The approach to Soay

As arranged, Cuma made rendezvous in Glen Bay, Hirta. Murty and Murdani conferred.


Then the Cuma made off for the Hirta Soay gap as a probe!


As she returned, Soay had gathered a wreath of cloud about her upper slopes and a freshening wind was blasting through the gap.

02/06/2008

Purty sea kayaks and the great tunnel of Geodha na h-Airdhe, St Kilda

Geodha na h-Airdhe is a 140m long tunnel right through the great headland of Gob na h-Airdhe on the north coast of Hirta in the St Kilda archipelago.

Alan comes through in his Nordkapp LV. I think this boat is one of the purtiest sea kayaks around!


Fiona F and Murty come through as the MV Cuma makes an appearance behind.


The scale of this arch is difficult to describe, in truth it is a tunnel!


Yup the Nordkapp LV sure is a purty boat. Pity the same can not be said of all those who paddle one! Photo Jennifer Wilcox.


With Boreray as a backdrop to the NE, Lena and Jennifer paddle across the great sweep of Glen Bay where we had arranged to rendezvous with the Cuma.

The Cuma's purpose will be revealed tomorrow...

02/06/2008

Sea Kayaking St Kilda: Na Cleitean Stac

Leaving Bradastac, we passed under further huge cliffs below Glacan Mor. We saw another stack ahead, Na Cleitean stac, and in the distance the headland of Gob na h-Airde with a cloud capped Soay behind.


Na Cleitean stac with kayakers behind. Photo Jennifer Wilcox.


As we approached the headland of Gob na h-Airde we realized we would not be paddling round it, there was a tunnel right through it!


Several people have emailed about my source of the names of the geological features that are not on the OS 1:50,000 map. I have used the Mathieson map from 1928.

Sea Kayaking St Kilda: the north face of Conachair and Bradastac

As we made our way anticlockwise round the north coast of Hirta we were completely overawed by the scale and wildness of this place.

Bradastac lies at the foot of the highest sea cliffs in Britain. Anywhere else it would be a giant amongst stacks. Here it was dwarfed by Conachair just as we were dwarfed by it.


We made our way round Bradastac as the swell slowly rose then fell round its red rocks.


Fiona F with Bradastac and Mina Stac in the distance.


Bradastac, with Fiona F, Alan and Clark below the stunning cliffs of Conachair, the highest mountain on Hirta.

02/06/2008

Sea Kayaking St Kilda: the great cave of Geo nan Plaidean

The north coast of Hirta in the St Kilda archipelago is a wild place. Much of it falls sheer into the sea from the heights above and forms the greatest and highest wall of sea cliffs in the British Isles.

After passing Mina Stac we came across the great cave of Geo nan Plaidean. The wall above it rises almost to the summit of Conachair, 430m.


Tony watches Fiona F and Alan entering the cave.


Clark leaves the cave with Mina Stac behind and Stac an Armin, Stac Lee and Boreray on the horizon.

02/06/2008

Sea Kayaking the NE coast of Hirta in St Kilda.

Looking back to the wreck of the Spinningdale and the shelter of Village Bay from the Point of Coll.


As we approached Rubha an Uisge, the most easterly point of Hirta, Stac Lee, Stac an Armin and Boreray came into sight.


Tony in the darkness of Geo nan Sgarbh.


Jennifer in the gap behind Sgeir nan Sgarbh.


Alan under the dark cliffs of Stac a' Langa. Mina Stac is the point on the extreme right. This photo was taken with a 17mm lens to try and get as much of the cliff in as possible. At up to 426m, or 1400 feet, these cliffs are the highest in the British Isles.


Tony and Fiona F coming through the gap behind Mina Stac. The wind gusted strongly through the gaps and the swells were amplified.


Alan with Mina Stac behind and Stac an Armin, Stac Lee and Boreray in the distance.


Our route round Hirta.

Better Days: the wreck of the Spinningdale

As we left the Cuma, on the start of our great St Kilda adventure, we were so excited. As we left Dun behind us and headed across Village Bay the wind dropped to nothing .


Our first destination was not to be some geological wonder but a rather poorly parked fishing boat, the FV Spinningdale.


Over the night of 31/1/08 and 1/2/08 she sought shelter in Village Bay in a NW gale. The sea conditions meant she could not anchor and she motored slowly against the wind trying to maintain her position throughout the night. Unfortunately vicious down draughts from the mountains above slewed her onto the rocks at the edge of Village Bay. The conditions were so violent that the crew could not launch the life rafts and she put out a Mayday.

At first the Stornoway Coastguard S92 helicopter and the Stornoway lifeboat were both launched. Remarkably, the helicopter managed to winch all 14 crew to safety and the lifeboat turned back.

The picture of the Spinningdale in the shore break is by an MCA coastguard photographer and given to me by Murdy Campbell, cox of the Stornoway lifeboat.


It was humbling to paddle round the sad remains of the Spinningdale and realize that we were now in some of the wildest and remote waters in the UK.

02/06/2008

Sea kayaks are go on Hirta Island!

By now it was nearly 4pm on Monday. Unfortunately the promised light winds for Tuesday were lost in the gloom of the most recent forecast: force 5 southerly this evening increasing force 6 southerly by morning. It was make or break time, on St Kilda calm conditions never last long. Murdy considered the options then came the call. "Launch the boats!" Raiding Vikings could hardly have got on the water so quickly! Murdy's plan was to paddle round Hirta anticlockwise. This would mean we should arrive in the Hirta Soay gap about slack water. The only problem might be an increasing southerly shrieking through the gap. Murdy arranged for Cuma to rendezvous with us at the gap. Cuma would then go through as a probe!


The tour boats were all moored in a neat line across Village Bay, very shipshape! But wait....


...that red boat doesn't look very neatly parked!

02/06/2008

Arrival in Village Bay, St Kilda

Excitement was palpable aboard the Cuma as she steamed into Village Bay, on Hirta the main island of the St Kilda archipelago. We crowded the foredeck to get a better look!


We were not the only tourist boat to arrive ,there were 4 others of various sizes from the 2000 ton Russian Aleksey Maryshev to the small red boat above. With a force 6 southerly forecast for the following day all the others left and the Cuma was the only vessel to stay the night.


The village street was clearly visible behind the shore. The houses which have recently been re-roofed were supposed to be an improvement on the old black houses whose stones can still be seen between the more modern houses. The black houses had thicker walls with round corners and with their thatched roofs were better insulated and less noisy in the incessant winds than the modern square built houses with tin roofs. Wild Soay sheep can be seen grazing round the cottages.


All across the island these stone built cleits served as stores for dried birds and ropes.

We had arrived on one of the few light wind days of the year but it would be windy tomorrow....

02/06/2008

Eyes front for the Old Man of Levenish!

As the St Kilda archipelago slowly heaved above the Atlantic horizon....all eyes were excitedly looking ahead.


The first stack we came to was Levenish. From the south east it looked rather uninteresting compared with its more distant neighbours. Then as we passed by we saw the face of the Old Man of Levenish as clear as day!



Behind Levenish lay the dramatic stacks of Stac Lee, Stac an Armin and the island of Boreray. We had nearly arrived at St Kilda!

02/06/2008

Anchors aweigh for St Kilda!

On the morning of 2nd June the day had dawned fair and Murdani, the Cuma's skipper weighed anchor for St Kilda!


Soon the low lying dunes of the Monachs were slipping over the horizon astern and only the lighthouse marked their location.


Ahead of the Cuma lay 66km of the open Atlantic Ocean before she would make landfall at St Kilda. Unlike the low lying Monach Islands we had just left, the soaring cliffs and stacks of the St Kilda archipelago form the highest and most stunning sea cliffs in the British Isles.

Even today it is one of the most difficult parts of the British Isles to reach. Although it was midsummer there was no guarantee we would get there. We knew this only too well. Almost exactly two years ago we had had to turn back. We were aboard a 70 foot converted trawler, the MV Dundarg. A force 9 storm swept in off the Atlantic, forcing us to take shelter in Loch Reasort on the west coast of Lewis. The wind was so strong, Dundarg dragged her anchor all night.

Amazingly, despite the difficulty getting there, St Kilda was inhabited for about 3,500 years, until the islanders abandoned her in the 1930's. St Kilda captures the imagination not just because of its unique location and geology but because of the indomitable human spirit of the generations of islanders that survived on her remote and windswept slopes.

02/06/2008

Mysterious Mirror of the Monachs

Long after the Monach Islands were abandoned by their inhabitants, fishermen from North Uist and other islands in the Outer Hebrides have returned to lay their lobster pots. They have built rough bothies like this one to stay temporarily on the islands.


As you can see, only the bare necessities of life make it this far. The hand of a woman is nowhere in sight.

But wait, what's that in the right corner? Why it's a full length mirror!! Every bothy should have one! I wonder what the well dressed lobster man is wearing this season?

Grimsay boats.

On the morning of 2/6/2008 we were awoken by the "put put" of a single cylinder diesel engine puttering round the turquoise waters of the Monach Islands. When we came up on deck our spirits were raised by the start of a fine day, this was the day we hoped to reach and paddle round the shores of St Kilda but at first we could not see the source of the sound.


Then a lobster boat took shape as she emerged from the burning reflection of the early morning sun. This was no ordinary GRP lobster boat. This was a Grimsay boat. The Grimsay boat is to the Outer Hebrides what the Model T Ford was to the rest of the World. These boats proved to be versatile for both transport and fishing throughout the isles. Since the 1840's it is estimated that over 1000 Grimsay boats were built by the Stewart family until their last full time builder died in 1994.

It was a joy to see this Grimsay boat being handled by Donald Brady from North Uist as he checked his lobster pots on the Monach islands. The Grimsay boats were of wooden clinker construction but with an exceptionally deep and fine keel. This allowed them to handle the Atlantic swell and surf found on the west coast of the Outer Hebrides. Due to the lack of harbours on the west coast, these boats were built in sizes of 10 to 28 feet. This allowed them to slip through tidal channels between the islands to sheltered anchorages on the east coast.

In 1928 the Grimsay yard launched the Morning Star. She was the link between the mainland of North Uist and the isolated community on the Monach Islands. She carried passengers, supplies and the mail. In recent years she had lain in disrepair in a mud berth in a creek of Loch Maddy in North Uist. She was restored and relaunched in 2007 by apprentices working at the Boatshed in Grimsay.

02/06/2008


We had seen other other Grimsay boats in various stages of restoration at Bhaltos when we first arrived on Lewis.

30/05/2008

Sunset over the Monach Islands

As we paddled round the remote Monach Islands, which lie to the West of the outer Hebrides, the mid summer sun began its journey to set in the far north west.


As Cuma swung gently at her anchor, we watched the sunset in appreciative silence. Like the mythical Avalon, St Kilda lay far beyond the western horizon, where the sun met the sea in blaze of crimson fire. We could only hope that the red sky at night bade well, for a settled spell of weather, to reach those long abandoned isles.

01/06/2008