My Paddling Is In The Doldrums

I have definitely put paddling on the backburner recently. For several reasons.

The Fear Factor:
First of all I'm not to keen paddling in the firth next to my house because Invergordon is a very busy port and I have had close encounters of the big boat kind.
I'm not too keen on going solo anymore as I have a better understanding of the dangers and first hand experience of being caught out.

Getting Fit:
Some friend s of mine had recently discovered cycling and bought some bikes, I believe it was after going to spin classes. Jean and Saunders invited me out on a cycle one weekend. I used to cycle a bit before the kids arrived in 1998 and so thought it would be like riding a bike !

That night I decided I needed to get fit.

On November 1st 2007 I had my last cigarette ! Yes, that's right. My name is Muzz and I am a smoker. I was smoking up to 50 ciggys a week and decided enough was enough.

I steadily built up my cycling and also started running again. I am not a good runner and only ever ran for about a year in the past, this was in preparation for the 1998 Highland Cross.

So, at the moment I am having a day off from running and cycling but that means a bit of maintenance work on the bikes.

Paddling Difficulties:
My paddling remains in the Doldrums as I'm not finding the time for group paddling. My wife is working up north today so this evenings club rolling and rescue session looks doubtful unless I get someone to look after the kids. I work shifts so that has ruled me out of the weekend trips I wanted to go on. Others are possibly beyond my capabilities but it's difficult for me to gain the necessary skills for the afore mentioned reasons.

The Faff Factor:
The preparation and cleanup involved in Paddling is another consideration in my time strapped life. Packing the gear and kayaks into and onto the car ( forgetting stuff ). Driving to the paddling location unpacking, doing a couple of hours paddling and then undoing it all. Driving home unpacking, hosing the gear putting the boat away, drying the gear.
At worst cycling is putting the helmet, gloves and water bottle in the car and the bike on the back, some scoff or energy bars if you want. A forty minute drive will take me to the Wildcat or Learnie. Come home wash water bottle and throw top and shorts into the wash.

Or no driving at all, hit the hills near my house on the mountain bike, a big loop on the road bike or go for a run !

The Way Ahead:
I want to keep my fitness program going and in order to keep me honest I have entered some events. The Glencalvie challenge has been and gone but coming up I have.

Loch Ness Cycle Sportif

Cairngorm Adventure Triathlon

The Charmer

That's August to October taken care of. In July we'll be hitting the south, spending a week doing the mountain bike trails near Dumfries and Peebles.

I am sad that Kayaking isn't getting much of a look in at the moment but this year I am putting family and fitness first. I have even got the wife running, she can do 20 minutes non stop at the moment. I see a marathon on the horizon LOL.

Keep Running, Cycling, Paddling...

First Steps

Today my brother took his forst steps on the water. When I bought my new boat I sold mine to a friend who sold his to my brother.
The boat is a perception Carolina. My brother got kitted out last month when we visited Highland Canoes in Aviemore.



So it was straight to work with the forward stroke, ah I remember trying to get the river boat to go straight when I started all those months ago !

We just paddled along the shore with the wind at our backs then paddled back into the wind.



We also covered sweep strokes. Next lesson we'll build on the forward and sweeps and maybe try some braces. When it's not so chilly.

Scary Big Stuff... Not Waves.

Yesterday, 22-3-07, the weather forecast was good so I set out on a different route in the firth. I was heading west to a place called Ferryton. I assume the ferry used to cross between here and Alness many years ago.
My trip would involve crossing the firth in two different places, and with a decent incoming tidal stream I would be doing a bit of ferry gliding.

Ferrton is the headland on the left.


There's not that much to see in Ferryton and the locals aren't that talkative.



The crossing was great as I glided down the firth at up to 9.4kph. Sitting still for a while in the middle the GPS still showed 5.1kph !

After a wee snack I had to do what I though would be the most difficult part, crossing back over. I was going to try to use the tide again and there was only a slight NE wind to contend with.
I could also see some sunshine over there.



It was fun gliding across and noting how difficult it was to use transits. Boat offset 10deg, then 20deg then 40 deg. It got easier after I was nearer the other side. It was really nice over on this side.



I now could paddle along by the shore thus avoiding the greater stream in the middle. Just that jack up to contend with now, or so I thought.

The rigs always seem to have a boat buzzing about below them, the skipper of this one had seen me making the initial crossing and as I approached he changed his position to let me get by.





But there was another problem. No not the verbal abuse I got from the scaffolders on the rig, which was very colourful and very funny. I decided not to enter into any banter as they were 40m above me with access to an array of heavy objects :-)

The problem was that to the side of the jack up a pipe layer was moored but was about to depart. You can see it to the left of the top rig picture.

When I cleared the rig the port authority pilot appeared. I waited until I thought he saw me, he stood off so I started to paddle forward. Then he chugged towards the pipe layer. I stopped. I was sure he now saw me as he chugged slowly making almost no wake for me to contend with. After the pilot gadgy disembarked and climbed aboard the pipe layer, the skipper hit the throttle and did a 90deg turn to get back around and into the harbour.

Aahhh, paddle paddle. It was like being back at Balintore beach and a bit of a shock after such flat water all day.
Either he didn't see me or they aren't to bothered about tipping kayaker over. None of these two explanations fill me with confidence. I'm not going to pass the harbour anymore.

I don't like the big stuff.

Flat Water, Extra Stability

I awoke today after a nightshift, I was going to go back to bed until I looked out of the window.

I got the gear on and trollied the boat down to the water, lovely.

The boat felt very different today. I am getting used to the narrow beam of it (52cm) and today I tried a wee trick that I picked up from one of Douglas's reviews.

Instead of my usual coast hugging I headed straight out into the firth to a spar, I meant to mark it on the GPS but I forgot. I suppose it's a third the way across the firth, about 1.5Km. The boat was cruising along at around 7kph. Later I sprinted and pulled 10.4kph out of her.

I then turned west and headed for the end of the 'Admirality Pier' and took a photo of the village I had just come from.



The scene changes when heading into Invergordon which is a base for oil rig repairs, although you can see the snow covered Ben Wyvis in the back ground.



I sat about quite a bit today admiring the view and thinking about my newly aquired greater stability. Was it the flat water or the wee trick ?

Time will tell.

Oh I forgot to tell you what the wee trick was.



Readily available at all good stony beaches.

Handling a Following Sea

I paddles down to the harbour today beacuse there's a 'jack-up' rig in and my wee boy wanted some pics of it.
Here's one if you're interested too?



The pic suffers from the water on the lense, I forgot I had a bit of chamoix (sp) in my BA. It was windy again today up to about 20mph I think, you can make it out on the water here:



I'm still not comfy going with the wind in this boat, despite reviews saying it was v. good at this, I still get moved about a bit.

Well today I experimented with the skeg, I found that a little bit of skeg and leaning back worked very well, better than full skeg or no skeg at all, I don't know why. I'll need to google for skeg use. My last boat had a rudder so it was either in or out.

Oh and another thing, both easytide and BBC tide Tables had the HW at 3.5m today, but the gauge on the harbour wall thinks differently.

From OilRig102_0228

Always Take The Camera

Well I wasn't really going anywhere today, just an hours paddling in the cold. I won't bother with the camera. It's cloudy and there's one of those winds that goes right through you and chills the bones.

On the way back I saw a Cormorant ahead and just stopped paddling and let the boat drift. It seemed interested and I floated closer and closer as it watched me for any sign of danger. When it was close enough to touch with the paddle I could not hold on anymore. I blinked and it paddled away. That's the closest I have gotten to wildlife in the boat.

Ten minutes later and I have three swans approaching. Now do I change direction and go to deep water or stay shore side ? They decide for me and angle out a wee bit, we are still heading towards each other. The sun comes out for the first time and I think 'I wish I had taken the camera' when they decide they don't like kayaks and take off about ten metres away and fly past me on the right, now that would have been a very nice set of pics.

NEXT TIME TAKE THE CAMERA !!

Quite A Windy Wee Paddle

I had good intentions today of doing a 15k paddle around the firth. On waking I heard the rain rattling off the windows and knew I was in for some fun.
I packed the gear anyway and launched from my usual spot into the jaws of the wind.
The rain had abated by this time and the waves weren't too big, but the wind was a real bummer. I have checked my nearest met office weather station and it says 22mph with gusts of 40mph.
I could see the gusts coming and had to dip my head into them, like being on the road bike.
Here's my attempt at getting a photo.



And another try.



And finally I got one, as you can see the waves aren't really a problem, this was just before rounding a corner where there was even less protection from the wind. You can see the effect of wind on the waves here though.



I turned back soon after this, managed to turn the GPOS on where I was doing 4.5kph without paddling. A nice gentle stroke was giving me a 8.9kph, great paddle back.

My put in point was no longer going to be a take out point as it was now HW so I continued until I found the nearest bit of beach.

Angle up, paddle paddle, quickly rip of spray deck and --- DOH! --- boat swamped.
I bloody always get swamped when getting out in breaking waves.

I then had a wee walk along the sea front to get the boat back home, with the boat on the Eckla trolley of course.

Another Nice Wee Paddle

I went out again today, from the slip to a place we call the donkey bridge. There was a steady breeze, 10mph according to the met office. The tide had benn ebbing for about one hour, going with the wind. I sauntered along at a steady 5kph.
Everything was nice and the boat was doing well. I reached the harbour and was now in the full wind and full tide, the water was bouncing off the harbour wall so I had to paddle through some very interesting clapotis, it was fun.
I passed by the Queens Dock where I saw these two characters.

From Birds

Now these things were brown and I think they are Shags but if anyone reckons they are Cormorants please put me straight.
After the Queens Dock I had to turn right, this had the waves hitting me side on for a while but the boat was fine. I carried on to the donkey bridge where I had myself a wee rest.
I started back knowing that I would now have the wind and tide to help me. I looked at the GPS which reported 8kph. When I approached the point of the Dock again the clapotis were a lot bigger than before although I managed to avoid the biggest ones. Paddling along by the harbour now and I was doing 9.5 kph ! Ahh this was great, the boat was rocking about but making great headway at normal paddling. After the harbour I only got a wee bit more wind then was sheltered from it the rest of the way home.

Before I got out of the boat I carried out some edged sweep strokes, feeling confident I decided to go for a roll.
Bingo ! rolled up no problem, but the water is getting cold now so I didn't bother doing anything else after that.

Hail Stones

Got caught in a shower whilst paddling today !!

Gone Fishing

Well kids, I recently decided to have a go at fishing from my kayak. At first I tried using a basic line that I bought for the kids, when I had no luck I bought a cheapo telescopic rod which came with a wee box of tackle and a mackerel jig.

Well I loaded up the kayak, take a look at my minimalist setup.

Well to tell you the truth, it was easier with the kids fishing line. Whenever the hooks started dragging seaweed it was a real hassle getting it off. There's just no space for manouvering when you are stuck in the seat of the kayak in the middle of the water.

Oh, by the way the weather was lovely the day I went out, apart form the 90 minutes I was out when we got wind and showers. When I took the boat in the sun came out ! Oh well I did get some pics.

Cold Windy And Scary, but Great Fun.

Todays paddle was another one in the Cromarty Firth, are you seeing a pattern here ?
I started near the Burial Ground at Kiltearn near Evanton (615,653). It was still only 1 degC from the night before but due to warm up a bit. The plan was to observe the seals which hang about on the sand near both sides of the Cromarty Bridge. I was not supposed to be paddling alone but the other person pulled out at the last minute.

Despite the very singular nature of the party I decided to go ahead with the plan and cross SW into the 11knot ( 20kph ) wind and head for the south side causeway of the bridge. Near the middle it was very lively, the tide was on it's third hour of coming in and in the middle of the channel it was arguing with the wind coming in the other direction I was caught in the crossfire with waves breaking over the bow and big spray hitting me in the face, great fun.

On reaching the causeway I took shelter for a wee while as I could see that the next part of my journey was going to be more difficult. I planned to head to the north side of the bridge but the waves would be coming at me from a bad angle on my left, and they were getting big with plenty of white tops now visible. Ach what the hell, I paddles out.

This part of the trip had me sneaking my way north whilst also 'surfing' the bigger waves NNE, laughing with excitement but also crapping myself when there were nasty sideways hits. I have never seen so many different wave conditions in such a short space of time. There were sets of big ones that looked like rapids on a river but they were moving, these were a great help and good fun when caught right. I dared to look at my GPS a few times and I was getting 7.7 kph from them. I continued sneaking my way north when the waves weren't looking and going with them when they were.

I reached the north causeway without having a fishes view of the firth, I remember saying " I can't believe I just did that ". This time last year I was someone who didn't like water, disliked swimming and didn't do any water sports.
I had arranged to meet the wife and kids at the Foulis Point restaurant at midday and had to burn up time as the old adrenaline had been like nitro in the engine and I was way too early.

The worst part of the day was waiting in the cold for the nice warm car and change of clothes to arrive, but a big turkey dinner made up for it.

Oh I only saw one seal near the start of the trip, Berty the Gull must have told them I was coming :-)

More Paddling In The Firth

The picture shows the view down the Cromarty Firth. In the distance you can see the sutors where the Cromarty Firth runs into the Moray firth. Closer is the crossing point point between Invergordon on the left and Newhall Point on the Black Isle on the right.

Ref. OS Landranger 21


Got out paddling again on Sunday 5th December. I started checking the weather report on Wednesday as I had already established that the tide was suitable for the trip.
The weather was rather less predictable. On Wednesday we were expecting Sunday to bring a 10mph easterly with heavy rain showers. After several predicted wind direction and speed changes the forecast on the day was light showers and a 5mph north westerly !

Andy and I put in at Nigg ( 796,687 ) which is on the North sutor of the Cromarty firth. There was a swell coming into the firth and real waves landing on the beach. We got our gear sorted and broke through the surf into the swell and started toward the pier at Cromarty. It was a great experience, a few weeks ago I did my first crossing further west but this crossing was very close to the real sea and the incoming tide and swell was funneling in through the sutors pushing us sideways and helping us on our way. Andy seemed to be loving it too.

The exciting bit over we neared the coast of the Black Isle and slogged along westward through constant heavy showers, the sun just managed to make an appearance for about 8 minutes and that was it. We beached about half way along ( 744,655 ) and had a flask of hot coffee each and a bit to eat.



The rest of the trip from Cromarty to Newhall Point ( 709,672 ) near Balblair was rather dull and damp, mostly into the wind. We were both glad to reach the crossing point and had a good rest before we did.

We crossed from Newhall Point back over to the north side of the firth and along to our individual take out points. The trip had taken 3 hours.

I tested most of my new kit on the trip. The paddle leash was, well a paddle leash, I didn't lose my paddle so I guess it worked :-) I was also wearing my new Yak Kalyx cag. I opened the under arm zips quite quickly as the early excitement caused a sweat, later I zipped them back up again, I have a Mountain Equipment jacket I use for winter hillwalking which has underarm zips and I have NEVER used them. The hood also came in handy in the frequent wintery downpours a very useful comfy piece of kit, nice touch having a piece of soft fleece on the inside of the collar.

The other piece of kit deserving a mention are the pogies. These were the Suzy 40 Below ones which are nylon with some foil like heat reflecting material on the inside. They did a great job at keeping the old handys warm even on the odd occasion when water dripped in my hands were warm throughout the day. The only time they got cold was when we stopped for a snack !

Now I'm off to plan the next trip, maybe the Dornoch Firth ?

Kind of Open Water

So far I have been hugging the coast as much as possible in my trips about the Cromarty Firth. Today I crossed at the narrowest point just 1.5Km between Invergordon and Balblair Pier on the Black Isle.( 702,685 ) to ( 703,672 ) OS map 21.

I headed east for 800 metres before heading straight back to the slip at Saltburn ( 728,701 ).

The crossing took me 20 mins and was a bit scary. I found it strange not being able to look left or right and see the land passing by. The sea was dead calm and I had timed my trip to get in a t high water and come back when the tide was starting to go out.

I never noticed the tide until I got to Newhall point, the thinnest part of the firth and I could see the water flowing east. I stopped paddling and was carried along. I put the nose of the boat ashore and had a quick slug of coffee out of the flask before pushing off towards home. The last bit was more or less straight to the take out point.

I saw ducks and comorants but no swimming creatures.

Now where can I go next ?

First Wee Trip

If you want a better idea of whats going on then get out OS Landranger 21 or see google maps and look at the Cromarty Firth from Invergordon up west to the bridge at Ardullie.

Tuesday 18th October, first wee trip in boat. Started out at Ardullie bridge parking car next to roundabout (grid 587,623). I was joined by T in a P&H Quest and S in a P&H Capella, both proper sea Kayaks and T and S are both really fit people. I knew I could easily fall behind in my very stable but slower Contour.

The weather was nice and sunny with a slight breeze, lovely paddling. We progressed nicely looking out for Seals and other such fauna. We hit a choppy bit or two and assumed it was just the tide turning, thing were going great and I was keeping up nicely although the others may have going slow for me :-)

We passed the Yankee pier ( in grid 66,67 ) and things changed, there was a strong wind blowing from the east south east and things were getting choppy. T and S were getting further and further ahead, I did notice S turning around to check I was OK. The fact is that although I was making slow progress in the wind I was really enjoying it ! The front of the boat was bouncing up and down and spray was hitting me in the face, I felt like I was on a whale catcher somewhere in the South Atlantic ! I had a couple of scares when I thought I had a wave sussed but it collapsed and the boat fell off the side of it, pardon my lack of sea dog parlance.

T&S were quite far ahead and I noticed they were heading for land at Invergordon ( grid 699,687 ). T landed but S came back to make sure I was OK. "T doesn't like it like that " said S. It appears T was having visions of being tipped freaked a bit and made a dash for land, that's why they got so far ahead of me.

Me and S had a look around the corner and tried to convince T that it was OK, there were in fact quite large waves bouncing along by the harbour and T decided to go back to land and wait for S to pick him up in the car.

Me and S continued on our journey and reached the take out point at ( grid 728,700 ). I worked it out as 17 Km and it took 3hrs 20 minutes.

Lessons learned:
Force 4's are good fun for some but not all paddlers.
Your group of three can become a group of 2 and 1 quite easily.
Don't stop, you get cold quick !