Helensburgh CC – Page 27 – Canoeing and Kayaking with Helensburgh C.C.

28th June 2012

Sugar Boat, Wednesday 27th June 2012

Paddlers: Anne, Seylan, Jamie, Bill, Frankie, Jim, Geoff, Euan, Oliver, Josh, Sam, Ross, Andrew, Tamara

Weather: Flat calm and Misty.

Route: A beginners trip; Straight out from Craigendoran, Climb on the wreck, and Back

Photos:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Ross, Sam and Oliver

Andrew conquers the boat face

On the evening of 27 January 1974, a storm blew the vessel from its anchor while she was waiting at the Tail of the Bank to deliver sugar to the James Watt Dock inGreenock. She collided with the BP tanker British Light. The tanker suffered no damage but her anchor chains holed the sugar boat allowing water to pour in.

Captayannis’ captain tried to make for the sheltered waters of the Gareloch. Realising that water was flowing in so fast that she was in imminent danger of sinking, he opted to beach her in the shallow waters over the sandbank and steered to the desired spot where she stuck fast. The pilot boats, the tug Labrador and Clyde Marine Motoring’s Rover came to assist. The vessel heeled over so far that it was possible for the crew to jump onto the deck of the diminutive passenger vessel. 25 of the crew were taken ashore, but the Captain and four crewmen waited on the Labrador, standing off the stricken vessel. The ship finally succumbed the next morning, rolling onto her side. She has lain there ever since. Most, if not all of her more valuable metals and fittings have been removed by looters, leaving little of the split-style superstructure.

Through time Captayannis has become ‘home’ to marine life and birds. She has never been removed as confusion surrounds the identity of her owners and insurers – no-one accepts responsibility for her removal. Plans to have her blown up were shelved as there were fears about damage to nearby bird sanctuary, Ardmore Point

25th June 201225th June 2012

Loch Lomond, Sunday 24th June 2012

006 — Frankie, Martin, Euan, Eileen, Geoff, Stewart, Hannah and David

The high winds on the Saturday effectively killed the beginners Canoe Camp planned for the weekend and a paddle on the Sunday was rapidly substituted. Kick-off was the relatively early 9am to fit in with a forecast of wind progressively increasing throughout the day. This proved fairly accurate although in general the winds were less severe and the sun far more obvious than the forecast suggested.

The route taken was an anti-clockwise circuit of the 4 SPA (Special Protected Area) islands; Inchvannach, Inchmoan, Inchcruin and Inchconnachan stopping on the horseshoe beach on Inchmoan, the top end of Inchmoan, the pier at Inchcruin and the Wallaby beach on Inchconnachan.

001 — Martin and Eileen in their new boats on Inchmoan

003 — Euan, Hannah and Stewart in one of the club canoes

Ben Lomond just coming clear of cloud

007 — Euan, Hannah and Stewart in one of the club canoes

Ben Lomond just coming clear of cloud

IMG_1019 - Copy — One of the herd of Fallow Deer seen on both Inchmoan and Inchcruin

IMG_1023 - Copy — On the beach on Inchcruin (joined by a collapsible double)

IMG_1024 - Copy — Arriving at the “Wallaby Beach” on Inchconnachan

IMG_1030 - Copy — Frankie and David observe the wallaby (almost completely hidden by the bracken)

IMG_1035 - Copy — Almost back to Aldlochlay

10th June 2012

Skye and Loch Nevis June 5 – 7 2012

Paddlers: Hugh, Geoff, Jamie

Weather: Bright with lots of sun and almost flat calm. The threat of high winds and torrential rain on Thursday after 4pm was an ever present and rather dictated where we went.

Day 1: Morar to Point of Sleat (Skye) 14km (8mi). Point of Sleat to North of Armadale 16km (10mi)

From our put in, the River Morar was very shallow between extensive sand banks. There was a bit of scraping before embarking on the 8 mile crossing to Skye. This proved easy if lengthy.

015 — Crossing the Sound of Sleat with Eigg and Rum in background

019 (2) — Heading North with Beinn Sgritheall and Knoydart in background

Instead we headed up north along the Skye coast past Armadale and the Gaelic college eventually camping on a fairly rough site. However the supply of wood was excellent and a brisk north easterly kept the dreaded Skye midge away. A good evening.

Day 2: Skye to Doune (Knoydart) 6.5km (4mi). Doune to North Morar 11km (7mi) to Inverie via Kyles of Nevis 22km (14mi)

The wind dropped overnight and our winged friends made breakfast a limited pleasure.

022 — Looking towards Mallaig from campsite

We had a break at Doune on Knoydart then pushed on to Loch Nevis.

034 — Ardintigh (Tom Maclean's Adventure Centre)

Given that it is totally isolated, there is a surprisingly large and active community around Tarbet and the Kyles leading into the upper loch. The tide flows through the Kyles at 5 knots; too fast to paddle against. We arrived just as the tide turned and started flowing in. The result is that if we went on we could not get out again for 6 hours. Given our schedule we had to turn. Even then it was a struggle to do the few hundred metres against the incoming tide.

Back up at Inverie we began the search for a campsite. The dominant factor was midges and the need for a good fire to keep them at bay. The choice between the established site in Inverie and a rough site a km further back was won by the rough site, which in retrospect was probably a mistake. A night paddle was as much an escape from midges as a trip to the pub.

Day 3: Inverie-Mallaig 10km (7mi) Mallaig -Morar 6km (4mi)

A quick paddle to Inverie for an ice cream. Knoydart is an excellent example of a community buy out. The struggling village of 25 years ago is now busy, thriving and beautiful.

A wonderful morning and a gentle paddle to a beach just short of Mallaig.

AsA short visit to Mallaig, where two other kayak groups were parked up on the beach, and then on to Morar arriving just as the weather broke at 4pm. Another excellent trip.

048 — Paddling up the river back to the car

10th June 2012

Loch Long 23rd May 2012

A wednesday evening paddle in lovely weather. 14 paddlers

005 — The Basic Skills Group with Finnart in background

18th May 201218th May 2012

Loch Craignish and Dorus Mor

Paddlers: Stewart, Anne, Geoff, Fraser and Jamie

Weather: Damp/Wet and Breezy.

Report: This was a day when any other outdoor activity (cycling, climbing, walking, skiing) would have been miserable in the extreme. Instead we had an excellent day.

The wind was surprisingly strong (Force 4) blowing directly up the loch giving a tough paddle into it and a bouncy ride across. Dorus Mor offered a strong tidal flow (up to 8 knots) that did not slacken until around 4pm and a passage through and back was clearly never a realistic proposition. The decision was confirmed by a sea of white horses even with wind and tide flowing together.

Parking was problematic and instead of turning round as soon as we left Ardfern we pushed on to a beach at a ruined township called Kington. The paddle from here was back up the loch and then round and along the large islands on the east of the loch towards Crinan.

A break on Eilean Righ proved interesting and then on out to a small island at the mouth of the loch (Liath-sgeir Mor) for a late lunch. The paddle across the loch proved enjoyable if a little stressful for some and then a fast wind assisted paddle/surf back to the beach.

Finally Fraser entertained the troops by showing he still cannot role on his left side

A good day.

15th May 2012

Lismore May 2012

Paddlers: Myles, Jamie, Derek

Weather: Good but cold at night

Report:

We arrived at Port Appin and packed the boats in the Pier Hotel car park, then left the cars in the public parking just behind the beach (basically a good place to set off from). The sun was shining and we crossed over to Lismore at a fair pace and cruised down the coast until lunch.

After lunch we headed to the islands in the Lynn of Lorne and had a look about then back to Lismore and headed to the campsite on the southern tip. As we turned the corner there was a noticeable tiderace between the main island and a smaller one just off shore, it was probably flowing at about 6knots, something to look forward to in the morning….

The campsite was good but you had to look hard for fire wood, probably as this area is very popular with sea kayaks. We went and had a look at the tiderace after eating and decided it was probably a little too much to get through, but decided to wait till morning before making any decision.

In the morning we decided not to go through the race as it didn’t seem like a good idea to risk a swim first thing in the morning, this meant we had to go round the small island and tackle the lesser flow on the this still turned out to be about 4 knots, we all made it round without incident.

The rest of the day was spent exploring the north coast of Lismore, lunch was at an abandoned quarry, with a tea break at Port Ramsey. We had our hopes set on an ice cream, however there appears to be only one shop on the island about an hour walk way, so we had to make do with coffee and snacks.

The final part of the trip was a crossing over to Castle Stalker and then back to Port Appin against a fair bit of tide. All in all a good trip in good weather, if a little cold over night (for me anyway).

13th May 2012

Loch Craignish and Dorus Mor

Meet:

8.15am Craigendoran if you need gear

8.30am Helensburgh Upper Station

9a.m. Tarbet

10.30a.m. Ardfern (north of Lochgilphead heading for Oban)

We should be back to Ardfern between 4 and 4.30pm

Please email Geoff (Riddington89@hotmail.com) ifyou intend coming

13th May 20123rd February 2018

Sea Kayak Trip Programme

Helensburgh Canoe Club

Sea Kayak Trip Programme Summer 2012

Date Location(Grade) Leader

W/E 5^th/6^thMay Round Lismore(B) Contact Myles

Thursday 17^th May Loch Craignish & Dorus Mor (B) Contact Geoff Riddington89@hotmail.com

Week 3^rd-9^th June Round Jura (A) Contact Hugh isentropical@virgin.net

W/E 23^rd/24^thJune Beginners Camp, Loch Lomond(C)Contact Geoff Riddington89@hotmail.com

3 or 4 Days 1^st July Ulva, Staffa &Treshnish Ises (B+) Contact Hughisentropical@virgin.net

W/E 21^st/22^nd July Loch Spelve (Mull) (B+) Contact Hugh isentropical@virgin.net

Week 12^th-18^th Aug Minch Crossing and Shiants(A) Contact Hugh isentropical@virgin.net

Sun 2^nd September Bass Rock(B) Contact Geoff Riddington89@hotmail.com

Week 8^th October South Turkey (Kos, Kevlova)(B) Contact Geoff Riddington89@hotmail.com

There will be paddles most Wednesday evenings throughout the summer.

Grade A: For experienced Sea Kayakers. Involves strong tidal streams and/or exposed water. Weather/risk assessment and passage planning familiarity essential.

Grade B: For anyone who has completed club Sea Expedition Training (3 Star Sea) or equivalent.

B+: As above but who have completed at least one Grade B exped.

Grade C: For anyone, including youngsters and families

There will be planning/briefing discussions for trips where necessary.

NB: As ever these trips are weather dependent and locations may be changed to more sheltered areas or, if the worst happens, trips cancelled.

23rd April 201223rd April 2012

Round the Islands April 22nd 2012

Paddlers: Geoff, Mel, Anne, Tracey, Jim, Martyn, Eileen, Steve, Frankie, David, Lee

On Beach — Group on beach: second lunch break

Weather: Bright but mostly overcast, with no wind.

Heading North from Inchmoan

Meeting with Hostellers at narrows: Derek displays paddle used on first Kilda trip

Video of group paddling available at

http://youtu.be/OawK-KCLu20

26th March 2012

Clyde, Sunday March 25th 2012

Paddlers: Miriam, Lena, Hugh, Mel, Geoff, Derek, Euan (C-M), Callum, David, Jamie, Myles

Weather: Flat Calm, Hazy Sun (Perfect)

Route: Craigendoran, Sugar Boat, Estuary Control (Greenock), Royal West (Gourock), Peninsular near point, Craigendoran

Report: The trip was targeted at novices and proved to be a gentle and extremely pleasant afternoon on the water.