Sea Kayaking - Isles of Scilly

I've just come back from a week long trip to the Isles of Scilly with Mike Bradford and seven other fellow kayakers. I took the trusty P & H Scorpio LV, my sea kayak of choice.

The view from the pub on St Agnes



I finely got round to putting up some more details of my trip

 

We spent a night in Penzence before heading to the Isles of Scilly which gave everyone a chance to get to know each other and so we didn't have to drive a long way in the morning for the early morning ferry.

Day One

We travelled from Penzance on the Scillion II to St Mary's where we witnessed our kayaks being unloaded which was a little scary to watch as they where unloading them three at a time. We then loaded up the kayaks with out stuff ready to paddle the crossing from St Mary's to St Agnes. It was a pretty rough crossing and we were paddling into the wind, but we made it. When we got to St Agnes we unpacked our boats, pitched out tents and then went off to explore the island.

My home for the week

Day Two

After a deciding the night before that we the next day we were gonna paddle round St Agnes and then cross over to St Mary's and paddle round there, we got kitted up and set off, the weather was a little calmer. We paddled 30 km and on the way back we had to go round the bottom of St Agnes to get back to the campsite as it was so rough and windy. We were all pretty knackered by the time we got back, so i had my dinner then headed for an early night.

 

One of our many lunch stops with gorgeous views

Day Three

After a long days paddling the day before we decided to take it easy and just paddled round some small islands just off St Agnes including Annette, We paddled round Annette then went off to explore some of the smaller islands/ outcrops where we found a couple of inquisitive seals and one even posed for a picture. The weather then started to close in so we called it a day and headed back to camp.



Seal posing for a picture

Day Four

The weather had improved a lot, the wind had dropped as had the swell meaning that we could venture out further. We decided to head round Samson, Bryher and Tresco, when we made it round to the northern point of Bryher is was very rough with big swell, as we paddled round we came across a place called Hell Bay, named so because so many ships had been wrecked there, once they got into the bay they couldn't get out again. As we paddled round the headland it became very rough but once we came made it round and started to head in between Bryer and Tresco it all went very calm again. After stopping for some lunch we headed south back to St Agnes again.

The castle on Tresco another lunch stop

Day Five

Today the plan was to head upto St Martins, as some people had been ill the last couple of days we paddled past Tresco, stopping for a quick coffee at the gardens entrance so that they could see it to. We then headed onto the Eastern Isles where we found loads of seals and stopped for a spot of lunch on a lovely peaceful beach were we caught afew rays. We then continued on to St Martins where half the group paddled round the northern side (the ones that still had lots of energy) and the rest of us paddled round the southern side, the sea was so pretty and clear you could see the bottom. Yet another 30 km day of paddling.

Mike Bradford our coach

Day Six

Our last day in the Scillies, we got up and started packing everything back into our drybags and then into the kayaks. I may have quickly snuck off for a quick sausage sandwich with a couple of the guys before heading back to the camp to finish off (paddling energy). We then paddled over to St Marys for the last time landed the kayaks and unpacked everything and put it in our big bag ready to be loaded onto the ferry again. We arrived a bit early which gave us a bit of time to explore a little of St Mary's (the biggest of the islands) before sailing home again.



The sunset from our campsite



I would strongly recommend this trip to anyone, we had a total mix of abilities in the group and everyone got on fine. Although it can get a little choppy and windy at times, it is a beautiful collection of islands and perfect for wildlife spotting. Its worth going with a guide or coach for a first trip, as although the tides aren't massively big it can be hard work after a long days paddle making crossings. I enjoyed it so much I'm already trying to work out if i can go again next year.

P & H Scorpio LV, i found the boat had plenty of room even to fit all the stuff i took for the crossing to the campsite and back again. It sat well in the water loaded and empty no problem. I felt comfy and confident in the kayak and got on with it really well. It was stable even in the rough and windy conditions. Defiantly taking it out again soon.

 I went with a local coach called Mike Bradford, who i would strongly recommend he was very organised, easy going and knowledgeable on the area.

http://www.mike-bradford.co.uk/

Elderflower Campagne

I brewed myself some Elderflower bubbly! Taken me two weeks to make, but have tested it and its very yummy.

Sea Kayaking - Budleigh to Sidmouth

After a lazy morning we finally got ourselves organised and picked some kayaks up from AS Watersports and Collected Tom and headed to Budleigh for a late afternoon paddle.

Andy was paddling the new Valley Etain, Tom was in the P & H Scorpio LV and i was in the Valley Avocet.

 After getting kitted up we launched from the beach and started our paddle round to Sidmouth, its rough about a 7 mile paddle. It wasn't the calmest of days but nothing to testing either.

Tom getting to grips with a sea kayak, a little different from his squirt boat

After arriving at Sidmouth, Andy showed us a very interesting way of landing after picking a very steep area of the beach which seemed to be the roughest area and got very wet! Tom and me then found a lot nicer area and stayed pretty much dry. We then treated ourselves with some cheesy chips before heading back again.

My brightly coloured boat on our trip back

We had a challenging landing when we got back to Budleigh as the swell had picked up a little and it was a bit of a steep beach, we managed to land fairly smoothly though.

Just as we got out and went to grab the car it decided to tip it down and we got wetter getting changed than we did kayaking.

Andy's Birthday - Turf Locks

For Andy's birthday this year, we paddled to turf looks and everyone else cycled down for a few drinks and dinner

After a night of funnyness, most people headed back home, except a few of us who camped out

 We then had a rather slow paddle back in the morning, with some of us feeling a little more sorry for themselves than others!

Surfing at Polzeath

We all decided that we were going to do something, so we headed down to Polzeath Beach, Me, Buster and his friend Rob hired some foam boards and try to attempt a bit of board surfing. Andy, Bailey and Dan went out in the kayaks and Ed on his board.

The water was still a bit chilly, but as long as you kept moving it wasn't to bad.

When me, Buster and Rob had had enough we headed up to get changed and everyone else was up there, Andy then decided he fancied a try at board surfing and loved it.