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. 

 

Lindisfarne Circumnavigation ( anticlockwise )







This is a great trip if you want to practise your tidal planning and work on your paddle speed calculations. Get it right and it's a fantastic trip with spectacular views of the Island and it's wildlife. Get it wrong and it could turn into the muddiest, longest back breaking portage you could imagine.

 



Thankfully for us this was a another successful loop. We chanced it a bit undertaking this trip on a 4.6 meter tide but with good timing it's all possible.

 

 

 

 





We left the shelter of the Holy Island Harbour and paddled out under the shadow of the 16th century Castle. Once we rounded Lime Kiln point we could see the effect of the wind on the sea further off. We paddled in shelter along the East facing shore but as we approached Emanuel Head we were met with the full force of the F3/4 North Westerly.

 



The wind was to be no real issue for the sea kayaks but Ollie and Richard had decided to loop the Island in an open canoe. Given the conditions we were now faced with this was certainly going to be a challenging undertaking.

 

 



 



As it turned out the tandem crew were setting up a blistering pace. We finally caught up with them as we pulled out for a swift calorie intake at Snipe Point. This would be our last chance to stretch our legs before we reached the causeway.

 





The next leg of the trip is a tricky one. The channel can be difficult to find a the best of times but this time it was particularly challenging. We had a good bit of swell running and the shore line was shrouded in a mist of salty spray. I had calculated  a distance of 5.3km from the Point to the channel and estimated a paddle time of 50 mins.

 



 

Re-fuelled  and anxious to get going we set off  Westwards towards the channel. The Canoe made good speed again with Richard digging deep and Ollie coaching him with words of encouragement from behind.



Thirty minutes into this leg we were accompanied by a Pod of 20 or so Bottlenose Dolphins. What a fantastic sight. We counted 4 or 5 separate pods with one Mother accompanied by a very small calf. They were very curious as they came right in towards our boats at great speed. They swam with us for a short distance, playing and rolling in the small swells. We could see that Ollie and Richard had a pod with them as well so we kept paddling. Eventually they headed seawards , probably bored with our lethargic paddling speed. There's something special about their presence, we all found ourselves grinning like kids as we whooped and awed at their antics.



 







The distraction of the Dolphins had eaten up a few Kilometres for us and soon we were upon the channel and ready to run the gauntlet of the surf zone. Ollie and Richard headed in first with their canoe. As they disappeared behind a good two meter swell I turned to Grant and said  "That's the wave that takes the open boat out". No sooner had the words left my mouth than up popped the canoe backing up the swell, almost airborne as the wave passed under it. Amazingly they paddled in through all the big stuff only to be swamped by the frothy bits at the side. Still upright though they bailed the water out and made it to the safety of the channel. Now all we had to do was follow in  a similar manor.

We all managed in style, some showing more style than others. Grant decided it would be fun to get out the boat on the peak of one of the larger swells and swim ashore.... these free divers can't stay out of the water...!



By now we were about 20 mins over our predicted time so with haste we made our way Southwards towards the causeway. When we reached the road the tide had dropped about 8" on the poles and we just slipped over the kerbs without contact, those of us with skegs deployed made a slight scraping noise. Forwards for up, backwards for down....or is it the other way round .. ?

 







 



The open boat crew finally came to blows and Richard bailed out. In true divorce boat fashion Ollie paddled off and left Richard looking for a passing taxi in the safety of the shelter. Thankfully the lure of some chocolate brought his ride back to complete the trip.





From here a nice pace in the Ebb sucked us back round to the harbour passing Fenham flats and St Cuthberts Island on the way.







 



 We arrived back in the harbour and enjoyed a warm bowl of soup as we talked of our encounter with the Dolphins. Our short wait for the causeway to re-open was whiled away watching Brian searching for his missing flask and Grant demonstrating his chilli eating skills.

Oh how we laughed !

 

 

Eyemouth to the Maiden Stone

A crisp and bright early November afternoon with a few hours to spare. A light Northerly swell and a load of plastic boats on the roof. That's the perfect recipe for an afternoon bouncing off the rocks beneath the golf course at Eyemouth.  We were paddling the last couple of hours of flood so we decided to head South towards the Maiden Stone which stands off Ross Point just South of the tiny fishing village of Burnmouth.

 

 

This large tower of sandstone was once connected to the mainland but years of natural erosion have left it detached and at high tide it is completely surrounded by the sea.  

 

 

 

On our way down we played on the swells which created lovely pour-overs on some of our favourite rock features.

 

 

 

 

 This gap can be very gnarly and has caught a few of us out in the past. Once you've surfed through the narrow exit you are usually met by another incoming swell on your beam in the wider gap. Just where Brian is sitting taking this picture.

 

Ian decided to turn round in this run after he changed his mind, probably not the best timing , at least it's wide enough to come through sideways...

 

Perfect timing this time as Ian clears the gap with ease. 

 

The washing machine on the North side of Gunsgreen Point, a tricky bit to get into and sometimes even harder to get back out. It gets very interesting at certain stages of the tide as can be seen below.

 

 

Time to get out of there Brian, the rinse cycle has just begun. 

 

 

Ian is ready and lined up for a push over this pour-over as the incoming swell covers up the rock lying across the gap.

 

 

 

Timing the swells to get behind the shallow reefs that protect the Maiden Stone from the seaward side.

 

We reached the Maiden Stone in good time and Brian decided to go for a little climb, but where's his boat  gone ? 

Ah, yes, there it is.

 

Nice parking !!!

 

Although I did find a better coffee stop on the shore just behind the rock. 

 

I don't think there's anyone in the boat,  but then again ?

 

 

 

We found a nice sheltered landing behind the rock for a quick leg stretch before we headed back to Eyemouth.

  By the time we reached Eyemouth the sun had gone down and it was a pleasure to paddle in the evening twilight. The colours in the sky were wonderful but soon disappeared when we entered Eyemouth bay. The ugly glow coming from the neon lights of the amusements on Eyemouth seafront guided us home with the smell of fish and chips wafting in the breeze.

 

 Oh well, back to reality with a bump, at least our batteries had been re-charged ready to take on the rat race for another week.