DAY 2
The YMCA offered dry warm indoor environment
for which we were very grateful. We debriefed over tea and
cake. There was plenty of space to sort our gear our and
even a tumble dryer. In the evening we walked down to
Penzance sea front and had a splendid Indian meal at Baba’s.
After good nights sleep – with the extra hour – Richard met
us at 9am at the YMCA and we made our way to Porthoustock on
the East side of the Lizard. Ian was not feeling well enough
to paddle and although Jill had made it back to England she
was still in Dorset – so there were just the four of us.
Porthoustock offered a sheltered launch. We set off
without helmets on to Porthoustock Point which offered rocks
and gullies to practice our boat control and edging skills.
Helmets were quickly donned and although the swell was
smaller and the wind at a manageable 15mph it was still
quite busy especially with the inevitable unpredictable
large set which surprised us more than once. John was caught
by one of these early in the day and was capsized. He made a
really good attempt to roll and almost made it but he was in
a narrow rocky gully where lingering upside down was not an
attractive option so he swam. Richard quickly had him back
into his boat unscathed.
We played amongst the rocks and gullies at Porthoustock
Point and Manacle Point whilst waiting for the ebbing tide
to build at the Manacles. The Manacles are a set of
treacherous rocks which extend 1 nautical mile east and
south east of Manacle Point. Richard explained that if you
draw a straight line from Lizard to Falmouth you go right
over the reef which is why so many boats have been wrecked
there. The Manacles consist of many submerged rocks and
several groups of rocks which break the surface, although
some only do so at low water. This was a spring tide and the
extent of the reef was evident with the rock submerged rocks
clearly visible below the surface and many rocks breaking
the surface. It was inevitable wind over tide conditions so
although the swell wasn’t huge it was quite steep with the
occasional breaker. The tide was ebbing at a rate of 2 -3
knots through the reef and we practiced manoeuvring and
ferry gliding on the moving water – interrupted by the swell
at our backs. Edging became more of a challenge and paddling
in tight circles around the reef whilst coping with the
swirling tide and opposing swell was quite tricky. It
certainly stretched our boat handling skills and our nerve
in this ‘large’ environment. Richard was delighted that the
conditions we had were ‘perfect’.
Right on cue Richard obviously spotted that we had had
enough and we paddled up the waves to the other end of the
reef and then down the waves – following sea practice –
before going ashore at Leggan Cove. As we closed in on the
shore Richard had us looking for a good place to land. We
then avoided that and went in at a tricky spot with waves
and rocks. Richard went in first and then offered advice as
we came in. Jackie very elegantly came in side saddle. Ian
had been watching our antics from the shore and joined us on
the beach for lunch.
Launching from the beach was a challenge and we all
elected to sit in our boats with decks on and be pushed out
into the waves. John was a bit of a wave magnet and had a
huge one break over him. Richard launched from deeper water
with legs over the side and no deck on. He was lucky with
the waves though! I must admit to not being disappointed that
the tidal flow had passed its peak so we did not go out to
the Manacles again. We spent the afternoon practicing boat
handling skills amongst the rock and reefs off Manacle
Point. The swell was big enough to make this challenging and
our new skills from the surfing on Sennen beach were used.
Lots of edging practice and practical use of stern rudder
and even cross bow rudder improved our boat handling skills
in this rocky environment.
We reached the gully where John had capsized in the
morning. Richard explained about positioning of the leader
(aspiring 4* leaders) and we went through one by one. Jackie
went first and she had to pick her way slowly and carefully
in a shallow channel around the rocks. Hugh went next and he
was swept quickly through about six foot higher than
Jackie’s level. I went through on the back of a wave which
got me through the first bit and then sucked all the water
out so I had to pick my way through the rest. Then it was
Johns turn as he set off we heard a loud bang - this was his
boat crashing into the side of the gully as the biggest wave
of the day picked him up and thoroughly mullered him. The
safest option was to get out of the boat which he did
quickly and when the surge had died a bit Richard quickly
had John back in his boat.
We headed in towards a nice gentle beach and I thought we
were going in a bit of respite after Johns swim. No chance –
Richard had us ‘land’ on a tiny rock which was only just
above the water line – and then launch again. We all managed
this successfully much to my surprise. We rock hopped our
way back to the shelter at Porthoustock. Richard then had us
paddling around whilst sitting on the back deck of our boats
which resulted in the inevitable swims which led into self
rescue practice. We got changed just before it started to
rain and after a quick debrief we loaded up and made our way
in the darkness back to Dorset – where it was still raining.
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