Sunday 29 November 2009

Cardiff Bay 28/11/09

I was hoping the forecast of a force 7 to 8 may
be wrong as the sky's were blue and there didn't
seem to be any wind. So I packed up my boat
and drove on down to my local bay. No chance!
So I opted for a very calm and settled paddle down
at Cardiff Bay.


I went down to my usual launch site on the River Taff
but was sent away. Due to the high river levels lately
the river was full of rubbish and was in the process of
being cleaned, however I think this might have had
something to do with the body that was found further
up river. So I went over the bridge to the River
Ely.

It was a case of dodge the log!

Cardiff Marina

The lock gates
The Barrage, supposed to look like sails of a boat from a
distance.
The remains of the old docks with the pierhead building in the back.


Pierhead building, The Senedd Assembly building and Millennium Center


The Norwegian Saylors Church and Cardiff Bay Waterbus

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great blog!
Great Photos and a great boat.
I also have a Venture Easky 15.
I'm in Virginia and spend most of my time on the Chesapeake Bay.
The Easky really is a great Kayak.
Cheers to you and your blog...

Stuart sea kayk said...

Hello, thank you for your comments. Nice to know I have followers from the other side of the globe! Yes great boat, it hasn't let me down yet. If you get a blog set up send us a link. Cheers!

Anonymous said...

where are the best places to launch in the bay i use a sit on top kayak great photos

Stuart sea kayk said...

Hello, sorry for very late reply didn't know I had a comment. See the comments on my latest trip to the bay (light at the end of the tunnel) for places to launch. Probaly too late now, sorry.

Anonymous said...

Hey Stuart, where is that launch spot on the Taff ? Is it open to public?

Stuart sea kayk said...

That spot is underneath the grange town link bridge (A4232) just behind Starbucks opposite Asda. Last time I went there they put a locked gate there.

The easiest place is off the slipway on Jim Driscoll Way. Its next to the Cardiff Water Bay Water Activity Centre who if their out my try to charge you. I've never paid and never will. The steep slope on John Batchellor Way (Near Penarth Marina) is another place, a little trickier though.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the speedy reply and for the handy info! I saw the slope on John Batchelor from the water today and will be using that next time. It looked like the proper steps there are gated off but the fence looked easily scalable. I opted for the river Ely to avoid potential charges on the Channel View slipway. Went and locked a bike outside the white water centre, drove up to where the fly over crosses Penarth rd, wheeled my yak up the path along the river, next to Force 4 Chandlery, under the fly over and launched from the fishing platforms. Only a short paddle back to the white water centre but it was awesome and glorious weather. Got some great cormorant shots, had a munch, then landed at the floating platform at the centre, rode my bike back to the car and went back to collect the yak. I spoke to someone at the centre the day before who didnt think it would be a problem, and no one gave me a second glance. I was prepared to negociate a fee if necessary. Highly recommend this little round trip if you can get a bike and a kayak on your car.

Stuart sea kayk said...

Glad you had a good paddle. Haven't been down the bay for a while, used to go every Monday evening 'Monday Club' when Up&Under used to have a shop down there. Would recommend a night paddle.