A Star Too Far...

Saturday the 7th of April saw me meeting up with Nick Cunliffe of Sea Kayak Essentials & Mark Tozer for my 5 star sea leader assessment on Anglesey.

Day one & after some chart tasks in the paddlers Return we then headed to Soldiers Point to start our skills assessment day. There would be leadership too but the emphasise was mainly skills. It was to be myself & Dave being assessed today, joining us on the water was Michael who was helping to make up the numbers as one person was unable to make the assessment.
Our route for the day took us around North Stack & down to South Stack before returning to our start point, a long portage back to the cars & an hours rest before making our way to Trearddur Bay for the night paddle.
I must admit that my preconceptions of taking some bearings off some buoys was a long way from what was expected. Mark would basically point to a location on the map & ask me to lead the group to that spot. And he wanted to know how far it was & how long it would take, bearing in mind it was pitch black. Hmmm, this wasn't going to be easy & after some success I screwed up quite badly by overshooting my target by 10 minutes of paddling unable to see my error. My brain seemed to stop functioning by this time. I got us back to where I should have gone, eventually but not without certainty. Definitely something to work on.
We finally finished about 22:30 & I was eating my tea at 23:30 before meeting at 09:00 for day 2. Oh & I'd have to get my tidal planning done before meeting up, hmmm, no lie in then :S

Looking At North Stack... 

Dave Breifing Us Before We Paddle Through The White Stuff At North Stack...

All Calm Again By Parliament House Cave...

Turning & Rolling Skills At South Stack...

Bumped Into Barry Shaw...

Needed A Pee In Parliament House Cave...

Day 2 & we met up at Summit To Sea before relocating to Church Bay for our leadership assessment. Michael was with us again today & we were also joined by Anne. Assessing today was Sid & Mark.

We didn't paddle too far today, which was a relief but there was plenty within our route to be assessed on.

Our route took us to Carmel Head, out to West Mouse & on to Hen Borth before returning to our launch location later in the day.

Again I made a couple of stupid mistakes today but I will learn from my mistakes & not make them again, (hopefully).

Heading Out Of Church Bay...

Tide Race At Carmel Head With The Skerries In The Distance...

Exploring A Cave At Ynys Y Fydlyn...

We all met up at the Paddlers Return for the de-breifing & verdict. As I'd suspected it was a fail but thanks to Nick, Sid & Marks comments I know exactly what areas I need to work on & I've no doubt whatsoever that I can pass next time so long as I pull my finger out & actually practice the techniques that I've learned.

Evan though this was an assessment I actually learned a lot about leadership & navigation. Mark kept apologising for giving me tips but I really appreciated his advice & it will no doubt help me in the future.

So thanks to Nick, Sid, Mark, Dave, Michael & Anne. I had a fab weekend whatever the outcome :D

Taran's Bloody Awesome Day Out!!! :) :D ;D

Quite Simply the best day's paddling I've ever had & I've had some pretty awesome paddles over the years.

This trip had everything, stunning scenery, amazing rockhopping, terrifying tide races & huge spring tides. What more could you want?

I was paddling with Jen's again today on his last day before heading back to greenland.

The night before at South Stack...

The plan was to paddle from Trearddur Bay to South Stack & go Surfing on the standing waves there.
We did a spot of rockhopping on the way out of Trearddur Bay, you can just make out Jen's in the picture.

 Oooer, Penrhyn Mawr, though its not meant to run on the Ebb.

 Jen's pop's his helmet on just in case. I do the same :)

 Jen's on the outside of the middle rock.

We spot some waves moving a little further out & head for them & admiring the view of South stack in the distance.

There was waves at Penrhyn Mawr, not huge & pretty messy & confused. This was the only shot I risked taking & doesn't really show the fun we had.

 We carry on to South Stack.

And hit a little problem, the tide was ripping around this headland & barring our passage to Abraham's Bosom. And I mean really ripping. Twice I tried heading straight into the flow about 10-15 metres from the shore, no chance. Then I change tact & hug dangerously close to the rocks with the swells breaking in, nearly made it this time but nearly took a beating on the rocks & lost my nerve.
I hate giving up so I paddled well out from shore & pushed against the ebbing tide. I was working hard, hard enough for sweat to be running down my face. It worked & I'd made it across (Phew).
Jen's still back in the other bay was holding his paddle in the air, he later told me it was to show me where he was though most paddlers know it as the 'come to me' signal. You got no chance (LOL). I hold my paddle aloft to encourage him along & he seemed to have an easier time of it than me???

 Lunch stop at Abraham's Bosom.

 I just love this place, beautiful!

Approaching closer to South Stack & getting nervous about the waves we're gonna encounter.

Not before a spot more rockhopping, this place is utterly fantastic with caves, rocks & gullies all over the place.
This shot taken just before pushing against the ebbing tide between the Island & main land. I recognized it from the rough water handling DVD I got & enjoyed practicing the techniques they displayed there.

Debating whether to paddle to North Stack or be brave & head out into the standing waves on the race?
It was a big spring tide & was at 100% flow when we got there, the waves looked huge.

We decided to be brave, though unfortunately there was not a chance in hell I was taking any pictures out there!

We played for a while on the waves then made our way back around the island & though the gully between the Island & mainland for another go.
We had a look at this cave on the Island first, composing ourselves I think.

Again no chance of taking pictures but I did take a couple in the relatively calm waters off the end of the Island as the tide squeezed around it.

Our adrenaline rush fulfilled we head back & take our time with plenty of rockhopping. This cave turned to the left further in & sounded like it went deeper than our eyes could see.

 Time to get more fluids & fuel in our aching bodies. Nice spot too.

More stunning scenery looking towards a dormant Penrhyn Mawr with the Lleyn Peninsular as a backdrop.

Cant believe what an awesome day that was !!!