Watching the birdie at Turnberry.

As we set off the wind was blowing at an average of 12 knots gusting to 22.5 knots. The METAR from Prestwick Airport showed the wind averaged 10 to 13 knots all day. Generally Dunure is about 1 windforce greater than Prestwick. 

The latest member of our team to get a Flat Earth sail is Mike.

He looked ever so pleased with his new sail as we headed out from the shelter of...

... Turnberry Point with its famous golf course and lighthouse. Phil was also looking pleased till he noticed that he had put his boom on upside down!

 Still it was an excuse to take a detour past the reefs of Barwin Point and land at Carrick Cove.

Jim in the Taran was catching plenty waves but was already finding it hot work keeping up with the sails. Still, he was getting in training for some sea kayak races later in the year.

 Mike was still beaming about his new found toy as...

...we took a break on the sands while Phil fixed his boom.

Turnberry to Culzean

After a leisurely lunch at Turnberry beach, we paddled out past the treacherous reefs again.

Beyond the reefs, the wind had dropped and we paddled below Turnberry lighthouse on relatively calm waters. The reefs of Turnberry Point and nearby Brest (or Bristo) Rocks were notorious as the graveyard of many ships making their way to and from the busy ports in the Firth of Clyde. The lighthouse engineers, David and Thomas Stevenson, recommended construction of a lighthouse on the point rather than on the offshore rocks and it was completed in 1873. In a rocky gully beneath the lighthouse, you can still see wooden rubbing strips bolted to the rocks. These were used by boats that delivered the building materials for the lighthouse.

We continued in a NW direction across Maidenhead Bay.

 The snow covered Arran Hills looked absolutely magnificent in the clear Arctic air.

 We made landfall near Port Carrick at the south end of Culzean Country Park and...

...continued as far as  Culzean Castle.

Blowing away the cobwebs with a chill wind from Valhalla and mulled wine.

Sunday dawned clear but with a 13 knot NW wind it was bitterly cold. We had intended launching at Seafield Ayr but the tide goes out a long way there and I have not been on the water  for 6 weeks because of continuing problems with my knees. So Tony and I continued south to Maidens for an easier launch. Unfortunately we missed Phil who was loading his kayak in the back garden and didn't hear our phone call. Arran's snow capped mountains were looking fantastic but that wind was coming straight from Valhalla.
              

From Maidens we turned south to round Turnberry Point. A north going spring tide against the wind meant some deliciously rough water off the lighthouse so there were no photos until we rounded the headland and were in the shelter of the reefs.

Turnberry beach, to the south of the lighthouse, proved an excellent sheltered spot for first luncheon washed down with warm mulled wine!

The guiding light of Turnberry.

 As the sun began to sink to the SW, we paddled on towards Turnberry Point...

 ...then entered Maidens Bay under the guiding light of Turnnberry lighthouse.

 The sun was low in the SW sky as we pulled the kayaks from the water and...

...was already setting behind Ailsa Craig by the time we set off for home in the shuttle cars.

What a place for a wedding!

After lunch at Croy Tom and Julie returned north to Dunure leaving Tony, Phil and myself...

 ...to cross the broad expanse of Culzean Bay.

 as we approached the south side of the bay Turnberry lighthouse appeared on the horizon before...

 ...we made landfall at Robert Adam's magnificent Culzean Castle. Next spring my daughter Sheena will be getting married to Adam (not Robert Adam!) in the Round Saloon, which is in the central tower of the castle overlooking the sea.

 Under a lowering sun, we now paddled through the Culzean skerries and...

...as we did so the grand silhouette of Ailsa Craig grew on the horizon to the south. I hope the day of the wedding is as sunny as this!

Ready for some windy fun on the Clyde.

Saturday's XC weather, forecast for Troon.

Saturday's MagicSeaweed, surf forecast for Machrihanish.

Saturday's forecast for Troon, in the Firth of Clyde, showed that the predicted gales were not expected to arrive until well into Saturday evening. The surf at Machrihanish was predicted to be 9.5 feet in advance of the arrival of the approaching Atlantic low pressure system. Tony and I decided to nip out to Lady Isle, which lies about 4km off Troon Point. However, rather than launch at Troon, we decided to take advantage of the southerly winds and swell and a flood tide and so launched a little further south than Troon....

...some 30km south to be precise! Nonetheless, we reckoned we could still be off the water by the back of 4pm, before the worst of the wind arrived!

Using a car or a ferry to get upwind before a downwind paddle may not be very environmentally friendly but it sure is a lot of fun! Tony's wife kindly dropped us off at the Swan Pond car park in Culzean Country Park and we trollied our kayaks down to Maidenhead Bay. Tony's dog, Bob, was extremely reluctant to be left behind and ran out onto the rocks of Barwhin Point, where he leapt onto Tony's rear deck as we passed by. Unfortunately he slid off the other side. It's just as well he likes a swim.

Leaving Barwhin Point and Turnberry lighthouse behind us, swell was already making its way up the Firth of Clyde.

 The sun soon broke through the morning cloud and mist and...

...by the time we stopped for first luncheon, at the north end of Culzean Bay, we were in full winter sun. Overheard, parallel streams of cirrus clouds in the jet stream predicted bad weather in 12-36 hours...

...so my Flat Earth sail was rigged and ready for some action!

Sun goes down at Turnberry, after a three castle day!

By coincidence, four refreshment breaks had taken so much time that we arrived at Barwhin Point just at sunset.

Both Turnberry lighthouse...

...and Ailsa Craig...

...add a certain something to Firth of Clyde sunsets.
 

The sunset did not last long...

...and soon the flash of Turnberry lighthouse was the brightest object in the sky...

...and we paddled into Maidens in near darkness after a three castle day!

Sundown at Culzean

 South of Dunure, Turnberry lighthouse appeared on the horizon.

 We took a third luncheon (not liquid this time) at the north end of Culzean (pron. Cullane) Bay.

By the time we got going again the sun had begun to set.

The Culzean coast line was in deep shade...

...and as we paddled under sandstone cliffs, the great castle of Culzean appeared on the skyline.

This was to be our third and last castle of the day. The caves below the castle have a long history of habitation. They are reputed to connect with the dungeons of the original stone keep, which is buried deep within the 18th century Robert Adam edifice which we see today.

We paddled on, south towards Barwhin Point and the sunset beyond...

A sunny and calm Maidens morning, before the storm.

Back at the beginning of November we had a couple of sunny days before the wettest November on record in SW Scotland and NW England.


We set off from Maidens in Ayrshire. To the south, the distinctive outlines of Turnberry lighthouse and Ailsa Craig characterise this part of the Firth of Clyde.


To the west the equally distinctive outline of the magical island of Arran floated dreamily on the other side of the Firth.


It was calling strongly to us... but a crossing to it would need to wait for another day.


Instead we were bound to the north, along the rocky fastnesses of Culzean and Carrick to the little fishing hamlet of Dunure. There we would meet David in the pub!