Evening at Llantwit Major

With the nights finally getting lighter I took the opportunity
to have a quick paddle at Llantwit Major at high tide after
work.

I made my way toward the caves either side of Tresilian
Bay.

But once again I was prevented from getting to close!

On my way back I noticed a small red boat towing a small
sailing boat. Probably the life boat from St Donnats college.
Coming the other way was an RNLI life boat from Barry.
I watched them link up a tow line and tow the boat off
toward Barry.



Lets hope this weekend is as good as the last one!

I found this piece in the local paper which gives a bit more
detail about what I saw...well at least I think so, they got
the day wrong if it is.

Flat Holm

Launching from Penarth with flat holm and steep holm in the distance
I've felt a little bit apprehensive for a while about doing
this trip. The thought of leaving the safety of the shoreline
behind and paddling into the full flow of the tidal stream
seemed a bit daunting. I couldn't have asked for better
conditions though! I left Penarth at 10:30am, low tide at
11:50 on the island.

I did my maths last night and stuck to the plan and made
a heading of 128 degrees simply to see if it would work.
Even though my kayak never pointed in the direction of
the island I made a perfect beeline.

Pausing for only a minute when Hannah (my wife) phoned

me, my boat headed backward into the flow of the current

at 1.5kts. This doesn't seem like much but when your

watching your position go off course on your GPS you realise

what your up against.

I reached Flat Holm spot on time at 11:20am. So ferry

gliding does work after all!

Having never been in this position I wasn't sure which

way to go around the island. Does it make a difference?

Maybe I'm thinking to much into this.

Steepholm in the distance

Because the tide was fully out I could navigate though the

shallow rock pools.

But everything was so far away. There are goats in this

picture honest.

The farm houses

Calculations for the return trip

Castle rock looking very different than it did in Richards

trip last week. No playing with the fast water flowing

through this gap for me!

Having gone around the island I landed near the jetti.

I had a bit of lunch on the beach and had a little wander

around the cliffs. Looks like some good climbs here and

I bet no one has done them! Although I get a feeling

your probably not allowed.

Victorian cannon

After a quick half hour I left before the tide picked up.

The tide was stronger on the way back and I made good

progress at 5kts. My GPS seemed to be playing up and was

pointing me more toward sully than Penarth.

Looking off the back of my boat toward flat holm

Arriving back at Penarth

Looking back at the two islands

On my return journey when I reached the wolves I felt my

ferry glide angle was a bit steep and I was veering off course.

I made a new course toward Lavernock point. It was only

when I looked back on my GPS that the current had carried

me out in a big curve. A total of nearly 9nm and home in

time for the rugby, although wish I never bothered! A really

good trip, will do that again soon, maybe include Steep Holm

next time.

Penarth with Mick

I joined Mick today at Penarth to try out his new fold up
kayak on the sea.

I hauled my kayak down the slipway opposite the RLNI station
whilst Mick carried his down in a large bag! He emptied out
what looked like a few wooden crutches and snooker cues
and 20 minutes later he had a kayak. Amazing!

With the ebbing tide now in full flow we didn't want to venture
out to far so headed out against the tide toward Cardiff Bay.

I bought a waterproof camera case on Friday but had a

bit of trouble trying to take pictures through the plastic.

Most of my pictures we smudged due to water on the

cover.

On our way back we almost had a close call with the 72ft

Challenge Wales boat, which was coming in to dock at the

barrage. This boat is one of only 12 in the world built to this

design and was originally raced around the world. It is now

owned by the charity and used to give young people the

experience of sailing.

My blurry pictures! We passed under the Pier before landing

back near the slipway. A further 20 minutes later and Micks

Kayak was back in it's bag and in the boot!

Where it all started

I don't have many pictures of myself so here's one courtesy
of Elan at Up and Under Cardiff. I was demoing a Dagger
Charleston on the River Ely before I decided to go with my
Venture Easky.