With winds forecast at between force 6 and force 8, the trip evolved into a rough water training session in a relatively safe environment. The chosen location was a Goldilocks affair. Original choices; Largs, Fairlie and Seamill were thought to be too calm. Replacement choice, Irvine was just too wild. Eventually we settled on the excellent Ardrossan South beach which looked just right. In fact the very high winds generated very frequent and very steep waves that did not look too large but made the kayaking very difficult.
Main finding; it is virtually impossible to do any rescues in surf. Rafting is potentially lethal, re-entry virtually impossible and pumping out without a spray deck completely on, pointless. However the experience was both useful and extremely good fun. We will be back when the surf is up.
