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The weather couldn’t have been more perfect. After the
usual moving of cars, we set off from Chesil beach right on
time at 11:00. It was my first trip all the way round so I
was looking forward to it. Barbara wanted to practice her
VHF skills so signed in with the coastguard to let them know
what we were planning. Little did we all know how much more
she would be using the VHF set later. The plan was to leave
3 hours before high tide so that we would benefit from the
tide being with us all the way round.
The sea down the west side of the island was like a sheet
of glass. The visibility was near perfect, the occasional
diver disturbing the surface. We all did a bit of rock
hopping round the boulders. Clive managed to lighten his
boat a bit by leaving some fibreglass on the rocks. As we
moved to the south of the island and left the hoards of
climbers behind, the scene was like something out of a David
Attenborough’s documentary with cormorants diving into the
water as we slid past.
About noon we rounded the bill, paddling through Pulpit
Rock and past the lighthouse, relieved not to be with the
crowds that were on land. We then started up the east side
on route to our lunch stop, past large caves and huge wooden
boat cranes that are used to lower boats down the cliff
edge. I was looking forward to lunch as I had been told
about the “baking” wars that go on between Hilary and
Barbara.
At this point we were watching more climbers out enjoying
the weather. I was wondering what to write in the trip
report as this part of the island was starting to get less
interesting when suddenly one of the climbers fell from the
top of the cliff. We took the decision to alert the
coastguard of the situation, as we weren’t sure whether any
of the climbers was able to alert the emergency services.
Barbara did a grand job of giving the coastguard all the
information they needed. We then all rafted up to give
“Whiskey Bravo” the local coastguard helicopter a better
chance of seeing us. Once again, Clive wished he had packed
his orange flares. We were relieved when we heard the roar
of the helicopter coming down the coast toward us. The
climber was eventually airlifted to the local hospital and
only suffered a couple of broken bones and concussion (a
lucky chap). We had a ringside view of the whole affair
before moving off to complete the journey.
We got back to Portland Castle at 15:00 after paddling
through the breakwater and port. When we contacted the
coastguard to let them know we were back, they commended the
way in which we handled the affair. If the climber had
serious head injuries, those extra minutes saved could have
made all the difference. Subsequent to the event, we had a
nice write up in the Echo, photos supplied by Ian and
Barbara. Hopefully it will raise the awareness of the club
and what a professional bunch we are!! |
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| Portland...how pretty is that? |
Clive on glassy calm seas |
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| Clive, Ian and Andy |
Barbara |
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| Andy at the Bill |
A little bit of rough after
the Bill |
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| Whiskey Bravo flies in to pick up
the injured climber |
A kayaker paddles on his stomach! |
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| Winner of the baking
wars...Hilary West! |
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