Going Nowhere...

Going nowhere, hmmm, seems to sum it up well. I had nothing on today & the weather was perfect so it would be rude not to go for a paddle.

I'm housesitting for my parents at the mo & my Mums Skoda was winking at me from outside, seductively suggesting she had enough fuel to get to the beach.

For a change of scenery I headed for Southerndown. I've always avoided launching here before as the surf is scary but with a gentle forecast just how bad could it be?

There was some usably surf to play on but not much. I decided I was going to follow the tide in & head, where? Hmmm, not really sure. Llantwit, Nash, I'll work it out on the water.

 With only 2 hours to HW the carry to the water wasn't far at all.

 I leave Southerndown still pondering over my destination.

I can see Nash in the far distance & decide to head for there as a starting point.
I was half way to Nash when I realised my destination was really just putting miles on the clock. With the Ireland crossing looming I was content just to paddle & make sure I'm in good shape when the big day comes, if I evan go at all. I could happily give that trip a miss :)

 I arrive at an unusually calm Nash Buoy.

 But the trinity house bell inside is still chiming.

 I push on having decided on St Donats as my destination.

 leaving Llantwit, in the middle distance of this image for another day.

St Donats

As I started back it was pretty uneventful. I was losing myself to the strokes of the paddle & making good speed to Witches Point, evan catching the odd swell.

 Arriving back at Witches Point, Time to go surfing :)

Hmmm, ok, its gone a little flat but as I look over my shoulder I see a decent enough wave & paddle like shit to catch it evan though I knew the waves were dumping onto the boulders on the beach.

 I surfed good & straight before getting turned & dumped on.

Theres a Taran in there somewhere (LOL). Another fab day out :)

Wraiths Of The Severn Sea...

One of those surreal days on the water, a time for communing with your own thoughts in the vast emptiness of Poseidon's breath.

Setting off from Llantwit Major with the intention of paddling along the coast the out to Tusker Rock. The fog was pretty thick though showing signs of clearing. The sea was calm save for a few swells making it to shore.
This was going to be a day to remember.

We head off into the eery stillness managing to catch some air time on the way out.

We hug close to the shore making the most of the high tide to explore the caves of the Heritage Coast.

We head in for a closer look.

Right in.

I love the layers of rock here, its like looking back in time.

Approaching St Donats,

And then out further into the mist. You really have got this World to yourself out here, no sight of land or horizon to guide you on. As we drift closer to shore shapes loom, wraithlike from the shadows to guide us in, we were almost on the beach when we sighted it, the fog really was thick here.

We land for a lunch stop at Southern down, The car park here just a memory hidden in the fog.

We decide to push on a couple of miles offshore to Tusker Rock using Stuarts GPS to guide us in. We were almost ashore by the time we saw it.

Shipwrecked remains loom into sight, a fitting way to view the sea grave of the SS Steepholm..

This is a first for Jules so we go for a wander.

Back on the water & a Bull Seal pop's up for a look at the Staines Massif paddling by.

A little diversion to satiate Stuarts desire to reach Nash Sandbank.

Then out onto Nash Buoy as it suddenly looms out of the mist.

Some hard paddling in the now rather rapid current & we made it, just. We had actually swung around 180° into the flow & luckily the eddy from the buoy. With the mist this thick we are all totally disoriented & use the GPS to find land again.

Approaching what we thought was Llantwit I spot some decent waves & lots of little black shapes swimming in the water, not more seals though, surfers.
We land without incident & check with the fishermen to see if this really is Llantwit. It was & we start the long carry to where we think the car park might be?
Not long after we'd loaded the kayaks & were ready to leave the sun came out & the fog cleared, at least Poseidon has got a sense of humour :D

A rough draft of our route, about 16 miles & a fab day out.

A Wet Day At Sea...

After yesterdays freezing paddle in the Bay I arrive at Llantwit Major to find the weather pleasantly mild.

I meet up with Jules, Eurion, Stuart & Andy with high expectations of a great day out.

Waiting for Andy, not living by the coast he awoke to a winter wonderland that made him late. The rest of us had an easier drive to the beach.

We paddled out through the small surf at Llantwit with the intention of reaching Southerndown though with half an hour till the tide turns we'd have to get a move on to pass Nash Point. The current really rips through Nash & we'd rather not go against it evan at the start of the flood.

The coastguard were running exercises from St Donats & kept going out to Nash Buoy?

Andy approaching St Donats.

Nash Point Ahoy. I love paddling here, its a stunning location & the tidal flows are huge.

We surf in for a well earned break just past Nash Point, we had worked hard to get here before the currents picked up too much but we still had to paddle against some flow.

Image By Stuart...

Back on the water & I'm clowning around in the waves again. Just after this shot (thanks Stu) I got taken out by a big breaker. I tried to paddle over it but got pushed back & capsized. I felt around with my blade but couldn't get it out of the water to roll, evan swapping sides so I took a swim & I was surprised to see Andy swimming too. At least we gave the others a laugh :)

Paddling towards Southerdown we could see big swells pushing through & with Southerdown being a surf beach it was likely to get exciting.

Image By Stuart...

You can just make me out waiting to make my run, sh*t some of these waves are big. Luckily I made it ok & enjoyed watching the near carnage as Stuart & Andy came in. Unfortunately my SLR packed up & I didnt grab my other camera in time so I didn't get any shots, lets just say Stuart was quite lucky :)
Paddling back out & we all took a beating. Andy, Jules & Eurion all practicing their rolls. It was quite a relief to get through the surf zone.

Heading back & we reach Nash in quick time with the current urging us along.

I was getting a little bumpy too.

Looking towards Llantwit to try & see how big the surf was going to be?

Wasn't too bad :D