Arran Sea Kayak Day 1 - South Corrie Harbour to Lochranza - 11/4/2009

My birthday gift to Brian was a day long sea kayak trip in Arran, a coastal journey from Corrie harbour on the east coast to Lochranza, organised by the Arran Adventure Company. It seemed a fitting gift for Brian's 17th annual 28th birthday. More details soon.

Our evening view for the three nights we stayed on Arran.

How does this thing work?

Instructor Calum reviewed the basics ahead of our exit from Corrie's harbour.

The northern edge of Sannox village is the point where the island's road disappears into the hills, with most of the journey still ahead of us.

Brian spent the first few minutes of lunchtime wringing out the consequences of trying to stand up before his legs were ready for him to do so.

One of my favourite photos from the journey. Brian approaches the Fallen Rocks on Arran's east coast.

Rounding the north coast of Arran, the chop picked up a bit as the wind starting kicking us around a little more, hints of what was to follow. This was the last photo I took before the landing at Lochranza.

The water doesn't give a particularly accurate perspective on the conditions, but the dark clouds do. It was hard work paddling into the wind to finish the journey. The entrance to Lochranza was majestic but I didn't want to risk getting blown off course to take any photos.

The landing beside Lochranza Castle was most welcome after the last mile or more into the wind.

Arran Sea Kayak Day 2 - Brodick Bay to Corrie and the Holy Isle - 12/4/2009

Our second day of sea kayaking was split between two trips. In the morning, we paddled from Brodick Bay to Corrie, effectively completing the northeast coast of Arran. In the afternoon, we paddled out to within 1/4 mile of the Holy Isle before the timing said we needed to turn back. More soon.

Our second day started with a paddle from Brodick Bay to Corrie.

On the left side, in roughly the middle of the choppy water, you can see a seal looking very strangely at me, probably wondering how I could catch any fish with the 15ft plastic fin attached to my bum.

Broken Brian. He set the footpegs a little too tightly on day 2 and was feeling it by the end of the first trip.

Lunchtime

The paddle to the Holy Isle was our last sea kayak adventure of the weekend.

Arrecife Pirates to Playa Honda - Day 5 - 7/11/2008

Brian and I returned to Playa del Reducto in Arrecife for our second sea kayak trip, this time without a guide. We collected our boats from Lanza Canoa and pet their dog before heading out. The wind was pretty much the same as the previous day, though it felt warmer to me.

We repeated the pirate journey from the day before. Even with the wind, it took 45 minutes to get to the wind-blocking harbour. We skipped the coffee break this time and returned to Playa del Reducto in short order. Instead of landing, we continued along the shoreline roughly southwest toward Playa Honda. It was farther than I expected. It was also more exposed, which meant more swells, current and wind than we had the previous day.

The current and the wind were on our side and the swell was reasonably predictable. We paddled along the shoreline, veering out to sea a little with each visible pile of rocks to avoid the waves that formed naturally. I hit most of the swells at a 45 degree angle but occasionally they snuck up on me. I saw Brian get thrown around a bit with one set of swells and I chose to face in the same direction to avoid similar tossing. One of them surfed me a little and then I was able to ferry across the trough before the next wave came in. I was excited that a river move worked on the sea.

We saw a few cafes along the beach and had a little more than an hour before our pickup, so we decided to stop for a snack. After tapas (without the bread for me) and drinks, we had just under half an hour to get to the next beach. Then Brian realised we would have to launch into the current and swell that had been so helpful depositing us on the beach. It wasn't as hard as he expected. Sit on top kayaks are useful for not requiring much faff to get started. I waded out, waited for a wave to go out, hopped gracelessly onto my boat and paddled out. Brian didn't wade out as far, got washed in briefly but quickly managed to get going anyway.

While approaching Playa Honda, we competed for space with two kite surfers and a pile of rocks that tried to hide. I think I annoyed the kite surfer by shifting direction to avoid the rocks, but he coped well enough. He later zoomed between Brian and me when he easily could have gone elsewhere. The second kite surfer got started soon after and the two of them zoomed away together.

As we approached the beach, one of the women from Lanza Canoa waved from the car park. She helped us drag the boats up to the trailer. We cleaned up quickly, washing the sand away that we could reach. Their dog was happy to lick the salt off our hands. They gave us a ride back to our hotel at Matagorda.

Semi-convinced by the warmth of the air, I agreed to join Brian for some swimming and snorkeling. He brought his mask and snorkel. He threw himself in pretty quickly. I did the weenie wade out, whimpering about the cold as I went. Brian let me try his mask and snorkel and I threw myself the rest of the way in. I played with my underwater camera, chasing fish as the mask slowly leaked around me. We took a break and I bought my own mask and snorkel. The mask was one meant for children so it fit!

We snorkeled for about 15 or 20 more minutes during which my poor camera decided it had had enough of the salt water. I got an error message telling me to clean the card. In reality, the error message meant the card and receptacle were corroded. A new card got me a few more photos before the camera died completely. Thankfully, both cards read perfectly on a card reader at home, but I did wonder for the next few days if all of my photos would be lost.

Expecting that the journey to Playa Honda would take no time at all, we repeated the journey to Arrecife's harbour first.

Playa Honda was farther from Arrecife than I expected, but not all that far in reality.

The journey to Playa Honda was easier with the winds at our backs but the swells gave it a bit more excitement at times.