My drysuit has befallen a disaster, I pulled on my latex sock this morning and it split in half! Copious amounts of tape made the situation reasonable but it leaked (wet foot-yuck!).
A poor repair
Today the weather was lovely again so this morning a friend and I took the darkside open canoe for a little trip from Hatston Slip to Hatston pier. We had lots of fun under the pier weaving in and out of the piles which support it. Great practice for steering strokes.
“I’m not sure about this funny boat”
NK and Ansgar set off in earnest
Under Hatston Pier
After investigating under the pier, positions were swapped and the boat piloted back to the slip. We then had a few goes solo which was fine on the right but not so easy paddling on the left!
Once off the water, it was more or less straight to the rendez-vous for today’s sea trip. We decided to go from Hoxa Head to Sandwick. On our way out we saw the Pentalina coming in.
Pentalina
Gun emplacement at Hoxa Head
Hoxa Head was an important place during the war as it marks one of the main entrances into Scapa Flow. Today the remnants are littered about the landscape and many gun emplacements are visible from the sea.
Out on the water, there was a little bit of swell around, but the biggest waves came from the Pentalina. At Hoxa Head we put our noses round the corner to check there was nothing especially good we had missed.
Nick amongst the rocks off Hoxa
Heading south, we came to my favourite cave in Orkney – the Altar. This has three entrances and it’s position on the corner of the cliffs make it fun to pass through.
Johnny and Peter at the altar
Ansgar comes through the altar
Nick on calm seas heading into Sandwick
Reaching Sandwick we stopped for a bite to eat while one of the party called on a local paddler. We were soon offered tea and cake and a lift back to the cars. A fine end to a beautiful day.
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