Still Quite Bracing

Today we had a break in the weather, light winds and sunshine.  I had had a little bit too much to drink at the Sailing Club dinner last night so I wasn’t up for anything too adventurous this morning! 

We decided to paddle from Holm to Scapa.  We have paddled there lots of times before but it was nice to get out and enjoy being outdoors.  Having been away over Christmas, this was a chance to catch up with Mackayak.  I think my mouth did more work than my paddle!

The best part of the route is between Deepdale and Hemp Stack and my favourite place has a waterfall flowing into it.

 River paddling

The coastline along here is interesting but the formation of the rocks and perhaps the environment of the Flow mean that very few caves exist.  I thought of the use of dynamite to rectify this situation….. 

As we continued north, the wind dropped even further and the sun shone low in the sky.  The light picked out the landscape around the Flow and we could see the Royal Oak Buoy off the shore.  833 people were killed on board the ship when it was sunk by a German torpedo in 1939.  Looking at a map of the Flow, the Royal Oak doesn’t seem far from shore, looking out from the coast, the buoy seems very far away.  Imagine trying to swim all that way to safety.  There’s more about the Royal Oak and her sinking here.

Malcolm heads for Scapa.  The Royal Oak marker buoy is just above his bow on the surface of the water.

When we arrived at Hemp Stack, the tide was obviously fairly high and I could see water between the land and the stack – this had to be explored as it is an uncommon experience.  Unfortunately, there was not that much water and I had to shunt my way through!  Mackayak followed behind, passing through with far more grace than I could muster!

  Hemp Stack     

Back at Scapa, Mackayak helped me practice some Greenland skills.  I wanted to try the static brace and have a go at the butterfly roll. The water felt really cold, although I think it’s meant to be about 7 degrees at the moment.  For some reason, I could only stand a couple of dunkings before I had to get out.  How I wished for warm Mediterranean waters!

Static Flop

Another attempt

It was good to be practicing outside, but practicing skills in layers of clothes in cold water is very different from being in the nice warm pool!

Magic Canoe

I arrived home from the mainland this afternoon and found a canoe in the garage!  How did it get there?  It must be magic!  I wonder if I can wish it from the garage to the water and back again?

Magic Canoe!

I shall now be opening a competition to name the canoe…. suggestions please!

I got lots of nice things for Christmas but by far the best was some vintage Playmobil.  It’s a different set from the one listed on http://www.collectobil.com/catalogue/items/3466.htm but must date to around the same time.  I wonder why he has a funny paddle though?

Greenland Paddler

When I was small, I loved Playmobil and had a great big box of the stuff.  I found the box (now not containing Playmobil) and who should I find pictured on the sticker on the side….

Christmas Presents

Last night was the last KKC pool session before Christmas.  We headed out through the snow towards the warm pool.  I had a special request to bring along one of my craft.

  Deflated canoe

Before we went into the pool, Mackayak presented me with a lovely Christmas present of ‘Duck Hands’ – perfect I feel for those obsessed with handrolling!

  Duck hands!

 Put to the test 

Even more deflated after an hour and a half in the pool.

Never travel with Northern Kayaker!

After my adventures getting home from Inverness a few weeks ago, last week I headed down to London for the biennial NSGG Recent Work in Archaeological Geophysics meeting.  I presented a poster about the Ring of Brodgar and got to catch up with folk.  Archaeological geophysics is a small world so there were lots of people there who I had studied and/or worked with or indeed studied and/or worked for.  There were some great talks and papers and it was great to see the two guys I did my masters with – just like old times!

We set off from Heathrow on Thursday afternoon and were due home in the evening…..  We made it as far as Edinburgh Airport.  The current bad weather in Britain came straight in from the Arctic and hit the Northern Isles first.  Everything at Kirkwall was delayed and then, inevitably, our flight was cancelled.  This was beginning to sound familiar…..

Once again, Mr Flybe accommodated us (in the Borg Cube) and we were to return to the airport in the morning.

Borg Cube (Dakota Edinburgh)

We went to the airport in the morning and waited.  Kirkwall airport was open and we were hopeful.  Our plane was in Kirkwall so we had to wait for it to come down before we could go home.  We waited.  The weather closed in in Kirkwall……  About midday, once again our flight was cancelled.  Chaos ensued.  After a little bit of negotiation, we returned to the Borg Cube.  Inside the Borg Cube

It was early afternoon so in the daylight I could see where we were – South Queensferry on the southern bank of the Forth by the bridges.  After lunch, I took a walk down to the town.  The Forth Road Bridge and Forth Bridge.

The Forth Bridge opened in 1890, with the Forth Road Bridge opening in 1964.

 A We-no-naa canoe?  Sorry Mackayak, it wouldn’t fit in my case! 

After another night in the Borg Cube, it was time for Plan B.  The boat from Aberdeen.  Off we set the next morning by taxi to Dalmeny train station,  where we caught a train to Inverkeithing and another to Dundee.  All was fine until just outside Aberdeen where the train developed a ‘technical fault’ (the brakes froze).  About 3 hours later, we arrived in a bitter Aberdeen and took a taxi to the ferry (it would have been quicker to walk!).

 Train (I love trains but we have none on Orkney!)

After the 7 hour boat journey, we arrived in Kirkwall.  I spent most of the journey curled up and trying to avoid developing sea sickness….  The boat was due to arrive at 11pm but we were told it was running a little late.  We all waited patiently to disembark but were told that there was a little trouble docking due to swell….  For a few horrible minutes, we thought we were all going to Shetland!  Eventually, the boat managed to tie up but the passenger gangway could not be connected.  We had to wait for the cars to come off before MV Hrossey spilled foot passengers from its gut.

                                                               Disembarking from the Hrossey (Peter Fay)

Finally, I arrived home, 43 and half hours late!

There was only one problem…. my car was still at the airport.  As soon as I walked into the airport, all the planes were cancelled!

  Shovelling

     Oh dear. Airport closes again.

The moral of this story:  Never travel on a plane with NK!

Next journey: Orkney to Inverness by ferry and car.  Wish me luck!

Winter Water

Today we got out in our boats for a nice wee paddle at the barriers.  The Churchill Barriers were built during the war by Italian prisoners of war and block four entrances to Scapa Flow.  The weather was very calm, although what wind there was was a cold northerly.  We launched from the west side of Barrier One and headed down to Barrier Three.
Mackayak
Mackayak and I pootled along at the back at our own speed while the others went on ahead.  I gossiped with my friend Nick and also discussed forward paddling with him.  We reached the north west of Glimps Holm where there were a few rocks to play amongst.
Glimps Holm
As the others passed round the headland, I got in position to take a few snaps.
Malc and Mackayak
  Johnny
 Jackie and Nick
We reached the third barrier where we portaged across the barrier and the road and reconvened on the nice sandy beach on the other side.  After a spot of lunch, we headed back towards the first barrier, passing by the block ship with mast intact at Barrier Two.  Rounding Lamb Holm the bite to the wind was noticeable but we tucked ourselves in under the First Barrier and made our way back to the cars. It wasn't a long paddle but was just right for Peter and his recovering clavicle on a winter's afternoon- daylight is short at the moment!

In the evening, we were back in the pool for the last session with our beginners. We recapped sculling draw and forward paddling before introducing stern rudder and low brace. Everyone did really well. To finish off, we had a game of polo, there were a few capsizes but everyone had fun. A nice end to a fun block.
Oh... and it's not easy to type a blog with a cat sitting on your hands!