Where's Howard

What to do on a wet and windy bank holiday? Why, go sea canoeing of course!

We knew we'd got the right camp site when we woke the next morning to find that the others had arrived, either that or we'd all got the wrong one I suppose.

We were a mixed bunch. There were experienced and confident paddlers, experienced and not so confident paddlers, an inexperienced and confident paddler and an inexperienced and rather apprehensive paddler.

The weather was set fair for the day and so after much boat packing and tide checking we set off. It's a lovely place to paddle. Arisaig sound is full of tiny islands full of seals who we managed to disturb on the way there and again on the way back. They are curious creatures but you need eyes in the back of your head to watch them as they have an annoying habit of always bobbing up behind you.

We had planned on a fairly relaxed first day but found that once on the water and with the tide with us we covered a lot more distance than we thought. Finding a camping spot proved to be a bit tricky, as the best looking sites were already inhabited with more permanent structures. Still with a bit of back tracking we found a good landing spot and all managed a tent with a sea view. Suppers cooked and wolfed down we spent a short evening around a blazing fire chatting about the day and reminiscing about other trips. Apologies to Nick and Cath who hadn't done any other trips to reminisce about.

And so to bed, only to be woken up by very blustery weather. The next morning we all decided on a lie in, it was still much too windy to tempt us from our beds. Boredom soon got the better of us and hunger lured us to our boats and breakfast. A call to the coast guard reassured us that the wind was due to die down only to change direction and to build up again the following day. We therefore abandoned plans to carry on and decided to head back at a leisurely pace.

The wind hadn't shown much sigh of dying down but by lunchtime we were all ready to be off. However, we found the going to be much easier than expected, either that or our paddling had improved tremendously overnight. We reached our lunch spot much to the surprise of Westy, who thought we still had some way to go. It's so reassuring to be paddling with someone who knows exactly where they are!

After lunch we were to find that our paddling skills had not improved so much as we faced some rough water. The swell was definitely much more than moderate and was pretty choppy with breakers. It was a beam sea and so you needed not eyes in the back of your head this time but somewhere on the side would have been useful. However, we knew that once we got around the headland the conditions would improve so it was heads down and muscles flexed.

Neil spotted a very nice little beach on the way there and decided to make a stop. He was so busy signalling us he didn't spot the wave with his name on it. A pretty good support stroke saw him retain his upright position but he was definitely damp around the edges by the time we landed. Wendy eventually came down from cloud nine and stopped raving about how much she'd enjoyed that last bit of paddling when it finally dawned on her quite how big the waves had been. The sun decided to shine and so we decided to make the best of it and put the kettle on. Cath had been very quiet all this time, I think she was afraid to open her mouth in case a scream came out.

A much more reluctant Wendy, and the rest got back on the water to do the final leg around the headland and into Arisaig Sound. This had given the wind time to die down and the sea had calmed down considerably. Once into Arisaig Sound the tide did the work for us as we floated along looking for a campsite.

We finally spotted one in the middle of a bog on a very wet island; still we'd all had enough by then and happily settled to an evening of chat standing around a puddle. They finished off the damson gin for me but waited until I'd gone to bed before they made the hot chocolate with brandy and cream.

Our little piece of bog turned into a much larger bog overnight as torrential rain fell. Luckily Westy had recently learnt how to put his tent up and so slept on in comfort and confidence. The next morning was again a slow start as we took advantage of the rain to excuse us from an early breakfast. Eventually hunger struck and we emerged to drizzle and Nick champing at the bit to be back on the water.

A quick pootle around the Sound to disturb the seals once again and back to the camp site. Unpack the boats, say our farewells and back home in time to help bath Alice and give her her bedtime feed. Oh I had missed her but I'd also enjoyed every baby free minute of the trip, thanks Pete.

Anna Broadley

P.S. There's always next time Howard.

	Search this site powered by FreeFind
	Swaledale Outdoor Club