A man who is not afraid of the sea will soon be drowned, he said, for he will be going out on a day he shouldn’t. But we do only be afraid of the sea, and we do only be drowned now and again.
John Millington Synge, The Aran Islands, 1907.
The sea kayak is a wonderfully seaworthy boat. Typically around 5m long and 55 cm wide, with a very shallow draught, they can go almost anywhere there is water. For at least 20 years I kept saying that I would like to try sea kayaking. As I approached my 70th birthday, I thought that I ought to get on with it, and booked a beginners’ course in Scotland, after which I was hooked. I then joined the Midland Canoe Club in Derby. This is about as far from the sea as it is possible to get in the UK, but it has a very long sea kayaking history, and is very friendly. I have been on a few more courses and a couple of commercial trips. The club goes regularly to Anglesey, which, being an island, usually has a side which is sheltered from the wind. It also has a big tidal range, fast tidal streams, and great rock scenery, so little chance of being bored. Canals and lakes provide entertainment in winter. Actually, canals are pretty boring, but larger lakes such as Bala Lake, Windermere, Ullswater and Coniston Water are definitely interesting, and have a long enough reach for the wind that they can be exciting.
What follows is intended to give a flavour of the sea kayaking trips. The photographs invariably show calmer conditions. As it gets more exciting, the photographic incentives decrease! The major omission is anything taken on the sea at St Kilda. I had quite enough to cope with in dealing with the Atlantic Ocean, without messing about with a camera.
The beginners’ course. Port Achadh an Aonaich near Smirisary, Gleniug. Eigg and Rum on the horizon.Skye from the Arisaig Skerries on the beginners’ course.Inga, Sharyn, Mark, Maxine and Isabel at the Arisaig Skerries on the beginners’ course.Lunch stop at Peanmeanach bothy.The first Midland Canoe Club trip: St Cwyfan’s Church, Anglesey.One of Anglesey’s five-star trips is to go around The Stacks. This is a serious expedition with no escape routes and potentially horrific seas. We had perfect conditions on this trip. The South Stack lighthouse is here seen from the North Stack, having started at Holyhead.The South Stack lighthouse. We timed our trip to arrive at the Stacks around slack water at high tide, but the current under the bridge was still running at several knots.I went on a very enjoyable trip run by Gordon Brown. This began with training sessions around the Skye Bridge area, followed by four days circumnavigating Raasay, camping on beaches with one night in the bothy at the north end of Raasay. This is the beginning of the trip, crossing to Scalpay in torrential rain. Gordon is on the left. This is a frame grab from a GoPro.A bit later the same day, crossing from Scalpay to Raasay. Ben Tianavaig on Skye in the background.A break on a beach beneath Ben Tianavaig on Skye, looking south to the Narrows of Raasay and the Red Cuillin. The boat is Gordon’s Nordkapp which I was paddling. After this trip, I bought my own. The Nordkapp is the precursor of the British touring sea-kayak. It was designed for the first expedition around the North Cape (the Nordkapp) in Norway, and the design can be traced back to the Inuit kayak that Kenneth Taylor brought back from Greenland in 1959.Early morning view from the camp at Camas Bàn, close to Port Rìgh, looking north up the Sound of Raasay. Lucy is on the beach.The Storr on Skye from the vicinity of Manish Point on the west coast of Raasay.The Sound of Raasay widens towards the north, and the Atlantic swell off the west coast of Raasay becomes more obvious. The wave height was about 1.5m. The distance between peaks is much longer than the kayak, so you only notice the swell when the horizon vanishes when you are in the troughs. I am on blue water here, going up and down with the swell, and can use two hands for the camera. The white water is moving horizontally, and would be a different kettle of fish entirely.Lucy exploring the superb rock scenery on east coast of Raasay. The combination of shallow draught, stability and great manoeuvreability allows the kayaker to explore rock gardens and caves that could not be otherwise approached.Gordon on the east coast of Raasay in calm weather with very low cloud. The mountains of Applecross are invisible across the Inner Sound.The beautiful rock scenery on the east coast of Raasay.John and I had a winter trip to the Lake District. We are on the Lune Estuary, having just launched from Glasson Dock at the mouth of the river, with the Golden Ball Inn in the distance above the bow of the kayak. There appears to be a lot of water, but it is close to high tide, and probably sufficiently shallow to get out of the boat and walk.Another course, early in the year, with Gordon Brown. We are at Kyle Rhea, with the ferry jetty across the water on the mainland. This course was (deliberately) at Spring Tide, and the flood runs at 7-8 knots, with huge boils caused by the rocky sea bed. Gordon had us breaking into the tide stream with our eyes closed – very instructive!Back to Anglesey with the MCC. Seal watching around Rhoscolyn Beacon is a popular short trip from Borthwen on the Friday afternoon when we first arrive..Approaching Middle Mouse, a kilometer offshore between Bull Bay and Cemaes Bay on the north coast of Anglesey. This is a good objective for first-time sea kayakers, giving the feeling of open sea which you do not get if you hug the coast.A week in north-west Scotland with the MCC. The week started very windy, but there are many long sea lochs which are more sheltered than the open coast and give superb paddling. We are here crossing Loch Laxford, still a couple of kilometers from the open sea, several kilometers from our launch point near Laxford Bridge.Crossing Loch Laxford. Lynne, closest to me, is using a Greenland paddle.South side of Loch Laxford with Ben Stack on the horizon. John C, on the right, did the first sea kayak crossing of the Irish Sea.‘And are there mussels still for tea?’ We harvested these in Loch Kanaird, where they were fit to eat. Further north, at Kylesku, all the mussel farms were closed with notices about not eating them.On another windy day we launched from the old ferry ramp at Kylesku and paddled up Loch Glendhu and Loch Glencoul – superb remote paddling. Here we are having a cake break across from Glendhu bothy at the head of the loch.Roy with John D’s beautiful white boat, launching after the lunch stop at Unapool. The Stack of Glencoul (494m) is above Roy’s head.Roy paddling past the rock scenery along the shore of Loch Glencoul.Finally, sufficiently wind-free to get out around the Summer Isles. We are approaching Isle Ristol.Looking south from Isle Ristol.Skerries off Eilean Mullagrach.Lunch stop on Isle Ristol – Tráigh an t-Sean Bhaile.John D rock hopping on the north coast of Tanera More.Inside a cave on Tanera Beg. You reverse into caves so that you can see the swell coming.Summer Isles – crossing from Tanera Beg to the south coast of Tanera More, several kilometers from our launch point at Achiltibuie.Crossing from Tanera Beg to the south coast of Tanera More.
Sea kayak photography
I did not have a waterproof camera when I started sea kayaking, so the first photographs were taken with a mobile phone, at great risk of dropping the phone in the sea (not helped by the poor design of phones, where the aim is apparently to make them as slippery as possible). I next bought a Nikon AW1 which was a mistake; it was large so had to be in a deckbag in front of the cockpit; required two hands to remove it from the bag, and two hands to hold it. The paddle had to be clipped to a deckline so it was not lost. To cap it all, the user interface was awful. So the Nikon was replaced by an Olympus TG5. Small and light, it could be tucked down the front of my bouyancy aid and used single-handed, and if necessary, it would survive being dropped on the deck whilst I concentrated on staying upright.
Further reading
Doug Cooper. Sea Kayak Handling: A Practical Manual Gordon Brown. Sea Kayak: A Manual for Intermediate and Advanced Sea Kayakers Jim Krawiecki. Welsh Sea Kayaking: Fifty Great Sea Kayak Voyages Doug Cooper. Scottish Sea Kayaking: Fifty Great Sea Kayak Voyages Doug Cooper. Skye and North West Highlands Sea Kayaking Alastair Dunnett. Canoe Boys. Brian Wilson. Blazing Paddles: A Solo Journey Round Scotland by Kayak
Image Gallery
Click on any thumbnail to open a higher resolution image.
