Puffin Island - 14th November 2010

Second day of the NWSK end of season meet. Although the wind had died down a fair bit, there was still plenty of swell on the W side of Anglesey, so most opted for the sheltered paddle around Puffin Island.

We launched from a beach just short of the toll collection point on the road to Trwyn Penmon and paddled out to the wreck that lies just off shore on a sandbank. At low tides you can actually paddle inside it, but the tide was not low enough today.

We headed out around Puffin anti-clockwise and on the SE side there were many seals and cormorants. The seals were in playful mood and following the boats pulling on toggles and showing a lot of interest in us.

As we rounded the NE end of the island the conditions were a lot rougher with waves of a couple of feet. The Xplore handled the conditions nicely and it was good to have a boat that felt responsive and that is a snug fit for me. The skies at this point were very dramatic with double rainbows and dark clouds.

We landed on the pebble beach just to the W of the lighthouse for a quick snack and then made our way back to the cars and stopped off in the excellent "Big Red Boat" coffee/ice cream shop for a cake and coffee.

Just over 8km paddled.