Welcome To Go Sea Kayak

Welcome To The Go Sea Kayak Blog...
This Blog is A Record Of My Personal Adventures And Wonderful Kayaking Lifestyle. It Is Also A Taster Of What You Can Expect If You're Adventurous Enough To Tag Along. Why Not Get In Touch And Join One Of Go Sea Kayaks Guided Trips On The Beautiful Mediterranean Island Of Sardinia, You Won't Regret it!
Showing posts with label Cadgwith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cadgwith. Show all posts

Friday, 9 November 2012

No Farther South...

OK, So I'm in Cornwall to prepare for my 5 star assessment next Wednesday & Thursday with Sea Kayak Cornwall. I'm paddling most days but not blogging as I'm too busy with 'Speed, Time Distance' calculations to be bothered with taking images, but when my Mate Mike (below) got in touch to arrange a paddle, I was naturally, well up for it :)
 Very cheesy Mike ;D
Also coming was Rick (left) & Chris (middle). We were setting off from Kennack sands on the East of the Lizard Peninsular & heading to Kynance Cove on the West & paddling back.
 The weather was lovely & we were all pretty chuffy.
 A very quick stop at the picture postcard Cadwith.
Before entering the Devils Frying Pan, a big collapsed cave.


 Another nice big arch, love this place :)
Image By Mike...
Me pissing about as usual!

 Rick scoping a gnarly gap, which he got through (Grrrr!).
Image By Mike...
My turn, to contemplate my mortality? the water was coming from three directions, swirly me about, If I screw this up I'll have to swim for it! After a few tense moments I decide to let Poseidon win this one & I beat a hasty retreat.
The swells were getting bigger as we approached the Lizard & the lighthouse came into view.

Shooting a small gap that is the most Southerly point of mainland UK, pretty cool huh?
Really feeling the swells & tide here, not huge but good fun after the calm of the East coast.
Kynance Cove & an eventful landing for me. It looked fine paddling in so I didn't bother looking over my shoulder then I heard Rick shout "theres a big one coming!". I thought he might have been teasing till I felt the back of the kayak lift :oS
It wasn't huge, but dumpy & I bongoed into a rock, just & jumped out pretty quick before the next one (LOL).
This beach is actually a sand spit that uncovers at low tide & give access to the two Islands, Gull Rock & Asparagus Island & theres some really cool caves & a fab blow hole too.
Leaving the beach Mike & Rick scope the gap between the Islands. The swells are huge & the gap small, it was an easy decision for me to bottle out :)
Mike finally came to the same conclusion too saying, "it looked scary when I was looking down on the gap", I bet.
Paddling a little more gently on the way back with tired arms, I'm still watching my speedo on the GPS though as I'm still in (Time, Speed, Distance) mode.
 The swells were more gentle passing the edge of the land on our way back.
 And the light was gorgous.
One last cave before heading back after a very special day on the water. Great to be paddling with Mike again & making new friends too :)



Thursday, 6 October 2011

Lazy'ish Day...

I awoke this morning on the North Coast to very big conditions, It was F6-7 with a rough sea state.
The South Coast though was F5-7 with a moderate sea state so I headed South to Kennack Sands on the South Eastern side of the Lizard as suggested by Steve yesterday.
I was paddling with Steve again today & we met up at Kennack, the conditions were looking good in the lee of the wind.

Not going far today, Kennack Sands to the cave just past Cadgwith. Just going to play, rock hop & practice rolls.
Steve got me to tow him & capsize, release the towline & roll back up. Good fun.
Rock hopping...

Lunch at the Witches Cauldron, a collapsed cave with an arch to gain entrance. Lovely spot.
Steve doing a re-entry as he didn't want to slide his glass boat down the rocks.


A squall hit just before landing which was nice, I love rain :)
I know there's no surf in the picture but the occasional swell ran in creating a couple of lovely 3 foot? waves to surf in on. The first one gave me a fab ride so I went back out for another.
I then back paddled on a biggy as it was Steve's turn but I lost my balance & had to roll up (LOL).
The last wave I caught was a cracker, I got a fab surf then as I turned toward the wave at the end of the run a small barrel wrapped itself around the kayak like a blanket. Was quite beautiful though I was too busy whooping at the time to appreciate it.
In contrast to the fab conditions on the East Coast of the Lizard, The West Coast was living up to the forecast.
Wonder where I'll go tomorrow? :)

Sunday, 2 October 2011

The Dragon & Lizard Alliance...

This trip was the main reason that I came to Cornwall early for my 4 star assessment. It's high on my list of things to do this year.

I had a walk to Lizard point on Thursday, I've visited there many times before but I wanted to check out the conditions that I'd be likely to encounter. I wish I hadn't, it was only blowing about F4 but the race just offshore had 15-20 foot waves breaking over the reefs! I've never seen anything like that before so I was more than a little apprehensive about the paddle today.
Camp At Poldhu Cove...

Days of lazygititus left me a little shaky at the start of the paddle but I was soon into my stride, each paddle stroke slowly removing my lack of confidence & replacing it with optimism.
I was making a good 4.5 Knots from camp to Kynance Cove & I was eager to reach Lizard Point.
Kynance Cove...

Arriving at the tip of the Lizard, not to mention the most Southerly point in England, I was anxious to see what sort of playground I'd have. As it turned out it was nice & calm, arriving an hour before slack water had worked a treat :)

The Old Lifeboat Station On Lizard Point...


Lloyds Signal House...

The New Lizard Lifeboat Station...



WooHoo, I Love Caves...

Bloody Deep Too...

The Witches Cauldron...




Arriving at Cadgwith, my finish point. I had decided to go one way & get the bus back to my van.



GEEK STATS

Trip Odom 8.62 Nautical Miles (9.9 Statute)

Time Moving 02:39:30

Max Speed 6.3 Knots

Moving Average 3.3 knots