Hebridean roots and island community buyout.

Benbecula



South Uist



Eriskay

My daughters have ancestral roots in several places in the outer Hebrides including Solas and Greinetobht in North Uist, Baile a' Mhanaich and Cill Eireabhagh on Benbecula and Loch a'Charnain and Staoniebrig in South Uist. Generations of depopulation have led to our family leaving the islands for places like Glasgow, Australia and New Zealand. My friend Cailean is a more recent emigrant from Lewis to Inverness which is near where I grew up in Dingwall.

I was delighted to hear that the remaining residents of the South Uist Estate, which includes Eriskay and parts of Benbecula, have been awarded £2 million Lottery funding towards a community buy out of the estate.

Other remote Scottish estates have been successfully bought by their communities. Gigha for example is now thriving again. I wish the residents of South Uist Estate good fortune in the future.

PS 14/11/2006 Highlands and Islands Enterprise has donated a further £2 million to the buy out fund.

Ailsa Craig and the return of its puffins.

Having teased you with remote glimpses of Ailsa Craig from the Clyde coast of Ayrshire, I think it is time for a closer look. It is best to choose a day with a good forecast as the volcanic plug stands in spendid isolation, 15km from the nearest land. It is also known as Paddy's Milestone as it is half way between Belfast and Glasgow. It is on the sea route taken by many Irish families who travelled to Scotland following famine in Ireland. Its microgranite has been quarried for the production of curling stones used in a popular Scottish winter pastime.



We went in May when the thousands of seabirds had returned to their breeding grounds on its precipitous cliffs. We paddled past colonies of gannets, fulmars, guillemots, black guillemots. and razorbills.



A particular treat was to see a small group of colourful puffins. Last century, a colony of over 30,000 pairs had been wiped out by rats which escaped from a ship wreck. The puffin burrows were too accessible and the rats preyed on the chicks and eggs in the spring and summer then cannibalised each other during the autumn and winter. The rats were recently exterminated using poisoned grain. Within a few years, a small breeding colony of puffins has reestablished itself. They are now a welcome sight, evidence, on a very small scale, that what man has done, he can undo. Let's just hope the climate is as fortunate as a few puffins.

More from the cave of Mr Sawney Bean

The entrance to Sawney Bean's cave is at the foot of Bennane Head on the lower Firth of Clyde. It is in a fabulous, remote situation with the monolith of Ailsa Craig punctuating the horizon. At high tide, the cave is entered by a traverse on rocks above the sea, followed by a climb of about 10 metres to the entrance. As the walls of the cave are worn smooth it must have been created by the sea following the last ice age when sea levels were higher. The land had been depressed by the sheer weight of thousands of metres of ice. The ice had also worn away the ash cone of Ailsa Craig and transported erratic granite boulders from its volcanic plug as far south as Wales.



Grafitti pointing to the inner chamber of the cave where over 1,000 souls are reputed to have been murdered before being cannibalised by the Bean clan.



It was a welcome relief to escape to the open sea and sky.

A Kayaking Bean feast.

A trip to Bennane Head on the lower Clyde found us inside the cave and principal dwelling of a Mr Alexander Bean who frequented these parts in the 17th century. He was known as "Sawney" to his friends (most of his aquaintances had little time to develop friendship). Together with his brood of 48 butchers he is reputed to have cannibalised about 1,000 victims over a 25 year reign of terror. The Bean family were finally run to ground and the males were executed by amputation of the limbs and the females by burning. The walls of the cave have stood as silent witness to this horror for thee centuries. Today, they ran red with iron oxide, as if still bleeding in silent sympathy with those who had met their grisly end within. We found no femurs. Despite the ancient land of Alba having a past brim full of blood thirsty deeds, the historical veracity of Sawney Bean's place in Scottish history is in some doubt.





The coastline from Lendalfoot (where Mr Alastair Wilson of Lendal Paddles has a home) to Loch Ryan was a superb mixture of volcanic rocks, including pillow lavas, and huge shingle beaches. The section from Ballantrae south was a rockhopping paradise. The coast is commiting, being exposed to the NW Atlantic swells, and a force 4 to 5 SW wind developed as the day wore on. Entering Loch Ryan the Stenna Line HSS ferry threw up a 2 metre wake. We made sure we were well clear of the rocks but were nearly caught out by the rebound of her other wake which was reflected back across from the far side of the loch some time later.

Call of the Clyde

I started sea kayaking 4 years ago. One of my first trips was along the Clyde coast of Ayrshire. It is a coast which is surprisingly remote from the coastal A77 trunk road between Glasgow and the ferry port of Stranraer. It is also steeped in history, ancient castles where such atrocities as the roasting of the Abbot of Crossraguel Abbey took place. Further down the coast is a cave where Sawney Bean and his family practiced cannibalism on poor travellers.

The Firth of Clyde, I hear it calling........

Hydro Skeg from Ayrshire!

Ayrshire on Scotland's west coast is famous in sea kayaking circles not only for its spectacular sunsets behind the silhouette of Arran's "Sleeping Warrior" across the Firth of Clyde. It also supports two kayaking businesses that are renowned for their ingenious design skills. Alistair Wilson's Lendal Paddles is the longest established but I wish to draw your attention to Jeff Turner's Kari-tek.



In July this year Jeff fitted one of his skegs to my wife's Alaw Bach, a skegless design. So at the Perth show, I was surprised to spot this Rockpool Alaw Bach fitted with a skeg from the factory.



Jeff sells Hydro Skegs as aftermarket kits to add to a skegless boat like the Alaw Bach or to replace wire or rope skegs. The above photo shows the hydraulic slider and pipes which Jeff fitted to my wife's Alaw Bach.

I have kinked the skeg wire on every boat I have owned and it is a real hassle if you are away on a trip. The kink usually happens in the unsuported flexible wire that is exposed above the skeg when it is in the down position. If there is any resitance in the cable run, the the wire can kink preventing the skeg from retracting.

Kinks can also happen if the wire is exposed at the cockpit slider. If a pebble jams the skeg, an unsympathetic paddler can bend the wire by forcing the slider. I am not going to say anything about rope skegs other than that they are less desirable than wire skegs and midges.

In comparison, the Hydro Skeg works so smoothly and never requires lubrication. If you hit the bottom with the skeg, it just retracts and the slider moves into the up position ready to redeploy the skeg. I have been using the Hydro Skeg since July with no mechanical problems whatsoever.



The Rockpool Alaw Bach is a great rough water play boat and in that role does not need a skeg. However, if you are using it on longer crossings, with the wind from the rear quarter, then it does weather cock. A skilled paddler will compensate by edging and sliding the paddle shaft to the upwind side for more leverage. This can get tiring and less skilled paddlers might appreciate a skeg. The Hydro Skeg has transformed the Alaw Bach for my wife and I also benefit from it. The Rockpool can be trimmed to paddle straight using varying amounts of skeg, regardless of wind strength or direction. I have never had to use the standard Hydro Skeg in the fully down position in the Rockpool.



I note that the version now supplied as an original fit by Rockpool is smaller.

All in all, the Hydro Skeg is a really excellent bit of kit and I recommend it highly. One day all skegs will work this way!

SKoogle!

SKoogle is a really excellent new sea kayaking search tool from Graeme Burton. Not only can you search for key words, it has a clickable map section. This will highlight many other sites with web pages that include photos, narrative, information, audio and video about places to paddle. Many European countries are already covered.

I used it to search my own site, the Scottish Sea Kayaking Photo Gallery, to find the above photo of Loch Caolisport.

I have been developing an index for the SSPG. Now I do not need to bother. Thank you Graeme!

Friends reunited at a coo palace.

I had been unwell since the summer and had not been on the water. Neither had my beloved Nordkapp LV as she had developed a leak in the rear compartment. Mike Thomson from Scottish Paddler Supplies whisked her off to Valley for repair. She was only away for three days but ill health kept us apart till this lovely October day on the Solway Firth. I went for a solo paddle out across Fleet Bay and past Murray's Isles then Ardwall Island.



The sands of Barlocco beach made a welcome landfall. Mine were the only footprints on the pristine sands. I sat by the old fort and watched the low October sun sink towards the horizon. The fort is actually a folly or a "coo (cow) palace" in Gallovidian vernacular.



Life is very, very good I thought to myself. There was no point in saying it out loud as I was completely alone. As I departed, the flood tide erased all trace of my steps and transitory prescence. I paddled home in the gathering chill of dusk, feeling at one with the Nordkapp LV....and the sea.

It is good to be back on the water.

Paddle '06 exhibition, Perth

It was great to see so many friends and drool over all the nice shiny new kit at the Scottish Canoe Association Paddle '06 exhibition in Perth. Thanks to all at SCA!





Mike gets busy with the polish on the Valley and Scottish Paddler Supply stand. (Does your wife know that you know what to do with one of those dustery things, Mike?) Jason told me that Valley have now taken over North Shore sea kayaks and have already started manufacturing updated models with Valley fittings. In addition to the delectable glass Nordkapp LV, the polyethylene Nordkapp RM attracted a lot of deserved interest. Can you imagine if holiday hire companies had boats this good?



I left the SPS stand with more gear to test: an Advanced Elements 1/2 man convertible inflatable kayak. I have already tested the one man version. This is quality kit and is not a toy.





Fresh from dealing with floods in my old home town of Dingwall, Cailean was manning the Coastguard stand and looked very smart in his new uniform! Unfortunately I was waylaid by so many people that I did not get to Cailean's rescue workshop but I heard very good reports.





On the Rockpool/Knoydart stand I met Mike (above) Aled and Rob. The glitter in the stars was actually made up of lots and lots of tiny stars! How cool is that? Mike and Aled showed me their new lightweight plastic bulkeads. These are dished at the edges and have a layer of foam between the edge and the hull and deck. On the cockpit side, there is an additional Sikaflex seal. These bulkheads cut 0.75kg weight and should also solve the problem of gel coat cracking which can plague many older boats (from all manufacturers) with traditional bulkheads.





What's this?? A skeg on a Rockpool? Yes! now it is just like mine which uses Hydroskeg technology from Karitek.






Karitek's Jeff Turner had built this comparator rig to let you test hydro, wire and rope skegs. The alloy pedal controls a rotating skeg, the "hydro rudder". It is really well engineered, I can't wait to try it on the water.

Bruce and the Lomo team had their gear on sale at their regular but super low prices. Value for money oozes out of every Lomo box! Their dive boots are the perfect sea kayaking footwear.






Paul on the Palm stand extolled the finer points of their new Aleutian sea kayaking dry suit. I liked the articulating design of the hood. I particularly liked the reinforced bootees which look much more robust than the lightweight items on my Kokatat suit. These are showing wear after only 10 days use. He also showed me a prototype of their new sea PFD. The attention to detail and design was excellent.





On the P&H stand ,a very well finished Quest LV had nice new cockpit adjustable footrests with decent sized pedals. I was never a fan of the previous Yakima alloy tracks which tended to jam with sand.







Point 65 kayaks showed this new rolled edge to the cockpit rim. A nice touch.

I had a great chat with Franco and Gordon on the Pesda Press/ Skyak stand. Franco really has built up a fine collection of kayaking books; with more exciting sea kayaking volumes in the pipeline. The first of these is Gordon's new book Sea kayak for intermediate to advanced paddlers. Gordon told me about a bold and secret open water route through the Corryvreckan on flood. It takes you on a narrow conveyor belt of flat (sic) water within spitting distance of 20 foot standing waves on one side and on the other, a counter eddy speeding the other way. I can't wait to give it a go.........really! Sounds like northshore seakayaing!

There were lots of retail stands from the likes of Brookbanks, Tiso, Kyak Byre etc. I heard several people complaining there were no bargains but there were many 10% to 20% discount offers and the chance to compare so many different brands' latest kit was excellent. I found it much easier to do this at Perth than at the Birmingham show which was just too crowded.

Unfortunately, I had to leave before Duncan Winnings's talk, The History & Development of Scottish Sea Kayaking. There is no one more knowledgable than Duncan and I am sure it would have been a fascinating insight.

Lastly, thanks to all who braved my talk, Scottish sea kayaking: a photo tour. Your response was really appreciated.

Autumn days.

It has been a lovely autumn here in the south west of Scotland. This fungus was growing under some birch and hawthorn trees just behind the beach on the Solway. The air was full of robin's autumn territorial song.

Night time paddling

Well the clocks go back this weekend, bringing darker evening once again. No doubt we will have a few more night time epic returns as winter paddles run out of daylight. At least I had a nice full moon to illuminate my return on this solo paddle on the Solway.

P&H Quest LV

I have just written up a long term test of the P&H Quest LV for UK Paddles magazine. It will be published in the December issue which hits the shops at the beginning of November. The Quest LV is a superb all round sea kayak. It is just as fast as the Quest but is much more manouverable and responsive to edging. The finish on the test boat was faultless. Unlike my favourite day trip boat, the Valley Nordkapp LV, there is plenty of room for campers who are not minimalists! It covers a wide range of user weights and all but the biggest and heaviest of paddlers should consider the Quest LV before the Quest. My one reservation is the padded plastic seat which is mounted very high in the boat. A no cost GRP option is mounted much lower and gives much more stability when paddling unloaded.

More Lewisean gneiss

This rock arch is on the west coast of Lewis. On our July trip we were lucky to get a calm day to explore the many rock features of this amazing coastline.

Summer past.

This compass jelly fish had made it as far north as Lewis by the 3rd week of July 2006. They are more commonly seen much further south in the English Channel, is this another sign of global warming? I think so as I am seldom able to paddle up to my knees in the far north west, never mind go snorkelling with a camera.

Lone stack, Lewis

This stack can be found on the amazing west coast of Lewis.

Frustrating day off!

Yesterday we got a long view to the Gulf of Corryvreckan (of whirlpool fame) from the top of Fire Tower mountain bike trail near Lochgilphead. I had arranged to go sea kayaking today with my daughter and Jim Wallis. A forecast of clear skies light wind and slack water in the Gulf at 11:10am today had me planning a trip out through the Gulf and back round Scarba and Lunga.
Unfortunately another mountain bike run beckoned. On the way home we stopped at Arrochar and climbed high into the hills below Ben Ime before several breakneck descents (almost literally) to Glen Loin and back to Arrochar.



Battered and bruised, I had to cancel our sea kayaking trip. So I will just need to savour our first trip through the Corryvreckan in May 2006.



I have only been out mountain biking 5 times this year. I have lost count of the number of spills. I have hurt my shoulder twice and have decided to invest in some body armour. Perhaps I should stick to sea kayaking instead!

What a lovely day to clean my bike.

Autumn nights.

With the autumn nights drawing in, I thought it might be nice to look back at a midsummer sunset taken on the west coast of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. The marvellous ringed boulders in the foreground are Lewisian gneiss. These are some of the oldest rocks on the planet.

Hebridean summer surf, sand and sunset.

The Hebridean surf was up on our first morning, we chose to paddle in the lee of the islands.

Alan surfs in at Cliff.

Alan at Camas na Clibhe, Lewis.