Tuesday 30 July 2013

Macclesfield Canal - 29th July 2013

Clarke Lane <> Bridge 18.
About 90 minutes round trip at a steady pace including brief chat with the Macc CC members out on their club night. No detailed time, helps if the GPS actually has batteries in....

Brereton Lake - 25th July 2013

Rolling and general mucking about for 90 minutes on the lake with Gavin and his friend Harry. Left-hand roll still needs work!!!

Sunday 21 July 2013

Moelfre to Bull Bay - 21st July 2013

A last minute pass out enabled me to join up with Alan, Alan and Roger from the Macclesfield Canoe Club for a day trip on Anglesey.

A route had been selected on the NE side of Anglesey, but with a E-NE F3-4 occasionally 5 wind forecast this was not going to be a flat paddle in the sunshine.

And so it turned out that when we arrived at Moelfre there was a brisk wind and choppy sea conditions.

We decided to go for it anyway, the choppy seas would be good entertainment compared to paddling flat water and anyway, the sun was out!

Moelfre Beach
Launching from the beach was a taste of what was to come when Roger got a face full of sea water as he timed his launch with a breaking wave on the beach.

We were soon paddling in waves of about 2-3 foot, occasionally 4, and these conditions would be the norm for the day apart from the odd spot where we managed to get some shelter.

Leaving Moelfre
We made our way via Ynys Dulus and rounded Point Lynas giving it a wide berth. The tide was ebbing, so the easterly flow was in the same direction as the wind and swell, so the race on the end of the point was not too intimidating.

Ynys Dulus
We stopped for a well earned lunch and comfort break in the idyllic bay of Porth Eilian before carrying on down the coast via Amlwch Harbour, East Mouse and then across the bay to Bull Bay, our final destination.

Porth Eilian

Amlwch Harbour
Amlwch Harbour
Approaching East Mouse
Approximately 16km paddled.








Sunday 14 July 2013

The Stacks from Porth Dafarch - 13th July 2013

We arrived at an already heaving Porth Dafarch just after 10am and unloaded the kayaks and parked the car up on the road above the beach. We readied the boats in amongst groups of divers, fishermen and "coasteerers" and headed off in bright sunshine towards Penrhyn Mawr.

With HW Liverpool at 15:10 and just a few days after springs, I was expecting the overfalls to be fairly exciting, but with little swell there was just fast moving water and small waves so we passed through the "outer race" and turned back to paddle up the inland eddy to get some moving water practice.

After playing in the race for a while we set our sights on South Stack staying in the main flow reaching groundspeeds of over 16kph, soon reaching our second objective.


After South Stack we paddled closer inland and lost the benefit of the flooding tide and made our way across the impressive Gogarth Bay towards North Stack. We momentarily contemplated whether it was worth trying to raise the money to buy the old fog horn station that is for sale, but thought it was a tad expensive. It was now midday, and the tide was not due to turn until about 1pm, but there was already flow in the westerly direction at North Stack as we took a quick look around the headland.

We turned around and headed back to Parliament Cave looking forward to basking in the sun that was just creeping into it. However it was not to be - no sooner as we landed and got a brew on, a mist rolled in and blocked the sun for the next hour. We didn't let the lack of sun ruin our leisurely lunch and we were gradually joined by other parties enjoying the fantastic summer conditions.


Heading off again the sun returned and we watched climbers high up on the Gogarth cliffs and explored the large caves as we made our way back towards South Stack.






As we went round the bay the radio crackled into life with a mayday call from a boat that had engine failure and was pinned against South Stack rocks. We were part watching this episode unfold, but increasingly more aware of our own situation as some unexpected swell and wind kicked up some rough conditions. The inshore lifeboat arrived to give the boat a tow and we rounded South Stack to regain some calmer conditions.

We cruised back through Penrhyn Mawr amazed how different it can be depending on the direction of the tide and made our way back to the hoardes of Porth Dafarch, arriving about 4:30pm. Approximately 16km paddled.


Friday 12 July 2013

Brereton Lake - 11th July 2013

90 minutes session on Brereton Lake practicing rolls and rescues with the Macclesfield CC. Lovely sunny evening and the water was surprisingly warm!

Wednesday 3 July 2013

Macclesfield Canal - 1st July 2013

90 minute paddle on the canal while Gavin paddled with the club. Round trip to bridge 18 from Adelphi Mill, steady pace. Hmmm.... need to get out on the sea again soon!