a sight. May he rest in peace.

And that brings to a close our four castles (and three pints and innumerable tales) of Carrick sea kayaking tour. I hope you have enjoyed "paddling" along with us on the way.

20/01/2008

Comfortably numb!

It was a cold grey day down on the Ayrshire coast today. Our hands were so cold.


We just happened upon a hostelery, with the attraction of a warming fire. Some say the timing and location of our trips depend more on pub opening times than on tide tables. This is a quite scurrilous accusation, which we totally refute .


We continued on our way feeling comfortably numb.

Usual health warnings apply!

20/01/2008

Introduce a friend to sea kayaking week.

Just in case you did not know, it is "introduce a friend to sea kayaking week"! David and I took Keith out. The first section of our favoured "Three Castles" route was from Maidens to Culzean Castle and was suitably flat to learn about paddling.


After a lunch stop in Croy Bay (with a wet relaunch in the surf) the section up to Dunure Castle was thirst inducingly bumpy. So we stopped for a pint at the Anchorage Bar in Dunure. Keith was beginning to like this sort of exercise.


In fact by the time we reached our last landfall at Bracken Bay, under the Heads of Ayr, he did not want to stop. Unfortunately after passing Greenan Castle, we were soon back at Ayr just as darkness began to fall. I hope he will come again.

14/10/2007

Anchorage Bar, Dunure

I have previously written about the Anchorage Bar in Dunure on the Ayrshire coast of the Firth of Clyde. It has recently changed hands and been extensively refurbished, so in our customary thorough manner we chose to pay another visit. Willy decided not to come due to the forecast of 4 to 5 getting up to 6 later. His brother Cameron, who is an oil rig supply boat captain, thought it would get a wee bit rough off the Heads of Ayr later in the afternoon. So just David and I set off from Maidens to use the SW wind and swell to power up to Ayr in the double.


Approaching Dunure ,do not be distracted by the ancient ruins of Dunure Castle on the right. The Anchorage is behind the row of little fishermen's cottages which are built at right angles to the little shingle beach which is partially sheltered by offshore skerries. You can also land at a slipway within the harbour (shown in the link to the previous post).


We approached from the beer garden which is a very short walk from the sea. Your granny could manage it. It had been decidedly thirsty paddling and we were really anticipating the ice cold Guinness. David decided to smarten up by wiping the saliva from his lips.


We walked in across the nice new wooden floor. I noticed some sandy drips trailing behind David as he confidently made his way to the bar. Two pints of Guinness were served with cool efficiency as we listened to the live music. We found ourselves seated on stools beside an upturned barrel. A large guy called Sean asked if we were divers. It turned out he was a prawn boat fisherman who also does lobster pots as a hobby. He commented that it was probably a bit bumpy out there. Chatting away, Cameron then joined us. He also said it looked bumpy and was glad Willie had not come. We began to feel quite comfortable in this company and felt we had earned some small measure of respect. Since we were paddling a double, we thought we could justify a double round. It all seemed to slip down so easily but we realized that nearly an hour had passed!

As we were leaving the beer garden, two bored 13 year olds (playing Gameboys) asked what we were doing in "thae funny suits". Quick as a flash, I told them I was Batman and David was Robin. My wit was completely wasted; neither had a clue about who these costumed crusaders were.


Launching the double in the shore break that had built up (as we were boozin at the nappy and getting fu' and unco happy - from Tam o' Shanter by Robert Burns) was decidedly dodgy. In the front cockpit , I slammed down from what seemed like a considerable height over several breaking waves. Things calmed down a bit in deeper water but Sean and Cameron were right, it was a little bumpy off the Heads of Ayr.


Once round the Heads the steep seas flattened off and we were able to surf the double at up to 16km/hr with both of us doing stern rudders to stop the old girl broaching.


Safely back at Ayr and another review is completed. Its tough work but someone has to do it.