guyatsea

Finally, the wind dropped on Wednesday and I was able to continue west. I had decided to start the day by crossing directly from Lantic Bay to Dodman Point. The crossing started well and a couple of puffins flew close by, but after a while the boat started to feel heavy and a bit sloshy, and I realised I had a leak in the kayak and the cockpit was filling up. I was glad that I had fitted an electric pump so was able to pump water out faster than it was coming in.

I landed at the first opportunity which was Hemmick Beach just after Dodman Point. It turns out Hemmick Beach was a nice place to stop anyway, and I made a temporary repair with duct tape which was enough to get me to Falmouth the next day, where Sea Kayaking Cornwall have been hugely helpful – collecting me from the beach, giving me somewhere to stay, somewhere to repair the boat, and lots of useful advice.   Thanks SKC !  I’m hoping to continue tommorow while the weather is good.

I’m still at Lantic Bay – the weather forecasts continue to look poor for the next few days.  It’s day 72 of my trip today – both John and Joe paddling last year were finished by now, and I’m barely a quarter of the way round !

Despite the forecasts, I keep finding myself tempted to “go for it”  whenever it looks calm in the bay, but a short walk up onto the cliffs where I’m exposed to the wind, or the occasional sight of a passing yacht being tossed about convinces me that I’m probably making the right decision to wait on the beach.

While pacing up and down the beach, I started collecting rubbish into a pile.  This made it look even worse, so I crushed the plastic bottles and I went into Polruan to buy some rubbish bags …

… then carried it all back into town and found a new home for the fender.  There is still some rubbish on the beach that I missed, but I think it looks a bit better now, and 99 is not 100 !

I enjoyed covering some distance yesterday – the Taran was flying along with the wind behind me most of the way.  Passing Burgh Island, then Great Mew Stone and paddling past Plymouth by crossing directly to Rame Head.

After a bit of tanker dodging,  I arrived at Rame head and continued due west into Cornwall to keep south of the Tregantle Range.

Conditions became more difficult later on with some larger breaking waves turning the kayak off course.  I even started to worry that the helicopter overhead for a while was watching me, but was more likely something to do with the Hawks doing some impressive low flying nearby.

I was quite relieved to turn into the sheltered calm of Lantic Bay – a jaw-dropingly beautiful place to stop.

Conditions here are spectacularly worse today, and forecast to worsen, so I could be here for a while, but I’m quite happy to rest here for as long as it takes until the weather improves.

It was a very foggy start to the day – I couldn’t see anything between Torquay and Start Point (glad to be passing that on such a calm day).  After that, the fog cleared too reveal some beautiful coastline.

I stopped for lunch on a little beach just after Prawle Point and meet a couple of other sea kayakers there – was good to have some company and advice over lunch.  I finished the day on another little beach, near Burgh Island.  Off to cook some food now.

It is good to be paddling again – I was quite late leaving Budleigh Salterton, so I didn’t go that far today and am now camped on a lovely spot near Torquay.

I’m planning to leave early tomorrow to make better use of the tide and this
Continue reading On to Torquay …→

I’ve had this week off the water … I arrived at Budleigh Salterton on Sunday from Branscome, and trollied the kayak back to East Budleigh where I’ve spent the week at home.   It felt quite strange not to be sleeping in a tent for first time on this trip.

I’ve spent much of the week doing some gel coat repairs to the kayak, making a longer axle for the trolley, fixing broken electronics, sorting out a leak in a camera housing, and various other bits and bobs.

I’ve also been going through kit trying to make a bit more space in the boat (so I can fit more food in).  After six broken poles and a lot of emails, I received a replacement tent – thanks Vango!

I’d like to stay here enjoying mother’s company and home cooking, but I’m continuing today.  (I also need to pass the Straight Point firing range at the weekend).   Looking forward to all the interesting coastline ahead.

After Abbotsbury, I paddled to the end of Chesil Beach and stopped at West Bay for food. I was able to just tie my kayak up to the floating pontoon, making for a quick stop.

As I passed Lyme Regis and on into Devon, the NW wind became NE and so was behind me and the Taran was flying along. I soon arrived at Branscome, one of my favourite beaches – I have lots of good memories of coming here as a child. It’s also where I first saw sea kayaks and hang gliders. Not a bad view this evening.

After the Lulworth range had finished firing for the day, I paddled the last five miles onto Lulworth cove.  Now going against the tide, progress was slow.  Visibility was very poor, and it was easy to drift off course if I didn’t keep an eye on the compass.  By the time I arrived at Lulworth, it was so foggy I couldn’t see even see both sides of the entrance as I entered the cove.  A helpful local (fisherman ?) showed me a patch of grass to pitch my tent, and told me I could get a signal on O2 if I   walked to the top of the hill.

The mist soon cleared, and the cove looked beautiful in the moonlight.  Exhausted, I fell asleep while planning the crossing for the next day.

I overslept a bit and was late leaving for Portland.  I paused in a sheltered patch in the lee of the lighthouse for a drink and some food, which was good as it was pretty choppy on the other side.  The strong headwind meant I was frequently getting drenched.

The (clear) range on chesil beach was firing, so I had to wait while the ranger warden stopped firing to let me pass.  The headwind was relentless, and when the tide turned, my SOG dropped to under 1 knot, so I gave up trying to reach West Bay, and I landed on the beach as soon as I found a slightly less steep section.  I’m now camped on the beach near Abbotsbury.

It’s been a busy week, and I haven’t had many opportunities to post an update.

On Monday, strong winds were forecast, so I paddled from Bembridge round the sheltered Solent.  After Cowes, progress was very slow and exhausting into an F6 headwind, and I stopped to camp at a lovely spot near Newtown creek (fortunately, I had marked it on my GPS on a previous visit to the island).

On Tuesday, I only paddled a few miles to Keyhaven, then took the rest of the day off.  I bumped into Martin, the only other sea kayaker I’ve seen on this trip so far – it was good to have chat and have some company for a mile or two.  At Keyhaven, I met with my family (who had come all the way from from France and Devon), so that we could raise a glass or two to my father who would have been 80 this week.  Definitely a highlight of the trip so far.   Cheers, Dad!

On Wednesday,  I continued west, timing my departure with the tide well thanks to the luxury of now being in the area covered my the excellent South West Sea Kayaking guidebook.  The tide race at Hengistbury Head was pretty large and I was slapped in the face by a few steep waves.  Just after Poole harbour, I had a chat with some nice chaps in a rib (SBS, I think), who minutes layer were whisked into the air by a Chinook.

I camped in the dunes at Studland heath, another stunning location.

This morning, visibility was very poor, but the sea was flat calm, so I paddled to Kimmerage.  The fog only cleared a bit as I passed Old Harry rocks, but I couldn’t see much else of the coast.  I’m now waiting for the Lulworth range to finish firing for the day, so I can continue to Lulworth Cove this evening.  I’m currently eating delicious food in Clavell’s Café in Kimmerage village – well worth the walk from the bay.

There was a frost this morning, but it soon warned up.  I paddled down to Selsey Bill, then crossed directly to Bembridge.

About half way across, the wind picked up a lot, which slowed me down and was pretty exhausting.  It also made playing ‘dodge the tanker’ a bit trickier.

I was going to go along the prettier south coast tomorrow, but the afternoon looks even windier, so I’ll probably seek shelter in the Solent instead.