Author: GeoffR

Paddlers:

Route:

Weather:

Overcast with occasional breaks in the cloud for weak sunshine. Cool to Cold. Calm or very light wind from NW. Overnight (from about 6pm to 10am ) there was a wet cloudy mist  that made a dark night even blacker.

Report:

A clear drive from Helensburgh saw us at Morar in about 3 hours. Easy parking just up side road from Morar and an easy beach launch.

The scenery was superb with wooded islands at the west end and huge steep fiord like mountains at the East.

At Swordland we investigated the popular portage across to Loch Nevis. The surface is OK for large wheeled carriers but it is very steep. Not to be taken lightly.

From there we ventured on to the far end of the loch and the MBA bothy which, for some unknown reason, is named Oban.

As bothies go this was in the excellent category, dry with a good fire and a wood store. For the next hour or so the woodstore was filled and then the fire lit against the cold and damp now enveloping the bothy.

There then followed a good meal, a few drams and some stories. It is worth noting the remoteness of the bothy. The nearest habitation is Tarbet with a population of 4 and no road to anywhere. The nearest road was our starting point 12 miles away without a path. Indeed there were no established through paths in any direction.  We estimate that we were the only people for around 200 square miles.

At 10 pm it was off to bed.

The morning broke misty and wet but gradually dried and brightened up. By the time we left, just after 10am conditions were excellent with a flat calm instead of the expected breeze.

A gentle paddle brought us to some lovely sand beaches at Camas Luinge. Indeed there were good beaches and camping spots right along the loch. After a coffee break  we continued on to  Lettermorar. The croft here seems to have been deserted about 20 years ago. Sadly it appears that the whole loch community including Kinlochmorar and Swordland has gradually disappeared over the last 50 years leaving only the Bothy and a couple of summer cottages.

From here we paddled on to the islands where we stopped for lunch.

A final paddle back to our launch point saw us at the cars by 03.30pm, away by 4pm and home at 7pm (unless you stopped for the excellent fish and chips at the Real Food Cafe at Tyndrum).

Total miles covered in the weekend was 24. Overall this proved to be a perfect winter trip up an unexpectedly beautiful loch. Recommended.

Paddlers:  Hugh, Ken, Geoff and Liz

Location

The Datca peninsula is in South West Turkey and projects westward from the Marmaris area for about 80 miles. The peninsula is wild and beautiful and exposed to the dominant wind system of the Aegean known as the Etesian or Meltemi wind. This runs from the West every afternoon at between force 3 and 5  and any progress into it is extremely slow.

Our route took us from the village of Akyaka at the top of the Gulf of Gokova, west along the north coast of the peninsula, round the point at the ancient ruined city of Knidos and back eastward to Datca.

Because  of the wind we had to stop most days in the early afternoon, which in turn led to early morning departures. The total route length was 174km, 108 miles.

Weather

We had it hot and sunny except for the last morning which was overcast. The wind, however, kept us cool when paddling and the nights, although hot by UK standards, were tolerable.

Day 1

A slight mistake by one of our party who picked up the wrong bag, and a rather excellent fish sandwich and beer  lunch delayed departure by a couple of hours. This led to our first experience of the Meltemi wind and the battle to make progress westward in the afternoon. We eventually found a pleasant camp site just as the light was failing for our first night.

Distance Covered  6.5km 4mi

Day 2

To counter the lack of progress we agreed on a 7.30am departure. At the time we did not realise that dawn was at 7.15 and breakfast would be in the dark. However all went well and we were out on a flat calm sea by 7.25. 

Our first stop was Sedir Island, the site of the ancient ruined city of Cedrae. This was the location of the summer palace of the Kings of Caria and contains the impressive ruins of an outdoor theatre dating around 200 BC. There is also a beautiful golden yellow limestone beach which tradition states was a gift to Cleopatra from Mark Antony.

A 90 min break for culture and coffee put back the schedule and by 12.00 the Meltemi had begun. By 2.30 we were seeking shelter. There was a short interlude for diving to recover a dropped flask perfectly visible at a depth of 10m and then on to Ali’s Bar for a relaxing afternoon and evening.

Distance Covered 25.4km 15.8mi

Day 3

Another early start with dawn just breaking. Flat calm, a heat haze and utter beauty. A long, sunny day with the breeze gradually increasing. Some long stretches of open water as we cut from headland to headland to try to get back on schedule. Finally, as the wind became just too strong for pleasure a lovely camp site under an olive tree, an excellent fire and another bottle of wine.

Distance Covered 32.2km 20mi

Day 4 

Another glorious day. Initial calm and haze becoming hot and windy. Lovely scenery and empty beaches. Conscious of a poor forecast (high wind) later in the week  (which could prevent us rounding the peninsula) we pushed on. The sea was notably rough in final section past the terminal of the Datca-Bodrum ferry. This was rather like some of the terminals in Scotland with nothing there except the admin buildings – and, of course, the sun.

With little progress because of the wind we found a surprisingly good site a few metres up a small cliff with masses of drift wood for another excellent fire.

Distance Covered 33.7km 20.9mi

Day 5

A pre-dawn start with Liz and Geoff on the water at 7.15.

As we progressed west the cliff scenery became more rugged and beaches less frequent. 

At our mid morning break we were joined by a fisherman picking herbs who showed us a set of steps cut in the rock dated around 500BC, not unusual in this part of the world.

We pushed on, anxious to round the critical Knidos headland before the afternoon wind. We stopped for a quick lunch in a small cave and then on.

The headland itself was extremely lumpy with water apparently coming from all directions. Luckily the wind was still relatively light and the boats extremely stable but rescue practice in rough water is definitely a need!

By 2.30 we were in the cafe at Knidos having a well earned beer. Knidos is an extremely important site of an ancient Hellenic City. The area is covered with the ruins of the city which reached its zenith in around 400BC. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knidos gives details.

After three expensive beers each for the guys and a sightseeing tour by Liz we finally determined there was no resting place at the city and set out in high spirits and a very brisk cross wind. A very bouncy half hour brought us to our fifth camp site; the beach.

Distance 33.5km, 20.8mi

Day 6

With the pressure off, the next two days were much more relaxed. The scenery however remained quite spectacular with a couple of huge sea caves.

The camp site was probably the best of the whole trip being the restaurant garden, grass and adjacent toilets/shower. As with all such sites it came free with the meal.

Distance Covered 21.9km 12.9mi

Day 7

A phone call with Dean elicited the information that Day 7 was to be a “bad” day with rain and high winds. As a result there was just a little pressure to round the final headland before the wind struck. As it turned out the wind never exceeded force 4 and the rain never appeared, although the morning was overcast and threatening.

The highlights of the final day was another huge sea cave, one of the worst lunch spots and the final beers in Datca.

 After meeting, washing, changing and loading we were on our way for the 3.5hr journey to the airport, broken by an excellent and cheap meal. Then after the statutory airport delays we were set for the 4.5hr journey back to Glasgow and home by 3.30am. An excellent trip.

Further Information

We flew Glasgow to Dalaman with Thomas Cook. We found, last year, that the cheapest way is to purchase a self catering package as  a) this is cheaper than the flight only b) provides a first night accommodation and c) provides transfer on arrival. We did not use 6 nights accommodation and the return transfer. Cost with parking at the airport came to around £380 each.

Kayak Equipment and transfer to/from the start/end points was provided by Dean Livesey of Seven Capes www.sevencapes.com. Canoe Equipment (Wilderness Sea Kayaks) is £20 per day. With transfers we paid £205 each.

We took lightweight camping gear and food for the whole trip. At the start we purchased some bread and fruit and 14 litres of water each. There were no shops en route.

Total cost £755 including purchased food and drinks for lunches, coffee/beer, 1 restaurant lunch and 3 restaurant dinners.

Paddlers: Hugh, Seylan, Myles, Jamie and Fraser

Route: Helensburgh Greenock and vv

Report: On October 31st   the coastguard at Greenock  will close  leaving emergency service for the  west coast of Scotland to be co-ordinated from Belfast and Stornoway.  To recognise the significance of this action (and protest against it) ships and boats congregated and used the opportunity to release out of date flares. The club group, armed with flares, organised a night paddle across in a brisk Force 4 which made an interesting return journey. Following are a few of the spectacualr photos taken by Seylan

Paddlers: Seylan, Hugh, Geoff

Route: Lendalfoot -Ailsa Craig and Back

Report: The weather forecast was fantastic; flat calm and sun. Ideal, we thought, for the crossing to one of the big challenges for sea kayakers,  Ailsa Craig. The rock, situated in the middle of the entrance to the Clyde is 10 miles from the Ayrshire coast and around 15 miles to Arran and Kintyre. Journey time was estimated at 2.5 hours.

The first indication that we would not enjoy the promised flat calm were the flags flying straight. Either they were very light nylon or it was breezy. The white flecks on the sea suggested the latter and so it proved with a force 3 from the west throughout the day generating a significant quartering swell to paddle into on the way out and generate a tense trip back.

A terrible journey down (traffic jam on the M8 , lost in Irvine and lost in Girvan) meant a much later depart time  than planned but an excellent parking spot and beach was found just north of Lendalfoot.

 At 11.20 we were off and for the next two and a half hours paddled into the breeze, the rock on the horizon slowly growing into a sizeable and substantial island, with shear rock faces rearing up to 320m (1000ft). The time passed quite quickly as the chop provided interesting paddling and after 2hrs 40 minutes we were standing on the island.

The island itself is well worth a visit. A tramway runs up from a shingle/boulder beach and splits with one branch to the old curling stone works and the other to the lighthouse complex, now fully automated.

Just under half way up the mountain is a small ruined castle, reached by a precipitous path up the face of the crag. The tower is surprisingly well preserved. The views to the east are spectacular. We can only imagine the views from the summit as we did not have time to make the whole climb.

With a target return time of 7pm, by 4.30 we were heading back to the boats, leaving around 4.40. With the breeze behind us we thought we might be significantly faster but in the lumpy conditions time had to be spent on support and correcting strokes. Thus the return took only 10 minutes less at 2hrs 30 mins.

None of our photos catch the size of the swell; try taking your hands off the paddle when being chased by a wave. Again the time passed quckly because of the interest generated by the sea conditions. Whilst not  frightening there was always a need to focus.

By 7.30 we were packed up and Girvan bound for a much needed drink and food. A really good day.