Cormorants, goats and cliffs on the Oa.

 We set off down the SE coast of the Mull of Oa, threading small stacks crowned by cormorants.

The coast is composed of increasingly bold cliffs. As we approached  Rubha nan Leacan at 09:40 (which was 40 minutes before HW Dover) the west going flood tide had already started. HW Dover is supposed to be slack water but, like many of the inshore tidal streams round Islay, it starts about 45 minutes before published times.

Rounding the point to the SW coast of the Oa, the cliffs fall precipitously into the sea. Despite this, they are home to several flocks of nimble feral goats.

The tide was fairly zipping along as we approached the next headland at the base of Beinn Mhor, 202m.

The water was bumpy till we entered the calm of an eddy beyond the headland. We were now on the remote SW coast of the Mull of Oa and with the tides building behind us, we were now committed to continuing round the next two headlands...

Kayak sailing round the Heads of Ayr.

 The forecast for the Firth of Clyde was for sun and wind so a little trip to Ayr seemed in order.

 We set off from Seafield at Ayr just as the SW wind was picking up.

 By the time we got to the Heads of Ayr  we were getting tired but kept going...

 ...for another 2km...

 ...until we turned and...

 ...started the down wind blast..

 ...back to Bracken Bay for a break.

This is a new prototype Flat Earth Sail. It is 0.8sqm in area and is made of a dacron, spectra scrim, mylar laminate. The cut is fuller than previous sails. Some area has been moved from low down to  the leach. The cut of the leach has been tightened, stiffened with mini battens but still allows twist at the head. I like it a lot! I also thought the Delphin would perform well with a sail in a decent breeze and I was not disappointed.

This video will give some idea of the fun that can be had when kayak sailing. We were hitting 18km/hr on the waves. This was my first trial of the new Flat Earth Code Zero 0.8 sq metre sail. I paired it with the P&H Delphin 155. The wind was averaging 15knots gusting to 21knots as measured with an anemometer.

It was only 16km but it was an adrenaline filled trip. This was also Phil's first sea kayak sailing trip, what an introduction!

Oa, if it wasn't for the midges!

 The dawn came gently on Islay's Mull of Oa. Banks of mist hung over the windless sea

 Although the mist slowly burned off with the sun...

...the humidity was high and my camera kept misting up.

Another  problem with the lack of wind was a ferocious midge attack. This made loading the kayaks a rapid affair before...

...we tackled the surf and studs to escape their myriad of fangs.

Oa, what a beautiful day!

We really had found a piece of Paradise on the Oa peninsula of Islay. The bay was ringed by jagged stacks and the beach was backed by sheltering cliffs.

The turquoise sea was crystal clear and...

 ...the sands were washed by the gentle beat of the Atlantic surf.

 We gathered driftwood from the high tide mark and as...

...night fell, we warmed ourselves by the fire. Oa, what a beautiful day!

And they say there is no "Oa" in Paradise!

 From Laphroaig we had intended paddling across Caolas an Eilein to the island of Texa. However, the north wind was by now rather strong and we didn't particularly fancy getting blown past the Mull of Kintyre towards Ireland!

So we hugged the coast round to Port Ellen, where the MV Isle of Arran was lying at her berth. The wind was whistling out of Kilnaughton Bay. We used the lee of a series of skerries to hop half way across the Bay. Then Tony and I had to paddle across the exposed other half using a very high ferry angle and a lot of puff!

It was a relief to get into the shelter of the Carraig Fhada lighthouse. It was built by the Laird of Islay in 1832 to commemorate his wife who had died aged 36 years. We rested here for some time till we caught our breath...

...only to loose it again with the breathtaking beauty of the Mull of Oa (pron. Oh) coast.

 It was only 4pm but we had arrived in Paradise so...

...there was no point in going any further.

P.S. Tony mentioned the built in shower...

At the back of the beach, a burn cascaded over the top of the cliffs to form a natural shower. This was not just Paradise, it was Paradise with mod cons!

The intoxicated Giant of Ardbeg.

From the Ardmore Islands, we paddled below the wooded shores of Islay's Kildalton estate. The great house is now a ruin but in the early 20th century it belonged to a wealthy, eccentric, travelling gentleman called Talbot Clifton. Clifton liked to travel the World and shoot things, pretty much anything was fair game; tigers, lions, elephants, and closer to home, grouse, snipe, stags, IRA captains etc.. It was after he shot the latter, that he felt it somewhat prudent to leave Ireland and settle in Islay.

To the SW of Kildalton, we came to the lonely uninhabited isle of Eilean Imersay. Uninhabited that is, except for this great sleeping giant. His head was resting on a stone pillow and his hands were resting on his chest.

He had a strangely smug self satisfied expression and a bad case of megalithic rhinophyma. There was a particularly pleasant ambiance about this place. It was not just the sun. There was something else in the air...

...there was the heady aroma of Ardbeg! The angel's share from the distillery was blowing steadily over our giant friend. No wonder he looked smug. He wasn't sleeping at all, he had been lying there too long and was now well and truly pished!

Beyond Ardbeg we came to the ruins of Dunyvaig Castle. We have been here before and it must be one of the sweetest smelling castles in Scotland! This time the aroma proved to be from the..

...Lagavulin distillery.

At this point I would have shown you a photo of Laphroaig, the third distillery on this coast, however, the offshore wind had increased and violent gusts were blasting off the land and snatching at our paddles. There was no way I could take a photo, so you will just need to wait for another visit. After all, two distilleries are quite intoxicating enough for one day.

The Ardmore Islands and appropriate consumption.

 From Claggain Bay on the SE coast of Islay, the brisk northerly wind blew us...

...out past Trudernish Point. The combination of strong offshore wind and bright sunshine gave fantastic paddling conditions.

Downwind, there was nothing but open sea, which stretched away for nearly 50km to the distant Mull of Kintyre.

When we rounded Ardmore Point under scudding clouds, the sight of the distant Eilean a' Chuirn lighthouse (built 1907) announced our arrival at the beautiful  archipelago of the Ardmore Islands.

The bracing wind had given us good appetites, so a beckoning shingle beach  on Eilean Craobhach proved irresistible for a break for luncheon.

Stepping over the crab shells left by the last diner, the resident otter, we made our way to a delightful bank of heather...

...where tucked into a luncheon of oat cakes and cheese in the sunshine. As it was 12:01, the sun was now over the yardarm and so our victuals were washed down with a snifter of whisky. This fine malt had been distilled into the World, just a short distance away at Ardbeg. The distillery nestles at the foot of the dark slopes of Ben Sholum (347m). How appropriate!

Seakayakphoto in hi definition at Paddle 2011, Scotland's Canoe and Kayak Show

Recently Joe and several other regular visitors to seakayakphoto.com  have asked if I will be speaking at the Perth Canoe Show this year. I will be talking at 2:30pm on the Sunday 23rd October. This year I plan to borrow a high definition projector that shows an image size of 1920x1028, with a contrast ratio of 50,000:1. This should show photos to much better advantage than the hall's standard 1024x768 projector, which has a contrast ratio only a little less than a candle in a brown bottle.

If you click on this text link you will get a full size 1920x1028 image, which will give you an idea of the resolution a hi definition projector can show (if you have a hi definition computer monitor).

I am looking forward to the show and if you come to the slide show, please say hello!

:o)

Islay retrospective #2.

Yet another weekend has passed without being able to go sea kayaking. I had hoped that my worsening knee problems would still allow me to continue sea kayaking but, worryingly, this is not proving to be the case. My "good" knee suffered a minor dislocation on Friday, fortunately it went back itself, just by hyper-extending my knee, but it gave me a real shock; a reminder of my accident on Gunna. The good news (I hope) for visitors to sea kayakphoto.com is that I have a huge back catalogue of trips going all the way back to 2002!

I am now going to return to a summer past when Tony and I visited the magnificent isle of Islay...

...we awoke on the shores of lonely Loch Gruinart to find a fresh north wind, which was forecast to increase to force 6 to 7 by midday. The seals on the sand bank had been singing all night but now we only caught snatches of their mournful song on an increasing wind. Our original plans to either nip across to Colonsay or continue round the incredible north coast of Islay were put on hold. The staff of seakayakphoto.com are known to operate at the "gentleperson" (no sexism here!) end of the sea kayaking spectrum. This amount of wind caused us to run off with our tails between our legs...

...to the sheltered south cost of Islay. It was a different world down here, with delightful wooded lanes radiating  out from the south's main town, Port Ellen. The people of Islay are remarkably friendly, they still wave a greeting to visitors as they pass (and I don't just mean the wave of acknowledgement at passing places on the single track roads).

In those days ferries still used both of Islay's main harbours; Port Ellen and Port Askaig. Currently, only Port Askaig is being used. On this morning, the CalMac ferry, MV Hebridean Isles, was just arriving as the small luxury cruise liner, MV Hebridean Princess, lay at anchor in Kilnaughton Bay. Just a few days before, the Queen had chartered the whole ship for a 10 day family cruise round the Hebrides and Northern Isles.

Tony drove from Port Ellen past three, yes three, distilleries without stopping, until we arrived at the delightful sweep of Claggain Bay on the sheltered SE cost of Islay.

We wasted no time getting the kayaks ready...

...and getting afloat. We were off on another adventure!