Oban Sea Kayak Race weekend

 

 

 

The race start was delayed on the Saturday due to an accident on the A85. Scrutinising started at midday and soon afterwards the boats were on the water heading from the Kilbowie Centre up to the  start line in Oban Bay.

 

 

 

 





I had a race time in mind as a goal, if I could get back through the line in 2 hours 20 mins I would be happy.  The mass start from Oban Bay was triggered by the horn on the Oban Lifeboat.  Within minutes we were all hurtling down the Sound of Kerrera, wind and tide on our backs helping us on our way. Fifty odd boats, a mixture of ski's, doubles, sleek 20 foot rudder equipped racing machines and of course a good contingent of traditional sea kayaks.  As we rounded the SE corner of Kerrera the field was starting to fragment, personal battles were unfolding and the faster boats were making good ground on the rest of the field.  We made steady progress along the sheltered waters on the South side of the Island, positions remained the same and the faster race boats were making the most of the conditions.

 

 

 

 

As we rounded the SW corner conditions changed, we were now heading into a bit of tide, more importantly some choppier conditions which were being driven by a F3/4 NE wind. This is where I saw an opportunity. The GT was comfortable in these conditions and every stroke was a forward going one. The faster race boats had lost their advantage and some of the field were starting to slow up. Grasping the opportunity I decided that now was a good point for a wee bit extra grunt. I was surprised that within a few minutes I was ticking a few speed machines off my hit list as I made my way up through the field a little. 

 

The final push was a down wind blast from the top of Kerrera, across the main shipping channel and back to the finish line in Oban Bay. I was now in a group with a Nordkapp, a Point 65 and a double, all faster boats than mine but great for dragging me along and keeping my pace up.  As I rounded the last corner I was surprised to see so few boats on the beach. As far as traditional sea kayaks were concerned there was a  Greenlander Pro, the Nordkapp I had been tussling with and my trusty GT. I was chuffed to bits finishing so far up the field. Of course there were a couple of Ski's and a few racing boats over the line before me  (Brian being one of them, finishing second in his class)  but in my head I was the third traditional sea kayak home and that was good enough for me. The icing on the cake was that my time was 2 hours 15 mins, five minutes quicker than my target time.  I just hope I can improve on that even more next year.....!

 

 

 



 The top ten results in the Men's Open and Senior sections....

 



Men's Open Single Sea Kayak

1ST	CALUM URQUHART (WINNER OF THE CHAMPIONS TROPHY. 2nd YEAR RUNNING)	INVERNESS	Sissons Evolution Sea	1:58:27
2ND	MARK PETERS	CORNWALL	Rapier 20	2:01:06
3RD	STEVEN McKINNON	NAIRN	Wilderness Tempest	2:14:09
4TH	JONNY ELDRIDGE	OBAN	XP18 Point 65	2:14:59
5TH	STEVEN WHIPP	HERTFORDSHIRE	Greenlander	2:15:01
6TH	NEIL TURNBULL	COLDSTREAM	Rockpool GT	2:15:20
7TH	ALISTAIR HORNSBY	CUMBRIA	Nelo Razor	2:16:03
8TH	CHRISTOPHER BELL	AYRSHIRE	Tiderace	2:17:13
9TH	KEVIN LOCKE	DUNBAR	Nelo Mosqito	2:19:12
10TH	MICHAEL SURMON	NAIRN	Wilderness Tempest	2:19:32

 

Men's Senior Single Sea Kayak

1ST	KENNY FRASER	HAWICK	Nelo Sibir	2:02:39
2ND	BRIAN TURNBULL	COLDSTREAM	Tiderace X	2:10:31
3RD	ROBIN BELCHER	BRISBANE AUSTRALIA	Nordkapp	2:15:10
4TH	DONALD THOMSON	ALFORD	Nordkapp	2:20:08
5TH	TONY HAMMOCK	OBAN	Nemo	2:21:47
6TH	ALAN JACKSON	AUSTRALIA	Nordkapp	2:29:36
7TH	ALAN JOHNSTONE	GLENROTHES	Necky chat.	2:31:03
8TH	STUART BENNETT	LILLIESLEAF	Diamonte	2:38:05
9TH	GUS BRYDON	OBAN	Explorer	2:39:04
10TH	COLIN McWILLIAMS	OBAN	Explorer	2:42:22

 



 

 Some of the prize winners...



Calum Urquhart, first kayak over the line

 

 

Patrick Winterton, part of the fastest double team

Kate Duffus, first lady home.

 

 

 

Sunday dawned to grey skies and a few sore heads. Celebrations had gone on a bit longer than planned. We decided to go for a quiet paddle before we made for home. A pleasant trip down to the South of Kerrera to visit Gylen castle and a  peaceful picnic lunch.

 

 

The view looking down Kerrera sound on Sunday morning was spectacular. Definitely a quieter place than it had been the previous afternoon.

 



A Lovely spot to stop for a bite of lunch, it looks more like the west coast of Ireland than the South coast of Kerrera.



 

The view to the South looking out of the hallway window of Gylen Castle. Looking over the Firth of Lorne to Seil and Luing. Scarba beyond, hiding under a veil of cloud.

 

The open air castle. Historic Scotland  spent £500,000.00 on a restoration of this castle a few years ago but must have forgotten the roof.

 



It is said that St Columba used to visit these parts working hard to covert the Picts to Christianity. He would stand on a grassy knoll with his subjects engrossed in his preachings.

 

 

Hang on a minute who's the dodgy looking dude in the dry suit?

 

 

 

 



 All that was left for the weekend was a long drive home and a night to sort out all the gear.I think we're  looking forward to next years event already.

 

Farne Islands, Rain later, Good.

A nice spring tide but no swell or wind was forecast  so there was little or no action expected on this trip. The day had dawned bright and sunny but rain was forecast for later and the Mare's tails were giving the show away from an early stage.

We set off early enough to catch the peak Ebb flow in the hope there might be a little bit of movement outside, we soon had a picture of what we were going to find..

We approached Inner Farne and crept up the outside of the Wide opens heading for the Bush. Even here today the conditions were benign.

A steady ferry glide over Staple Sound took us onto the SE corner of Staple Island and then on to the Pinnacles.

From here we made steady progress out past Longstone and onwards to Knifestone. We managed to slip out to Knifestone just as the Ebb tide was in it's dying minutes . On this 5 meter tide there was less than 5 minutes of slack water. As we drifted past Knifestone it had  changed direction and we soon started heading back in the opposite direction.

 The Grey Seals out there were very curious and coming up to the boats within nibbling distance of the interesting dangley bits.



Plenty tide running away past Inner Farne by the time we left in the afternoon.

Peak flow in the Inner Sound as we made for home.

Hang on a minute, that's not a seal is it ??




.

After our loop out round Knifestone we made towards Longstone for lunch. This would give the Flood tide some time to pick up. Grant went for a swim as we chatted to one of the skippers of the tour boats. His party had gone ashore and he politely reminded us that we should keep a good distance from the seals if they were hauled out. A a lot of the birds had left now the seals were the only attraction for them to show the tourists. We agreed and laughed with them as they told us of days gone by when they made their living form the fishing. In those times they told us they couldn't give a shit about the seals and used to shoot them with a 12 bore as they nipped the Salmon in their nets

On the way back over Staple Sound we encountered some nice tidal overfalls. A few great surfing runs made up for an otherwise lazy Sunday paddle. We caught our breath, re-grouped and made our way back down the NW side of the Islands, stopping briefly on Hutchinson's slab for a quick break. By now the forecast had carried out it's threat and the rain had begun. With haste, we nipped out through Wideopen Gut and slipped back up through the Eddie under the North West Cliff of Inner Farne to catch the tidal  conveyor that runs form the NW point  back to our launch  at the Boardwalk on St Aidans dunes. A perfect end to a day that started with sun block and ended up with a brolly. All great fun though and we were all left with a feeling that we had been somewhere special and charged our batteries for another week.

Low Newton

A poor forecast for the upcoming weekend forced us to cancel our proposed trip to the Bass Rock. As the day progressed on Saturday a track was slowly starting to appear in the hall carpet with all my pacing back and forth.  Cabin fever sets in early in my house! Soon after lunch time the forecast had stated to improve. A last minute U turn late evening saw us arranging to meet at Low Newton early on the Sunday morning.

When we arrived at the Sea the wind was F3/4 SE and white caps were evident in places. No problem with that as we were all fresh and ready for a challenge, well almost all of us. Richard was the exception to the rule, to be honest he looked like death warmed up ! A night out on the town had left him looking like one of the fifty shades of Grey. No soft porn involved here though just 8 pints of Guinness.

We put in and made South for Dunstanburgh Castle. We soon  found ourselves being dragged through the overfalls in the race off Castle point.  Richard had now turned from one of the 50 shades of Grey to a lighter shade of Green.

We made an unplanned stop right under the castle so Mr Green could answer a call of nature. Having experienced a paddler in this condition before a decision was made to turn back and skirt the beach back to Newton Haven.

Feeling better ?

We headed back through the race and made a sharp left turn into the bay, the swell soon decreased and spirits were raised. Unfortunately Richard managed to raise a bit more than his spirits. I had been keeping a close eye on him  and I noticed he had gone quiet. Within a minute he was re-arranging the topping on his spray deck pizza. Now was a good time to head for the nearest bit of shore we could land on.

Good timing for Richard though as it was now lunch time and because of an earlier route change we were only 100 yards from a  beautiful deserted stretch of sand.

A spot of lunch and an hours sleep made all the difference, We were soon  good to go and spent an enjoyable hour playing in the surf.

Richard back in action!

All the while Brian had been on a training paddle and had went in the opposite direction from us at Castle point. He had made his way to Boulmer, and was now on his way back up. By the time we got back on the water we could see the paddle flash appearing out of the gloom as he drew nearer.

Our last hour or so was spent brushing up on some rescue drills before we made a dash for the ice cream van for a well deserved treat. By now Richards hang over was a distant memory and he was ready for more beer!!!!!!

Low Newton can get very busy in the Summer months with tourists but the large natural harbour gives access to some really sheltered paddling. This is a fantastic piece of coastline, best viewed from the water. Parking is restricted at the bottom of the hill but you can quickly unload and park in the metered car park back at the top of the hill. Tides in this area generally run at  less than 1 knot but the headlands at Newton and Dunstanburgh can produce overfalls under the right conditions.

Active 4 seasons July Gang Trip

Ollie had planned a trip from Eyemouth to Coldingham Bay for us. The wind was F6 from the West which kept us pinned to the shore for most of the day. Nothing wrong with that though because some of the most interesting coastline is hidden behind the rocks. This bit of coastline is very exposed to on shore winds and getting so close in was a bit of a treat. We  even managed a spot of fishing in Coldingham Bay and procured our lunch. A cooking challenge was set  and a  trio of cooking methods were adopted on the shore . The good old BBQ, frying pad and a blob of garlic butter won by a scrape. The catch was washed down by a nice drop of Ledaig kindly donated by the man with the pre-packed Sainsbury's  sarnys, aka George.

There's some lovely rock hopping to be had on this stretch of coast line.



Some wilted Sugar kelp and 2 sides of freshly caught Mackerel..V..
 nice!!

Lunch was quickly secured.

Brian's smoker loaded with oak dust and a few sides of Coldinghams finest.

Nice Cag George, looks the same as Ollie's one...?

After what had already been a full day of excitement and entertainment Ollie took us back to Weasel Loch to try our hand at a spot of Coasteering. This  started well but turned into a "let's see who can jump from the highest ledge" challenge. Ollie, Brian and I all scored 9.6 on our first dives but Ollie was awarded a bonus point for artistic flare upon entry on his second...nowt new there then!



Looking down, the highest jump was another 2 meters above here.

It's a flying Santa...and he's about to land on my head!

Where's yer magic carpet?

It's going to hurt..!

Don't do it, ....Oh go on then ...!

Another great day on the water courtesy of Ollie Jay and Active-4-seasons. Look him up if you fancy an adventure on the sea or even a quiet bimble down the river in a canoe. Ollie will tailor a trip to suit your needs. You can relax in the knowledge that your in safe hands and you will always leave for home wearing a big smile...!