Wednesday Evening Paddle...

Another splendid and relaxing Wednesday evening paddle.
Lots of practice, lots of laughter and lots of fun, with everyone getting very wet and a little wiser.
Let the movie tell the story.
Additional pictures by Terry.
See you on the water!

If you have trouble viewing the movie clip, go to the Cybi Kayakers ‘YouTube’ site And view it there under ‘Wednesday Paddle.’

The girl teaches the boys a thing or two...

The weather was not looking good, with a forecast of gale force winds: How DO they get it so wrong! Although overcast, it turned out to be very mild with a calm sea, perfect for our first mid-week session. Eila kindly lead the session and got us doing low brace turns and sweep strokes, contact rescues and towing, along with the most basic but most important of all strokes, the forward paddle stroke. How easy it is to get lazy with this one, but so important to get those back muscles working for you.
We took it in turn to raft-up and tow. There was a moment when I’d taken on a rafted tow that I thought I was never going to be fit enough for this sport. As I struggled to pull the two kayaks forward, and was barely moving, I could hear the sniggering behind me, and out of the corner of my eye could see my rafted up kayakers paddling like mad in reverse…
Then onto some rescue practice with Eila playing the injured paddler, Mike and Graham proceeded to get her back into the boat and to pump out the water from her kayak. This must have looked somewhat bizarre to anyone wandering along the beach!
Then one by one we all took a dip and spent a good half hour rescuing and being rescued, and Mike impressed us all by achieving a re-entry and roll, before we all headed back to the shore where everyone tried their hand at balancing on top of their kayaks. (Not always successfully!)
A very fruitful 3 hours of paddling was had by all, with the most important element of kayaking being strictly adhered too, having a lot of fun and laughter.

Ty Cwyfan: The Church in the sea.

This has always been one of my favourite locations for photography. Not the easiest of places to get to but well worth the effect. There are some wonderful historic facts that surround this strange little chapel marooned here on it’s own little island surrounded by the wild sea with access only at low tide.
Some facts: The island, which can be reached on foot at low tide, is notable for the 13th century, St Cwyfan's church perched on its top. The church is known locally as eglwys bach y mor (the church in the sea) or simply as Cwyfan. The church remains in use and is popular for weddings. 17th century maps show the church standing on the mainland of Anglesey but erosion by the sea of the boulder clay cliffs has since separated the church onto the island. To prevent the church falling into the sea, a protective wall was built around the church. Only three services are held at St Cwyfan's each year. “Wikipedia”

So it was with some excitement that we prepared ourselves to venture by sea to this fascinating location. We headed out from Cable Bay ( Porth Trecastell ) in what appeared to be calm sea conditions and weren’t really prepared for the size of the swell and choppy waters that greeted us around the first headland. We pressed on expecting to find some calmer waters further along the coast. Half an hour later we took shelter by a large rocky outcrop that gave us some protection and took time out to examine the map and to work out how much further we had to go. It appeared we were almost there, but off in the distance we could see large breaking waves crashing onto the rocks beneath the cliffs and knew we’d have to paddle further out to sea to avoid this hazard before turning shoreward and the safety of the cove. Having a fishing boat working close by gave us the added courage to go for it, and within 15 minutes were pulling our kayaks onto the rocks beneath the chapel in the sea.
Because of the state of the sea we didn’t want to get caught out in worsening conditions and so after a ten-minute break decided to head back to Cable Bay. We picked up a following sea and was back in the calm waters of Cable bay in less than forty minutes. Then Philip suddenly remembered he’d promised to feed a friends cat while she was away. Where his friend was staying was in a small fisherman’s cottage overlooking Porth Nobla, just the other side of Cable Bay. This was another first for me, paddling to someone’s house to feed their cat…Just goes to show, anything can happen when you’re a Cybi kayaker.
Paul Mattock

Rhoscolyn Bay.

This is one of my favourite bays on Anglesey. Once you’ve negotiated the long and winding road that leads to the small car park, you follow the wooden footpath over the dunes that takes you onto the sandy beach known as Borthwen. The previous day I had posted a message on the forum inviting anyone from the club for a morning paddle, so I was a little surprised when about twenty-five kayakers turned up at the car park all at once. However, it wasn’t because of my forum invite but was a completely separate group of paddlers undertaking a one-way trip to Porth Dafarch, a journey of about 5 to 6 hours. I politely declined the offer to join them.
But what a beautiful day it turned out to be. Myself and Philip spent a while in the Bay working on our forward paddle stroke and then ventured out through some choppy waters at the entrance to the Bay and onto the open sea. We popped into the little cove next door and both decided it would be nice to own one of the houses that overlooked this tiny cove, and then headed off in the direction of Silver Bay. Sea conditions were quite bumpy with plenty of confused water bouncing us around, especially at the entrance to Rhoscolyn Bay. Once we got alongside the main coastline it eased up a little and we could relax and enjoy the paddle doing some rock hopping along the way. Because we only had a few hours to spare that day we pulled into a lovely little cove just short of Silver Bay and I showed off my very clever Kelly kettle which, with nothing more then a few twigs gathered from the beach, can boil a couple of litres of water within minutes. (If you what to know how it works you’ll have to join me on one of my paddles…)
We were joined by a flock of sheep who wandered onto the beach and started to graze on seaweed. now that's a first for me, and they were quite oblivious to anything going on around them. Very strange.
A nicely brewed cup of tea and April sunshine made it a perfect stopover before packing up and heading back to Borthwen beach, rock hopping and exploring along the way.
You know when you’ve had a great paddle because you just don’t want to get off the water. And that’s exactly how we both felt. Still, there’s always the next time.
Paul Mattock

From Treaddur Bay to Penrhyn Mawr.

Being relatively new to the world of kayaking I’d never ventured beyond Porth Dafarch when out paddling this lovely stretch of coastline. From Trearddur Bay via Porth y Post and onto Porth Dafarch is a pleasure to paddle and explore, but to travel beyond this point was always full of mystery and foreboding.
I’ve also seen what Penrhyn Mawr can do to both kayak and paddler. (Some of the most wild and dangerous overfalls and tidal races you could ever wish to meet, should you be so inclined.) Having seen the film and read the book I knew this was one piece of water that fell well outside my comfort zone. However, with plenty of local knowledge and a little encouragement, our paddle buddy Terry took me and fellow sea novice Philip around to Penrhyn Mawr to say hi to this infamous stretch of sea. With a friendly easterly wind and slack water he quietly introduced us to her while she slept.
We crept along the shoreline from Porth Ruffydd to Penrhyn Mawr as if not to wake her. And then with a flick of the paddle we rode over her while she slept. (Even with her fast asleep it was still a bumpy ride.) I can now lay claim that I’ve paddled Penrhyn Mawr and survived to tell the tale. Then a straight-line paddle back to Trearrddur Bay with the turning tide helping us along the way, and with a nice cup of tea in hand we watched as the sun set over one of the most beautiful islands in the world.
Don’t take my word for it; just ask Terry and Philip and all the other kayakers who have ever paddled these fantastic waters.

Paul Mattock

AROUND PUFFIN ISLAND...

Here’s a short history: Puffin Island (Ynys Seiriol in Welsh) is an uninhabited island off the eastern tip of Anglesey, Wales. It was formerly known as Priestholm in English and Ynys Lannog in Welsh. Puffin Island is the ninth largest island off the coast of Wales. It is Carboniferous limestone, 58m above sea level at its highest point and has steep cliffs on all sides. It has an area of 0.28 km. The island is privately owned by the Baron Hill estate and landing is not allowed without special permission. The island is a Special Protection Area (SPA), particularly because of the Great Cormorant colony of over 750 pairs, making it one of the largest colonies in the British Isles. It also has good numbers of Guillemot, Razorbill, Shag and Kittiwake nesting, and in recent years small numbers of Common Eider and Black Guillemot. The Puffins from which the island gets its modern English name bred in considerable numbers at one time, with up to 2,000 pairs recorded. The Brown Rat was introduced accidentally to the island, probably in the late 19th century, and reduced this population to a very few pairs. A programme of poisoning these rats started in 1998 by the Countryside Council for Wales appears to have eradicated them, and the Puffin population has shown an increase since that date. At one time the island was heavily grazed by rabbits, but these were wiped out by an outbreak of myxomatosis, leading to the growth of dense vegetation, particularly Common Elder (Sambucus nigra). The strong currents around the island provide for an abundance of marine life, particularly on the north coast where the depths reach 15 metres, and many people enjoy fishing trips departing from Beaumaris in these waters, catching mainly mackerel, but many other species are caught.

The Trip:
Setting of from Trwyn y Penrhyn to paddle the short distance to Trwyn Penmon where you cross over to the island. With a stiff breeze blowing and plenty of moving water coming through the channel, it became quite choppy and I needed all my concentration to keep myself upright and moving in a straight line. It was good to know that some of the other paddlers around me would be finding this a walk in the park, but this being only my second trip out this year, I was still getting the feel for the boat. Eight of us in total, out for a few hours of leisurely paddling; or so we thought.
As we made our way around the island in a clockwise direction we were greeted by a small colony of seals curiously watching us as we bounced around on the bubbling water.
At the far end of the island we took shelter in a small cove to take on liquid and snacks and to rest some tired limbs. Then around the end of the island and on to it’s Western side only to be confronted by a strong southerly wind blowing directly into our faces.
(Force 4 to 5 was our calculations) This was getting to be hard work. If you eased off for just a few seconds you’d find yourself drifting backwards. This was not the place or time to have a capsize. What felt like an age we eventually made it to the other end of the island and pulled onto a shingle beach to take another well-earned rest. At the far end of the beach a family of seals were making their way down to the waters edge and the sun came out to warm my tired limbs. Then back across the channel and onto a small sheltered beach for lunch. It’s interesting how food tastes so much better when you’ve really had to work hard for it.
Then another short paddle into the wind to arrive back at our put-in. Some 3 hours out on the water and some great company to share it with. What a great way to spend some quality time on a Saturday afternoon.
The question now is, where to next?

'MIDWEEK PADDLE' by Paul Mattock

After putting out a request for some company for a midweek paddle we ended up as a group of six and a plan to leave Cemlyn Bay at 11am and arrive at Bull Bay by 3 pm.
A beautiful sunny day with calm waters; just what I needed as it was my first paddle of the year and I knew I wasn’t fit. This should do the trick. A 10-12 k journey along some of the most spectacular coastline of Anglesey and good company to boot. A quick stop at Cemaes for a bite to eat and then onwards to Bull Bay. I’ve never paddled this stretch of water before and was quite taken aback by how rugged and wild this piece of coastline was.
Some interesting caves that disappeared to no-where. (Here we have Graham and Andy showing of their new Rockpool kayaks.) I would imagine on a rough sea it could be quite intimidating. Long stretches of cliffs with no get-out and plenty of confused waters coming back of the shoreline. But today was calm and sunny and a joy to be out on the water. A quick pause at Porth Llaulleiana to look at the old china clay works and then a bit of a race to Bull Bay to beat the turning tide. 4 hours of paddling showed just how unfit I was and with aching shoulders was happy to round the headland and see the beach at Bull Bay. A well-earned beer was had by all along with a suggestion of a trip out to Puffin Island next time round. Sounds good to me!