guyatsea

After a day off, the forecast looked good for crossing the Solway Firth – initially, progress was slow into a headwind and it was quite choppy, especially as I passed a wind farm, but the wind dropped during the second half off the crossing and the sea became calm.

I saw a huge seal that seemed to be snoozing in the waves, then followed me for a while.  There were also some large gaggles of what looked like ducks circling me for a while, and lots of fish jumping.

I stopped at Brighouse Bay, a lovely sheltered beach.  Tired, but pleased to have finally made it across to Scotland.

Yesterday, I left St. Bees in much calmer weather with a clear view of the Isle of Man to the west.

I had an easy day, stopping for lunch at Whitehaven, then watched a couple of paragliders hill soaring as I paddled into the Solway Firth, and stopped a couple of miles past Maryport.

I’m resting today as strong winds were forecast again, but I’m now in a good position to cross to Scotland when the good weather arrives tomorrow.

I spent a couple of days on Walney Island while some strong winds passed – resting, eating and repairing my timelapse camera with duct tape and some percussive maintenance (not sure how long that will last).

Today, strong winds were forecast again, but the wind had shifted round to southerly, and I couldn’t resist the prospect of a good tailwind for once.

The sea was pretty flat up to Eskmeals range where I stopped for an hour and a half and range control kindly let me go through during a gap in the firing.

After that, the wind and wave height increased a lot, and although the Taran was flying along, I was feeling a bit anxious about landing in those conditions.

I soon arrived at St. Bees, where a large breaking wave hit me and took me towards the beach.  I capsized on the wave (oops), but rolled up and caught another onto the beach.  Enough excitement for one day – not sure if it was the best decision to go out today, but it was a lot of fun.

Some calmer weather is on the way, so I’m hoping to cover some miles later in the week.

The wind was too strong yesterday so I spent the day shopping for food and planning the route ahead.  I didn’t set off this morning until the wind had dropped.

When crossing Morecambe bay, there was a very choppy patch of water just before I crossed the shipping channel and the fully laden boat was slamming down as it went over the back of the waves.

I arrived at Walney Island in the mist, and then spent an hour in the drizzle sewing a zip back on the tent that had become detached during yesterdays strong winds.

The forecast looks a bit iffy for tomorrow, so I might be here for more than one night.

It was a long walk to launch from low tide this morning, so I was glad to have a trolley.  Suddenly the sand turned to knee-deep mud at one point, but all the rain helped wash it off.

There was surf everywhere today as I paddled over various large sand banks which combined with a bit off a headwind meant I didn’t get that far.  I stopped at Blackpool as I couldn’t see anywhere else to camp on the map for quite a way along the coast.

I’ve now paddled over 1000NM since Cambridge, and had a pizza to celebrate.

I left Llandudno this morning to cross directly to Formby.  I weaved my way past the wind farms in the morning (with lots of new turbines under construction).

In the afternoon, it became a bit choppy as the tide turned against the wind, and I had to dodge some large ships and speed ferries arriving at Liverpool, and pick my moment carefully to cross the shipping channel.  This became tricky as everything disappeared everytime I was in a trough, and a few waves were breaking over my boat.

I saw some figures on the beach, but wasn’t really sure if they were people or the Anthony Gormley sculptures that the coastguard said are somewhere around here.

I felt pretty exhausted by the time I arrived at Formby, but it was a good day out nevertheless and 30 more miles are behind me.

I made an early start today to catch the tide – up at 3am and on the water by 5.30.  It’s near spring tides, which helped a lot, and I had a bit of a breeze behind me so the miles went by quickly.

It was a bit bumpy at Penrwn Mawr, but otherwise all very calm.  I passed just outside the mouse islands on the north coast of Anglesey which seemed to work well, and once I reached Point Lynas, I crossed directly to Great Ormes Head.

By midday, I’d covered 35NM and stopped at Llandudno after 40NM as the tide turned against me.

I arrived on Anglesey on Tuesday, and have been having a few days rest while some bad weather passes and Mike at Rockpool repairs a bit of damage I did to the bow of my kayak during a foggy landing back near Great Yarmouth.  Brilliant after sales service from Rockpool – thanks Mike.

While here, I met John Willacy (who designed the Taran and had used it to break many records).  Thanks for all the useful advice John – much appreciated.

On the paddle up here from Aberdesach, my shoulder was causing me quite a lot of pain, but fortunately, I met John Perrot, an osteopath (who was collecting a lovely looking Taran 16), and he did some sort of adjustment to my shoulder which made it feel a lot better – thanks John.

Hopefully, my shoulder will be OK when I start paddling again, but I’ve decided against the big crossing to the Isle of Man, and will be going the long way round.
I know I need to get a move on, but don’t want to make it any worse.  Anyway, it’s an early start tomorrow to catch the tide to paddle round the lovely north coast of Anglesey.

After spending a week at Porth Ceiriad – partly due to bad weather, but also to give my wrists and shoulders some time to recover – I was glad to be paddling again.  A wave took my hat as I was leaving the beach so I spent some time in the surf retrieving it.

It was a very calm day, even in Bardsey Sound.  I kept paddling until quite late, stopping about five miles south of Abermenai Point, so I should be able to make it to Anglesey tomorrow.

(Thanks to everyone who has donated recently – sorry for the delay in comments appearing – I need to clear the backlog of comment spam.)

Yesterday, I paddled up from New Quay to camp in the dunes at Aberdovey.  A nice paddle past interesting looking cliffs and over clear jellyfish-filled water.

I arrived at Aberdovey at dusk and was only there for a few hours – away with the next tide, trying to make the most off this good weather while it lasts.

Today, I crossed over to the Lleyn peninsula, stopping on a beach near Abersoch.  I was surprised to find the water was only about 6ft deep at one point when I was miles from shore – a tiny sand bank.

It’s tempting to push on towards Anglesey tomorrow, but the forecast doesn’t look too promising and a rest will be good for my wrists.