Midlifekayak

We finally made a break for it to get out of Ardglass harbour. It was an epic day – a nasty sea rose up rapidly during a committed crossing – 3 hours of perhaps the most tense paddling Geoff and I have ever experienced (more on this in a later blog) but we also managed 45 miles so all in all a great day. We now have 108miles to go (or there abouts). 

Thanks to Fay and Andy for your generous donation!

Geoff having a rest on the way to Dublin….  

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Geoff has been keeping a tally of the number of Guinesses we’ve had since we started this adventure. Apparently I  am one behind him – 25 to 24. 

He’s just gone to buy provisions so guess what ……it is all square now!

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Brief post tonight but wanted to provide an update. Today we said goodbye to the west coast. It’s been exhilarating. We seen some amazing scenary and wildlife and met some wonderful people.

We’ve also experienced some incredible conditions. They’ve been testing but they’ve also been fun.

This morning as we were preparing to leave we met an ecologist who had been conducting a bird survey along the local cliffs around Horn Head. Fascinating guy who helped us identify some of the birds we had seen but didn’t know what they were.   Our list of birds now looks like:

Guillemots , Black Backed Gull, Razor Bill, Puffins, Storm Petrel, Black Guillemots, Fulmers, Terns, Skewers, Oyster Catchers, Chuffs, Gannets and a few more we still don’t know the name of.

We left Portnablagh in perfect conditions and made our way up to the most northern tip of Ireland, Malin Head where we are now. Eight hours in the kayak to cover the 30 miles.
We think we have less than 300 miles to go.

A massive thank you to Sara, Jan and Tony, and Suzanne, Richard and Family for your donations. Our total stands at over a thousand pounds now! Two thirds of the way to our target.

Tomorrow we are aiming for Port Rush.

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A couple of shots from our camp site this morning in Portnablagh and looking out towards Horn Head.

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I’d love to tell you that the Aran Islands  are every bit as beautiful as their reputation. Unfortunately we didn’t see them. We landed in thick fog and we left in thick fog.

We did however have a restful stay in the Pier House B&B, run by a man who had fished for herring in the area for 40 years. We made sure we picked up any advice he had to offer about the waters ahead. We also consumed a huge quantity of calories in our 15 hour stay including what has to be the best Irish stew we’ve ever had (washed down with a couple of pints of Guiness).

We left Kilronan in sunshine but as we left the harbour the fog came in. We were headed to the Connemara coastline – Golam Head – around a 9 mile open crossing. We set off on a northwest bearing and soon lost sight of all land. Surrounded in an earie shroud. Other than our compasses, the only clue to our direction was the westerly swell and wind chop. 

A couple of hours later and Golam Head started to emerge through the fog. As we rounded the headland the fog cleared and the sun out in an appearance which made navigating the last 15 miles to Roundstone a little easier. 

This stretch of water is littered with rocky outcrops over which any swell breaks violently. Fortunately for us the swell was slight today.

The wind, as ever, was in our faces and our progress slow but miles ticked by – probably the Guiness and Irish stew fuel.

The Connemara mountains provide a dramatic backdrop to our campsite (whenever the cloud base lifts) – today we are off the water as the winds have strengthened.  But we hope to get round Slyne Head tomorrow and up to Inishturk. 

In the meantime – exploring beautiful Roundstone…

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Our day weatherbound in Kilkee was spent washing and catching up with what’s going on in the world. We also found an amazing cafe and bar which benefited from our custom for several hours each (no surprises there then).

We had set up camp just below St George’s headland, in a public shelter out of the driving wind and rain. We watched the large Atlantic swell crashing in over the reef that extends halfway across Kilkee Bay. Think we made the right decision to stay off the water.

The next morning we broke camp and were on the water by 8.30am. It had stopped raining and the winds had reduced slightly and veered westerly now. So although the swell was smaller, there would be a lot of confused clapotis around any west facing cliffs.

We picked our route out of the bay to avoid the reef and turned right along the coast. The boats bounced around in the confused water but they (and we) felt comfortable. 

We rounded Donegal Point and headed into Mal Bay. We had thought we could stop off at Spanish Point mid way through the bay but seeing how far it in it was we decided to push on toward Mutton Island and then Hags Head. 

It was a low speed day. The wind chop and swell and stream conspired to keep us to an average of just over 3 miles an hour. Slow but not too painful.

The swell was still fairly big. Geoff and I would lose sight of each regular as we sat in the troughs between swells. 

As we approached Hags Head I could see on the chart a large area of submerged rock. That would likely cause the swell to break in impressive fashion. True enough, as we got closer we could see and hear the roar as the swell broke.  We turned into the wind and worked our way around.

As Hags Head slowly disappeared behind us, Ireland’s next coastal attraction emerged before us. The Cliffs of Moher.  For the next four miles we paddled in some exciting clapotis with an incredible back drop – the cliffs rise to over 700 ft. Tourists were dotted along the edge at the top – probably they wouldn’t be able to make us out at that distance. It also appeared that one of the Doolin sight seeing vessels couldn’t make us out either as they made course straight for us. Geoff and I adjusted course a couple of times and just as I was reaching for my radio, they finally seemed to spot us and gave us some room.

Doolin ferry port is something else. Protection from the swell is only afforded at the very last minute and although a nearby rock helps to shield the quays it also helps to cause some very confused water. Just as we approached, three ferries and two sight seeing boats were lining up to get in. We would have to wait in the confused water with swells breaking either side. Slowly we edged forward and as the last ferry dropped its cargo of passengers and headed back to sea we paddled for it and landed on the slip. 

Cold and tired from another slog of a day, we got some soup and rice on the boil to warm us up.

Today (Day 17) we crossed to the three Aran Islands. First thing, the sun had been out giving us hope for a warm days paddle – just a mile into the first crossing the fog and the rain descended. We spent the next four hours tracing our way up the north east coast of each of the Islands until we reached Kilronan. We had to rely on our chart reading skills and our ability to follow a bearing as the Islands had all but disappeared.

Our bodies weren’t into it today. We don’t know why. Perhaps the first 17 days are just catching up with us but we decided to stop on Inishmore and as the rain and the fog didn’t look like lifting, we checked in to a B&B and get some food in us and sleep. It wouldn’t have been a safe option to push on in fog around some of the small Islands that are coming up anyway. 

So our 4th shower in 18 days and our first night in a bed feeling positively spoilt.

Big thank you to Val for a very generous donation to our charities. Thanks so much!

 Inishmore Quay…  

Irish stew …

Something missing?    

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Apparently my branch of the Mullins family come from Kinsale but turns out that the Mullins from Derry make dam fine ice cream….

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