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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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 ??




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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.