Keeping a low profile on the Clyde

We had tried on two occasions to go paddling with John, our friend from Swanage, who was up visiting family over the Christmas holiday.


Unfortunately the snows came down on both occasions. On the first, I didn't even get out my drive. On the second, some main roads were clearer of snow and I made it to Largs on the Ayrshire coast by avoiding the 31m direct route over the hills and taking a 48mile detour by Greenock and the coast. Unfortunately, John was well and truly snowed in at Aberfoyle in the Trossachs hills.


It was freezing cold when I met with the Ayrshire contingent yesterday morning at the public slipway at Largs Marina on the Clyde.


The bulk carrier Wah Shan (length 289m, breadth 45m) had just made her way down the Largs Channel to Hunterston Jetty where she would offload her cargo of coal. She was accompanied by the tugs Svitzer Milford (30m x 11m) and Ayton Cross (31m x 12m).


The next vessel to cross our bows was the UK Border Agency cutter HMCC Seeker.


She was on the prowl for smugglers or illegal aliens. We may have kept a low profile but so did she. She was not transmitting any AIS information. She is 42m long and has a top speed of 26 knots.


We still hadn't cleared the Largs channel and now the Calmac Great Cumbrae ferry, the MV Loch Shira. Unlike the other ships we saw, the Loch Shira was Clyde built (2007) in the Ferguson's yard, just up the coast in Port Glasgow. She is 54m x14m.

"It was at the Mull of Galloway...and this giant wave..."

Jim ran Phil and myself down to the Mull of Galloway to recover our shuttle cars. Since there was no other car left at Port Logan, the others were forced to take refuge in the Port Logan Inn.


From above East Tarbert Bay, we looked down on a suspiciously calm looking Mull of Galloway. The only movement appeared to be the steady sweep of the lighthouse beam.


Back at the pub we warmed ourselves by the roaring log fire. Phil regaled an enraptured audience with tales of monster waves. Well, enraptured might not be an adjective that could be fairly applied to David, he looked dead beat!

Port Logan sunset

By now we had left Lagantalluch Head far behind and the adverse effects of the flood tide were diminishing. We now paddled deeper into the great bay south of the Mull of Logan...


...and by the time we rounded Cairnywellan Head, the tide was almost imperceptible.


We entered Port Logan Bay as the sun was setting...


...and at last our keels kissed the sand of Port Logan harbour. We stretched our stiff legs in the chill air of the approaching night. We had only covered 21 km but for much of that distance we had encountered adverse eddies or tides. We were now quite tired and thirsty!

The Silurian simian sentinel of Breddoch Bay

After Crammag Head, the next headland was Laggantalluch Head where we passed the sea stack of Scutching Stock...


...the Cave of the Saddle...


...Ape Rock, which stands like a simian sentinel above Breddock Bay...


...and the incredibly folded and shattered strata of Muddioch Rock.


From the rocks of South Lennans, we could see the distant Mull of Logan. David was getting very tired and was very pleasantly surprised that our destination was in Logan Bay on this side of the Mull.


The delicate Lennans Waterfall poured straight over more stratified rocks, which had been folded to almost ninety degrees from their original horizontal alignment. At the foot of the waterfall there is yet another cave.


Finally, we found there had been a recent landslide at Green Saddle. There was a lovely little flat area of grass, ideal for camping, below where tons and tons of broken rock now lie. There might be a lesson there...

Crammag Head

After a wet launch at Rainbow Rock, we regrouped on the water while some pumped out their cockpits, which had filled with dumping waves.


The old WW2 coastguard lookout bunker announced our arrival at Crammag Head. The rocks here are hard pink granite and have been more resistant to erosion than the softer sedimentary rocks on either side. It is a popular area for sea anglers and rock climbers.


We now found ourselves under the Crammag Head Lighthouse. This was originally built by David A and Charles Stevenson in 1913. They built a simple tower without a lantern house on top. The current light is a replacement with a proper lantern and actually looks better than the utilitarian Stevenson design. It must have been installed after February 2008 when we last passed this way and saw the old light. The light flashes white every 10 seconds.

I later discovered that the new Crammag Head light was established just about the time of our trip in mid December 2009.


We rounded Crammag Head at 13:46, nearly an hour after the tide had turned against us. Close in to the rocks, we were not too bothered by the adverse flow. At peak tidal flow on the south going flood, a considerable race develops here, especially if it meets a prevailing SW wind.


As the winter sun slowly dipped to the SW, we started the final leg of our journey to Port Logan.

Transition from the terrestrial to the maritime.

After luncheoning launching looked like it would be quite interesting.


Fortunately there were many hands...


...to assist me in my transition from the terrestrial to the maritime.

The pot at the end of Rainbow Rock.

The beach at Rainbow Rock is a lively place...


...the stone cobbles have been worn smooth by constant wave action.


Even the bedrock has had hollows worn away by cobbles. We looked in several of these "pots" but there was no gold at the end of this rainbow...


...just the lovely gold lichens on its rocks.

Picnic at Rainbow Rock!

Crossing Carrickahawkie Bay at 1225 we found an eddy to be running against us though inshore slack water was not due to 1253. In the last half of the ebb you will meet many counter eddies on this trip. In the distance we could see Crammag Head and ideally it would have been nice to get round before stopping for lunch. However, the stop after the Head at Portencorkie Bay is rather unpleasant. It attracts piles of rotting seaweed and garbage. It is not the sort of place for a seakayakphoto.com luncheon.


Tony and I had a plan! Just before Slew-whan Point there is an intriguing geological feature which we call Rainbow Rock.


Its real name is Broad Stone of Portdown and it has a steep cobble beach at its foot.


Landing here can be tricky but Tony and Jim provided sterling assistance in getting me out of my kayak...


...before helping the others...


...one by one.


Soon we were all safely ashore, with the kayaks above the surf.


We were now ready for our luncheon and what a spot!

Taking in a Kindram or two on the Rhinns of Galloway

Long after we left the Mull of Galloway, we were still surrounded by its "nine tides", which are woven by an old witch. As we were paddling in the last 3 hours of the ebb, we met a strong counter eddy running east from Port Kemin.


We now crossed Carrickamickie Bay and...


...entered the West Bay of Slauchmorrie.


Now we found ourselves under...


...the great rock walls...


...of the Nick of Kindram.


Talking of Kindrams, David looked like he had enjoyed one or two Kindrams the night before!

Mull of Galloway to Gallie Craig

After the excitement of the Mull of Galloway tide race, we proceeded in a westerly direction, round Carrickcarlin Point.


Far below the lighthouse, our kayaks were dwarfed by the the yellow and ochre coloured cliffs. We paddled on under the gaze of pointing tourists...


...until we disappeared from their sight in the huge Seal's Cave hidden far beneath their feet.


From the lighthouse we wended our way...


...through a series of skerries towards the pointing rock fingers of Gallie Craig.

Destination, the Mull of Galloway

The Mull of Galloway is the most southerly point in Scotland. It juts out into the strong tides that swirl round where the Solway Firth and the Irish Sea compress into the North Channel between Scotland and Ireland. It always takes longer to get there than you think. After Stranraer, the ferry port for Ireland, the roads are very narrow and slow and the final track down to East Tarbert is barely surfaced. Last Sunday, we left Ayr on the Firth of Clyde at 0800, dropped a shuttle car at Port Logan on the way and arrived at East Tarbert, 72 miles later. We were on the water by 1040. Our planned route was to tackle the 20km between East Tarbert, round the Mull of Galloway and up the west coast of the Rhinns of Galloway to Port Logan.


First we paddled east along the north side of the Mull. The current flows east here both on the flood and the ebb.


We were approaching the Mull at the end of the 3rd hour of the ebb and the current carried us towards the race with increasing velocity. This was another occasion when we crossed a sea kayaking Rubicon. We were already committed to rounding the Mull by the time we saw the lumpy water of the race on the horizon.