Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Crossing to a land sculpted by fire and ice


Once we were in the lee of the Cock of Arran and out of the main tidal stream the water flattened and we approached Glen Sannox under sombre grey skies..


The clouds also began to lift, revealing the mountains of Arran and its little neighbour, Holy Island.


Alan and Phil had both managed remarkably well given the conditions and their relatively recent introduction to sea kayaking. David, Gavin, Tony and I had a thoroughly enjoyable crossing.


Soon the exposure of the Sound of Bute was replaced by a feeling of enclosure as the great igneous mountains of Glen Sannox gathered round the mouth of Sannox Bay. These granite peaks are the eroded remains of a huge volcano which existed about 56 million years ago.


The U shaped valleys told of the gathering glaciers that had then gouged this great gorge in the grey granite of Arran's mountains.

21/03/2009

Monday, August 17, 2009

And gurly grew the sea


Back in March, we had set off to Arran via the island of Bute. Despite a forecast of a force 5 westerly, we left Bute in a flat calm and a thick fog. Gradually the fog began to lift and we could see our destination, which lies 11km away across the Sound of Bute.


Despite the lack of wind, the sea had an uneasy oiliness. Suddenly, out of nowhere the wind hit. It was just as well we were expecting it. A force 5 wind against a full spring ebb on the Garroch Head tide race makes for interesting conditions. So interesting in fact that the next photo, taken just as the wind hit us, was the last until we got into the lee of the Cock of Arran.


They had not sailed a league, a league,
A league but barely three,
When the lift grew dark, and the wind blew loud,
And gurly grew the sea.


The Ballad of Sir Patrick Spens

21/03/2009

Saturday, August 15, 2009

An island, a castle and a salty moat.


We slipped throuh the Tan and swept round the north end of Little Cumrae island in fine style.



We soon found ourselves in the lee of the island and lost sight of snow streaked ridges of Arran.


Little Cumbrae Castle and Castle Island have a profile not dissimilar to one of the nuclear submarines, which are also to be found in these waters.


The Castle's main defence is its moat, which in this case is salty water!
Photo J Wilcox


A fine 23km paddle for a short winter's day.

15/02/2009

Friday, August 14, 2009

A cloud on the horizon...


From Glencallum Bay on Bute we set off across the Firth of Clyde for the Tan, the body of water which separates Great and Little Cumbrae islands.


Conditions were perfect for our crossing.


The quality of light lifted our spirits.


All to soon, we were approaching Little Cumbrae with its Stevenson lighthouse. In the distance a yacht sailed in front of the dark outline of Holy Island. On the horizon, clouds gathered. A front was approaching. It would be raining again the following day.

15/02/2009

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Two bays in the Clyde


Back in February we had a lot of windy wet weather but one day we had a light north westerly breeze. We took advantage and arranged a last minute trip from the red sands of West Kilbride Bay on the Firth of Clyde.


We were soon enjoying the fresh air with a view to the peaks of Arran out west.


We met up with Tony off Portencross Castle.


We decided to paddle past the end of the Little Cumbrae to Glencallum Bay at the south end of Bute.


Inside the bay we were sheltered from the NW breeze and it was quite warm in the low winter sunshine. We decided to take luncheon.

15/02/2009

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

P&H Cetus skeg system


The P&H Cetus is a superb sea kayak and I am very fortunate to have one on loan for a long term test (and I guess P&H might be hoping for a few photos of it in the magazines (watch out for it in Ocean Paddler #17)!

So far I have only paddled it in flat water conditions, so a full test will need to wait until later. One problem, that did mar its otherwise excellent performance, was ease of skeg adjustment. This was a brand new boat but, straight out the wrapper, the skeg adjuster was so stiff that my daughter could not use it. I managed to move it but it very nearly broke my thumb. It was almost impossible to raise the skeg from the fully down position, when the slider is right at the back of the adjustment slot. I know that this is not an isolated case as a quick Google search will confirm several other reports, also here, here and here.

P&H have developed an all new skeg adjustment system for their most recent kayaks. Previously P&H, like many manufacturers, used a wire cable to positively move the skeg both down and up. These work great but if a stone jams the skeg up and you force the cable down, it bends and kinks where it is exposed, either at the adjuster or above the skeg. P&H have attempted to circumvent this weakness of cable skegs by developing the old elastic/rope idea.

Basically the new system works with a piece of shock cord pulling the skeg down against a thin cord pulling it up. The cord is attached to a slider with a ratchet to stop it being pulled back down. To lower the skeg, you first press forward the ratchet release with your thumb and then allow the slider and the skeg to move back and down.


I told Tim at P&H about it and he said that they were aware of the problem and had just released an upgrade kit with a replacement thinner cord to reduce friction.


The detailed instructions looked pretty easy.


Basically cut the old cord at the slider then pull the skeg out of the box. Next tie the new thin cord onto the skeg in place of the old one then thread the cord up the outer skeg adjuster cable . This proved to be very difficult as the line is relatively flexible and the hole is at the top of the skeg box. I solved this problem by threading the line through an empty Biro pen casing, as a guide. I then removed the guide before I tied the line to the skeg.


Next you thread the line through the hole in the slider, pass it through the small plastic washer supplied in the kit and tie a knot in the line. Was this a cure? Well no, it might have been a little easier at the front of the track (left in the photo)...


...but when the slider is at the back of the track, the hole in the slider does not line up with the hole the cord emerges from and there is a lot of friction. I got back to Tim and was very pleased that the P&H development team had not only already discovered this too but had even developed a workaround: the white plastic widget. As you can see prevents the slider moving right to the back of the track. Tim sent one up the next day.


He also told me that recent production boats had been modified by adding a short vertical bar to stop the slider moving right back.

So was this a cure, resulting in a silky smooth action? Unfortunately not, my daughter was still not strong enough to move it despite a liberal application of silicone spray, as recommended in the instruction sheet.


As supplied, this Cetus came with a piece of 4mm shock cord 50cm long (shown in red). With the slider fully back (again as supplied) the skeg was pulled down by the elastic to about 80 degrees to the keel. This resulted in a huge tension in the shock cord and the attachment point of the blue uphaul cord on the skeg did not give enough leverage to overcome it. I replaced the shock cord with a piece 75cm long.


Next I tied the knot at the slider end of the blue cord a bit short, so that the skeg only came down to about 45 degrees to the keel. (The P&H upgrade kit instructions recommends this angle.) These two changes have resulted in much less tension in the shock cord when the skeg is down as far as it is allowed.

Simon Willis made a video with Doug Cooper describing the operation of the new skeg system for the P&H website. Tellingly, Doug starts off by saying "There's a definite knack to using it though".

There is a another video which shows the assembly and operation of the skeg system here.


So has this cured the problem? Well it is much better but I noticed that there seemed to be a lot of friction on the axle, about which the skeg rotates. If you look at the photo above, you will see a red plastic nut on either side of the skeg. These nuts screw into one another and as supplied they gripped the skeg quite tightly. I unscrewed half a turn and this loosened the skeg off and also resulted in the outer faces of the red nuts being a tighter fit in the skeg slot (previously there was a tendency for the axle end of the skeg to fall out of the slot).

Now I have a system that works well for me, but my daughter says it still hurts her thumb, especially when trying to move it forward from the fully down position. I am also concerned about how any sand might add friction to skeg rotation.


Taking my daughter's complaint seriously, I now dismantled the system again and checked everywhere for friction. I noticed that the slider is a very tight fit in its V channel and there was considerable scoring on both the upper and lower channel faces (remember this is a boat that has only seen 4 days use). I noticed that if you pushed the slider near its mid line (where the steel rod runs through )that it is easier to move than if you push it off centre where the ratchet release is. Again I contacted Tim and he told me that they were also aware of this and had now developed a new low friction slider but unfortunately it would not be possible to retrofit it to existing boats.
Tim told me that they were aware that the overall problem was caused in some kayaks by lots of little bits of friction, at different points in the system, adding up. He also told me that P&H were committed to getting the design right and I have every confidence that they will.
What are my conclusions? Well first of all P&H are to be congratulated on trying to develop a better system than the existing wire skeg control which can be nearly impossible to repair in the field. Secondly, they are to be congratulated on speedily working to develop solutions to problems that have developed in their new design. However, the skeg on my Quest still works much more smoothly than my now finely tuned Cetus skeg, which I have spent two days adjusting. This is more time than I have spent maintaining a Quest cable skeg over 7 seasons and a Quest LV cable skeg over three seasons. I am certainly not going to let this put me off the Cetus, which in 4 days paddling has so far proved to be an outstanding performer and I can't wait to get out in her again.


However, even with its skeg in a finely tuned state, well rinsed and then sprayed with silicone, my daughter says she would prefer to paddle her own boat. So it looks like for now, P&H will need to put up with photos of her in the Quest LV rather than the Cetus.

Monday, August 10, 2009

A lone kayaker was dwarfed by the scale of the landscape.


Sunday, the first of March, dawned with the summits of the distant hills of Ardgour to the west catching the rays...


...of a sun still hidden below the icy mass of the Mamores to the east.


We were soon paddling round the islands of Loch Leven below the shapely curves of Sgorr na Ciche.


From the islands we made our way down to the tidal narrows of Ballachulish and practiced ferry gliding in the current.


We stopped for lunch in Alison's Bay. At sea level the flowering gorse bushes were full of spring promise but on the summits the slopes were still in the grip of winter.


A lone kayaker was dwarfed by the scale of the landscape.


This was a gentle day of only 11km but what scenery!

This was the Scottish Canoe Association luxury weekend. It was organised by Lena Michie. Thank you Lena! :o)

01/03/2009

Sunday, August 09, 2009

Return ticket from Eilean Munde.


Leaving the graves on Eilean Munde, we made our way down slippery rocks...


...and seaweed to the shore and our waiting kayaks.


A reverse seal launch over wet wrack proved an effective way of regaining the waters of Loch Leven.


Soon we were back at our waterside hotel in time for a swim and a sauna before dinner.


From Port Appin to Ballachulish we had covered 29km, not too bad for a winter warm up on a short day!

28/09/2009

Saturday, August 08, 2009

A decent burial, in Glen Coe


We landed on Eilean Munde, Glen Coe's Isle of the Dead, under leaden grey skies.


There are graves of Stewarts, McInnesses, MacDonalds and Camerons. Even when the clans were in conflict, Eilean Munde was seen as neutral territory and the island is where warring clansmen were laid beside each other in death.

It is said that McIain, chief of the Glen Coe MacDonalds was buried here after the infamous massacre in 1692. It was planned as a premeditated murder of an entire clan by Campbell of Glen Lyon, who was on the Government side. At the time, the clans had been warring for hundreds of years and the MacDonalds were no saints, having just three years before, laid waste to the crofts and stolen the cattle from Glen Lyon on their way back from the Battle of Killiecrankie. The Massacre of Glen Coe attracted widespread loathing and condemnation throughout Scotland because Campbell of Glen Lyon and 128 of his men had being staying in Glen Coe as guests of MacIain for the previous 11 nights.

About 400 people lived in the Glen at that time. 38 men, including MacIain, were murdered and a further 40 women and children later died during a blizzard on the hills as they attempted to escape. However, over three quarters of the clan escaped, some to friends in Campbell lands in Etive. Some of the Campbell solders were so disgusted at this planned "murder in trust" that they forewarned their hosts. Two were lieutenants, Francis Farquhar and Gilbert Kennedy. They were arrested and imprisoned for disobeying orders.


At the crest of the island there is a ruined chapel. Its predecessor was built built in wood by St. Fintan Mundus, who came here from Iona in the 7th Century.


It was was burnt down in 1495 and the present stone structure dates from the 16th century. The last service took place in 1653.


Many of the monuments and gravestones are carved from local Ballachulish slate, like this magnificent Celtic cross.


One Stewart, James of the Glen, was not fortunate enough to be buried in this peaceful spot. Colin Campbell of Glenure was the Government Factor and he took it upon himself to evict Stewarts from their crofts and install Campbells in their place. In 1753 Campbell and his henchmen crossed into Appin by the Ballachulish ferry. They were on their way to evict more Stewarts, when he was shot in the back by an unseen marksman. The "Appin Murder" so outraged the Campbells that they took James of the Glen, the first Stewart that they found, to Inverary Castle. Here their Chief, the Duke of Argyll, sat with 11 Campbell jurors and sentenced James to death, despite having not a shred of evidence. James was hanged at South Ballachulish and his body was left chained to the gibbet until it fell to pieces.

Much as we had enjoyed our visit to this interesting place, we counted ourselves lucky to have a save passage home from Eilean Munde.

P.S. If you are a Campbell, and you are thirsty or need a bed for the night in Glen Coe, it's probably best to adopt a pseudonym, such as Smith. The Clachaig Inn, at the mouth of the Glen, still displays a sign "No hawkers or Campbells". For a neutral account of this emotive part of Scottish history see "Glencoe and the End of the Highland War" by Paul Hopkins.

28/02/2009