The Master of Ballantrae

Soon we were at the south end the great sweep of Ballantrae Bay. There was a bitingly cold north east wind blowing...


...so it was with some relief when we finally entered the shelter of the harbour.


We did not hang around and...


...as I issued instructions, the faithful support team warmed themselves by carrying the heavy kayaks up to the cars...


...while I swanned off to take in the glorious view.


I felt just like the Master of Ballantrae, as I surveyed the...


...magnificence of Ayrshire's Atlantic coast.

A pillow for a tired sea kayaker's head

All to soon it was time to leave delightful Portandea and...


...head north again, along the lichen encrusted, yellow cliffs of Ayrshire's Atlantic coast.


Despite the fact we had just passed this way, a change in tide and direction gave new channels to explore and we soon lost each other in the maze of skerries.


Sea kayaking is a very companionable activity and we discussed in depth...


...the amazing pillow lava formations that erupted under the sea from a long extinct volcanic vent. The examples here are some of the best in the world apart from the freshly formed pillows in Hawaii.


By now we were getting tired and hungry. Time for third luncheon.

Fast birds and boats...

We continued in a southerly direction along the South Ayrshire coast leaving Ailsa Craig far behind.


We passed Dove Cove, where there are usually hundreds of rock doves. Today we saw only this fellow, a peregrine falcon, who was sitting bold as brass on his perch. I wonder what peregrines eat? (Sorry about the small image, I had my wide angle lens on at the time.)


The superb coastline continued...


...for headland after headland...



...until we came to Portandea...


...where it was time to partake of a second luncheon.


We watched the ferries enteringand leaving Loch Ryan at very scary speeds. You would need to have your wits about you to cross their path in a sea kayak.

P&H Cetus LV comparative test

We have nearly finished testing the P&H Cetus LV for Ocean Paddler magazine. We just needed some further comparative testing. Unfortunately the Cetus LV did not compare that well with this particular opposition! When up against the...


...Cetacea Delphinidae, she was well and truly outgunned. The Cetacea accelerated more quickly, was faster, more manoeuvrable, less affected by waves and wind, able to get out of the water more quickly... in fact, the only area the Cetus LV proved to be superior in, was nose diving!

Ah well, back to the drawing board.

Seakayaking desktop wallpaper calendar, March 2010.

March. Pladda from the old red sanstone slabs, Kildonan Beach, Arran.

The March calendar is now available for download here.

Curarrie Port, any port in a storm.

There are few breaches in the line of cliffs along this coast but Currarie Port is one. In 1869 the crew of the schooner Louisa had a lucky escape here. She came ashore here on the night of the second of November while sailing from Belfast to Ayr and was totally wrecked. By great good fortune all of her crew were saved. If her final course had been just 50m to either side, she would have been wrecked in deep water at the base of the cliffs and all would have been lost.


We decided the shelter of the port would make an excellent location for an early luncheon.


As we compared the lines of the P&H Cetus and Cetus LV, the skies cleared and the sun...


...warmed the rocks where we found some shelter from the chill wind. We chatted about how lucky those sailors were to end up here.


Fortified by our refreshments, we continued on our exploration of the south Ayrshire coast.

Tony's special cave vision spectacles.

We left Ballantrae in beautiful early February sunshine. The bay and village were framed by Bennane Head and Knockdolian which in misty conditions could often be mistaken for Ailsa Craig. Many sailing ships found themselves foundering on the steep shingle shore instead of being in the deep water on either side of Ailsa Craig. To this day local seafarers call Knockdolian "False Ailsa Craig".


To the south banks of sea fog hid the south Ayrshire coast and the more distant Milleur Point.


Gradually the fog dispersed revealing a magnificent series of headlands receding into the distance and Loch Ryan.


Soon we were paddling below steep ramparts, deep in the shade of the low winter sun.


The cliffs have a number of caves at their base, inside one...


...this pair of black Guillemots were peacefully moulting into their adult summer plumage but turned their heads in amazement...


...when they saw Tony's special cave vision spectacles.

Off for the day to Ballantrae

On a Sunny February morning we went off for the day to Ballantrae. The name has Gaelic origins from Baile an Traigh, the village of the beach. It does have a very big beach. However, this name only dates back to 1617. Prior to that it was called Kirkcudbright Innertig. Apparently the Laird of Bargany who rebuilt the ancient Kirk of St Cuthbert at the mouth of the River Tig had a penchant for the Gaelic!


Behind the harbour you will find the Ballantrae registered (BA253) fishing boat Margaret. She was built in 1949 and is 6.55m long. She was still a registered and licenced fishing vessel until at least 2004 but any time I have visited Ballantrae recently, she has been well maintained but high and dry. As of February 2010 she is not registered.


The steep beach to the south of the harbour, where we have previously launched, is renowned for dumping surf. We chose instead the shelter of the harbour wall. Ballantrae is the most southerly village in Ayrshire and at one time its harbour would have been full of vessels fishing the offshore Ballantrae Banks for the herring which arrived in huge numbers every winter to spawn. Due to overfishing, the herring just about died out by the start of the 20th century. Nowadays BA registered boats are more likely to be based in Troon or Kirkcudbright harbours and be fishing for prawns or scallops.


Fifteen kilometers offshore the magnificent profile of Ailsa Craig dwarfed its lighthouse and looked tantalisingly close in the clear winter air.


But we were headed south to Ayrshire's wild Atlantic coast...


...and Tony wasted no time in putting the P&H Cetus LV through its paces on the way.

The Bogle Hole, Needle's Eye and Piper's Cove

A 21km paddle from Auchencairn Bay along the Colvend coast, Solway Firth, January 2010.


The Bogle Hole


Needle's Eye


Piper's Cove

Mud, tides and windmills on the Solway

A mysterious cleft at Gutcher's Isle

The Bogle Hole, Colvend.

More to see on the Colvend coast

Threading the Needle's Eye with the Cetus LV!

"So, what's your verdict on the Solway, Jim?"


Photo album map.

"So, what's your verdict on the Solway, Jim?"

In the Solway the tide goes out for miles leaving either sand or mud. When we arrived at Needle's Eye these salmon stake nets were nearly covered. We knew we had little time left so we paddled out...


...into the Firth to take full advantage of the ebb tide...


... which carried us across the mouth of Rough Firth back to Almorness Point which marks the entrance to Auchencairn Bay. Unfortunately we did not have time to stop at yet another of the Solway's jewels: the little sandy cove at White Port.


We then passed between Almorness Point and Hestan Island. We could tell the water was getting shallower here over Hestan Rack, which joins the island to the mainland at low tide.


It was a relief to get back into the deeper water of Auchencairn Bay again. But our relief was short lived. In the third hour of a spring ebb, the Solway tide moves very quickly and as we paddled towards our launch point, acres of deep glutinous mud were being exposed before our eyes! The firm upper beach was already half a kilometer away on the other side of the mud and I knew my injured knee would not have a hope of surviving wading through it. Strong men and horses have lost their lives in the Solway!


It was time for a plan "B" and I only did this because of my injury. At the entrance to Auchencairn Bay there is an old slipway which led up to a gate through on to the drive to the Tower which is a private residence. I do hope we did not disturb the residents. We quietly loaded the kayaks onto the trolleys and...


...wheeled them past the snowdrops back to the cars.


If we had had time we would have paddled up Rough Firth to Kippford (here there are a couple of pubs) but we drove round. Initially we were disappointed that the Anchor Hotel had closed only the day before because the lease had run out. We did not remain thirsty for very long however. It was but a short walk to the Mariner Hotel.


"So, what's your verdict on the Solway, Jim?"