September 12, 2007 on 8:31 pm | In Sea Kayaking |

It has been a little while since I have posted a blog, the last few weeks have shot by in a blur, not all good. So just a short post now. I was out at St Kilda last week with a film crew who are filming for a BBC programme. The weather wasn’t very nice but apparently that was OK with them. We had a horrendous beat back out on Wednesday and had to sail 10 miles north of Whale Rock before being able to tack and sail for Village Bay. (Approx an extra 25 miles) With the swell which was running it was not the best.

I arrived back and Anna had booked two people to do and trip out sea kayaking Monday and Tuesday - luckily they were good paddlers. The weather started with a breeze from the North West and gradually it eased. We got in at Valtos Pier and paddled out into the Sound of Pabbay. There was a sizable swell running (2-3m) and it made the conditions interesting. This was exactly what the they were looking for and I gave a little coaching on paddling in bigger water. We poked our noses (or at least the backs of our boats - it makes sense to be able to see the waves as they come towards you) into the caves on the south side of Pabbay.

I don’t get bored of paddling there, it is different every time.

We dropped back round the east side of the island and up the north caost and we did make it into the lagoon but only after I took about five years off my life, sweating would be an understatement, they were competent but didn’t mean I wasn’t worrying as we went round the skerry to access the entrance to the lagoon.

The afternoon was spent leasurely paddling to Vaia Mor to one of my favorite camp sites and the bonus was the fire wood we collected last time we were there was still in the box I left, so a small fire on the beach ended a great day.

The wind was on the nose as we paddled back in the morning, so a hard grind, back to the car and deliver them to the ferry in Stornoway. Another bespoke trip and happy customers.

I will download the pictures and post them if I have a few minutes but I have a presentation to do on ‘The Importance of Our Marine and Coastal Landscape to the Future Development of Eco-Tourism’ on Friday so I am stuffed full of conflicting ideas.

With stag party to do on Saturday with Murray from SeaTrek we are doing the paddling and climbing, weather forecast isn’t looking good … Then off to Uist on Sunday to deliver a Fist Aid course, I am going to take the boat and hopefully do some paddling in the Sound of Barra. So life is never idle …

Tim Pickering
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