Sea kayaking desktop photo calendar 2007.

January
Looking northeast from Sgeir a'Ghail, Loch Nevis, to Knoydart.


February
Cailean Macleod at Coldingham Bay, Scottish Borders.


March
The distant Cuillin mountains of Skye are seen to the south west from Eilean Stacan, Loch Carron.


April
The Scarba shore of the Gulf of Corryvreckan at slack water. 15 minutes later we were doing 18km/hr without paddling!


May
No, it's not Scotland! It is the wonderful reef of Les Ecrehous 10.5km NE off the NE corner of Jersey in the Channel Islands.


June
Looking towards the grey hills of Lewis from Scarp.


July
The entrance of Loch Rog, Lewis.


August
The Sound of Harris from Bearnaraigh.


September
Sea stacks at Cliobh, Lewis.


October
Paddling out to Bearasaigh and Seana Chnoc, Lewis.


November
The tidal Clachan Sound runs under the "Bridge over the Atlantic", Nether Lorn.


December
Sunset down the Sound of Jura from Loch Caolisport, Knapdale.

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May 2007 be good to you.

Year's end.

Oh well, I am not going paddling tomorrow so I will have no more 2006 paddles. Here is a shot of Loch Etive from 2 years ago.

Gimme Shelter

Oh, a storm is threatning

My very life today

If I dont get some shelter

Oh yeah, Im gonna fade away

-"Gimme Shelter", Rolling Stones

These snails had gathered for shelter under an overhanging brick on the outer wall of the Mull of Galloway lighthouse vegetable garden. The wall is exposed to the prevailing wind and is perched on the cliff edge 80 metres above the surging tides below.



Lighthouses were built to guide mariners away from treacherous coasts to safe haven. I am not sure why we were attracted there on such a day as yesterday. The Mull of Galloway lighthouse was finished in 1830 and was built by George Stephenson. It flashes white every 20 seconds. Supplies originally came by sea and were landed at the tidal jetty at East Tarbert. It has been unmanned since 1988.

Like the snails, we did not brave the weather but sought shelter in the Crown Hotel in nearby Portpatrick. We will return to sea kayak the Mull of Galloway another day.

We mulled it over and went to the pub.

The Mull of Galloway lighthouse.



Kenny, Richard, Cailean and myself assembled above the Mull of Galloway tidal race. This is where the flood tide from the Atlantic is compressed as it rushes round the Mull to fill the Solway Firth and the north Irish Sea. When we arrived on 28/12/06, a force 5 SE wind was blowing against the tide. The inshore waters forecast was SE 3 to 4 increasing 6 to 8. It was 4 days after springs. The tidal constant at the Mull is +00:15 Dover. Slack water (close in) is about is about -01:30 Dover.

Dover times were: HW 04:28 LW 11:48 HW 17:11. The Admiralty tidal stream atlas predicted SE flood flows of: 0.5 knots at 11:11; 1.2 knots at 12:11; 2.8 knots at 13:11; and 3.5 knots at 14:11.


11:06


11:30


11:38


11:42

The cliffs are 80 metres high which gives some idea of the scale of the water disturbance.


13:03
As the flood progressed it swung round from flowing to the SE to a more easterly direction. As it did so, the race came in closer to the foot of the cliffs at the east end of the Mull.



It looked nothing like the sunny, calm conditions shown in Scottish Sea Kayaking fifty great sea kayak voyages. We beat a retreat to the pub. Kenny was very disappointed.

Sea kayaking portal to a short winter day.

This magnificent Edwardian portal from the Wemyss Bay railway station to the ferry terminal was built in 1903 to carry the holiday crowds from Glasgow to the steamers that went "Doon the Watter".



Bang up to date, CalMac's MV Bute entered service on the Wemyss Bay to Rothesay route in 2005. It took us to Bute and allowed a paddle that otherwise would not have been possible in a short winter day. MV Bute was built in Poland. I am going to try and get a Polish slater to fix my roof.

Boys will be Buoys

Both Wenley and Cailean have blogged about buoys today. I thought I might join in too. These two pairs of lateral light buoys are situated in the Kyles of Bute where the navigable channels of the East and West Kyles meet.

Kyles of Bute

The Kyles of Bute are the narrow channels which separate the Isle of Bute from the mainland. They are a very long way from the open sea and generally tidal streams in the Firth of Clyde are weak but the spring tide runs through the Kyles at up to 3 knots. The "lighthouse" is the An Caladh beacon which is actually lightless. If you do not have time to paddle to Bute from the Ayrshire coast, there is a perfectly good Calmac ferry from Wemyss Bay to Rothesay. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve but it is also a spring tide.......