Ladies Paddle Day...

20th June was a girls only day. A trip down the Menai Straits and a good time was had by all.

Solstice Paddle - a trip in the dark

The Summer Solstice and longest day seemed like a great excuse for an evening paddle and beach fire so the call went out and the (fool)hardy turned up - Mike (cool man) Tildesley, Mike (the paddle) Owen, Graham (does your misses know your here) , Chris (the Ringer) Wright and Andy (anyone for a slingshot) Short. The plan was for a trip from Bull Bay to Llanllianna for a fire and return (late).The trip got off to an excellent start with Porpoises spotted off the Starboard Bow almost immediately. Several small black fins arced gracefully through the water fishing in the ebbing tide.A smooth paddle round to Borth Wen ensued as Graham and Mike O looked to preserve their pristine hulls while Andy looked to wreck his with ill-judged rock hopping in the half light. Whilst the Cybi guys were exploring the caves and gullies of Borth Wen (the brickworks) Chris (the Ringer) finally caught up - he's a slow starter - and immediately 'praised' Mike O for the quality of his paddle, saying something like "ooh where can I get hold of one of those?"With the group formed we ploughed on with the tide to our beach stop and Andy, Mike O and Graham set about dutifully collecting fire wood whilst Mike T emptied half the contents of the Huws Gray yard out of his boat. Whilst the sun set on the longest day refreshments were taken - some focussing on the liquids others taking a more measured approach and eating all the cake. At this point Graham was beginning to realise that he wasn't going to get home for tea (or even for his cocoa), and that he didn't have any signal to let the misses know.
So as night descended and the beer was finished, it was decided to head for home. 'Someone' suggested a 'slingshot' round Ynys Padraig to set us on our way. Unfortunately the ebb hadn't quite abated and the tide was still running round the island. The eddy behind the island was made and the slingshot plan revised - well, torn up and binned - who's idea was it to put us out in the tide race in the dark?

After an interesting ferry glide back to where we had started during which Graham was heard to mutter about "going straight to work at this rate" and "I wish I'd worn me long trousers" we could finally start our return journey. Good time was made close in to shore with the occasional blast of the off-shore wind as we passed the open bays of Hells Mouth and Borth Wen. The highlight of the return trip had to be the phosphorescence (sic) green / blue electric sparkles on the surface of the water as you boat or blade break the surface - a truly magical experience!

Bull Bay was made at exactly Midnight and everyone wished Graham good luck with his misses when he got home before all sloping off home to bed to dream of Porpoises, phosphorescence and tide races in the dark.

roll on next year!

Andy Short

Rhoscolyn, Cymyran Strait & the Beacon...

Last Thursday, Mike Owen, Graham and myself set off on an ebbing tide from Rhoscolyn. The bright sunshine and just a gentle northern breeze made for perfect paddling conditions. After a bit of rock hopping round at Silver Bay we found just enough water to get round the corner into Cymyran Strait. A bit of a swell and a few breakers from behind made this quite interesting.
The tide was still ebbing in the Strait so we parked up for coffee and tiffin and then headed back towards Rhoscolyn Beacon. A quick circuit of the Beacon (meeting a lone paddler who had just bought an Explorer from Nigel Dennis at Sea kayaking UK), a bit of seal spotting and we landed back on the beach. Great paddle. Thanks to all who came.

Philip Thomas.

New Years Paddle...

So here we are in 2010. And no better way to celebrate then with a paddle in the freezing snow along our favourite stretch of coastline out of Trearddur Bay. In fact, we were so keen we went out on both New Years Day and a couple of days later. It just goes to show how mad Cybi Kayakers are when it comes to getting on the water. So here's to a great New Year for all you paddlers as we look forward to more adventures out on the open seas in 2010.Pictures by Terry, Philip and Paul.

The Menai Straits...

With the tide starting to flood, Andy, Graham, Mike Owen and I put in on the slipway at Menai Bridge. We then fought hard to make headway under the bridge. Once through, we found an eddy and made good speed towards the swellies. Only Andy had paddled this stretch of water before, so the rest of us had no idea what to expect. Breaking in and out of the flow was great fun and, once we gained our confidence, we headed for rougher water. It was like a fast flowing river but with an incredible amount of space; plenty of eddies and the chance to rest.
Everyone managed to stay in their boats and the paddle back to Menai Bridge with the flow took no time at all. As usual, thank you Andy for the coaching and boosting my confidence.

Philip Thomas.

Puffin Island...

On a superb Autumn evening Andy, Lizzie, Mike Owen and I set off from Penmon point for a paddle around Puffin Island. The wind was calm and there was about 2 hours before sunset. Heading out through the tide race we enjoyed breaking in and out of the flow and then paddled clockwise around the island.

The conditions were perfect and we would have been happy with just that. Then we came across a seal. One seal turned into two, then three, four, until there were too many to count including a couple of young pups. They all seemed very playful and followed us around the rest of the island popping up, giving us a fright and trying to bite the back of Lizzie’s boat!

Heading back for Penmon the seals left us alone and, with the sun going down, we had time to reflect on a magical trip. Well worth the effort and I am looking forward to doing it again. Once again, thanks to Andy for suggesting the trip and for the useful tips.

Philip Thomas

Things aren't always what they seem!

Last Wednesday Mike Owen, Graham, Andy Short and myself set off from Rhoscolyn on what seemed the perfect paddling day: clear blue skies, an almost non-existent northerly breeze and a twinkling sea.

We headed north-east towards Rhoscolyn Head just at the end of slack water. Paddling against the ebbing tide was easy enough but ahead we could see the water starting to boil between the mainland and the islands of Maen y Sais, Maen y frân and Maen yr Esgyll. As we neared Rhoscolyn Head the sea became quite large and confused. The effects of the outgoing tide, wind on the nose and large waves rebounding off the rocks tested my paddling skills to the limit. Having rounded the head we found shelter in a small bay and discussed the route home.We decided to head directly for the Rhoscolyn beacon. The sea was still quite big and Andy guided us through the islands and out to the beacon. I think the pictures below illustrate how things aren’t always what the seem after setting off on a perfect day.
Many thanks to all the others for a very enjoyable trip. Thanks also to Andy for some very useful tips.

Philip Thomas