Found Some More Winter Ones

Ach, I couldn't resist when I found these in another directory on the PC.

Now do you know that gash you often see on pictures of Ben Alligin well here's my mate Spike standing next to it.

From Winter Walking

OK here's one of me but I wasn't going to include it because I seem to have developed buck teeth and a strangely shaped head especially for the photo.

From Winter Walking

Here's another of Spike that I think is quite good, the name of the hill escapes me but I could take you there if you're interested :-)

From Winter Walking

There's nobody in the next one but there's a feature you may have heard about.
The pic is taken from Ben Wyvis and down below you may be able to see the dam and Loch Glascarnoch bending around to the left. Hidden behind the hill at the west end of the Loch is the met office weather station for Loch Glascarnoch.

From Winter Walking

Lollypop Stick

I decided to have a go at making an Inuit paddle following the general intructions found here

I have to say that I ain't no joiner and I was a bit, no a lot rough. I chewed a lump out of the end with the circular saw then over egged the depth of cut in several places with the wood saw :-)

It all started with a piece of scaffoling board. First cuts were made witha circular saw then not very tidied up with a wood saw, surplane, spokeshave and sandpaper.

The result was something like this.

From Inuit

The sandpaper for the loom is still attached.
As I said the thing is ruff ruff, I forgot to mention the attacks I made on it with a chisel and an axe !!

From Inuit

Anyway here she is after a few coats of Danish Oil.

From Inuit

I don't think I will be trying it out until I have paddled the new boat a wee bit longer.

C. C. C. Cold

Went for another wee paddle today. Bloody cold. Nearly tipped the boat too when I hit something beneath the water, think it was some old wooden posts.
Managed to get into a nice rhythm on the way back, efforlessly gliding through the water.

Highland Weather Today.

Oh yes did I say it was cold ? A nasty northerly wind was blowing, despite this I thought I might try a roll. When my brother appeared by the slipway I went for it. DOH, I didn't come up right and instead of having another go I pulled the ejector cord !

Now I don't mind. In the back of my mind I was maybe thinking, this deck is on way tighter than the deck on my last boat, hope I can get it off OK if I have to. So now I know, there's no excuse for not rolling up next time.

Did I say it was cold ? I swam less then 20 metres to the shore and my hands were pretty numb by the time I got there. Imagine if I was out farther and had to deploy the old paddle float. I think I will be heading to enclosed waters during the holidays to practice.

Oh, thanks for lifting the boat for me bro' :-)

Oh aye, it was bloody cold today.

On The Second Day

It was less windy.
Wind from the northeast so less wavy too. Not a normal wind for us. Very nippy though.

Set off with an easy beach launch today, after yesterdays debacle it was welcome. The first thing I had to do was get my pogies from the day hatch, I managed to get around enough to tackle the hatch but my hands were so cold it was a struggle getting the hatch off. Got it sorted and oh my what a great product the Suzy 40 belows are, hands were toasty in no time.

suzy

Set off again and checked the GPS, over 6kph not quite into the wind. Found myself edging a wee bit here and there and twitching a bit more.

From On The Second...

Had a couple of wee rain showers but I didn't really notice, having too much fun paddling.

From On The Second...

I paddled to the harbour then turned and paddled back. A quick look at the GPS and I was doing over 7KPH now, I can live with that for normal paddling.

From On The Second...

Well that's it until the weekend, maybe I'll do some bracing and rolling then !

From On The Second...

She Arrived Today

Well I went and picked her up today.

From Boat Arrives

I took her out in the wee window I had before having to go get the kids from school. I shouldn't have bothered. The tide had just turned but was still lapping up onto the sea walls. I had to walk down the slip into thigh deep water then lift the boat down. I tried hopping in but the wind was throwing waves across the boat an it filled with water.

Got it back on terra firma and pumped it out. Had another go on the other side but she kept hitting the rocks that were beginning to appear in the ebbing tide. I think I scraped the poor wee thing.

From Boat Arrives

I finally got her going but it really was quite windy and the waves were rebounding off the wall and were pretty confused, so was I !! It was twitching about and was like someone shaking the back of the boat, quite scary at times but still fun.

I paddled into the wind and it was great going through the chop,I noticed that the bow cut through the waves instead of going over like my last boat, I managed to turn her about and it was OK with waves hitting from the side although a few went over the cockpit looks like this is going to get wetter than my previous one.

From Boat Arrives

I hope the forecast is a bit better for tomorrow as I should get a few hours in her before the nightshift.

From Boat Arrives

It's Getting Chilly. Blast From The Past

Well boys and girls it's getting cold again and it's time for all you winter walkers to dust off the ica axe and crampons. I enjoy the odd winter walk myself and have been looking out some of my old snaps with a winter theme.

This is a nice one, REALLY freezing but crisp and clear. This was the cold winter when lots of people suffered burst pipes. I think it was 1996 ?

From Winter Walking

This was that very same day.

From Winter Walking

From Winter Walking

Now a nice day in the Fannichs

From Winter Walking

Ben Alligin

From Winter Walking

Now for some nastier weather

This was on A Chralaig,

From Winter Walking

And this is shortly before we turned back due to poor vis and several more pinnacles !

From Winter Walking

And now the 'What the hell are we doing out in this' photo's.

It's cold...

From Winter Walking

Too bloody right it's cold.

From Winter Walking

So have fun and be safe out there. Don't be afraid to turn back or even not to start out on a hill, use your loaf and live to walk another day.

New Boat

Should be getting it at the start of December.

P&H Sirius

Surf Fun

Rolling.

I joined the local Kayak club in September 2005 and completed the BCU 2 star course. During the winter the club holds pool sessions so you can work on various techniques in the warm pool waters. I think it's fair to say that most people practice or attempt rolling.
I think I managed about 5 sessions but couldn't quite get the hang of rolling despite the advice and encouragement of three different coaches.

Readers of the blog will note that before three star training began I decided to get my own river boat. I also watched EJ's rolling and bracing video ! During three star training we had two pool sessions where I managed not to roll yet again, it was beginning to bug me.

I don't think it was one particular thing, my brain was having problems multitasking the paddle the boat and the body positions.

Well we done our three star assesment and I tried a roll and failed :-( no cert for me.

From Three Star

I was told that when I could roll I should contact the assesor to get the three star signed off.

The following week I went into the firth beside my house and started practising, I think I had about ten goes, slowing down and thinking about each bit. It appeared that there were several faults to work on. Paddle not far enough up left arm not tucked in, trying to lift head too quickly. The only thing I had was the hip flick. More thought and a few more attempts later then BINGO.

I rolled. Thinking it was a fluke I rolled again, then again. Six times in a row. I then came down to the water the very next day and did six more ! It wasn't a fluke I was rolling !

From In The Firth

I phoned Dave the assesor and arranged to meet him in Inverness, Dave didn't even have to get in his boat I went in and rolled no problem. Yee Ha.



Well now I'm trying to roll on the opposite side, but computer says no. My brain only want's to roll on my strong side.
Back to the pool sessions !!

LongPaddle

Extra Support By Holding The Paddle 'Long'

Been And Done It

Well kids, I've done it. The other day I picked up a whitewater kayak. I got a second hand Pyranha I 3. Sorted out the footrest settings by adding some old sleeping mat foam and went paddling yesterday. A.T. stood on the beach as I attempted some of the moves I learn't in two star.
A.T. shouted out encouragement and corrections with a yeah or nay for various moves and strokes. He missed out though by not bringing his camera as I ended up tipping the thing.
I was attempting to carve then switched sides, I got hit by a small wave and over I went.
No brace and no attempt to roll were made, I was just shocked at going over !
Well now I know I can get out of the thing, LOL.
Need to find the nearest flat water for more practice, not the bouncy salty stuff.

Digitising Slides

OK, todays lesson is digitising slides, or is it digitizing with a 'Z' ??

I just bought a wee digital camera so I went out a week later and got a light box. Set the camera up on the tripod place the slide on the lightbox. I had to cut a piece of black card as the light was reflecting off the 'silver' camera and showing up on the slide when photgraphed.

Click on photos for a slightly better view.















So here are two of my slides as photographed by the camera.
















Now nip into Picasa 2, straighten up the photos, crop them and voila.



Note to self, make it a two person job. One to remove slides and CLEAN them and another to photograph.

Balintore Trip

Date of Trip 21-4-06. Weather Sunny. Wind 0 - 5 kph.


Set off from Balintore today. Headed south along the cliffs and saw a lot of sea birds, Gulls , Guillemots, Shags and Fulmars.


Perhaps the most unusual sight of the day though, was the remains of the 1940's gun emplacements and in particular the bridge between them.


See all the pics here:

From Balty

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.

Short Paddle With Club

I got an email the other day to say the Inverness Canoe Club were planning a Hogmonay paddle. I haven't done any sea paddling with the club so the organiser was only going to let me go if the forecast was for low speed winds. I was in luck, I phoned Rhona just after 07:00 and she confirmed that I was 'On'.

The trip started from the tip of the lower 'Point' in the picture, called Chanonry point. This place is a well known spotting point for the Moray Firth dolphins. We paddled east then north to the shoreline ( up a bit then left in the picture). We reached the cliff-faced shoreline and I was asked if I wanted to try some rock hopping. I didn't know what it was but after watching some of the others dodging through the rocks near the shore I had to have a go. Mike managed to ground himself on one of the rocks which caused great amusement and invoked a 'knock you off' rescue.

We paddled east to find a landing spot and had lunch. I produced my sandwich bag containing an apple and a banana and was treated to mince pies, fruit cake, tablet, nore mince pies and mulled wine ! Now I know what went into all those bags people were packing into their holds. I will be better prepared next time.

We set off south heading for Fort George. There were fourteen of us in the group and, although I am not the chatty type, I found myself alongside a few different people and managed to get some good info from those who have been paddling longer than I. The first was that I need to get a rudder. My boat has no skeg and it's rather difficult to keep in a straight line when the wind is following. I was advised by two different people that I could have my enjoyment very much impaired if I had to spend several hours trying to keep the boat straight.

We reached Fort George where the HW spring tide was crashing all along the walls then rebounding back out. I was once again invited to take part in an impromtu activity, surfing. I backed in near to the wall and waited. Paddle paddle paddle paddle, great fun. I had another go before we made our way back to the start point.

Although the area is famous for dolphins I did not see any, only plenty of seals. It was a good day out.

Return To Victory !

Image by Chris Bowles

Well yesterday saw me return to a hill that had me beat last year.

Previously myself and AT had climbed a hill called A' Chralaig in heavy snow, icy sections and very poor visibility. We were heading north to the next hill on the list Mullach Fraoch-coire along a narrow ridge with several pinnacles. The visibilty by this time was so that you could see where your next step was going but that was about all. We ended up on a pinnacle looking down into nothing. Now and againg the next pinnacle would appear out of the gloom but there was no way of getting to it. we gave up and went home.

Yesterday was better, forecast was for temps arounf 0 degC, low wind and no cloud. I set off up the glen, ignoring A' Chralaig and making a direct accent to the nasty ridge. It was icy and I was on my arse in five minutes! I made my way along what was an enjoyable fairly exciting ridge with some good exposure and a couple of 'hands on' sections. I found the bit that had stumped us last time. It was a pinnacle which was easily passable via a path to the side, this was not visible last time. Trying to find such a path could easily have resulted in a fall. Thinking about this has re-assured me that we made a good decision last time.

I easily gained the summit and scanned around 360 to take in the amazing views, I could see for a million miles !

Success

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 ?