Twelve, Twelve,Twelve...The Bass Rock in Winter

A visit to the Bass Rock in winter is very different to what we have become used to in the summer months. The wheeling Gannets that normally fill the sky had long since left for Africa, the white stains of guano washed clean from the rocks by the first storms of winter. A handful of Fullmers, a  few Turnstones, and a solitary Peregrine were all that remained to welcome us on this visit.

A mid week trip is a bonus and getting a nice settled bit of weather to coincide with your day off is a near miracle at this time of year. We met at Milsey Bay on this crisp December morning, the tide was now well into the flood and each wave was chasing the white frosty frozen line further up the beach. Our plan was to paddle along the coast against the flow towards Tantallon Castle. We would then ferry across to circumnavigate the Bass Rock before heading back over to Seacliff Beach for lunch. We were kept entertained as we paddled inside the Leithies  towards Canty Bay. A nice rolling swell around a meter in height created some fantastic play features amongst the shallow reefs off Leckmoram Ness.

 

 

 

 

Upon reaching Canty Bay we turned seaward and made our way out to the Bass Rock. A light breeze form the land pushed us along effortlessly against the remnants of the flood tide. As we approached the Rock we could see some exciting clapotis along the West shore. This coupled with the height of the tide prevented us from getting into the cave on this side of the island. We bumped and bounced round the corner, the sea state improving as we progressed.

 

 

As we approached the East side the sea was relatively calm. This allowed us to stick our heads into the cave on this side for a look. 

 

A lot has been written about the cave that intersects the centre of the Bass Rock. It was an ideal opportunity today to get inside for a look for myself. I climbed in and managed to clamber through, appearing through the gloom into the sea on the West side. A small pool in the middle made for a tricky scramble but it was a worth while investigation . We visited there at HW on a decent spring tide and I still had to climb up onto the ledge to get through so I can't ever see it ever being possible to paddle through.

 

From here we carried on round to the South of the Rock and then made our way over to Sea cliff beach for a spot of lunch.  

 

 

 

Note the lone figure standing on the Gegan Rock, more about him in a minute....






Lunchtime was overdue as by now we were all starving. Within minutes Alan was brewing his beans and sausage in some new fangled lime/water stove where at the other end of the beach George was trying to ignite wet sea weed in his wood burning stove.

 

We kept our lunch stop short. As you can see by our picnic table the temperature was still well below freezing and we were cooling down rapidly.

 

 It turned out that the lone figure standing on the Gegan had been cut off by the tide and had been stranded there for 2 hours. The tide had now turned and dropped back enough to allow him to cross back to the mainland. Someone had called Aberdeen CG to alert them of his situation so we hailed them on 16 to stand them down once we knew he was safe. A good test for our radios and a lesson learnt.... they don't like being addressed as Forth CG anymore...Woops..!

 



 

A quick look into Seacliff harbour on our way back up the coast to Milsey Bay.

 

 Late afternoon and the light was starting to fade, a low winter sun now lighting up the SW side of Tantallon Castle.

 

 

As we once more approached the Leithies the sun had set, leaving a watery red hue in the sky behind Berwick Law. This really is a magical time of the day to be on the water.  We arrived back at Milsey Bay in darkness, the sand above the HW mark still white and solid with frost. 

 Another great day to be out on the sea, even without the Gannet colony in residence and the lack of any warmth in the air this can still be a fantastic trip.

 

 

 



St Abbs Head, a swell trip !

We stood on the beach at Coldingham looking out to sea, puzzled by the inaccuracy of some of the swell height forecasts. Magic Sea weed predicted less than half a meter, Wind guru said just over two meters and dropping. We set off into a two meter swell and returned in something all together much bigger.

 

 

 

 

Breaking through the shore break on Coldingham Sands

 



Ian warming up by taking a few runs back into the shore while we all  gather up to head off round St Abbs Head.

 



 

 

 

Some great fun amongst the rocks in front of St Abbs village. At times it was a bit full on...!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we drew nearer to the head the swell grew in size, that added to the clapotis and the flood tide now running at full pace made for some nice conditions.

 

 

Ollie getting too close for comfort under St Abbs Head light house.

 



He's still in there in this shot but  now switched to submarine mode.





 

And out the other side he appeared, certainly not a short cut for the faint hearted or the inexperienced..!

 

We landed at Petticowick Bay for a swift coffee before making a hasty return back to Coldingham in the twilight. We loaded the boats in darkness as the noise of the surf dumping on the beach filled the air. For a few hours that afternoon we had forgotten all about the snow and ice on the land, although now, after lashing our boats down with ice cold straps it was time to get the heating on and get warmed up. Another great day on the water !

 



The Farne Islands in November

 

 

The Farne's is once again a peaceful playground. The tourists have gone and the birds have fled for another year. The haunting call of a few thousand Atlantic Grey Seals are all that's left to break the silence. The local seal colony population has recently exploded with over 1300 pups born in the past 6 weeks.

 

Our trip on Sunday was one of Active4seasons monthly gang trips. More info can be found at

 

www.active4seasons.co.uk

 

 If your looking for some adventure or just a relaxed guided trip in the area contact Ollie though his web site.

 

 

We were working within a small weather window with forecasts of a Southerly Gale imminent. I could think of a lot of places I would much rather be than fighting my way back from Longstone on a Spring flood with a strong Southerly kicking up. Thankfully for us the weather gods were on our side and we were home with our gear stowed away long before the wind reached it's promised strength.

 

 

Our route out to Longstone took us to the East of the Island group as we worked on navigation skills. We used transits and worked out bearings allowing for the varying tidal flows between the Islands.

 

We arrived at Piper Gut while there was still a decent pace in the Ebb flow. This flow was being opposed by a stiff breeze from the West producing some nice friendly standing waves for us to practise our surfing and try out some rescue and self rescue techniques.

 

 

Because of the abundance of Seal pups it was a day to give the rocks a wide berth. The landing jetty on Longstone was relatively clear of seals so we made a short stop for lunch.

 

Plastic boats made the landing for us a bit easier as space was limited on the jetty.



 

Brian looking mesmerised at an array of thermos flasks, wondering which one he should take today.

There's been a few boats moored here over the years, I wonder how old this ring is ?

 

 

Ater a short lunch it was time to get back on the water. In traditional fashion Brian demonstrated the sideways seal roll, Ollie replied with a reverse seal launch. 

 

 

 

 

We made a short loop of Longstone to see the Seals on the wild seaward side of the Island.  Most of the rocks were covered in Pups so we gave them a wide berth and paddled by discretely.



 



Once round the SE corner of Longstone we set a course for Staple Island. We were heading for the Pinnacles, there's always a wonderful view as you approach  the tall exposed basalt columns. Today it was evident that the weather was changing and the rapidly approaching front was making ground. 

 

 We played under the Pinnacles for a while and squeezed through some of the tall, narrow gaps on Staple Island.

 

 

 

We took a late afternoon coffee stop on Inner Farne, the winter sun had disappeared over the horizon and the light was rapidly fading.

 

We caught the conveyor of Flood Tide from the corner of Inner Farne which carried us effortlessly to the middle of the Inner Sound where it changed direction and snaked it's way seawards again.

 

As we approached St Aidan's Dunes the light in the sky had all but gone and we used the lights on the shore as our transits.

 

Another great day on the sea and a relatively calm one for November. No Dolphins today but they were encountered further up the coast so they're still in residence.