Easter Sea Trip

[Gordon]

Nigel/All, I'm committed to taking Mrs A to reading (family stuff) Friday, so that's out.
However I'm free weather dependant for 2 trips out of Sat, Sun, Mon, not sure if PHCC have anything planned, so :- Ideas anyone?

[Kevin Coombes]

Im inland on the river frome doing a new trip on the monday and thats enough flat stuff to last me a coule of weeks

[Dave]

a tentative maybe if im allowed! 

[Gordon]

  Dunno, Nigel is Dave allowed? 

[NigelSharpe]

So long as his boat is not faster than mine.

I hope to have a spare boat so is anybody else coming?

[Gordon]

Currently. Fri, windy, &wet, Sat/Mon wind OK, Sun Windy
I'm up for Sat/Mon if forecast remains good/any other suggestions. Also Sat looks OK Ringstead/Lulworth/Worbarrow, Mon Lepe - Ryde?
I,ve suggested a few options, any others?

Dave welcome aboard, hope you get permission.

[NigelSharpe]

Sat / Mon sounds good. Weather might make it a bit exciting (let Kev believe it is flat water - sometimes far from it)

Although planning to pick up my new boat on Friday, I think that I will avoid giving it a quick paddle at Poole by myself if the weather is as bad as promised.

[Dave]

Monday is my only option providing i finish the kitchen over the weekend and everyone at home is well!!
  I'll let you know sunday 

[NigelSharpe]

 :'(Whilst I have been away this week, somebody has reversed into my garden wall, and demolished 10 feet of it. No witnesses and no contact from the offender
Rather than take time off work to get insurance inspections, quotes, and ther hassle of a claim, my brother (who is a builder) has offered to come down next weekend to build me a new wall  at the cost of fuel provided that I chip off the cement from all of the bricks this weekend. I need at least one day of reasonable weather at home to do this.

Tomorrow, I will be heading down to Bournemouth Canoes to swap my faulty sea kayak, so hope to get the brickwork sorted in the afternoon.

I am still available on Saturday but wind is F4/5 - a bit of a wild trip and showery but I am keen to try out my new boat!

Sunday best weather with f4 winds albeit gusts well above that.

Monday is foul weather - windy as hell and rain that would put the fires of hell out! Dartmoor river trip anyone?
 

[Dave]

Mmm Dart trip with water in the river sounds interesting!!!

[NigelSharpe]

Saturday - good sea trip with Gordon and I paddling from leap over to the Isle of Wight, and along the coast to Fishborne for lunch. My new boat went well and did not leak.

Sunday - a Ringstead to Lulworth Cove trip. Tides calculated and weather supposed to be good with f3/4 winds from the south west. On the way out, the swell was big but managable, but it is always worst with the wind from behind.

The water was virtually flat in Lulworth Cove, but I managed to put a nice big scratch in my new boat, followed by an inpromptu swim when I sat the boat on the only rocks in the Cove hiding just below the water. My drysuit let in water but I am still unsure whether it got in through the neck as I let the air out. Although only about 25metres out, we turned it into a rescue training session.

As we emerged from the Cove on the return trip, the sea was much bigger and getting rougher all of the time! We fought for 3/4 mile or so to Man o War cove and took refuge behind the rocks with time for me to empty my dry suit.

Then we did the short hop around the headland to Durdle Dor - by this time convinced that we were at our comfortable paddling limits and would be in serious trouble if anything went wrong. So we came ashore through the breaking surf. After half an hour, we thought that the waves had dropped, and that we would try and get back. Wrong - it was just as bad and the water past Bat Head looked much worse with wind whipping the top of the breakers.

So we decided to turn back - waves still bad but paddling worse as the wind was to our rear. We got around into Man o War Cove, decided that discretion was the better part of valour, the sea was too risky to hop around into Lulworth Cove and the only safe option was to carry both kayaks out up the steep, muddy cliff path.

Several hours later, we had got the boats to a road, I had got a taxi back to pick my car up from Ringstead Bay, got changed and retruned to pick Gordon and the boats up.

Sometimes things can be too exciting, and Sunday was that day. What did Kev say about flat water?

[Kevin Coombes]

Flat with lumps in it  . Sounds like you had a bit of a day, dangerous stuff this sea lark.. and whats with the drysuit leaking? Team blue never leaks (well ... i dont anyhow!)
I've just done the frome, well worth doing just for the zoom flume! 

[Gordon]

We had an excellent day out, a small detour for a Gd 4.5 portage, lessons learnt include, leave a full trip plan at home(ears still ringing), practice rescues in the conditions you are planning to paddle, for the moment, in winds above F3 take a qualified, responsible adult. All in all an eventful and instructional day, no zoom flume however Durdle door had it's moments, also landing a sea kayak in surf is certainly not dull. I couldn't possibly comment on Nigel's drysuit, however he is getting advanced in years & possibly forgets frequent comfort breaks, then falls over in a mill pond and well................

[NigelSharpe]

lessons learnt include, leave a full trip plan at home(ears still ringing),

I thought that you had left a full trip plan, ie; leave the house on time, miss the family Sunday Roast, and get home in time for a drink and a curry. What went wrong!

  however he is getting advanced in years & possibly forgets frequent comfort breaks

...it is a long way up the hill to the toilets at Lulworth.

I am not convinced the day went wrong. OK, the water was a bit more challenging than we had planned on the way back, but we did exactly the right thing. I think that we could have paddled back to Lulworth and saved ourselves a walk, but it was a big risk. We could have waited for the wind to drop later in the day, but it might not have. Having a bit more safety cover through other paddlers may have helped us push further but we didn't.

We could have taken the soft option and gone for a Beulieu trip, but that is not what makes life worth living.

[Gordon]

I agree, it was an exciting and instructional experience, at no time were we out of control, & we paddled within our abilities, safely. A good day out.