Midlifekayak

On Thursday afternoon we finally packed up the kayaks, bid farewell and said our thank yous to the Team at the Fastnet Marine and Outdoor Education Centre.

The aim was to get ourselves into position by Brow Head, ready to get round Mizen Head the next morning when we expected the winds to die down.

Mizen Head marks the most South Westerly point of Ireland. The strong westerlies over the previous week had meant it was impossible to get round this famous landmark.

We were up and out of our tents early and on the water by 8am. Beyond Mizen we would push across Bantry Bay, towards Dursey Island.

After the dramatic seas of the last week, everything had calmed down. Last time we crossed to Dursey Island we were escorted by Minke Whales. This time it was the turn of dozens of Dolphin to entertain us and take our minds off the crossing. Mostly they concentrated on feeding, but several curious pods came in to check us out and circled round the boats and leapt out of the water in front of us. Magical experience.

That night we camped in Garnish Bay. Met a Cork fisherman who reminded me of what a small world it is. Years ago, he had bought a boat from a friend back in Cornwall.

The next couple of days involved two more significant crossings. Unlike the crossing to Dursey Island, the crossings to Valentia Island and then Clogher Head were more in the “epic” category.

In the case of the former, we started the day in glorious sunshine. We took a little detour to Allihies to meet with Tim and Mary-Kate who very generously agreed to meet us to hand over a couple of new cags we had ordered through Jon Hynes the week previous. Expeditions are tough on kit as well as bodies!

After a coffee and chat we launched again toward Deenish and Scariff Isalnds. We were making great progress. As we got close we could see Bolus Head in the gap between the two Islands. We headed straight for it.

Bizarrely, as we paddled through, the wind picked up and delivered a very different sea state.

I’ll spare you all the details, but for the next 5 hours we made little more than 2.5 mph against a F4 winds which steadily grew in strength to a F6.

It was a long and very tough paddle. Right up there with some of the toughest, and occasionally hairiest, of days we have had in any of our expeditions.

As we passed Bolus Head, finally, the conditions became quite severe with very few options of getting out we kept evaluating the risk and our contingency plans.

However, the day was also “epic” because we saw our first two whales on this trip. Two Minke, no more than 50 metres away from us, broached, exposing their flanks before submerging again. What a treat.

The next day, the conditions had calmed down a notch but still required a 7 hour slog into a F5 gusting F6 headwind. With the extraordinary sight of the Skelligs, and then the Blaskets accompanying our day, we finally punched round Slea Head and then Clogher Head before landing in a beautiful bay.

Being bank holiday in Ireland, the coast is full of holiday makers and camper vans. No sooner had we arrived than someone brought us over a sausage each that they had just cooked on the BBQ and someone else gave us home made chocolate brownies. All was right with the world again.

Today we paddled just 20 miles to Brandon Quay. This time we had wind and stream with us, but the northerlies bouncing off the cliffs created some enormous clapotis. Photos and videos don’t do justice to those conditions, but it is quite a special place to be. Of course, if you ever ask us about it over a beer we will exaggerate!

As soon as we landed in Brandon we popped into Murphy’s bar. It had been a life saver for us 9 years ago when we landed after the Atlantic had given us an absolute hiding. Pádraig, the landlord, told us the pub had been in his family for 140 years. If you are ever in the area, you have to visit. It is just how pubs should be. Decent food and outstanding Guinness.

Unbelievably Pádraig remembered us from last time and has been following our social media.

The west coast of Ireland clearly wants us to stay longer as the forecast is not great for the next few days. We are going to squeeze out a few miles each day and see how we get on.