Sea kayaking desktop calendar 2012 November.

STS Europa sails from Greenock south down the Firth of Clyde towards Arran before turning west into the Sound of Bute.

The 8th annual sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar is available from seakayakphoto.com. The above link will lead to high resolution photos in four different desktop sizes.

Phil, Tony and I chose to view the parade of sail (as the tall ships left Greenock en route for Shetland) from the north west side of the Little Cumbrae. While we waited, we fished for some mackerel and cooked them on the beach. We did what generations of Clyde-siders have done. We went doon the watter for some fish and ships!

Sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar 2012 October.

Balephuil Bay on the SW coat of Tiree in the Inner Hebrides.

The 8th annual sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar is available from seakayakphoto.com. The above link will lead to high resolution photos in four different desktop sizes.

David, Phil and I enjoyed unbroken sun on our visit to Tiree. We circumnavigated the island in an anticlockwise direction in F4 to F5 NE winds. Being on the SW side of the island this was where we enjoyed most shelter. The SW faces the prevailing wind and is usually very exposed. The combination of clear water, shell sand and weed covered reefs creates wonderful patterns of turquoise and ultramarine on this coast,

Sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar 2012 September

Ben Cruachan from the Firth of Lorn.

The 8th annual sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar is available from seakayakphoto.com. The above link will lead to high resolution photos in four different desktop sizes.

Phil, Jennifer and I were crossing From Loch Buie on Mull (where we had camped) to Ellenabeich on Seil. We had set off in a force 4 north easterly, with the wind shrieking round the cliffs of Mull. Half way across the Firth of Lorn the wind dropped to nothing before picking up from the SW again as we approached Seil. 

Sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar 2012 August.

In the lee of Soay, St Kilda Archipelago.

The 8th annual sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar is available from seakayakphoto.com. The above link will lead to high resolution photos in four different desktop sizes.

After leaving Village Bay on Hirta, we explored Dun and the south and west coasts of Hirta. We then met with the MV Cuma and boarded her for lunch in the lee of Soay. Afterwards we paddled across the open Atlantic to Boreraray, which is just visible on the horizon beyond the stacs in the Soay Hirta gap.

Sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar 2012 July

The Great Cave of Boreray, St Kilda Archipelago.

The 8th annual sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar is available from seakayakphoto.com. The above link will lead to high resolution photos in four different desktop sizes.

Liz Willis paddles out of the cave, as Simon Willis films from the bow of MV Cuma, during the filming for Sea kayak with Gordon Brown Volume 2. In the middle distance, Stac Lee rises straight from the sea. The gap between Hirta and Soay (from which we had paddled) is on the horizon.
 

Sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar 2012 June.

Seilg Geodha, Dun, St Kilda Archipelago.

The 8th annual sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar is available from seakayakphoto.com. The above link will lead to high resolution photos in four different desktop sizes.

Seilg Geodha is a narrow fissure on the NE coast of Dun. It leads right through the island to a large cavern which exists onto the SW side of the island. This cave was used as shelter by the St Kildans when they were fishing at night. In the evening they would leave Village Bay and sail or row up to 5km off the SW coast of Dun and leave baited lines attached to floats. They would return to this cave and spend the night in its shelter before returning for their catch in the morning.

This photo was taken during the filming for Sea kayak with Gordon Brown Volume 2. It shows Gordon, Donald Thomson (who led the first return trip to St Kilda by sea kayak) and Calum McKerral. It was a very special sea kayaking trip.

Sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar 2012 May.

Port Mona, Mull of Galloway, North Channel.

The 8th annual sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar is available from seakayakphoto.com. The above link will lead to high resolution photos in four different desktop sizes.

This was a wonderful day in early summer when Jennifer, Jim W, Phil and I paddled round the Mull of Galloway from East Tarbert to Port Logan. Port Mona is an isolated beach, guarded by steep cliffs, strong tides and swell. It is a privilege to visit such places.