A perfect start to a long overdue trip. Since I got into Kayaking over five years ago I've wanted to paddle to Flat Holm & Steep Holm Solo. I did Flat Holm In my first year & hit increasingly choppy water as I approached the Island. This made me rather nervous about the Steep Holm trip due to the commitment involved. When you live with the second highest tidal range in the world you also live with the currents that go with it. If it gets a bit rough there's no turning around until the tide turns so you can see why paddling seven miles into the channel makes me a bit nervous. Nervous enough to put it off for five years. I have however been to Steep holm twice before, both on the high & low tide. The high tide trip was just two day's ago so fresh from the excitement of that trip I decided to give it a go solo...
Unlike Sundays trip to Steep Holm which launched from Sully Island today I decided to Launch from Bendricks in Barry as I thought I might carry more speed due to the shallower angle of attack in relation to the flow of the tide...
Sully Island in the far distance to my left, how different from Sundays trip...
Still a long way to go but I'm holding a steady 4.5 - 5 knots in the tidal flow...
I really, really wanted to paddle through the rudder as I was arriving near high water but it needed a couple of feet more depth to get me through, instead I enjoyed paddling through this arch at the entrance to the rudder. Happy day's...
I spent a happy half an hour strolling around the Island in blissful solitude, this really is a very special place...
Leaving the Island it became clear that I ambled for a bit too long & would have to get a move on to reach Flat Holm before the tide turned...
Approaching Flat holm I was only managing about 3.5 knots dropping to 2.5 as I got closer, I could feel the effects of the tide but as it was only a neap tide the effects weren't too bad...
Arriving at Flat Holm I could see evidence of the tide ebbing as the water had dropped about a metre...
The Wolves navigation buoy, I marked it as a waypoint on my GPS for future use. I loved the way the buoy groaned in the still water as the tide flowed around it...
Time for another rest at Sully Island...
Back underway & with just under two nautical miles to go & I'm really needing a coffee...
Back at Bendricks & with just over 15 Nautical Miles (17.5 statute) under my belt I dwell on what was a bloody fantastic day...
Nice one! I wanted to get out the last couple of days as the weathers making a turn for the worst tommorrow, but also had to make the most of the weather for work. Plenty of time off over the next couple of weeks though for paddling. Holm Islands in the snow looks likley!
ReplyDeleteSnowy Islands would be bliss, fingers crossed, it was way too foggy last time I thought about it...
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