Friday, January 13, 2012

We met before dawn.

 After two months of incessant wind and rain, today promised to be fair. Ian, Mike , Phil and myself met at Portencross on the Firth of Clyde.

We arrived at low water on a spring tide. This sea urchin found itself exposed...

 ...as we made our way through the narrow channel...

...to the open sea beyond. It was good to have Mike back on the water with us again.

Ian had driven down from Aberdeen to join us. It was great to meet up with him again after our last paddle together on the St Kilda trip.

We then set off at dawn for what promised to be a fantastic day.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar 2012 December.

Ailsa Craig at sunset from the Ayrshire coast near Dunure.

The 8th annual sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar is available from seakayakphoto.com. The above link will lead to high resolution photos in four different desktop sizes.

This was the end of a glorious winter day when Tony, Phil and I set off from Seafield at Ayr and paddled past three castles of Carrick (Greenan, Dunure and Culzean) to Maidens. The photo was taken while running the shuttle at the end of the day. To the left of Ailsa Craig you can just make out Ireland. To the right you can see the Mull of Kintyre.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Sea kayaking desktop calendar 2012 November.

STS Europa sails from Greenock south down the Firth of Clyde towards Arran before turning west into the Sound of Bute.

The 8th annual sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar is available from seakayakphoto.com. The above link will lead to high resolution photos in four different desktop sizes.

Phil, Tony and I chose to view the parade of sail (as the tall ships left Greenock en route for Shetland) from the north west side of the Little Cumbrae. While we waited, we fished for some mackerel and cooked them on the beach. We did what generations of Clyde-siders have done. We went doon the watter for some fish and ships!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar 2012 October.

Balephuil Bay on the SW coat of Tiree in the Inner Hebrides.

The 8th annual sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar is available from seakayakphoto.com. The above link will lead to high resolution photos in four different desktop sizes.

David, Phil and I enjoyed unbroken sun on our visit to Tiree. We circumnavigated the island in an anticlockwise direction in F4 to F5 NE winds. Being on the SW side of the island this was where we enjoyed most shelter. The SW faces the prevailing wind and is usually very exposed. The combination of clear water, shell sand and weed covered reefs creates wonderful patterns of turquoise and ultramarine on this coast,

Monday, January 09, 2012

Sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar 2012 September

Ben Cruachan from the Firth of Lorn.

The 8th annual sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar is available from seakayakphoto.com. The above link will lead to high resolution photos in four different desktop sizes.

Phil, Jennifer and I were crossing From Loch Buie on Mull (where we had camped) to Ellenabeich on Seil. We had set off in a force 4 north easterly, with the wind shrieking round the cliffs of Mull. Half way across the Firth of Lorn the wind dropped to nothing before picking up from the SW again as we approached Seil. 

Sunday, January 08, 2012

Sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar 2012 August.

In the lee of Soay, St Kilda Archipelago.

The 8th annual sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar is available from seakayakphoto.com. The above link will lead to high resolution photos in four different desktop sizes.

After leaving Village Bay on Hirta, we explored Dun and the south and west coasts of Hirta. We then met with the MV Cuma and boarded her for lunch in the lee of Soay. Afterwards we paddled across the open Atlantic to Boreraray, which is just visible on the horizon beyond the stacs in the Soay Hirta gap.

Saturday, January 07, 2012

Sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar 2012 July

The Great Cave of Boreray, St Kilda Archipelago.

The 8th annual sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar is available from seakayakphoto.com. The above link will lead to high resolution photos in four different desktop sizes.

Liz Willis paddles out of the cave, as Simon Willis films from the bow of MV Cuma, during the filming for Sea kayak with Gordon Brown Volume 2. In the middle distance, Stac Lee rises straight from the sea. The gap between Hirta and Soay (from which we had paddled) is on the horizon.
 

Friday, January 06, 2012

Sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar 2012 June.

Seilg Geodha, Dun, St Kilda Archipelago.

The 8th annual sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar is available from seakayakphoto.com. The above link will lead to high resolution photos in four different desktop sizes.

Seilg Geodha is a narrow fissure on the NE coast of Dun. It leads right through the island to a large cavern which exists onto the SW side of the island. This cave was used as shelter by the St Kildans when they were fishing at night. In the evening they would leave Village Bay and sail or row up to 5km off the SW coast of Dun and leave baited lines attached to floats. They would return to this cave and spend the night in its shelter before returning for their catch in the morning.

This photo was taken during the filming for Sea kayak with Gordon Brown Volume 2. It shows Gordon, Donald Thomson (who led the first return trip to St Kilda by sea kayak) and Calum McKerral. It was a very special sea kayaking trip.

Thursday, January 05, 2012

Sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar 2012 May.

Port Mona, Mull of Galloway, North Channel.

The 8th annual sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar is available from seakayakphoto.com. The above link will lead to high resolution photos in four different desktop sizes.

This was a wonderful day in early summer when Jennifer, Jim W, Phil and I paddled round the Mull of Galloway from East Tarbert to Port Logan. Port Mona is an isolated beach, guarded by steep cliffs, strong tides and swell. It is a privilege to visit such places.

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar 2012 April

Sundown behind Garroch Head, Bute, Firth of Clyde.

The 8th annual sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar is available from seakayakphoto.com. The above link will lead to high resolution photos in four different desktop sizes.

This photo was taken at Gull Point at the south end of Little Cumbrae. Jennifer, Phil, Tony and I met up with some members of the Castle Craig Club including Harvey, Zoe and others from the SE of Scotland. We left from Portencross for a circumnavigation of Little Cumbrae. The slow sunset gradually faded to darkness by the time we had reached the north of the island. We crossed the navigational channel by hopping directly across from the port channel buoy to the starboard. 

Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar 2012 March.

March, Dippen Head, Arran Firth of Clyde.

This was on the last day of a fantastic circumnavigation of Arran with David. We were able to use the sails for nearly half of the trip.The headland is composed of Tertiary olivine basalt cliffs.

The 8th annual sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar is available from seakayakphoto.com. The above link will lead to high resolution photos in four different desktop sizes.

Monday, January 02, 2012

Sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar 2012 February.

February, Ailsa Craig, Firth of Clyde.

The 8th annual sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar is available from seakayakphoto.com. The above link will lead to high resolution photos in four different desktop sizes.

Sunday, January 01, 2012

Seakayaking desktop wallpaper calendar 2012.


I wish a Happy New Year to all visitors to seakayakphoto.com. As way of a celebration of the last year and in anticipation of sea kayaking adventures yet to come, here is the 8
th annual sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar from seakayakphoto.com. The above link will lead to high resolution photos in four different desktop sizes.

As usual, all the photos were taken in 2011, even though my sea kayaking activities have been restricted by increasing disability this year.

January, Carrick coast, Firth of Clyde.

The other months will follow soon!

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Merry Christmas

I wish all a very Merry Christmas. I hope the man in the red suit was kind to you!

Douglas :o)

Thursday, December 22, 2011

New P&H skeg slider.

I have been testing the new P&H skeg slider (above). Some of the first generation of sliders (see photo below)  became increasingly difficult to operate, sometimes even after just a few days on the water.

In both photos, the slider is on the left side of the kayak and the bow is on the left of the photo. The basic mechanism lifts the skeg up by pulling the blue dyneema cord (against an elastic down-haul) as the slider is pushed forward. A ratchet holds the skeg slider in place until a lever disengages it. On the old slider this lever was on the sliders rear side, which meant you had to push it forward with your thumb as you pulled the slider back. Some people found this counter intuitive. On the new slider the ratchet lever is in front of the main slider. A quick pull back on the lever releases the ratchet as you pull the slider back.

This is a great improvement. The new slider works intuitively and easily. I was concerned that paddlers with a high paddling action might brush against it as they pulled the active blade back, close to the hull. However, this has not happened at all. The kayak I have been testing has a prototype of the new slider. The production version will have a slightly stiffer spring on the ratchet lever to reduce any  likelihood of accidental release.

A second change is from a stainless steel slider bar to a composite moulded one. Apparently the stainless steel ones were cut from a large roll of stainless steel wire. On some kayaks the rod began to bend back to its original slight curve (it had on the roll). This curve made the slider action stiffer. The new composite bar on my test kayak has given no problems at all.

A third (less obvious change) is that there is a little more clearance between the slider body and the channel it runs in. On a 2009 Cetus, the slider worked perfectly until I had done a couple of surf landings on the on the fine white shell sand beaches on the...

...west coast of Colonsay. The slider became just about impossible to move. The resultant heavy scores on the channel walls told their own story. I have not had the Cetus MV to Colonsay yet but it has been in smaller surf on sandy 

Culzean and Maidens Bays. There has been no scoring and the slider remains light and positive in use.

The Cetus MV is not a kayak that needs a lot of skeg in normal paddling but I have been using it with a sail... 
...and ease of skeg use is very helpful when sailing. 

I am delighted to report that the new slider has worked faultlessly even allowing for frequent and rapid micro adjustments to skeg angle in...

...force 4-5 winds with following, closely spaced seas.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Our finger tips were numb with the cold.

 As we turned back from Culzean...

 ...towards Maidens,...

...an approaching front...

...darkened the sky and...

...the temperature dropped like a stone. We entered Maidenhead Bay to the north of Turnberry and landed on the sands at the head of the bay. Our finger tips were numb with the cold but minds were refreshed by a great paddle in such glorious surroundings.

Monday, December 19, 2011

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!

Friday, December 16, 2011

Kokatat GORE-TEX Expedition Dry Suit: long term test and review.

This is probably my most used bit of kayaking kit. My Kokatat GORE-TEX® Expedition Dry Suit is now entering its third winter, I bought it in October 2008. I own two other dry suits, a non breathable Dam X 3000 Series Kayaking Dry Suit,  which is very robust (ideal for WW kayaking, you can climb over barbed wire fences  and wade through thorn bushes on the way to the river in it) but for sea kayaking, it is too hot and inflexible to paddle any distance.  I also have a Palm Stikine, which is partially permeable to water vapour (breathable) but despite the best efforts of Palm's excellent warranty team, it is also partially permeable to water liquid (leaky).

Features.
The Kokatat has a front entry zip metal toothed zip which I initially found a bit awkward to start. Fully open, the zipper is high above your right shoulder. I keep the zip well lubed with zip lubricant and now have the knack to do it myself. The relief zip is worth every penny spent on it. There are handy zipped pockets on either shoulder with a security loop inside each. The only fault this suit has developed is that the stitching on one of these loops has become undone. These pockets will hold a small aquapac and I keep my car remote key in one and a small mobile phone in the other. There is another small pocket high on the left chest. There is a spray skirt tunnel that I never bother to use when sea kayaking. The latex gaskets show no sign of deterioration but I rinse the suit, inside and outside, with fresh water after every use making sure I give the latex a good wipe. Every few uses I wipe the latex with 303 Aerospace protectant, as recommended by Kokatat. The gaskets are protected from UV by being covered by cuffs at the wrists and neck. There is a GORE-TEX PacLite hood which is very well articulated so you can turn round without loosing vision. I don't use it often as I usually use a Lowe-Alpine Mountain cap in cold weather but it is really good in heavy rain or hail! The socks are also GORE-TEX and I get changed on a foam mat to avoid puncturing them on sharp grit underfoot. I use Lomo Aquaboots with this dry suit. The suit is reinforced on the seat, knees etc. and shows no sign of abrasion wear. A real feature of this suit is that it is not made in China in a factory powered by coal, it is made in the USA in an environmentally sound factory.

On the water.
The GORE-TEX material of the Kokatat suit is the most breathable I have worn on the water. This means that I can use it in warmer conditions than friends who have non GORE-TEX suits. In fact, I even use it in the Scottish early summer, when the water temperature is still cold. (I also use it in the Scottish late summer when the water has started to cool down again.) In June 2011 we went for an evening paddle along the SW coast of Dun in the St Kilda archipelago. I wore the Kokatat, a friend wore a two piece and swam after a swell broke over a reef. The resulting hypothermia drew that trip to an end. Interestingly, the paddler did have a dry suit on that trip, a Dam X, but did not wear it because it was too hot!

Paddling in winter a dry suit might keep you dry but it won't keep you warm on its own. You need to wear thermal insulation underneath. I use Fouth Element double layer Arctic fleece in the depths of winter. This will continue to keep you warm if it gets wet, after a suit tear for example. In spring and autumn I use Fourth Element single layer  Xerotherm fleece.

The cut of the Kokatat suit is so unrestrictive that I hardly notice I am wearing it, even when paddling hard. (A Kokatat Large is larger round the waist than a Palm Large.)

Even after practising rescues, my Kokatat is still bone dry in its third season. Because I have two very painful and unstable knee joints, which limit my mobility, I like having the added security of a dry suit. It might take me a bit longer to rescue/self rescue if I fluff a roll. Falling in to cold water is a real danger while sea kayaking. In spring especially, when the water is cold but the air temperature is higher, this Kokatat dry suit can still be worn comfortably in air temperatures in which other suits would have you boiling! It's even available in a choice of colours! You can have mango like mine or radish like my BA.

Just the weather for a dry suit, a cold NW wind with a wind chill of -7C.

Value for money.
It costs an arm and a leg but I think it has been one of my best sea kayaking purchases ever! In Scotland, you can get it from Sea Kayak ObanSystemX have recently been appointed UK distributor.

Overall score.
Score 12/10. It would have been 13/10 but for that security loop in a pocket coming undone!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Winter sunset over the Heads of Ayr.

 As we left the Heads of Ayr...

...the Sun began to set and as it got lower in the sky...

 ...the wind gradually dropped away.

 One by one, we paddled steadily to shore, each of us, lost in our own thoughts.

 After we pulled the kayaks from the water...

...Ayr Bay was left empty and alone, to the darkness of the approaching night.