Temptation in the Tan and a very verdant Little Cumbrae.

We slid across a glassy sea towards...

...the Tan which is that...

...narrow strip of water which separates Little Cumbrae from Great Cumbrae. Beyond the Tan the Arran mountains rose steeply from the sea.

As we cleared Farland Point on Great Cumbrae we were able to look back at the little town of Millport but we were not tempted by its ice cream shops and chip shops and...

...we continued across the Tan towards a...

...very verdant looking...

...Little Cumbrae.

The Tan was uncommonly calm and it was easy...

...to spot the many porpoises that inhabit these waters. In the distance the Arran Ferry MV Caledonian Isles was crossing from Brodick to Ardrossan and Ailsa Craig rose temptingly in splendid isolation on the horizon. So tempting was it that Phil, Tony and I paddled out and camped on the rock just 12 days later.

We could now see our destination for second breakfast...

 
...the Little Cumbrae castle.

Sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar 2014.

I wish a very Happy New Year and a great 2014 paddling season to all visitors to seakayakphoto.com. As way of a celebration of the last year and in anticipation of sea kayaking adventures yet to come, here is the 10th annual sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar from seakayakphoto.com. I apologise for its late arrival. Neither my computer nor myself have been in the best of health.

As in past calendars, all the photos were taken during the previous year (2013). Unfortunately I have not been paddling over the last 6 months so the choice of photos has been more limited than previous years. Nevertheless I have been able to choose photos from north and south of Ardnamurchan Point, the Inner Hebrides, the North Channel, the Firth of Clyde and the Solway Firth.

January.

The Little Cumbrae lighthouse in the Firth of Clyde proved surprisingly popular despite being in the depths of winter. We met friends from the Drumchapel and Clydebank Kayak Club there.

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February.

Rubha Carrach is on the exposed northern coast of Ardnamurchan. This coast is not paddled as often as it should be. Most circumnavigators of the British mainland cross to Eigg or Rubh' Arisaig on their headlong dash north. Paddlers staying in the area are faced with a circumnavigation of the whole Ardnamurchan peninsula if they only have one car, or a very long shuttle (over very slow single track) if they have two cars.

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March.

Glenuig Bay opens into the Sound of Arisaig and views extend along the Ardnamurchan peninsula and to Muck and the other Small Isles. One of the great joys of winter paddling is returning in the dark!

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April.

The north coast of Rum in the Sea of the Hebrides is a wild place. This is the sad wreck of the Jack Abry II, a French trawler that ran on to the rocks here just before midnight on the 31st January 2011. Fortunately, despite a gale and the surrounding cliffs and mountains, all 14 men on board were airlifted to safety by the Stornoway coastguard helicopter.

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May.

The Mull of Kintyre is a rather committing paddle. The tide was moving at  6 knots and even in benign conditions there was no landing for 25km. It sticks out into the North Channel which separates Scotland from Ireland. On this misty day there was no sign of Ireland and we felt like we were paddling round the edge of the World.

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June.

Kylie the dolphin can often be found near Ardlamont buoy at the

mouth of the the Kyles of Bute.

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July.

Murray's Isles lie in the mouth of Fleet Bay on the Solway Firth. In early summer they host noisy colonies of cormorants and gulls. The cormorants need to keep a watchful eye on their eggs and chicks as the gulls swoop down on any unguarded nest. It is a wonderful experience to drift in the tide past the colonies in kakak and watch, hear and smell the constant activity.

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August.

Nothing can be finer than paddling across the mouth of Loch Fyne on a summer evening.

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September.

The surf beach at Machrihanish is exposed to the North Atlantic swell and extends for over 6 kilometers. It is probably wise not to surf a fully laden sea kayak in amongst the surfers. The dune system behind the beach is one of the largest in Scotland.

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October.

Shoe Bay is easily missed as it is hidden in the skerries at the mouth of Loch Moidart. The name comes from the very soft sand which swallows footwear!

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November.

The dramatic outline of An Sgurr is the highest point of Eigg in the Sea of the Hebrides.

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December.

This is the view to the Small Isles from the silver sands of Morar Bay.  The bay is shallow and tidal and in a westerly wind, steep breaking waves build up as the ebb tide rushes over sandbars. On this trip the wind was from the east and all was calm.

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A small matter of the Trade Descriptions Act as we set foot on the sands of Ayrshire.

 We had  left the Little Cumbrae floating serenely on a limpid sea but...

 ...we needed to keep a sharp eye out for other vessels such as FV Five Sisters (OB 353) from Campbeltown (from where we had set off on our adventure 6 days previously.

In the calm conditions my injured shoulder was really feeling the strain as we had to drop the sails. The others were soon far ahead but...

 ...I caught up as they waited for the bulk carrier CSL Clyde to pass on her way north to Hunterston ore terminal.

 At long last we approached Portencross Castle and made our way round Farland Head, upon which it stands, to the sheltered...

 ...pink sands of Ardneil Bay. It was time for a celebration! We had set foot on Ayrshire for the first time since we had bought single tickets for Campbeltown and left its shores six days previously on the ferry MV Isle of Arran. Mind you it was a pretty watery celebration. We had run out of Guinness earlier in the trip and...

 ...had to resupply in Tarbert some 40 km away, far to the north of the distant Isle of Arran. Unfortunately the Co-op store only sold  a pale yellow liquid...

...called S***l*. We thought it was mislabeled P**h, but at least it was wet and we were very thirsty.

Perhaps our celebrations were a bit hasty. Our cars were at the ferry terminal car park, still some 10 km away, beyond the distant headland. My shoulder ached just thinking about it. We also faced a final hurdle, because we had cut our trip short by 18 hours....the tide....

The clarity of light and reflected clouds at Little Cumbrae.

We paddled east across the Firth of Clyde towards the Little Cumbrae island. To its north we could just make out the Victorian Villas of Millport on the neighbouring Great Cumbrae.As we approached...

 ...the wind gradually died away leaving a glassy calm sea upon which...
.

 ...the reflections of clouds gently rolled on the gentle swell.

 It was 5pm and the sun was well round to the west, which gave a wonderful light on the south west side of the Little Cumbrae.

The Stevenson lighthouse was clearly illuminated as was the distant PV Audacia and accompanying tug Battler. Audacia is a 225m pipe laying vessel.

 The clarity of the evening light added to the sharpness of the reflected clouds which lined up over the Little Cumbrae.

As we passed the south end of Little Cumbrae we embarked on the second last leg of our trip, the crossing of Fairlie Roads to Farland Head on the Ayrshire coast.

A turbulent past but all calm now as we made our way past Garroch Head.

The conical profile of St Blane's Hill is the distinguishing landmark at the south end of the Island of Bute. This part of Bute was one of the earliest Christian settlements in Scotland. St Catan founded a monastery here at the end of the sixth century and was succeeded by his nephew, St Blane. The monastery has a turbulent past. Two abbots were killed and the monastery was sacked by the Vikings at the end of the eighth century but the church ruins we see today was rebuilt in the 12th century

South of St Blane's hill, the smaller Barr hill slopes gently to the southernmost promontory of Bute, Garroch Head.

On a calm day the low lying Garroch Head looks very inauspicious and for those who believe the false mantra "There is no tide in the Clyde"   it can hold a nasty sting in its tail. The collection of wind turbines on the distant Ayrshire hill hints that this can be a windy place. The south going ebb tide passes either side of Bute...

...and where it meets, it kicks up a significant tide race. The effect is amplified if there is any south in the wind or if the Firth is swollen by rain or melt water.

 As we rounded Garroch Head we caught our first sight of Little Cumbrae to the east.

From Dunagoil Bay, where we had taken our last break, to our next landfall on the Ayrshire coast is 12 km. We embarked on our crossing of the Firth of Clyde and slowly the top of Ailsa Craig came in to view. It was 52km away, beyond the east end of Holy Island.

As we left Garroch Head far behind us, a lovely light developed as the sinking sun illuminated its green slopes flecked with yellow gorse.

Benediction and supplication on the Little Cumbrae.

Low tide had revealed a short undamaged section of the old slipway under the Little Cumbrae lighthouses. I was extremely grateful for the help I was given in getting my kayak to the water and in getting me into it! The ebb tide was running at 5km/hr past the little harbour and we had some fun in little standing waves until...

 ...the flow reduced as we approached the south end of the Lttle Cumbrae. Sadly it was now time to say goodby to Ian, who was going to paddle back across the Firth of Clyde channel to Bute.

 We continued south towards Gull Point where the sea was...

 ...very calm....

 ...before turning north towards Castle Island.

The Coastguard MSI broadcast warned of freshening NE winds in the evening.  As it was getting late, we didn't want to hang about so, when we stopped for a quick bite to eat under the walls of the castle, we stayed afloat in the kayaks. It was here that yogmaster David delivered benediction.

As night fell, and right on cue, a cold NE breeze picked up. It was now time to get our heads down (in supplication as David said) and paddle hard for home. We arrived at Largs well after dark but perfectly safe, thanks to David's intercession.

Another great day out on the Clyde. We had covered only 24 km but we saw a great deal..