Showing posts with label Muck. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Muck. Show all posts
Sunday, March 17, 2013
A Samalaman sunset.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Storm clouds lift over Portuairk, Ardnamurchan
After the apparent calm of the open crossing it was good to be paddling along a shore again but it was surprising how much swell there actually was.
Soon we entered the long channel to the sheltered anchorage of Portuairk. Dark clouds were gathering overhead.
We waited for a downpour as we made our way through the moored fishing boats.
We arrived just after high water so there was not too much of a carry. I limped up to the grass and cracked open a Guinness as I watched the ground support team carry the boats up to the road. The storm clouds lifted and the sun came out giving a marvelous view of Muck, Rum and distant Canna. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch and felt very satisfied at the completion of a fantastic trip despite the problems caused by injury.
15/06/2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Sea kayaking Ardnamurchan to the Cairns of Coll.
We drove over the summit of the Ardnamurchan peninsula 4.5 hours after leaving Glasgow. The Cuillin of Rum and the Sgurr of Eigg boldly broke the blue vault of the sky.
We loaded our gear at Portuairk as quickly as we could...
...as the tide was ebbing fast.
Soon we were on the water with Muck and Rum to the north.
As we approached Ardnamurchan we met two sea kayakers coming the other way. We were delighted to meet with our regular paddling buddies, Gavin and Tony, who were nearing the end of their Kayak Caledonia expedition. They had covered 770km but amazingly we had been the first kayakers they had spoken to!
After a very pleasant half hour catching up on each others news, we went our separate ways. Tony and Gavin headed for a 2 hour snooze on the beach to the left of the lighthouse. They then went on to complete a 60km day from the Sound of Mull to Loch Moidart. We turned our bows to the distant Cairns of Coll.
A banana is a great pick me up on a 17km crossing.
In mid channel we were surrounded by a blizzard of Manx shearwaters who wheeled round us with wingtips flashing past our bows.
Jim looks SW to the tops of the distant Treshnish Isles that were "hull down" below the horizon.
P&H have very kindly lent me a new Cetus to try. It is beautifully finished with a glitter blue deck. Jennifer blagged first go. I will post a review once I have tried it in a variety of conditions. You can rest assured that it will be unbiased as I have 4 very nice sea kayaks in my garage and so did not "need" another to go paddling!
I expected it to be bigger than my beloved Quest but it is a much more delicately proportioned kayak. I like the look of it a great deal.
12/06/2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
End of the day at end of the road, Ardnamurchan
It was a while after rounding Ardnamurchan Point before I felt safe enough to get the camera out again! Jim and I were really impressed with Phil's paddling round the Point, especially considering that he has only been paddling for six months (and most of that time was in a double).
Once we had left the disturbed waters of Ardnamurchan Point, the wind began to drop with the dying sun...
... until there was not a breath left as we paddled between the reefs on the north coast of Ardnamurchan.
Our keels finally kissed the sands of Portuairk again at 21:43 some 10.5 hours after we had launched.
We covered a total of 42km on the water. We packed up leisurely in the darkness and brewed up soup and coffee before leaving for the long drive home at 11pm. We arrived back in Glasgow at 03:30am on the Monday morning.
What a day! This is seakayaking!
10/05/2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Rounding Ardnamurchan Point at sunset
If we had set off to round Ardnamurchan from Paradise Beach, we would have hit Ardnamurchan Point with a force 4 north wind against the peak flow of a north going spring tide. It would not have been particularly pleasant for Phil. By taking time out for an evening meal in Laorin Bay, the wind had dropped to force three and I reckoned that we would hit Ardnamurchan about 30 minutes after the tide had to to flow south again.
We decided to go for it and avoid that 7km walk from Kilchoan over to where we had left the car on the north of the peninsula! We set off for Ardnamurchan Point, 11km due north across the Sound of Mull.
On the way across the Sound of Mull, we spotted a familiar outline approaching. It was the Pharos, the Northern Lighthouse Board maintenance vessel.
We approached Ardnamurchan as the sun was setting. Muck, Rum, Skye and Eigg lay beyond the point.
Huge swells were coming in towards the point and the sun sank below the "horizon" several times before it finally disappeared. It was an incredible experience to be off the most westerly point of Britain at sunset.
Despite the favourable conditions, it proved to be quite lively round the point, particularly on its north side.
There is now a 20 minute gap in the photographs!
10/05/2009