Ailsa Craig, two straight lines and a circle.

 

Two straight lines and a circle, that was our recorded track log for the day. A 16 km open crossing out to Ailsa Craig, a 5 km loop round the Island and a 16 km return leg.  I'm not really into open crossings, on this occasion it was to visit somewhere new so the 2hr 30 min outgoing paddle passed really quickly.

 

When we arrived at our launch site near Lendalfoot the Fairy Isle was hiding underneath a veil of low cloud. As we made ourselves ready for the trip a dark shape was slowly appearing from the mist.

 

 

 

 

We started to carry the boats down to the shore line and just as per the forecast the visibility was rapidly improving.

 

 

 

 

The starting pistol went and we were out of the blocks, four of the six in our group had never been out to visit Ailsa Craig before so were eager to set a good pace. No need for adjusting our bearing for tide and wind, both were minimal and the target was in sight. As the land became smaller behind us the Lump of Granite ahead of us grew in stature.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After an hour on the water the sun made an appearance and lit up our target, the cloud had now lifted and the Ailsa Craig looked resplendent in the morning sun.

 

 

 

 

At last a sign that the outgoing crossing was almost complete, the advance greeting party had been sent out to welcome us.

 

 

 

We hauled out on the granite boulder beach below the light house, not the best place for a composite kayak to be dragged up. A welcome leg stretch before we had our lunch on a lovely sheltered spot behind the lighthouse perimeter wall.

 

 

 

After lunch we went for a walk round the Island to look at the  remains of the Quarrying that took place here between the mid 19th to the mid 20th century.

 

A view from the castle looking back towards our boats hauled out on Foreland Point beneath the light house.

 

 

Looking South from the same point towards the Rhins of Galloway, the entrance to Loch Ryan clearly visible in the distance.

 

 

 

The castle built in the late 1500s by the Hamilton family, the toilet clearly visible and looks like it may still be occupied.

 

 

 

 

 

We made our way back down the slippery track to our boats and went for a paddle around the Island. The steep Granite columns on the South side are resident to a colony of over seventy thousand Gannets and were busy feeding their young and making one almighty din.

 

 

 

Some of the young Gannets had fledged and were still looking for food from their parents on the boulder strewn shore line.

 

 

 

 

Our circumnavigation was complete, we had one straight line and a circle, it was now time to draw the final straight line. By now the wind had freshened to the top end of F3, The sky was brooding and the tops were coming off the waves. Worse still the wind was in the South, not ideal for a push home. It was to be a hard slog, the only incentive was fish and chips we had planned  in Girvan. It was now 3.15 pm and it would be 5.30 pm before we would make land fall.

 

 

 

 

Soon after 5.30 pm we stood up on the beach at Lendalfoot, our mission complete. We had drawn the second straight line on our track. It had been a lovely paddle with lots to see on the Island. The Icing on the cake was the fish and chips in Girvan, they were inhaled rather than savoured. Brian recorded a 2600 calorie burn for our days activity so there was room left for a beer when we got home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Saint Andrews, sitting ducks !

 

Before this trip I had never even been to Saint Andrews let alone paddled it's beautiful waters. Our trip took us from the leisure centre on the East Sands up to the the river Eden Estuary and on to the deserted beaches and the wildlife reserve of Tentsmuir Forest.

 

 George had many happy memories of visiting this area as a child. He has been keen to get on the water here for a while now to get a different view of the City. I must admit on this particular fine sunny September day the city of Saint Andrews delivered the goods as a first class paddling venue.

 

The sun was splitting the sky as the coastguard at Fife Ness informed us that he was recording a 15 knot North West wind. This was fine for us as that was coming off the land and there was a small redundant swell running in from the East.

 

 

 

We slipped without trace under the land marks of the Ancient City. Looking back inshore George reminisced of times gone by when he had bathed in the old swimming pool on the shore. This used to be fed by sea water each high tide. How times have changed now with heated chlorinated pools and wave machines. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We left the rocky shore line below the old town and made our way to cleaner ground. We had fun all the the way picking  out the bigger swells and surfing them  back into the clean sandy beaches. George demonstrated a new reverse surfing technique he has learnt. It seems to work better when your VHF aerial is inserted in your left nostril, strange but true !

 

 

 

 

Up on the West sands the Old Course of Saint Andrews sits nestled behind the dunes. Looking to the North there's clean sand all the way up to the Tay Estuary. The swell lines were long and clean, breaking at regular intervals all the way up the beach as far as the eye could see. The wind off the land was blowing the tops of the waves back out to sea creating rainbows of fine salty spray. 

 



 

 

 

 

As we approached the River Eden Estuary we were served a timely reminder that we had entered the  RAF Leuchars airbase boundaries. Several squadrons of Typhoon Euro Fighters were returning from training exercises. It was a frightening experience but also so exciting to paddle under their flight path as they were coming into land. The jets would come in as if to touch down only to pile on the gas and lift off in a roar of pure power. The first three jets had done this twice when the first in the squadron came in very low on top of us. It looked unusual as it came towards us standing nose over tail almost stalling in speed as it reached our position. What happened next will stay with me as long as I live. The pilot was having fun with us and piled on the gas just meters above our heads. I would swear that he blew the water away and I touched the sand. My whole boat was vibrating, I dropped the camera and cupped my hand over my ears in a futile attempt to blot out the roar. The Typhoon took off vertically above us, the only thing louder than the roar of the jet engine would have been the pilot laughing at the expressions on our faces.  A few more jets arrived in formation putting the icing on the cake for our very own personal air show.

 



After all the excitement we hauled our boats up the beach for a spot of lunch. We found shelter from the wind in the lea of Tentsmuir Forest. The area of dunes and scrub before the forest was alive with wildlife. Like us they were enjoying a long overdue spell of fine weather. 





Fed and watered we loaded up and zig zagged our way back down the beach, playing on the small surf waves as we went. We arrived back at the leisure centre bang on 5.00 pm and decided a trip into town to sample the local fish and chips was on the cards. George decided it would be a good idea to show me the Old Course club house and proceeded to drive right over the grass in front of it to get a good view,,,Nutter !

 

 

 

 What a day, I went with low expectations and drove home planning  a return trip. Next  time I'll be heading in the opposite direction towards Fife Ness.

St Abbs Head, Overfalls and Ice Cream.

 

St Abbs Head lies 6 km North of Eyemouth. It boasts some superb scenery and wildlife but more importantly, given the right conditions, the topography of the headland lends itself to some great tidal features. It would be easy to get caught out thinking you could hide under the towering 150 meter high cliffs on a day of strong Westerlies, but arrive here at peak Ebb flow on a fresh Westerly wind and you'll soon find out that there's no shelter. A quick look at your chart will confirm that a Westerly wind will oppose any ebbing tide and create spectacular over falls right along the front of the cliffs. Some days there's a clean piece of water at the base of the cliffs, other days the race will run from the foot of the cliffs up to 2 miles off shore. Obviously the same can be expected on the Flood tide with winds from the South or East.

 

 

 

Our trip on Saturday took us from our launch site at the beach in Eyemouth, out of the bay and onto the Ebb tide conveyor belt leading straight to the Head. We were excited at the prospect of seeing a group of Pilot Whales that had been spotted in this area the day before. 

 

 A strong West wind made conditions uncomfortable on the way but the push of the tide in our favour made the journey a short one. Once tucked under the Wuddy Rocks at the South East end of the head we could see the sun glinting off the white caps of the tide race in the distance.

 

 

 

Thankfully the race looked quite friendly today and a nice clean passage was visible at the foot of the cliffs. A few dive boats were close in displaying their Alpha flags so care had to be taken to avoid the bubbles as we picked our way up the side. We split the group in two and some of us went out for a play in the race.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We all passed quietly under the Head and found shelter behind some of the towering sea stacks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We gathered ourselves together and fled to the shelter of Petticowick Bay for a spot of lunch. As we sat on the old jetty the sun warmed our backs and Mike's Jetboil filled the air with an oriental aroma of exotic herbs and spices. As it turns out it was a posh Morrisons pot noodle that he found hiding in the corner of his day hatch !

 

 

The views looking  North West towards  Fast Castle were spectacular. The midday Sun being a few degrees lower in the sky in September cast some fantastic shadows along the dramatic cliff features.

 

 

 

 

 

The tide had turned and was lifting our boats as it crept purposefully up the boulder strewn beach. Time to head back round the corner and back towards Eyemouth.

 

 

 

 

We bid farewell to the ever watchful eye of our very own Berwickshire version of an Easter Island  Monolithic statue, or more affectionately known in these parts as Side Show Bob.

 

 

 

 

 

As we left the shelter of Petticowick it soon became evident that the wind had dropped and the tide had eased. Our return trip was going to be a much more tranquil affair so Brian decided to spice it up a little by having a few unsuccessful attempts at trying to drown himself.

 

 

We were back on the Beach in Eyemouth early afternoon and loaded up our gear. No Whales for us today but no trip to Eyemouth is complete without a visit to Giacopazzi's for one of their weird and wonderful ice cream creations. We enjoyed this as we stood by the harbour side watching the seals dining on a feast of filleted Pollock and Cod frames discarded from a local fishing boat.

 

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