Go Sea Kayak Blog: Diaries

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Tuesday, 19 July 2011

Tyla Images Expedition Around Wales Day 23, (final Day)...

Big, Big Relief...

I woke about 4 AM today, the forecast was for F7 & moderate to rough sea state though it all sounded calm outside tent. It was. The rough weather hadn't broken yet so I dived out of bed, pack up without breakfast & headed off to finish my challenge.

My trolly snapped on the portage to the waters edge but luckily the rocks were rounded smoothed be the sea so I drag the kayak into the water.

It was all calm to Rhyl, across Abergele Roads but I had a nagging suspicion that I'd left my broken camera on the grass & in it most of the images from my trip. I pull in a Rhyl to check, Phew, Still there.

As I make my way around the sand Spit at Rhyl the conditions change & the wind starts picking up. The waves caused by the spit are fun & I have a few close calls. Leaving Rhyl behind the waves keep building. These waves are not from the spit but the open sea, brought in on a Northerly wind. By the time I reach Prestatyn I'm having frequent close calls & bongo slides & landing was a bit hair raising, evan for a baldy like me.

I was hugely relieved by landing on the beach, not only to be off the water in the ever worsening conditions but too have finished my challenge. Hauling up off the beach the conditions went downhill rapidly with torrential rain & big sea's.

Purely by coincident I'd finished at the start, (or finish) of the Offa's Dike path & pose with the signs to Chepstow, my start point of my adventure so long ago.

I sat in a cafe drinking cafe lattes & finishing my book while I waited for my lift back to Cardiff. By the time I left the sea's were massive. A very lucky ending to my trip. Poseidon's been very generous to me on this trip...

Please, Please, Please make a donation to the 'Make A Wish Foundation" using this link.
Cheers, Taran...

GEEK STATS...

Trip Odom 8.88 Nautical Miles, (10.2 Statute)

Max Speed 7.1 Knots

Average Speed 4 Knots

Time Moving 02:14:41

Bugger, Trust Me To Go The Long way Around...

Waiting For My Lift Back To Cardiff. Maybe Someone Should Mention Its Not A Bus Stop...

Tyla Images Expedition Around Wales Day 22...

Lleiniog To LLanddulas...

A Day For Fear...

I took a big risk today & paid for it with the most tense paddle of my life!
After a nightmare morning portage as the tide was out at Lleiniog & out a long way, I sat in my boat & prepare to go.
I was planning to cross the Menai & follow the sandbanks to the Great Orme.
Big, big mistake! The wind was howling when I left & the rain torrential, obscuring the view of the Great Orme & most of the far side of the Menai.
I was doubting my decision to go at this point but I was in a determined mood.

Half way across the Menai I touch bottom with my paddle? Yep, thats right, I'm in the middle of the Menai Straight at its widest part & the sea's only just deep enough to float my kayak.
I thought this would only be a temporary set back & the water would soon deepen, but no, I was wrong.
I must have struggle on for three quarters of an hour like this. It was slow progress & the high wind kept weathercocking my kayak as I was unable to put my skeg down in the shallows. I evan tried walking at one point but that was no better.
Eventually I spot another sandbank to my left & knew that the water should be deeper between the two. It was.
I was paddling normally again & upto 4 knots. As I'd left the shallows behind I faced a new challenge. I had 5NM to reach the Great Orme & the wind was howling, the sea was rough & the swells were pushing me all over the place.
I have to admit to struggling to control my fear at this point but I stayed calm & concentrated on the task.
Frequent squally showers hid the Great Orme from view & created an ethereal mist on the sea, waves looking like mountains rising from a misty valley.
The squalls came & went & were quite unsettling though their beauty enthralling.

Nearing the Great Orme I spotted a buoy that from a distance looked like another kayaker? I thought, bloody hell, what's he doing out here in these conditions. A few mins later the thought occurred to me, 'what the hell am I doing out here'.

Another problem I was expecting was for it to get rougher as I approached the Great Orme as it was facing into the high winds. I could expect clapotis & also a race as the tide got pinched around the headland. And it certainly did get rougher, the swells were getting steeper & the clapotis creating very confused water. I was using my paddle a lot for support & course corrections. After some focussed paddling I finally made it around the tip of the Orme, it was bigger than I expected & I had to pass a few headlands before I finally got around & into the shelter of Llandudno.

Llandudno couldn't be more different, the sea was calm in the lee of the wind & the sun made an appearance. What was all the fuss about? (LOL).
I pulled in to replenish my water supplies then headed of with the intention of paddling till high water then setting up camp.

It was going O.K. till Rhos On Sea where the sea started to feel the wind again & it became rougher & rougher. I was having to low brace frequently in the waves so decided to get off the water as soon as I could spot a suitable camping spot. I found a suitable location at LLanddulas & gladly got my arse off the water.

Without doubt the most tense paddle I've ever had & definitely the most stupid. Lets hope I learn from this!

Chilling in my tent, (O.K. snoozing) in the afternoon Dave, (Sound of the seagull) popped by to say hi & see if I needed anything which was nice of him.
I'm gonna try & arrange a blogger meet on Anglesey soon for a circumnavigation. Watch this space.

NOTE... The camera's definitely buggered, I'm using my SLR on the last few day's, though not on the water...

GEEK STATS

Trip Odom 18.2 Nautical Miles, (20.9 Statute)

Max Speed 7.6 Knots

Average Speed 4 Knots

Time Moving ? (couldn't read my writing(LOL).

Home For The Night...

Home For the Night...

Looking Towards Little Orme...

Rain clouds Over The wind-farms...

Tyla Images Expedition Around Wales Day 21...

Day Off At Lleniog...

Not the best of days. I took a gamble coming to Anglesey, I knew if the weather turned bad I'd have to sit it out as the crossing to the Great Orme from where I was camped is a little over 7NM.
My gamble certainly didn't pay off as its F4-5 today & though the wind feels stronger.

I generally spent the day pacing up & down wondering if I should go for it. I wonder if I walk as far pacing on my days off as I kayak during the whole trip?
I decide to wait till the morrow but again the forecast is bad F4-6 occasionally F7 though there's a chance of an F3 wind early on & thats when the tide turns. I keep my fingers crossed...

Great Orme In The Distance...

Tyla Images Expedition Around Wales Day 20...

Nefyn to Lleiniog...

I awoke on Thursday to absolutely stunning conditions. I'm glad I stayed put yesterday as I wouldn't have enjoyed the scenery in this stunning part of the Lleyn as much if my kayak was getting thrown around.
The rugged coast around Nant Gwrtheyrn (the national language centre) to Trefor is quite spectacular. I passed one sheer cliff that was home to hundreds of sea birds, the smell of the colony hits you in the face but is quite wonderful.

After Trefor the coast changes quite dramatically from high cliffs to low lying land & lots of sandy beaches, though still with the snowdonia mountains as an impressive backdrop.

I spotted a school of Dolphins breaching near Ponfllyfni & stopped to watch them for a bit.
Beautiful as this stretch of coast is I was however starting to get a bit bored & looking foreword to the challenges of the Menai.
I was three hours too early for the tide but fancied seeing how far I could get against it. Fort Belan guards the entrance to the Menai & you can really see the current shooting past. To be honest I didn't expect the flow to be so strong this far from the narrower sections of the Menai, it was going like a freight train. Gonna be fun this!
I hugged tight to the shore at Fort Belan but a short spit of land was pushing into the main current. Passed this spit I could see the current dividing with some breaking off into Foyrd Bay. I edged out into the current, paddled hard & aimed for the flow shooting into the bay. I really enjoyed that section but once in the bay it was easy to stay out of the current & make my way towards Caernarfon.

I treated myself to a rest at Caernarfon & popped into Morrisons cafe for a cheese & mushroom omelette with chips & salad washed down with a cafe Latte. I was quite a sight for the locals as I was still wearing my kayak gear, bare feet & covered from head to toe in dried sea salt & with an exped beard too. I looked a proper salty sea dog (LOL).

Leaving Caernafon I carried on towards the Swellies expecting some action. Arriving there I could see that the tide had turned but only just. The water was bearly moving & the week currents did nothing to unsettle the kayak. I was a bit disappointed, (I'll just have to come back soon).

I was really tired by now, I had hoped to be hitting 6-7 knots through the Menai but as I arrived too early before the tide had turned I was probably only managing 3-4 knots with some assistance from a tailwind. I say probably as my GPS wouldn't switch on today. Add to that my camera which only works intermittently so there's a lack of pictures today.

I consider skipping Anglesey & to push on past the great Orme as the conditions are fab & the tide flowing but I'm tired & beaten up. My elbow is causing me to grimace, my broken blisters sore & my bum aches from sitting all day. I've very little strength left so pull in at Lleiniog & set camp.
Its a bit of a gamble as I'll be stuck if the weather turns bad as its a 7 mile crossing from camp to the Great Orme.

GEEK STATS, (estimated)...

Trip Odom 30'ish Nautical Miles

Average 4 knots between Nefyn & Fort Belan (judging from the time & distance)

Nant Gwrtheyrn...

Trwyn Y Tal...

Trefor...

A Dramatic Change In Landscape...

Felinheli...

Britannia Bridge...

Tyla Images Expedition Around Wales Day 19...

Porth Dinllaen To Nefyn...

Hmmm, Screwed up quite a bit today. For Some reason I slowly packed up, got in my boat & then & only then did I actually focus on the sea & look at what it was doing?
I had been looking at the view all morning, (hard not too), but it hadn't occurred to me to check the sea state & the sea state was pretty rough, whoops!
There were white caps everywhere & a decent surf.
Not a promising start but as I was already in my boat I decided to give it a go.

It was well bumpy in Porth Dinllaen at the large bay was facing the wind. A couple of times I got hit side on by some big waves but managed to brace & bongo slide my way out of trouble. It cant be a good omen to be fighting with the sea this early in the day so I gingerly make my way to Nefyn beyond the next headland & look for a camp spot.

I planned to sit it out on the beach & carry on if the conditions improved.
It was cold in the wind so I put my inner tent up for shelter not wanting to fully unpack just incase I got another chance to get going. I chose my spot carefully on landing so that & didn't have to move to set up camp for the night & By about 4PM I admitted defeat & set up camp properly.

My GPS seems to be buggered & kept switching off though it usually does that if it gets knocked & I did have some large waves break onto be so maybe it was that...

GEEK STATS...

Trip Odom 1.62 Nautical Miles, (1.86 Statute)

Max Speed 4.7 Knots

Average Speed 2.8 Knots

Time Moving 34 mins

Leaving Porth Dinllaen...

Temporary Camp,(inner tent only)...

Permanent Camp...

Chilling...

Monday, 18 July 2011

Tyla Images Expedition Around Wales Day 18...

Hells Mouth To Porth Dinllaen...

I've been dreading this day since the moment I came up with my around Wales Idea. The tip of the Lleyn is a daunting challenge & deserves respect.

I set of at 9AM & slowly made my way to Porth Meudwy 7NM away, hopping from headland to headland along the way. I planned to head around the tip on the young flood & had plenty of time to get there so I was in no rush.

Arriving at Porth Meudwy I still had half an hour to wait before I could go.

I have to admit that I was rather nervous & blowing out frequently like there was an inflatable paper bag against my lips (LOL).

Once around Pen Y Cil there was some quite obvious flow, not all going in the same direction. I hit a few overfalls early on but the waves were tiny & quite playful. It was going well & I was hugging the cliffs real close as the main current was still ebbing, maybe I'm a bit too over cautious?
I crossed some small bays feeling for any opposing flow & checking my speed on my GPS as I went, (still blowing out occasionally (LOL).

I bumped into another kayaker, Jim, near the tip & going the other way on the last of the ebb. Strange to think I just wanted to get around the corner to the safer water & her I was chatting about kayaking.

It did finally get interesting as I approached Braich Y Pwll overfall. It was quite bumpy & I was enjoying the ride till I tried to get round the point. The ebb hit me & I was being sucked back towards some standing wave that I'm sure weren't there a moment ago. I had to paddle hard, really hard to break free.
The rest of the journey to the next exit, Porth Oer was thankfully uneventful.

Relieved & very chuffed to be at Porth Oer again I contemplated setting up camp early but the sea was too calm to waste & the flow was now going in my direction.
I treated myself to a cheese & tomato panini & a cafe latte in the cafe there, (bliss).

Back underway & I decided to head for Porth Dinllaen to camp on the beach there. I encountered some bumpy water as the tide raced around the headlands but nothing to worry about.
It was the last 3-4 miles that were to get a bit worrying. The wind got stronger & stronger in my face & the wind against tide conditions were getting scary.
I looked at my options & decided to stay well out from the shore & use the tide to get me there quicker.
Despite the strong headwind I was making 3.5 - 4 Knots & evan 5 Knots for a short while.
I was paddling hard & the kayak was rising on the waves & smashing down into the next ones.

The last time I paddled at Porth Dinllaen it was quite calm & the overfalls at Carreg Ddu were quite bumpy evan then, I was dreading what they'd be like in these conditions.

Reaching the headland at Porth Dinllaen I rested & ate a snickers in the lee of the headland preparing myself for rounding the tip.
The overfalls were pretty impressive but I hugged the shore tightly & avoided the worst of them.
What I hadn't counted on were the big swells steepening into waves as I approached the lifeboat station. It would of been scary but the lifeboat men were ready for a launch & were watching me.
I landed right next to the station & got the camera ready to catch the launch. Fab time for the batteries to die (LOL).

There was nowhere to camp near the station so I got back in my boat & made my way across to the main beach to set up camp.

What An Amazing Day!!!

GEEK STATS...

Trip Odom 23.3 Nautical Miles, (26.8 Statute)

Max Speed 6.7 Knots

Average Speed 3.3 Knots

Time Moving 07:03:43

Getting Ready To Leave...

Just Head For The Next Headland & Keep Going...

Ynys Gwylan-Fawr & Ynys Gwylan-Fach...

Bardsey In The Distance...

Porth Meudwy...

Rounding Pen Y Cil...

Carreg Ddu & Bardsey...

No Going Back Now...

Especially now...

Heading Into Porth Oer...

Camp At Porth Dinllaen...

Tyla Images Expedition Around Wales Day 17...

Llanaber To Hells Mouth...

I Didn't think I needed to be up so early today so I rose at 7AM & left at 08:30AM.
I planned to cross from Shell Island to Pen Y Chain at Pwllheli to reach the Lleyn peninsular as the wind was in the west making a crossing to St Tudwals a bit of a slog.
A dolphin came & saw me off from Shell Island as I begun my crossing. It was extremely calm on the water but I'm not a fan of crossings, their quite dull & alone can be intimidating. This crossing was only 8NM in length but seemed to take ages despite a 4 knot average speed.

The Wildlife was fab, I saw loads of huge Barrel Jellyfish, Some Velvet Scoters, Manx Shearwaters & Gannets.

I stopped at Pen Y Chain for a breather then continued across the bay to Pwllheli, it was a bit of a slog.
Passing Pwllheli it was obvious that I was quite burnt out & made very slow progress, I think yesterday was catching up with me.
I eventually reached the Warren & pulled in for some food & to refill my water bottles.

Amazing what a rest & some Alpen can do, I felt much better so pushed on for Aberdarron.
The sea out of St Tudwals Roads was surprisingly bumpy but bloody good fun. The next Bay, Porth Ceiriad was much calmer. It was when I turned into the appropriately named Hells Mouth that it all went a bit nuts. There was a very strong wing charging out of the bay, couldn't be in more contrast to the previous bay.
The waves were quite substantial so I didn't fancy crossing the bay, instead I turned into the wind, leaping off the waves as I made my way to the shore where the waves were tiny. Anyone on the beach would have no idea what I went through to get to shore (LOL).

I found a fab camp spot just off the beach on some springy grass that was wonderfully comfortable to lie on.
Despite the daunting challenge of the following day I still had the best nights sleep I've had in ages...

GEEK STATS

Trip Odom 26 Nautical Miles, (29.9 Statute)

Max Speed 5 Knots

Average Speed 3.4, (4 Knots during the crossing to the Lleyn)

Time Moving 07:43:14

Almost At Pwllheli...

Heading Out Of St Tudwals Roads...

First Glimpse of Bardsey...

Hells Mouth...

Camp At Hells Mouth...

View Of Bardsey...

Tyla Images Expedition Around Wales Day 16...

Cwmtydu To Llanaber...

Got up at 6AM & with intent. I felt the exped was grinding to a halt & wanted to get back on track. The forecast was good & I was determined to put some serious miles in.
I decide to head for Morfa Dyffryn some 38NM away according to the GPS but that's in a straight line. In all I travelled 42.2NM, (48.5 Statute) & that was 3 NM short of Morfa Dyffryn.

It all started well, the first 10 miles seemed to drag but I got into my groove once they were behind me.
I was glad it was calm as there was still a lot of cliffs to pass & no escape routes for miles at a time.
It did however get bumpy approaching Aberystwyth & the rain was obscuring Aberystwyth from view.
It then went remarkably calm just passed Aberystwyth till I reached the surf at Borth. The wind was coming from my left & kept pushing me towards the shore & into the steepening swell. Quite frequently I had to take evasive action to stop a steepening wave hitting me side on & toppling me.

I was aware sandbar on the mouth of the Dyfi river & the surf it creates. I decided to just head straight for it though. My plan was to cross the waves horizontally as I make my way to the far shore.
Turned out that the waves came from two directions & created steep triangles rather than waves. I just paddled hard in between them & got through O.K.

The dunes from the Dyfi to Tywyn were absolutely stunning & with the mountains as a backdrop & the sun shining again I could be mistaken for thinking I was in Sardinia, (but thats another exped dream).

Tywyn to Llanaber was a real drag, I was knackered by now & just wanted to get out of the kayak. I did spot some Eider ducks & enjoyed teasing them with a bad imitation of their mating call.

The last stretch from from Barmouth was much the same as Borth with regards to the surf & I had a few very close calls.
I had set off at 07:30AM & finally reached camp just before 8PM. I hastily got some food & coffee in me so I'd have a chance to recover for tomorrow & turned in early for the night.

GEEK STATS...

Trip Odom 42.2 Nautical Miles, (48.5 Statute)

Max Speed 5.8 Knots

Average Speed 3.6 Knots

Time Moving 11:33:08