Deadly waves north of Fascadale.

As we paddled east along the north Ardnamurchan coast the view to the north was dominated by the islands of the Inner Hebrides, low lying Muck, mountainous Rum, Eigg with its distinctive Sgurr and in the distance the mountains of Skye.

It was not a view that held our attention for long though as the rocky ramparts of Ardnamurchan are...

 ...protected by underwater ledges and skerries which...

 ...throw up sudden and unexpected waves called boomers.

 So dangerous is this coast for small boats that we did not see a single lobster pot until we eventually...

 ...rounded a wild headland and saw the houses at the head of Fascadale Bay.

In July 2009 a tragic accident occurred in which the FV Aquila from Cumbria capsized about 4km north of this spot. She was trawling for scallops near the Bo Faskadale reef when her trawl snagged and she was capsized by huge following seas. Sadly, only one of her four crew survived. In a flood tide and westerly swell locals know that large standing waves often form in the area of the reef. The charts and sailing directions did not mention these but UKHO have since amended both to include a warning.

 It was a relief to get some shelter from the swell and waves and...

...we carried our luncheon things up the steep storm beach of cobbles to a grassy bank below the old boathouse.

Winter sunset over the Cumbraes.

 Leaving the Eileans and their grey seal colony we set off on our return journey to Largs.

The fair isle of Little Cumbrae and the mountains of Arran gradually...

 ...slipped astern as the sun began to set in the SW.

 Once we rounded Farland Point on Great Cumbrae...

 ...the sun developed a warm reddish tinge but...

...don't be fooled it was bitterly...

...cold as we paddle sailed the last few kilometres...

 ...into Largs.

Surprisingly, given our late start, we arrived back before sunset. The Arran mountains were looking fantastic behind the rounded outline of the Great Cumbrae.

This was another fantastic trip. I am glad we did not launch at Ayr with our original intention of paddling south to Culzean. The NW wind on our arrival was a bit strong for mid winter paddling which is why we chose this route which was sheltered by the islands. While we were enjoying ourselves an unfortunate (but lucky) kayaker capsized in Culzean Bay and required hospitalisation for hypothermia after being rescued by helicopter.

Ian's Inlet

In a recent post I said that we came to a point round which some big swell "stopped play". While this was accurate, I was being rather economical with all the facts of the case. This was because I wanted to let Ian tell his story first.

Ian and I had been rockhopping along the coast, leap frogging past each other and watching out for each other. Ian capsized at the point above, right where that swell is breaking. I had approached the point in the lead but had kept a fairly wide berth as I had seen occasional boomers breaking on the point and I didn't much like the look of the gently shelving rocks.

When Ian approached, all was calm and he decided to nose into the small gully marked X and hold station (his bow pointing SW) in the small swell. He hadn't reckoned on the set of four big ones that were just about to arrive. At 11:27 the first washed him up the wall of the gully. He braced but as it sucked back, there was nothing to brace on and he was dragged head first down the barnacle covered rocks. The second wave bashed him and his kayak back up the rocks and Ian bailed out. The third wave separated Ian from his kayak and his paddle as he struggled to maintain contact with the rocks. The fourth wave was fortunately the biggest. It flung Ian's kayak back up the rock with a real graunching. The bow caught a rock and the force of the wave catapulted the stern right round so the bow was now pointing NE. The wave then carried the kayak and Ian over the rocks into the inlet behind.

I then nipped into the inlet, picking up Ian's paddle and one of his splits on the way. Ian was in the water trying to pump out the kayak but with me alongside, we turned the kayak upside down and drained it. The inlet was barely wide enough for two kayaks and the swell was pushing us back and forwards, crashing into the sides of the inlet. My right elbow took a heavy blow, with the momentum of two kayaks and kayakers  behind it. At this point, we both decided that I would be better out the way and give Ian more room to try a cowboy re-entry. I reversed out a bit and got my contact tow rope ready to pull him and the kayak out of the gully, in case the re-entry failed. Ian managed the cowbow in fine style and we reconvened about 25m offshore. We rafted up and Ian pumped out while I re-secured his splits and recovered his pump. Ian recovered his map case.

There was a freezing cold SE wind blowing about force 4. Despite this we paddled on as if nothing had happened at 11:36, just 9 minutes after Ian had capsized. (When we landed at 11:52 my anemometer was showing 14-15 knots on top of a sand dune with an air temperature of 0C and a wind chill of -6C.)

A major incident had been averted because:

Firstly, Ian was wearing a dry suit. His Lomo Renegade drysuit resisted the abrasion of the barnacles with flying colours. If Ian had being wearing a two piece he would have been frozen and the trip would have had to be abandoned. 

Secondly, Ian had practised cowboy re-entries in rough conditions. If the cowboy had failed, I would have towed him out (I have practised towing backwards.) I could have used either my full tow line or, more probably, my short contact tow line, which I keep on the fore deck. Out in calmer water, I would have rafted his kayak and he would have done an assisted re-entry.

Thirdly, Ian had the benefit of consuming 500ml of my hot, home made French onion soup.    

From this point forward let this inlet be known as Ian's inlet!                

A near miss on the Solway

 On the 30th of April, I was enjoying a holiday on Fleet Bay in the Solway Firth. Despite the sun a strong offshore wind meant my kayak stayed firmly on the beach. Actually it didn't! It got blown about 10m from where I left it!

The wind was blowing straight out the bay towards distant Burrow Head.

My anemometer was averaging 28knots on the beach. I watched enviously as Richard was enjoying a good blast on his windsurfer. Due to increasing problems with my knees, the last time I got out windsurfing was in October 2008. I do miss it.

Anyway, I have a nice pair of 7x50 binoculars and was enjoying watching the fun when I suddenly noticed a double sit on top being blown out to sea at a very rapid rate. There was no sign of any paddlers, so I was just about to phone Liverpool coastguard when I noticed a 20 foot day sailing boat heading for the kayak. Her experienced crew had decided to motor out (she has an inboard outboard well if you know what that is!) despite being competent sailors. I scanned the surface of the sea but I couldn't see anyone in the water.

The day boat very sensibly motored straight up wind covering the area over which the kayak had been blown. Then I saw an arm held straight up. Fortunately the day boat crew saw it. They had a hell of a job trying lift the lone kayaker into the cockpit as the day boat has a relatively high freeboard. The lucky kayaker was clearly barely able to help and collapsed into the cockpit. He was not wearing a buoyancy aid and, despite the water being only 6.5 degrees centigrade was wearing shorts. It turned out he had gone out on his own in the back seat of the sit on top. He couldn't turn it round into the wind to paddle back to the shore in the strong wind. He then fell in and the wind blew the sit on top away.

It was an ebb spring tide so if he had been swept out past the islands he would probably not have been found alive. He was extremely lucky he was spotted and that help was at hand. This sort of near miss and rescue will never make national statistics but it must be happening all round the coast. A combination of hot sun, cold water and an offshore wind can be lethal. I have witnessed 4 fatal boating accidents in Fleet Bay since 1968 and lost count of innumerable near misses. Thank goodness this one had a happy ending. I was glad I had decided to stay on the beach.

This is the Hawk 20 lying at her mooring on a calm day. It is a nice boat.

Brave rescue at Ardwall Island

Last week, I posted about a delightful spring time trip to Ardwall Island in Fleet Bay on the Solway Firth. It is a truly delightful spot and as you can see, it lies just off shore from a public access point at Carrick shore. It is even possible to walk to it at low tide. It is a wonderful place to visit in settled weather.


Unfortunately the Solway can be very rough, with a combination of wind, swell, shallow water and strong tides all contributing to sometimes treacherous conditions. This recent photo was taken on the 23rd of August 2009, in the peak of the Scottish summer season!

I was very sorry to hear of the news that 4 people's holiday had come to an end when they were marooned on Ardwall Island last Thursday night. They were marooned on the island after they could not relaunch their dinghy when conditions deteriorated. Winds gusted up to 31 knots as a low pressure system swept across SW Scotland.

Thank goodness the Kircudbright Coastguard, the Mossyard inshore rescue boat and a Sea King helicopter from RAF Valley in Wales managed to locate and rescue all four people, in a stormy dark night.

Thanks to our professional and volunteer rescue services for going out in such an atrocious conditions.

Surf's up on Ayrshire's Atlantic coast!

Yesterday the surf was up on Ayrshire's Atlantic Coast.


Most people think the Ayrshire coast is a sheltered backwater in the Firth of Clyde. However, its southerly aspect is exposed to the North Atlantic through the North Channel between Ireland and Scotland. Add to this, steep surf beaches such as at Ballantrae, the tide race of Bennane Head and a coast remote from roads with cliffs, caves and reefs and you have the recipe for a great day out! Magicseaweed.com was predicting a surf height of 10.5 feet and period of 13 seconds from the NW at Macrihanish. Weather forecast was for force 4 SW dropping to 2 then increasing to 6 southerly.... just perfect!


Driving south towards Ballantrae the road rises over Bennane Head. What a prospect lay before us. Peeling surf as far as the eye could see!


We launched at Finnarts Bay on Loch Ryan and paddled north to Lendalfoot. Unfortunately the car park by the beach at Finnarts Bay is in the process of being converted to a caravan park and vehicular traffic has been blocked. It looks like they might be constructing a new car park well behind the beach so I hope that public access will not be blocked. It does now mean quite a long carry to the water though.


Within minutes of launching we were enjoying some superb sea kayaking below bold cliffs and ...


... exposed headlands. Two golden eagles soared overhead.


It was soon time to stop for luncheon but there are few landing places on this coast. Little Portandea came into view between the backs of huge crashing surf monsters. The seakayakphoto.com luncheon club is not put off by such things and we steamed in between two huge sets. Billy said "do you hear that one?" as a huge wave crashed over the protecting reef behind...


... then smashed into the little bay. During a very pleasant luncheon we were able to observe the effects of succesive waves on the cliffs. Boulders were rumbling and being tossed about the steep beach by the heavy surf.


Our kayaks looked mighty frail sitting there! After lunch we then enjoyed a very exciting launch.


Refuelled, we then made our way up to the surf beach at Ballantrae. What a hoot! Well spaced peeling monsters were making their way shore wards at 20km/hr.

After a while it seemed only right to do some practice surf rescues. Billy volunteered to get wet as he was keen to test out his new Fourth Element gear. Please note, this is not a very safe arrangement of kayaks with a large approaching wave! I turned parallel to Tony and rafted up well before that next peeler arrived!


All bailed out...


... and Billy is on his way again, delighted with the effectiveness of his Fourth Element thermocline top and shorts.


Next we had to negotiate the race at Bennane head. It was neaps but we had timed it so that we were rounding the headland 3 hours after the turn of the tide. There were some huge swells and the water off the head was very confused and so there are no photos in the race itself.


However, it was a flood tide, where the incoming tide is split by the headland. This is always calmer than on the ebb. On the ebb, the south going current to the north of the head joins the north going current to the south of the head. Where they join can be a maelstrom!


The end of a perfect day.

02/05/2009

Tragedy in the Sound of Islay

The BBC Scotland News has just reported a tragic accident in the Sound of Islay. Yesterday (Saturday) afternoon, a sea angler was swept away by strong spring tide currents in the Sound of Islay. The RNLI Lifeboat from Port Askaig and a helicopter were in action within minutes and the man was rescued. He was airlifted to hospital in Oban but very sadly he died later.

My heart goes out to his bereaved relatives.

It just emphasises the power of the sea. We had enjoyed kayaking in these strong currents just a few days before on our holiday. Now someone else on holiday, in the same place, has lost their life.

We cut our holiday short and stayed on the sheltered side of the island due to the wind conditions, which made kayaking difficult. I am glad we did. We are fortunate, we will be able to return to Islay.

Over the sea to the fair isle of Islay

As we crossed the Sound of Jura, towards the Sound of Islay, a force 5 wind was blowing from the north west. The air was very clear and to the north the Paps of Jura heaved above the horizon. However, the wind meant that we would need to plan our sea kayaking adventure carefully. Initial plans to paddle against the tide and head north towards the island of Colonsay were put to one side.


Mair and Billy had met David and myself at Kennacraig, on the west coast of the Mull of Kintyre. We had promised ourselves a trip to Islay for too long, now it was a reality! We were to meet Tony on Islay at Port Askaig. He had already enjoyed a family holiday for a week on the island.


The MV Hebridean Isles docked right on time as we were putting the final bags into the kayaks.


We used trolleys to wheel them onto the car deck. The kayaks travel for £10 return on any Caledonian Macbrayne crossing. Note the strap restraining the kayaks for a windy crossing. Normally they do not bother.


Our excitement mounted as we approached the tiny Port Askaig. It lies at the foot of steep cliffs. Rather I should say lay at the foot of steep cliffs. The port is midway through a 13 million pound redevelopment that has carved a new approach and waiting area from the cliffs (destroying two of the villages few houses) and constructed a new roll on roll off jetty.

Also noticeable is the Islay Severn class lifeboat Helmut Schroder of Dunlossit II. This has been on station since 1997. On 18 December 1991, the previous Thames class boat, Helmut Schroder of Dunlossit, was involved in the dramatic of nearly 50 souls from the Russian fish factory vessel Kartli.


Port Askaig is one of Islay's two ferry terminals. The other is on the south of the island at Port Ellen. Port Askaig is also the terminal for the MV Eilean Dhiura which crosses 0.9km of the Sound of Isla to Feolin on Jura.

We had arrived on Islay!

12/07/2008