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Sunday 25th July
The previous evening John Miller had
arrived at Porth-Clais campsite to join me, we talked over
various tides and trips etc. over a few beers and some local
fish and chips. Our first day on the water was supposedly a
short paddle to Solva and back, however the numerous times
that John had walked/cycled this part of the coast didn’t
stop us from completely bypassing the harbour mouth until we
were near enough joining the surf into Newgale beach. We had
obviously overshot so a decision was made to turn around and
find the Port. Though fairly well pointed out by line of
Scar rocks it was no wonder we passed it so easily, not
confirming our correct passage till well into a curved
entrance. A nice brew was followed at the Sailing Club and
John kindly treated me to an Ice-cream. The trip back was as
pleasant having had very little wind all day and having
found a few rocks to pass through and a secluded bay. Beware
of stopping at the very busy beach of Caerfai Bay though as
the last 20 feet of surf is full of loose red seaweed.
Monday 26th July
Daytime: Getting ready for Jill to
arrive later that evening, we did some more recceing but
this time went East until we nudged our noses into Ramsey
Sound. This had more opportunities for rock hopping and we
had lunch on a lovely secluded beach in Porthlysgi Bay.
There was however a long surf rip just SW of Carreg yr Esgob
rock.
Evening: Earlier in the day, John had
popped into
TYF Adventure (the place he did his intro 3
years before) to get a more detailed forecast. It was
mentioned that that evening they were doing a Paddle and
Pick at a place called Forbidden Bay just east of Solva that
had no land access and had seen a recently high amount of
washed ashore debris. Being near Solva, John volunteered our
services and so at half seven that evening in Solva car park
we met up with a great bunch from TYF in various boats and
we paddled out. John was the first to get ashore but he
encountered a very steep shingle beach and was having
difficulties landing. I spotted an easier angle to the far
right and with a small sit on top near me made it ashore in
time to see John swimming back into the beach, so after a
little help we were all finally ashore. This cove was no
more than 50 meters across and it was hard to imagine just
how so much rubbish had collected there. Just over an hour’s
worth of hard work and the job was done. Four big Canadian
canoes were loaded up like New York City dump barges and the
four of us in sea kayaks provided a tow with the assistance
of a helmsman in each. It was great to be involved let alone
for a worthy cause and hopefully a new link for IOPCC to
make use of in the future. For pics follow this
LINK>>
Tuesday 27th July
Jill's first day on the water was
another fair weather paddle from Porth-Clais to guess where,
yep Johns favourite place in Wales, Solva! However this time
we knew what to look for and I now had my map on the spray
deck so I could take over the Nav keeping. Unfortunately the
tide was too low to show her a secret little tunnel we had
been shown the night before. The evening was finished off
with a nice pre made Chilli (Jill) and some wine in her
Tardis tent.
Wednesday 28th July
At two minutes to ten, John Christmas
arrived, pretty good time keeping and we set off via a car
shuttle to Whitesands Bay. The tides were just right to be
around the slack through Ramsey Sound. The initial launch
through the surf was enough to get our faces wet but once
out we just had a long swell to contend with, the sound
passed without incident though John C somehow managed to
find a very smooth strip of water nearer to shore than we
managed and after a short break at our recently discovered
Porthlysgi Bay we entered our home port of Porth-Clais. The
ability to drive into this harbour at low water really helps
with the movement of the kayaks.
Thursday 29th July
With Ramsey Sound under our belts we
were up for a BIG paddle, so it was decided to tackle
Strumble Head. Once again a car shuttle left a vehicle at
Porth-Gain and we found a free car park adjacent to the
water just to the right of the main harbour breakwater. We
set off under a lovely sun and a long but slightly bumpy
swell. Strumble Head did throw up some mixed swell of
variable size but we all managed to get around the
lighthouse on the headland still dry. We immediately cut in
behind the rock, Pen Brush into an unbelievably smooth patch
of water and were greeted by half a dozen seals, a great way
to come down from the rush of Strumble. We plodded on and
stopped for a much needed break at Aber Bach. The final part
of the trip was onto our final destination at Porth-Gain and
we entered the harbour between its two cairns on either
side, totalling 16.1 miles in a moving time of 4 hours 20
minutes, a moving average of 3.7 mph. A quick round up of
the cars and we stayed in Porth-Gain for a nice meal at the
Sloop Inn. This is my longest paddle to date and though not
worn out I knew I was elated to complete it.
Friday 30th July
The weather had changed and we knew
early on it was now a non-paddling day. John M was already
leaving Saturday morning so decided to make the most of it
and decided to get home 24hrs early. This left the three of
us to walk into St Davids and visit the Cathedral and very
posh Information centre.
Saturday 31st July
Having already planned only a half days
paddling we headed off down to Porth-Clais harbour that was
now full of water and went for some rescue practise. John C
showed me a paddle Tee rescue rather than using the bow and
we all had numerous turns flipping ourselves upside down in
the water. Never having either fallen over in my Easky or
rolled I now felt ready to try putting together some
building blocks for rolling. John C was kind enough to show
me his technique then after putting his Explorer ashore he
waded back into the water to be my safety number and brace.
I tried a few holding on rolls and the hip flip was feeling
good so being all Gung Ho apparently I decided to go for it
and went straight into a roll. Not exactly successful but
its 4/5ths there and sadly the one that may have made it
doesn’t really count as my blade tip struck the bottom and
gave me a false support. But thanks to John anyway. Got 3
weeks till my 3 star in Scotland so need to get it cracked
by then!
This trip thankfully made up for the
last minute cancellation of the original Exped but we all
had a great time, a lovely part of our own coastline and
relatively cheap at £6 per person a night. Cheers all.
Dicky
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