Author: GeoffR

Paddlers: Tim, Allan, Sheila, Jean, Lee, John and John(?)

Weather: Bright, sunny and calm.

Report: A lovely “friends trip” co-ordinated by Tim and Allan around the islands of Loch Lomond.

Paddlers: Geoff, Tim

Weather: Fog clearing to give perfect blue, windless day

Report: The photos tell it all. A stunning afternoon paddle.

 

 

Paddlers: Dave, Tim and Geoff

Weather: Grey, Overcast with rain late on. Light wind F1/2

Route:

Report: Wednesday was lovely, Friday was near perfect but Thursday was horrible. Despite a forecast of sun we saw none but did have heavy rain.

The trip started well with fantastic views of Glencoe and swirling mist

The chosen launching point was the slipway just under Ballachulish bridge. Parking was easy and the water was high, providing an easy launch into a fast stream (emptying from Loch Leven into Loch Linhe). The paddle across past Onich and Sallachy Point was pleasant and uneventful.

Our coffee break on Morven gave superb views back to Loch Leven and the mountains.

We then headed south past Inversanda before turning 90 degrees to cross Loch Linhe by the shortest crossing. From bright grey the sky was turning dark and rain was seen in the distance up the Great Glen. Another lunch stop gave super views back towards Morven

The Loch was almost completely empty and the weather got progressively worse. On the last leg it moved from dreich to wet to pouring. We got back to Ballachulish on the incoming tide at around 16.30 having covered some 24km in around 5 hours of light paddling.  The slip was just starting to get covered and it is clear that to use this launch point you must a) go with the tidal stream (runs at >4kn)  and b) avoid low water.

It was a pleasant paddle in an unexplored area and overall it was a good day.

Paddlers: Geoff, Dave, Pete plus 3

Route: Largs Marina clockwise round Great Cumbrae

Weather: Sunny but windy (F4/5)

Report: The original objective had been Little Cumbrae but the battle south towards Millport into the wind soon put paid to that idea. It was thought, initially, that it might be too windy to experiement with sails but in fact it was near perfect conditions for the run north on the far side of the island as these two photos from Pete show.

 

Some claim kayak sailing is cheating! From my still very limited experience, any physical effort lessened is matched by the mental effort increased; a sea kayak running downwind is not the most stable of craft even without a flapping sail.

After rounding the north end, the battle back up to the marina was as difficult as expected but suprisingly satisfying. This was a really good day.

Paddlers: Hugh, Geoff, David, Tim and Robert

Weather: Clear, Sunny or light, high, cloud. Wind F1/2 increasing to F3/4 at end of afternoon

Route: 

 

Report: With high winds forecast further south on Jura, the proposed trip was altered to a trip around Kerrera. This proved ideal as 3 of the 5 paddlers had not been before and it was a lovely trip on a wonderful day. The wide sand beach at Ganavan is 2 miles north of Oban and is a perfect launch spot with excellent parking, toilets and a wide slip. Parking is a modest £2 for 24 hours.

The sceney is magnificent with Lismore and Morvern to the North, Mull to the west and Kerrera to the south. The odd photogenic ferry also helps

Our paddle south was quite fast and we overshot our intended coffee beach at Slatrach, although the next sand beach at Barr-nam-boch was extremely pleasant. After lunch we paddled on round the point heading for  Gylen Castle.

Once again we spurned the poor beach to the west of the promontory in favour of the worse beach to the east.

500m up from the castle is a lovely tea room; thoroughly recommended.

The journey north was assisted by a rising tide .

At Oban, whilst Hugh, Tim and Robert decided to mix it with the ferries David and Geoff decided coffee was more inviting and pushed on to Gallanach arriving about 6pm. The tidal flow and the increasing breeze made the final couple of miles quite interesting (bouncy) and rounded off an excellent days sea kayaking.

Paddlers: Mel, Geoff

Weather: Bright but overcast, light wind F2

Route: Inellan, Toward, Askog, Mt Stewart, Kilchattan Bay and vv.

Report: The “normal” route for paddling around Bute is either Largs, Great Cumbrae, Bute or Colintraive for the west coast. With traffic, however, it is quicker, and certainly pleasanter  to go via Dunoon than via Largs. We parked at what appeared to be an ideal spot just south of Inellan with easy access to the water and toilets. As will become clear, in reality it is NOT a good spot. We got away around 10.30 and headed south into the breeze, with a first point of call being the hamlet of Askog.

 

The coast on this section of Bute has a selection of large, impressive villas culminating in Mount Stewart (which cannot be seen from the water). Askog is a lovely place with beach and views to match.

After a break we continued south towards our target, Kilchattan Bay. Of particular note was a yacht, which because of the mast height, we initially mistook for a radio mast.

This gigantic yacht is described thus: When delivered she’ll be the largest J-Class superyacht in existence, with 17m overhangs on an LOA of 43.4m. ABS classed and MCA compliant, she will be able to accommodate eight guests in four cabins.Lionheart is currently for sale as a joint central agency with Will Bishop at Yachting Partners International and Hoek Brokerage, asking €14.9 million.

Although moving quite quickly we had no time at Kilchattan Bay before turning for home.

After our second break  on the lovely sandy beach beneath Mt Stewart, we headed on north towards Toward Castle. We were entertained en route by seals and 2 dolphins whilst dodging the ferries that criss-cross between Wemyss Bay and Rothesay, one each way per hour.

Upon arrival back at approx 5pm we found that our “ideal”car park was anything but, being at the end of a triangle of rocks reaching out around 500m. This made any landing a matter of a very long carry over terrible rocks and boulders. In the end we abandoned this and went about 500 m north to the top of the triangle, where there was a lay-by and a short carry. From there it was a quick walk back to fetch the car. This landing/packing up process took the best part of an hour.

In summary this was a pleasant, if relatively unexciting, day paddle. We covered some 35km (20 miles) in around 5 hours; the normal relaxed 3.5-4knots.  Worth recording??

A couple of cerebral photos just off Craigendoran on Friday night