Friday 27 January 2012

I'm not superstitious - more from Rich as guest blogger

Friday the 13th – A trip to the Skerries

Paddling to the Skerries is seen as a bit of a rite of passage for sea kayakers and can be a fairly serious trip in the best of conditions. Deciding to paddle there on Friday the 13th may not seem like the best idea for a lot of people (I’m not superstitious though). 4 black cats crossed my path on the way there (I’m not superstitious).

I arranged to meet Roger, Simon and Kevin in Porth Swtan for 09.30 to get on the water for 10:00. Kevin couldn’t make it so it ended up just being three of us. Once we got the kit and boats down onto the beach and loaded up, we headed up along the coast towards Carmel Head on the still flooding tide. We were making very good time so engaged in a bit of rock hopping as well as some cave exploration. There are a number of big caves with a few stacks and arches on this stretch of coastline worth exploring.



The tide was running fairly quickly, and with a light wind blowing against it the water was fairly choppy.


Once at Carmel Head we sneaked into the small inlet and landed on the beach. We climbed up onto the headland to have a cup of coffee and a snack, and took our time to observe the conditions as well as the rescue taking place off the coast of North Stack.

We all confirmed our course to steer (courtesy of Roger’s vector) and began paddling. The tide had slowed considerably in the 30 minutes or so we’d spent at Carmel Head but was far from slack. I always find paddling on a bearing slightly unnerving, having to put all your trust into a calculation especially when you can see your ultimate target but aren’t paddling towards it! I had this same mistrust of sorts when I was learning to fly light aircraft, but experience has taught me that the calculations are usually correct and that you have to trust them fully.
 

We were aiming to land on the island exactly at slack water, and after consulting the charts and all the planning documentation, it was time to head back down to our boats and begin crossing.




Our crossing time was 40 minutes (which, incidentally, was exactly the same as my planning) and we ended up being slightly to the south of the island (much better than to the north given the state of the tide) and therefore had to paddle for the last 5 minutes or so directly towards the island. The tide was becoming slack exactly as we got into the sound in between Ynys Arw and the main island (again exactly as planned). There doesn’t seem to be an easy egress point on this side of the island, so we got out just to the north of the lighthouse.



We spent about 20 minutes on the island, refuelling, taking photos and watching the seals (around 15 of them). It is a magical and somewhat eerie place, where we enjoyed fantastic panoramic views of the north-west of Anglesey and the Isle of Man.





But, it is important not to enjoy the island too much as the tides here are some of the strongest around the UK, so we had to get on with crossing back to Anglesey. We went round the northern tip of the island given how calm the conditions were and cut back through in between the main island and Ynys Berchen.

On our return leg, we just pointed our kayaks towards West Mouse to start with, then as we approached half way across, directly at Porth Swtan. Me and Roger stayed offshore here to make the most of the tide, whereas Simon headed closer to the shore and engaged in some more rock hopping. The crossing from The Skerries back to Porth Swtan took about an hour and when we arrived back at the beach, Kevin was there to greet our huge grins. He was disappointed that he hadn’t been able to come out with us, but we promised to take him there very soon!

I’ve read several accounts of trips to The Skerries and it is not a trip to underestimate. It is an open crossing exposed to the prevailing south-westerlies we so frequently get here on Anglesey, and as I have already mentioned some very strong tides (5 knot spring rate)! Our conditions were favourable to say the least – light northerly, easterly and southerly winds accompanied by very little swell. We did paddle over there just off spring tides so the flow was strong but sound planning and efficient management of time on the day served us well.

I’m very happy to have got this big trip done as it has been on my wish list for quite some time. Simon and Roger had been to the Skerries before, but only Roger had been there by kayak so a big day for all of us. I’m still working on Simon to start using an Anglesey Stick – maybe him having to work hard to keep up with me and Roger may persuade him one day to convert!

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