Misty morning melé in Millport!

It was a misty morning when we arrived at Largs on the Firth of Clyde. We had arranged to meet Ian in Millport Bay. Ian was going to cross over from Kilchattan Bay on the Island of Bute. Before I left, I checked ShipAIS as we would both need to cross shipping channels.  Fortunately there was nothing approaching the Hunterston Channel on our side of the Clyde but Ian had to contend with all 158,555 tons of the loaded tanker Yasa Scorpion which was heading up the Firth of Clyde Channel to Finnart.

After we loaded our gear, Phil went through the preflight check list, carefully counting to make sure he carried the requisite number of refreshment tins.

 Soon we were hitting the water, note where I left the spare pins for the Kari-tek Easy load roof rack!

The mist began to lift as we set off past the safe water buoy off the entrance to Largs marina.

We made good time down the Hunterson Channel past...

...the empty ore terminal.

The wind dropped as we crossed the channel to the Great Cumbrae.

Our arrival at the Eileans was greeted by these squabbling guard geese. They were not going to tolerate any landing on their turf.

However, we had raised Ian on the VHF and he was already at Millport, eating a hot sausage roll!

It was great to catch up and Ian had brought some really excellent Jura Superstition. Cheers!

Winter sunset over the Cumbraes.

 Leaving the Eileans and their grey seal colony we set off on our return journey to Largs.

The fair isle of Little Cumbrae and the mountains of Arran gradually...

 ...slipped astern as the sun began to set in the SW.

 Once we rounded Farland Point on Great Cumbrae...

 ...the sun developed a warm reddish tinge but...

...don't be fooled it was bitterly...

...cold as we paddle sailed the last few kilometres...

 ...into Largs.

Surprisingly, given our late start, we arrived back before sunset. The Arran mountains were looking fantastic behind the rounded outline of the Great Cumbrae.

This was another fantastic trip. I am glad we did not launch at Ayr with our original intention of paddling south to Culzean. The NW wind on our arrival was a bit strong for mid winter paddling which is why we chose this route which was sheltered by the islands. While we were enjoying ourselves an unfortunate (but lucky) kayaker capsized in Culzean Bay and required hospitalisation for hypothermia after being rescued by helicopter.

We fair skelpit across The Tan,

 We set off from the lighthouse on Little Cumbrae in a NE direction.

 The NW wind meant we were on a beam reach...

 ...and we found paddle sailing very much to our taste as...

 ..we fair skelpit across The Tan at 10-14km/hr, without breaking sweat!

 It was a wonderful experience to have the cold wind and spray in our faces and the low winter sun...

...on our backs. We were bound for the Eileans in Millport Bay...

...where it was near high tide and so the delightful little sandy beach was covered. We hauled the kayaks out onto the sea weed covered rocks for a well earned rest. 

No room at the lighthouse.

The SW coast of Little Cumbrae has a remote feel despite its proximity to Glasgow, the biggest city in Scotland.

The sea is often bumpy here as the tide sweeps round its headlands...

 ...but today all was calm as we continued north towards the lighthouses.

 We saw some figures standing...

 ...on the rocks beneath...

 ...the old light house.

It was the guys from Clydebank and Drumchapel Kayak Club again. The winter storms have broken up the old concrete slipway so there was not much room for landing, especially with my knees.

So we stayed afloat and enjoyed another chat before setting off towards Millport.

Basalt ledges and wheeling birds at Gull Point.

 Leaving Castle Island, we paddled south over a shimmering sea towards...

 ...Gull Point, which is the most southerly Point of Little Cumbrae Island.

 It is always a grand sight to see Goatfell (874m), the highest mountain on Arran, appear as the basalt terraces and cliffs of...

... Little Cumbrae fall away to the dark basalt ledges of the point.

Gull Point is well named and the sky above was...

 ..filled with hundreds of wheeling gulls.

 The NW wind dropped to nothing in the lee of the point so...

...I dropped my sail and prepared for the long paddle into the wind on the journey up the far side of the island.

Resolving charity status and the sun on Castle Island, Little Cumbrae.

 We landed on Castle Island near Little Cumbrae just as...

 ...Rab and...

 ...the other guys from the Clydebank and Drumchapel Kayak Club were leaving. However, we had a good chat catching up on each others expeditions.

 Up at the castle this sign still remained but the similar one down at the end of the jetty has now gone. Needless to say, we made no donation to a charity which has not bothered to submit its 2011 accounts to the  Scottish Charity Register.

 Away to the south, Ailsa Craig and Holy Island could just be seen. Ailsa Craig is 53km away.

 Here the GoPro HD3 Black captures me taking a...

 ...photo with the Canon 5D mk3.

I guess it is fair to say that the 5D mk3 has resolved the sun better but the GoPro lens is much wider than Canon's 24mm.

Sea Fever

I have not posted for a while. This has been partly due to the poor weather but mainly due to a painful dislocation of my knee, trying to lift my kayak some time before Christmas. It has been hard not going down to the sea for such a long time. Last Saturday the forecast was for F3 gusting F4 NW winds so we convened at Seafield on the south Ayrshire coast with the intention of paddling down to Culzean Bay and back. When we arrived, there were white horses to the horizon and waves were breaking high into the air at the base of the Heads of Ayr. My handheld anemometer showed the wind was F5-F6. When Tony left his house, just up the road, the temperature was minus 6C. We didn't much like the look of this, but we were so desperate to get out again that we turned round and headed north to more sheltered waters off  Largs, further up the Firth of Clyde.

 Here the conditions were much more to our liking. A light F3 NW meant we were off...

 ...paddle sailing at 10km/hr into a 1.5km/hr adverse tide.

We were bound for the Little Cumbrae island which...

...lies between Largs and the mountains of Arran beyond.

 We soon left the douce Victorian villas of Great Cumbrae behind and...

...set off across the Tan towards...

...the Little Cumbrae and its tiny satellite, Castle Island.