Sunday 14 December 2008

Chicken Supreme! 14/12/2008

With the wind increasing through the night and still pretty strong I decided to launch from Porthsele with no particular plan but just to see how things went.

Like yesterday there was a large swell with the occasional sets of large waves coming through.

Paddling out to Carreg Gafeilliog, the rocky outcrop at the northerly end of Ramsey Sound, the waves were crashing quite impressively on the jagged rocks. Still not sure where to head for and after paddling one way and then another, I decided to paddle out to Gwahan, the small rock about half a mile north of Ramsey Island.

With the tide flowing southwards it was a chance to practice my ferry glides and I was quite surprised how fast the tide was flowing.

As I got nearer to Gwahan the speed of the tide increased and it was a struggle to stay on course and not get swept past the rock. The water around Gwahan was quite rough and whilst taking the above photos I was carried southwards past Gwahan and down towards Ramsey.

As Gwahan disappeared and Ramsey got nearer I had to put on another sprint so as as not to be carried around the seaward west side of Ramsey Island instead of into Ramsey Sound. Glancing at my GPS I was paddling at nearly 10.5 knots, great fun especially going through the turbulent water.

Passing Trwyn Ogof Hen the NE tip of ramsey it was now another ferry glide across the southerly flowing Ramsey Sound across to St Justinian which is very sheltered today and an ideal place to have a brief rest before the paddle back to Porthsele. Paddling out of St Justinian the sky looks pretty stormy at the southern end of Ramsey Sound.

It is a relatively short paddle back to Porthsele where, whilst I am getting changed, I am mobbed by a gang of chickens, shame they weren't turkeys what with Christmas approaching!

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