Trip Reports Page 1

Lundy just seemed to sit there hour after hour, and it didn’t seem to get any bigger until we were very close. Julie was practicing her compass navigation, and was keeping us on track. Due to tide races off the southern end, and a problem the group had had last time, we were very careful to get the approach right and avoid being swept past the island. But with a wind picking up, and a reverse tide eddy against us, the last 20 minutes took for ever. Usual problem of landing, with legs which wouldn’t stand up! Total time just under 5 hours. But then after all that, the hardest bit of all, humping the camping kit up to the campsite right on the top of the island.
No trendy tarps on this trip, so tents up, then a walk up to the lighthouse (you can climb right to the top, with a couple of deckchairs there to admire the view). Onto the pub, where they have a Kayakers visitors book; an entry by Barbara last year when they said ‘we will be back’. And we were!

Lazy start the next day, and then kayaked round the island, going anti-clockwise for the tides. The east side is beautiful, but the west side is really spectacular, with tall broken cliff faces, caves, tunnels, arches rock hopping, and wildlife everywhere. Loads of Guillimots & Razorbills on the cliffs & in the water (beware if you are on the take-off path of one of these, low flying & not very manoeuvrable!), and a puffin bobbing about. Seals popping up and following us, both Grey & Common seals. Squillions of jellyfish, different colours & some with tentacles. Some wind and swell, so sometimes the rock-hopping turned out to be more exciting than anticipated, with Ian, Barbara & John going down a narrow tunnel which turned out to have an overfall in it, and Hugh going through a gap which suddenly dropped dramatically. At the end of the island, the tide had turned, and it was a fast tide race to paddle against to get back to the harbour (one section was like paddling up a fast flowing river).
Later, we walked round the island, with the wild northern end of open moorland, the south end more inhabited and tamer. From the cliff tops, you hardly see any of the wildlife, so a boat trip, kayak or otherwise, is a must.

Most of us slept the night on the beach in bivvy bags, watching the sun go down with a nip of whiskey, then waking up occasionally to see how high the tide was getting (got close, but not too close, although very noisy). Early start, on the water by 7.00 am, then delayed with Hugh’s boat filling up with water at the launch (sorted with particular help from Geoff). More wind this time from the north, so waves sideways on, and wind increased occasionally, not a problem but an inconvenience. Once again, we saw no major shipping, just occasional fishing boats in the distance. Julie was keeping us on track, leading on the compass bearing. We tried stopping every hour, which was better for moral, but not so fast overall, and by the time we got to Mort Point, the tide race was very bumpy (everyone concentrating very hard on staying upright, as a capsize in this would have been real trouble). We were all looking out for each other, with Barbara & Ian in particular helping those who were slowing down. As we had lost some time, the tide was against us now, so the last few miles were hard work on the end of a long trip. We were very relieved (some of us for more than one reason; it’s a long way without a pit stop!) to reach the small beach at Lee Bay, and fall out of our kayaks again. It took just under 6 hours from Lundy to Lee Bay.

Overall, we had excellent conditions, and with Barbara’s planning, it went very well. It was a really exciting, challenging & old fashioned ADVENTURE!
Hugh

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Report: Hugh De Iongh
Pictures: Barbara Browning

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Report: Jill Franks
Pictures: Barbara Browning, Hilary West, Julie Wood

I had been wondering if the weather had something against IOPCC after our very wet camp at Easter followed by the inclement weather in Cornwall and then the wet and windy weather we had for the West Bay paddle.

The Bude surfing weekend broke the mould and we had the most beautiful weather all weekend and, more importantly, the surf was up!

16 paddling members travelled down to Widemouth Bay and stayed at Penhalt Farm. Our weekend was enhanced by Bertie, Yazz, Steve and Jane bringing along their young families. Most people camped but Beryl and Jim stayed in the farmhouse.

Some people travelled down early on the Friday and enjoyed a great day out in the gnarly surf getting mullered. I should explain here that the words of the weekend were gnarly and mullered. For those familiar with the Urban Dictionary, 'mullered' means, ‘Broken, smashed or beaten up to the point of being visibly altered, unusuable or non-functional’. That just about covers it. If you are still not sure what that actually looks like have a look at the photos of Ken Buddy and Chris at the BBQ on Saturday night and you will get the picture. Link>>

On Saturday morning Beryl and Jim kindly invited everyone up to Penhalt Farmhouse for breakfast. This very generous offer, which was repeated on Sunday morning, was very much appreciated. The weather was superb and the surf was still up.

Ken, Steve and Clive, being experienced surfers, went off out the back to ride the big waves. Bertie ran a surf clinic for 8 novices. We learnt about bongo sliding, paddling out, catching a wave, riding a wave diagonally and how to return to the beach after capsizing. The latter of these skills was practiced more than we would have liked. Three hours of this and we were all well mullered so we retired to the beach café for a long lunch break in the sunshine. In the afternoon most people returned to the waves in and on a variety of boats and boards.

On Saturday evening we all enjoyed a communal barbeque at the campsite. Most people were pretty tired by this stage but not everyone. One of our newer female members dazzled us with an acrobatic clinic demonstrating cartwheels and flic flacs. Not many people joined in on this occasion. Next time…………

Sunday morning the weather was still perfect and the surf was a little less gnarly. After a hearty breakfast courtesy of Beryl and Jim we headed down to the beach again. The big boys headed out the back and the rest of us were once more treated to Bertie's surfing clinic. Today we practiced what we had learnt yesterday and then progressed to bottom turns and top turns. Everyone gained confidence and made progress and also had a lot of fun. We are very fortunate to have an expert coach who is willing to share his skills with us.

In the afternoon some people continued surfing. The waves were a bit smaller and it was possible to paddle out in the big boats. Jim, Ian and I went for a short sea trip along to Crackington Haven for an ice cream. It was a splendid paddle and was very relaxing after all that mullering! We even got back in at Widemouth without getting trashed.

Thank you one and all for a most enjoyable weekend.

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Report and pictures by: Barbara Browning

The IOPCC campers tumbled out of their tents early morning after a disturbed nights sleep in blustery conditions. Today’s planned paddle on the exposed north Cornish coast between Daymer Bay and the picturesque village of Port Isaac (of Doc Martin fame) was looking increasingly doubtful.

Barbara soon confirmed that the forecast was for Force 6-7 Northerly winds , although we would be spared any accompanying showers. Time for Plan B to swing into action (always rely on Barbara and Ian for a Plan B). We would put in near the old bridge in Wadebridge at high tide and paddle upstream as far as we could navigate in this sheltered wooded valley – welcome respite from wind in our faces – this time it was pushing us upstream – between the arches of the old stone bridge and under the new ‘Anneka Rice’ bridge, and through Wadebridge Park and on towards the upper reaches of the river.

When we reached the weir which is the tidal limit we had a short break and were taken by surprise when 4 sit on top kayakers appeared form upstream. We headed back downstream with the falling tide to Wadebridge and then onwards into the expanding estuary. Wadebridge gave way to rolling green hills of farmland on the North shore fronted by cliffs of disused quarries and the course of the popular Camel Trail cycle track on the south bank.

The IOPCC group was exposed to the ravages of the wind sweeping across the wide estuary. However we made good progress with the tidal assistance. We stopped for a leg stretch and a snack before continuing down towards Rock into the freshening wind. We stopped at Rock to asses the situation and decided to continue down the estuary towards Daymer. The wind became too strong to paddle against before we reached Daymer so we landed on the beach to make a plan. We decided to cross the estuary to Padstow. Time for a briefing from Barbara and explanation with accompanying drawings in the sand about the principles of ferry gliding from Clive.

Operation ferry glide was successfully completed with no swimmers. We had a a couple of hours to kill while the tide turned and gained sufficient momentum to carry us back up to Wadebridge. Most people went into Padstow in search of coffee, pasties, ice cream, custard tarts etc. Most people had on their paddling gear but John M was particularly scary in his Reed rubber wear.

The return trip from Padstow to Wadebridge was wind assisted and we had the sun on our backs. However there were times when we had trouble finding the course of the river in amongst the extensive sandbanks which appear at low tide. Most of the group chose to paddle, although Dicky and myself (Geoff R) decided it was a good idea to re-enact the opening scene from Lawrence of Arabia whilst dragging our kayaks behind us. We decided that kayakers were really designed to be used in at least 6 inches of water and managed to complete the last stretch without any further ‘yomps’. (even though I’m sure it is really good training for those in Navy mechanical support, Dicky).

Thanks to Barbara Ian and IOPCC for a fun and incident packed day on the water (and sand) and a very enjoyable ‘Plan B’.

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Report: Geoff Ridler | Pictures: Barbara Browning

May Day morning and we are all muddling around Trewiston Farm camp site getting ready for a 0830 departure for a 0930 launch. The clouds in the sky above looking more promising than the whole previous weeks’ forecasts but that wind was still present, which was more than could be said about Clive and Hilary who unfortunately made a slight packing error prior to arriving and were in the middle of a round robin trip back to Dorchester to get that sorted.

A five minute drive and we are able to unload on to Daymer Bay beach via a very accessible public car park, even the tide was in, so a 30 meter walk to the surf and launch after a quick but comprehensive trip briefing. Greg enjoying his first IOPCC field trip wasn’t initially too impressed by the wind over tide getting further compressed over the Doom Bar, but mainly due to apprehension of us still not even being out of the Estuary yet! We made for the Port Channel marker to RV before a full crossing over to the Narrows on the West side of the estuaries’ mouth. We eased at a nice leisurely pace past Stepper Point into the channel and hit the full weather limits for the days paddling. A fairly stiff breeze but though a large tidal swell was upon us the sun was mostly out and very little breakers to concern us.

Due to the N/NE winds driving ashore we kept our distance from the cliffs but it just enabled us to further admire what a beautiful coastline we were getting the chance to paddle. By the time we sneaked past the almost secluded mouth of Trevone Bay, Barbara’s newly repaired shoulder was feeling the affects and she took the chance to give Ian some towing practise, gladly this was short lived as after a quick break from fully working her shoulder she spent the rest of the weekend just gritting her teeth and out paddling a lot of us. A welcome tea break was gratefully received at the far end of Harlyn Bay beach, past the myriad of Surf Dudes keeping the RNLI Beach guards on their toes. John Miller took this as an opportunity to demonstrate to us mere novices the Pros and Cons of removing a spray deck before surfing into the beach, we were very grateful as he was able to fully exemplify how it can all go wrong (text book). Apparently according to the Royal and Ancient Rules of Paddling etiquette this didn’t count as a “Swim” as he never actually left the kayak!

A further little push into wind brought us around Cataclews Point and our final destination was in sight, the recently built Life Boat Station at Trevose Head. It was now as Greg (fully into the Sea Kayaking Groove) and I watched the dream team members approaching and landing on this very stepped beach, that we tried to enlist Geoff to just raft up with us and have our tea and stickies in the relative safety of the extremely high and long life boat launching ramp, alas we saw that everyone else had made it in relative safety, so not to be out done we leisurely cruised in and completely hid the fact that we nearly formed the Trevose Floating Platform Team.

After more of Ian’s baking skills and a lengthy discussion of holding ones bladder for too long, not being good for the body, we retraced our paddles back along this lovely little stretch of this beautiful counties coast and headed back. The tide had receded and not a ripple was felt over Doom Bar but someone during our paddle had decided to extend the size of Daymer Beach which meant a quite lengthy portage of boats and kit up to the car park, which to me seemed more tiring than the whole days paddle.

My first true coastal session was now firmly under my tow belt and what better way than with a truly lovely and encouraging group of like minded people, along a coast line carved over millennia just for Sea Kayakers. Thanks all.

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Four of us made it down to Crackington Haven on Friday hoping to paddle to Boscastle and back but the wind and waves were against us and we did not get out of the bay. Check out the photos that Barbara took!

There was a bit of wind when we arrived and the waves from the car park did not look too big so we decided to give it a go and pop our noses past the Cam Beak headland to see what the conditions were like out there.

By the time we arrived at the waters edge though, the waves were getting bigger and bigger. Barbara decided to save her on the mend shoulder and stay on the beach whilst Ian, Greg (first time out with the club and made front page of the newsletter!!) and I decided to give it a go!! Ian did a great job and managed to get out the back first attempt. Greg, after a couple of knock downs and nearly pulling a backwards aerial 360 (see photo!) stayed to surf in the shallows. I made it out on my second attempt to greet Ian with shouts of delight which were quickly silenced by him when he reminded me that we had to get back it at some point!

By then the wind had really picked up and was now gusting F6-7 so sticking our noses around the headland was not a good idea so we decided to get back ashore ASAP. (every man for himself!) I turned and managed to stay on the first monster wave but got picked up and knocked down by the second. I tried to hold onto my boat but this disappeared at great speed without me. Ian came by and I tried to hold onto his boat but he too was whisked away at great speed by the next wave. So no choice but to body surf (!) and roll with the waves into shore where Barbara and Greg came to rescue me and my boat! Ian managed to have a great time surfing in staying in his boat!

It was great fun though! No injuries, just a few bits of equipment and clothing stolen by the waves, and lessons learnt!

The four of us then had a walk to the headland to look at the very big waves which were no longer that big! We agreed that we probably timed it a bit wrong as we tried to launch when the tide was up at the narrowest part of the beach which may have caused the waves to jack up. Anyway something to think about next time!

We then went back to the campsite via Boscastle (for well earned pasties and ice creams) and spent the evening in the pub where the group gradually expanded as we were joined by other folk who had travelled down that evening.

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Report: Julie Wood | Pictures: Barbara Browning

On Saturday afternoon at 15:00 7 members of IOPCC met at Lake car park. The boats were loaded up with camping gear, food and drink for overnight under leaden skies. Launching at 16:00 we paddled towards Arne with a forecast of winds easing and a dry night ahead. The wind did drop but rain began to fall lightly about 15 minutes after launching . The group paddled up the coast of Arne leaving Giggers Island to starboard and paddling into the Frome River. The rain had developed into a downpour as we turned round and left Giggers Island to port before returning to Arne. On arrival at the designated camping place the torrential downpour showed no sign of easing. The intrepid group landed and proceeded to erect the tents. Supper was taken under the minimal shelter from the sparse trees. Hopes for the rain to stop faded and everyone retired to the relative comfort of the tents and had an early night.

The rain did stop in the night clearing away to leave a starry sky and as we emerged from our tents in the morning we were greeted by a fresh breeze but blue sky and a glimmer of sunshine. Everyone packed up the still soaking wet tents and loaded the boats. The paddle back to Lake was challenging in that we had a F5 north west wind on our quarter and a following sea. However we arrived back at the beach unscathed and were greeted by 6 more members of IOPCC who were to join us for the day.

Clive and Hilary who were off to Pembrokeshire to do a 4* sea training course the next day decided to go home to dry out rather than paddle for the day so it was a group of 11 paddlers who left Lake at 10:00.

The wind was F5-6 and behind us as we paddled down the north side of Poole Harbour past Hamworthy Park and the Condor ferry before turning into the relative shelter of the Inner Harbour. We took a sightseeing tour up to the RNLI headquarters before returning under the lifting bridge, past the Sunseeker factory and out into the main harbour. Everyone was coping well and enjoying the challenging wind and sea state so we went for the exposed crossing to Brownsea Island. We stopped in the ‘no landing’ zone for a brief leg stretch. Launching again was a little challenging for some – but no swimmers!

It is a surprisingly long way around the eastern side of Brownsea Island but we eventually turned to paddle up the western side against the wind. The wind was north westerly so we had some shelter and we made good progress towards Pottery Pier. We stopped for lunch at a little bay and were able to sit in the sun out of the wind.

The return to Lake was made by following the coast of Brownsea Island against the wind and then crossing back towards Poole aiming just above the Condor ferry. Although the breeze was strong the group paddled well and returned to Lake without incident.

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Report and pictures by: Barbara Browning

Despite bright blue skies March 7th was yet another freezing cold day. The promised F5-6 north-easterly wind had produced a choppy sea and what promised to be a tricky launch from Bowleaze Cove. Not what would have been chosen for what was meant to be a beginner’s paddle. Nevertheless Clive and Ian decided that the paddle should go ahead and Clive W. proceeded with his customarily humorous pre-launch instructions, delivered to 12 shivering paddlers, 2 dogs and a few bemused onlookers.

Each having chosen what they considered to be the prime launching point and with a few false starts everyone managed to blast out through the surf and set off towards a promised coffee and comfort break at Osmington.

Paddling into the strengthening easterly wind, progress was somewhat slow and judging by the increasingly grim expressions not the enjoyable dibble along the pretty coast that we had all been looking forward to. There were some appreciable breaking waves visible off Redcliff Point so we gave that area a very wide berth.

Once past Redcliff the seas really began to pick up and the possibility of landing at Osmington began to look dubious. After a quick flurry of snatched VHF messages the trip leaders decided that the worsening conditions were unsuitable for the group to continue and the best option was to turn around.

From where we were it appeared that putting into the beach just to the east of Redcliff was a good option to allow everyone to catch their breath and have a quick cuppa before returning to Bowleaze. The group set off in that direction, with a nasty following sea, with Jackie J. leading the way. All seemed fine until Jackie was upended in the surf, a fate soon to be repeated by 2 other paddlers on their way in to the beach. John C. capsized amongst the rocks causing damage to his boat and more importantly suffering some painful injuries to his shoulder and ribs. Those at the rear of the group saw the carnage and rapidly reversed away from the danger, a manoeuvre that produced much discomfort to several paddlers not used to large following seas.

With the group now effectively split and with some of the paddlers who were still afloat feeling very uncomfortable, it was decided to leave the beached group where they were and return the others to Bowleaze. This worked OK apart from one capsize and rescue along the way. 2 paddlers then returned to Redcliff to assist in getting this second group re-launched and back to Bowleaze. Luckily Barbara, who was not paddling due to a skiing injury, had walked along the cliffs watching the unfolding drama and had had the foresight to bring her VHF and so was able to act as a spotter, directing operations.

Once launched the now damp paddlers made their way around the worst of the breaking waves and paddled their way back to Bowleaze. Reunited we all sat in the sun at Bowleaze drinking tea and eating cake, as if nothing had happened!

But lessons were learned…

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Report by Ian Hackworthy
Pictures by Barbara Browning

Following extended discussions on the mechanics of arranging a shuttle for a one way trip to Swanage, it was decided we'd best meet at Kimmeridge and work it out later. Weather reports were not looking good with a predicted south-westerly Force 5 later in the day and the likelihood of some rough water. Seven of us met and motored down to the bay, luckily arriving before the man in the toll booth so a substantial loss of income for the coffers of the estate!

There was a little confusion and possible concern at the notice on the slip advising that the firing range was open and the sea was therefore closed but it turned out the sign had been left out in error and was quickly removed by a slightly sheepish bloke who'd been called by the coastguard.

Inspection from the slip confirmed our expectations as it was already a fresh breeze with a lot of white horses and surf breaking in the bay and on Broadbench, so we decided to go for plan B, which was to head west to Lulworth with the option of putting in at Worbarrow Bay if conditions required. This would be against tide and wind but with some assistance on the return leg. The prospect of rough conditions and lack of landing sites made a trip eastwards and especially around St Aldheim's look a bit too risky.

We launched without mishap and headed out through the surf aiming to go wide and miss the breaking waves on Broadbench. The sea was what we'd call confused as were some of us as there were sets of larger waves coming at irregular timing and from all sorts of directions. Some of you, by now will have guessed where this story leads but let's just say it was a tribute to the paddling skills of (most of) the group and Bertie's leadership that we have only two additions this week to the Swim Tracker! I was first to fall prey to a (huge, obviously) wave but ably assisted by Bertie, followed shortly after by Hugh caught by a wave (almost) as large as mine. A textbook rescue by Clive and we all proceeded with more than a fair share of bracing and good luck. Progress was exceedingly slow and when Bertie suggested a stop at Worbarrow Bay there was no dissent. It had taken us over two hours of solid paddling to cover about two miles!

We spent a peaceful hour enjoying the rest and Hilary's baking before heading back to sea where we found conditions had improved considerably. The swell had subsided, the wind had dropped and the sun made an appearance so it was really rather nice. With conditions in our favour we made the return in under an hour. We took particular care approaching Kimmeridge Bay following the experiences of some of the group members last year. We kept wide of Broadbench and kept a weather eye for rogue waves but arrived back at the slip without mishap. All in all a hard paddle and a good test of skills accompanied as always by good humour and convivial company. Thanks to Bertie for leading and saving us from disaster and welcome to Jim who joined us for his first paddle with the club.

There are no accompanying pictures for this report as Barbara, our resident photographer, was away skiing.

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Report by: John Christmas

A motley yet fine band of paddlers assembled on the slipway at Weymouth Harbour bright and early on a Sunday morning. They were commendably led by Clive West, who attempted to get the properly kitted out band of 18 merry paddlers into some sort of order. All types of craft were represented today. The plan for the day was to head off out through the harbour bound for the northern entrance of Portland Harbour and on to Chequered Fort. With appropriate warnings of death by hanging if we dared to venture onto the structures we duly departed under sunny blue skies. Obviously Clive had had words with the weather gods since we had a touch of blue sky and barely any breeze. The forecast of E /NE 3 -4 was certainly incorrect for the morning.

We shared the slipway with Weymouth Rowing Club who were launching a new gig in preparation for some gig racing in the harbour entrance later that day. The paddle out through the harbour was a pleasant warm up . As we neared the harbour entrance the blue sky disappeared and a chill descended over the area. The sea however was flat calm and we made rapid progress to our destination, with plenty of opportunities to chat to fellow paddlers, a number of whom were meeting for the first time. A special welcome to Jon Massey, Ron Lee and Michelle Price who were taking part in their first club paddle.

The only drama on the way out was for Geoff, who had swapped a borrowed club Charleston for Barbara’s Rockpool and suddenly found himself taking on water. Stopping to pump out what appeared to be gallons of water it was unclear whether this was sea water or whether Geoff had got caught short after a heavy night the evening before. Geoff’s concern was more to do with the size of the repair bill that Barbara might present to him.

On arriving at the Chequered Fort the calm seas meant that we could fully explore and take in the historical surroundings. At this point Kevin Mundy decided to put on some extra clothes, not quite landing on the structure (obeying the words of out Leader) and it could be said that it counted as a ‘half –swim’. As we had made such good progress plans were altered and our erstwhile leader said we would head across to Sandsfoot. However as the leading group approached Sandsfoot we were informed that we were heading for Castle Cove. We never did work out whether Clive’s navigation was faulty or whether that was the intention all along!

Anyway we lunched on the beach, Barbara and Hilary ensured our energy levels were high for the return journey by providing plentiful home baking, including left overs from Ian’s birthday cake. Happy belated birthday Ian! Meanwhile Barbara’s boat was temporarily repaired and she happily swopped back into her now dry boat.

With the breeze picking up slightly, together with the sea state, we set off for the northern entrance of Portland Harbour. It was slightly choppy coming out through the entrance and making our way back to the harbour entrance, but all managed well with no swimmers or near misses. The rest of the group paddled back without incident to the slipway, with the exception of Jon and Barbara who paddled between the hulls of the large cat. They were suitably rebuked by an irate crew member.

All managed to exit safely, so the first paddle of the year with no swimmers and no alteration in the current league table.

Yet again it was a great day out paddling in local waters. It was great to see so many club members out and especially good, as a new member, to meet other new / relatively new members and put faces to names or forum names, as well as meet the ‘die hard’ committee members who together put much time and effort into making the IOPCC a success. Thanks are particularly due to Bertie for arranging the programme and to Clive for his unflappable leadership, even in the event of partial rebellions and much talk about tassels. You’ll have to get to know me a bit better to find out more about that one!

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Report by Jill Franks
Pictures by Barbara Browning,
Roger Williamson & Jill Franks

After the extremely cold, frosty, snowy, windy weather Dorset has had so far this year Sunday 17th January was a beautiful day. The Isle of Portland Canoe Club took advantage of the excellent weather forecast and 15 members met at Sandbanks, Poole. There was a blue sky, sunshine, a light breeze and a calm sea. It wasn’t warm but everyone had appropriate gear for January paddling. We could see our main objective Old Harry Rocks, 5km in the distance.

We set off from Sandbanks across the entrance of Poole harbour towards Studland Bay. There was very little traffic on the water and we were able to cross the main channel easily. In the summer this area can be very busy but on this occasion we had it to ourselves and crossed easily into Studland Bay which was beautiful and calm. As we paddled across we met three more Club Members who had launched at Knoll Beach. This made a total of 18 paddlers on the water – an IOPCC Club record.

From the calm of Studland Bay we could see the ominous white of breaking waves around Handfast Point – Old Harry’s Rocks. The stacks point out from Handfast Point towards the Needles on the Isle of Wight, 28km across Bournemouth Bay. ‘ Old Harry’ is an archaic name for Satan, and describes the stack at the seaward end. A tide race forms off the outer edge of the rocks and on this occasion with a big spring tide and residual swell it was working well! For most people this was good fun and everyone bounced round this spectacular Headland into the relative calm of the cliffs towards Ballard Point where we paddled inshore to be close to the spectacular chalk spires, pinnacles and caves that form off the white cliffs.

At Ballard Point we turned and paddled back through the stacks and pinnacles to Old Harry’s. The tide race had developed further and we had the combination of following waves and tide against us. For those who chose to give Old Harry a wide berth the tide was stronger and those paddlers who cut in close had large breaking waves. Too large for Hugh who capsized, failed to roll and swam. Ken skilfully reached him and carried out an efficient rescue so Hugh, clad in a dry suit, was unscathed and quickly back in his boat. The other 17 paddlers eventually battled their way against the tide back into the calm of Studland Bay and we then paddled across to Joe’s Café for a well-earned lunch break. Some keener Club members took advantage of the calm safe water and practiced their rolling skills before lunch. Most people decided to stay relatively dry.

After lunch we paddled inshore along Studland Beach and played in the small surf waves. This was very good fun. Cate got a bit carried away and capsized. She was quite close to the beach and was safely washed up. We dropped three people off at Knoll beach and made our way back to the training wall and the main channel out of Poole Harbour. The tide was running out of the Harbour very quickly and we had to work quite hard to get across the Channel. There were waves off the Sandbanks in the bay to add a bit of interest to the last kilometre before we all safely reached the beach at Sandbanks. All landed without incident apart from Clive who decided to swim the last 10 metres – smiling and swimming – now that’s a neat trick in January!

 

Barbara's pictures of the paddle are on the Galleries Page.

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Report and pictures by: Barbara Browning

Sunday January 3rd was forecast to be cold and windy. The scheduled event in the IOPCC paddling programme was to put in at Sandsfoot on Portland Harbour, paddle up the Fleet and then back again. This paddle was suitable for everyone and a group of 12 met at Sandsfoot at 09.30am. The forecast was accurate. Freezing temperatures and a strong easterly breeze.

The group included the usual suspects in closed cockpit sea kayaks but also three new members in sit on top kayaks. It was good to see twelve people on the water and to welcome new members in craft we had little experience of so early in the year.

It was a high spring tide and the whole of the beach at Sandsfoot was covered at HW. We knew this meant that the flow under Ferrybridge was likely to be in excess of 6 knots! Well wrapped up in a variety of dry suits, pogies, balaclavas, pink woolly hats etc we set off with the wind behind for Ferrybridge. There were waves but everyone coped with this without a murmur. Approaching Ferrybridge it was evident that the wind and waves were funnelling through the gap and with wind against tide there was significant rough water! Out leader Clive J had asked Ian and I to bring up the rear so we had a good view of the group as they rode the waves . 10 out of 10 for surfing style to John Mc on his 3m SOT. I have never seen a SOT surf – and as it turned out neither had John! He seemed to be having fun…sort of!

Once safely through into the Fleet we had a relatively easy paddle up the Fleet. Although we were against the tide the easterly wind was significant and we were blown up to the narrow gap next to the Army barracks. The flow here is squeezed and was very fast. Clive West was delighted to be able to use his towrope in tandem with Ian to give John Mc a bit of help up to the lunch stop.

As it was such a cold day Clive J who was leading the trip had planned to stop after 1.5 hours so the time out was about 3 hours. We had a short break on Chesil beach for a chat and a hot drink. The flow had increased even more and was perfect for practicing ferry gliding so we did a bit of that before setting off at speed through the narrows and back down the Fleet. We regrouped before Ferrybridge and John Mc left us at this point preferring to walk back with his SOT on wheels.
 

The group whizzed under the bridge and just as it seemed we would get through without incident Sandra was taken by surprise by a very fierce eddy and her SOT turned over. The flow was very fast and she was quickly swept out into the Harbour. Once clear of the flow and eddy Kevin M was able to raft alongside and turn the boat over and Sandra was able to climb on. In those conditions it took longer than any of us would have liked to get Sandra out of the water. (about 3 minutes) The sea kayaks were difficult to manoeuvre in the wind and waves and we had no experience of rescuing with a SOT.

Once aboard Sandra was cold but otherwise unscathed. The wind had increased to 24 knots gusting 27 knots easterly - that is Force 6 gusting Force 7 against us. The paddle back to Sandsfoot is just over a kilometre and it was quite a battle against the wind and waves. We all paddled back and arrived back at Sandsfoot having enjoyed our adventure.

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Report and pictures by: Barbara Browning