Puffin good Paddle

There was a certain urgency for getting down here for this trip. Puffins. I've never seen a puffin, and Skomer is a place they come to in abundance to procreate early in April. After breeding they all leave around mid to late July. I was hoping we were in time to see a few of the late departures.

We are up early and I am stoking the boiler with a morning fry-up when Steve returns from the coastguard lookout which overlooks Jack Sound. With an infectious look of concern on his face he reports of some pretty wild water, eddies, boils and such like. He'd been watching the ebb tide max out though the sound.

I decide to take a look after my nosh.

Looking down through Jack Sound an hour before slack on the ebb, towards Skokholm in distance, Skomer to the right and Tusker Rock at bottom right

By the time I take a peek (above), things seem to have calmed down from Steves earlier recon.

Mew Stone, off Skomer, in the early hours

Niel and Richard join us, after some ungodly pre-twilight drive from Cardiff, and Adrians brother-in-law from far off Pendine, so in addition to the pre-assembled Adrian, Steve and Hywel we make quite a party.

Early morning departure from Martin's Haven

We are on the water and depart 0810 (HW Milford 1224), Jack sound should be at slack water at this time. Paddling out of Martins Haven with anticipation out around Wooltack Point and across the north of Jack Sound proper. It is like a mill pond, with no noticeable tide flow. The unused adrenalin gets rebottled.

It is not to long before we pass Midland Isle and cross over Little Sound to reach The Neck. While Richard and I keep close to the island, the rest of the merry band make a beeline for the Garland Stone.

The water below the cliffs at the water edge is full of bobbing puffins

It must be quite an experience at the height of the season to paddle amongst them if the paddle with this lot is anything to go by. Gently paddling they didn’t seem to worried. Get a little to close and it is quite amusing to see them go through the motions of a comic take off procedure. Landing is just as funny, just stop flapping, plop down onto the water and bob back up. Their wings are designed for underwater swimming, but unlike the penguin they are still able to get air borne.

Passing inside the Garland Stone the full Atlantic swell excitedly introduces itself. We hitch a ride on the south going current that takes us around and down the west side of the island.

Niel looks around The Basin

Exploration of The Wick ensues with lots of jellyfish in the water and guillemots nesting precariously on ledges.

At The Wick

Niel sees the light . . . at The Wick

At about 1000 (–1.5 HWMH) we paddle due south across Broad Sound towards Skokoholm, experiencing very little tide movement as this section now approaches its own slack water.

Crossing Broad Sound

Looking west as we cross, we can just make out Grassholm Island in the far distance, host to one of the largest gannet colonies in the world, standing out white washed with gannet guano.

As Skokholm land fall approaches a little north east push, pulls us nicely into the island. This island is an SSSI, SPA and SAC. Intrigued to find out more?


Magnificent menacing black rocks provide a dramatic rockscape below the lighthouse, in stark contrast to dramatically lit rocks around the south side of Quarry Point, which are now lit by the full force of the sun, hardly a cloud in the sky.

Rounding the corner into the sunshine

Further on we have a little play time on some small overfalls by Crab Rocks before stopping for a bite to eat, floating by the jetty which was built to land building materials for the lighthouse.

More details about the lighthouse and an amusing story about the island donkey.

Just before hitting max speed around The Stack

Rounding Long Point and passing The Stack we get a sling shot of 7.5 knots and jump on the conveyor belt that whisks towards the jaws of Jack Sound.

Heading back across Broad Sound towards Jack Sound

Jack Sound

We get sucked through the Sound at full bore (neaps), standing waves and boils abound. Surprisingly not that intimidating. We do a bit of braking in and out behind Tusker Rock. I notice that Richard has stayed over by Midland Isle playing in some rough water. I wonder if I can get back against the sedate 5 knot flow. Well, ferry glide and keeping in tight to the land , I managed to get back to the south side of Midland Isle.

Exploring caves on Skomer

A bit of cave exploration ensued, with by far the most interesting being just beyond Little Sound and before Rob’s Wick. Here a cave takes you right through to the other side island (we got access at about HW Milford). The cave inside contains two other caves at right angles. A sleeping seal is abruptly woken by our paddle through.

Out the other side we paddle back across Jack Sound avoiding at least one gin palace that came roaring through, before returning to Martins Haven.

With: complex tide patterns to plan around; an early morning effort; good weather; good company; interesting scenery; abundant wildlife, this has to rank as one of those perfect paddling days.

Puffin in the bag

13.7 Nm round trip

If you're interested . . .

Go West and Getting Over You with Wishful Paddling

Full of hopes to paddle out to Skomer and Skokholm, I knock off early and venture "down west" with good vibes for a nice forecast.
Adrian and I meet up with Steve and Hywel at Broadhaven for an early evening warm up paddle before our planned trip tomorrow.

We are close to neap tides, which is I am told, a good time to cross over Jack Sound which separates the mainland from Skomer Island.

Just off Broadhaven

Hywel found no Trolls under the bridge

Beautiful calm evening paddling towards Druidstone, taking in the delights of the formations and the wonderful low evening light.

Druidstone Beach

On our way over to Martins Haven we pop in to the Lobster Pot in Marloes for a mammoth slap up cod and chips washed down with a cool pint of Guiness.

I am unsure of what to expect of the mighty Jack Sound tomorrow, by all accounts this can be a nasty bit of water at springs with wind against-but having never got over it before I'm apprehensive.

Settling down to an open air bivy at St Martins, I have visions of 6 foot sucking whirlpools recounted by somebody we met.

I sincerely hope he was kidding.

Wild Thing- you make my heart singI'm turning Troglodyte

The cave with the blow hole has become a bit of a curiosity to me lately. I wanted to return with a torch to explore further inside. A failed attempt on foot was due to the low tide not being quite low enough to reach the entrance. So it had to be back to the kayak for a seaward assault. After a few evening trips with too high a tide, finally managed to get access tonight.



As Adrian and I paddled past the cave, the tide was a little low to avoid the guardian rocks. A paddle straight onto the sandy beach wasn't on the cards yet, so we enjoyed the evening sunlight on the rocks and continued on to Ogmore where we managed a tiny bit of a surf.

I decided to see if I could poke my nose in on the way back.

Doesn't look like much from the outside

Once you land on the sandy beach, the cave opens up cavernously beyond the entrance, sloping up to the back. Off to the left there is a narrow passage way which opens up a little into a small chamber. This continues on to where a shaft of light from the blow hole can be seen lighting up a trapped beer keg.

Ample Parking Space

Crawling into the narrow rear,
looking back towards the cavern and entrance

Good views out over to Somerset

Go forth . . . and backwards

Taliesin (10) ventures out into the surf, for a little practise in building up his rough water experience.

I'm wondering when or if our summer paddling weather is ever going to arrive.

Blow me

After a little wandering around the cliff tops the blow hole to the cave from the previous post was located. In fact there are two blow holes to the cave. This one is the biggest.

The tide was in covering the cave entrance, and a fair amount of air was being blown up through the gap, and then being sucked back as the swell plunged and then receded in the cavern below.

Now if I put a turbine over the hole could I have found a way of producing cheap renewable electricity . . .

Reflecting TimemiT gnitcelfeR

Lovely calm evening, with an incoming tide, Chris and I paddled out of Southerndown towards Ogmore for a relaxing meander.

Keeping in tight to the cliffs we made steady progress against the tides flow, exploring the interesting nooks and crannies along the way.

There are two interesting caves along this section. Both have beaches deep inside, one with large boulders, the other with sand and small pebbles. This is the interesting one. Beaching inside the cave and exploring on foot, it creeps back into the depths of the cliff face. Very dark, without a torch, I edged my way forward. With a bit of excitement I saw a thin shaft of light at the back. I recall a friend mentioning a blow hole somewhere on the cliff top walk. I had never known one existed. Seems as if I had found it. Some thing to go and explore at the top of the cliff one day!

Amazing how you can live in one place for a long time and still discover excitement like this.

On our way back, we both recalled a trip we had made when we first began paddling. It was along this same stretch of coast, again paddling against the tide. On that occasion we were further out in the main stream, having a bit of a battle going against the incoming tide. Neither of us realised that if we paddled closer to the shore we would be in for an easier time.

Tonight's paddle wasn't a huge distance, but I had the feeling that over the last year or so we had come along way.

Show us your assets

Mumbles. . . Speak up lad!
No, we are in Mumbles, a place just outside Swansea.

Tide race off Mumbles Head kicking up

With a westerly F 8-9 howling outside, I am glad to be inside Mumbles Lifeboat Station.

This new station is close by the original station that housed the ill fated lifeboat Edward, Prince of Wales. On the night of 23 April 1947, this lifeboat was lost with all 8 volunteer crew while attempting to save the SS Samtampa and its 39 crew, aground on rocky ledges off Sker Point. The ship broke open and spilled it's oil and was capsised onto the lifeboat. The crew of the lifeboat suffered the most horrible end by choking on the oil. The wind worsened and increased to hurricane strength. A local farmer close to where I live can remember oil being wiped from his windows and the oil killing a number of apple trees, this is some 14km along the cost. I spare a thought for all those souls as I walk around the station.

A small group of us are here to take part in a VHF Operator's Short Range Certificate course and examination. Martin Double, coxwain and station training guru, has kindly set up the course for us wanabee radio hams. The table in front of us is laid out with a pair of DSC marine radios connected to each other by a thick length of "co-ax".

With this set up we are able to use the equipment "hands on" and transmit all manor of distress calls that would otherwise get the local boys and girls pagers going off, and their little legs running towards the boathouse. These sets can however receive all live transmissions.
In the middle of being baptised in the dark art of Digital Selective Calling (DSC), Pan Pans and Maydays, by some prearranged signal we hear a Mayday call being put out. Swansea Coast Guard (CG) pick up transmission and respond.

What followed was an insight in how not to make a Mayday call. It took a good 10 minutes for the CG to calm the operator down and to extract the first vital bit of information, the persons position, followed by enough information for them to make a decision and task the appropriate rescue asset.

Then the DSC alarm on our radio is activated by the CG relaying the mayday to all stations, followed by the voice transmission. All textbook stuff.

Within 5 minutes of the CG getting all his info the ILB was disgorged from the bowels of the room below us, and we took up our front row seats.

The ALB being made ready

Soon the ALB was launched to assist, and before we knew it Rescue 196 chopper was out (for a different shout). You can read the ILB log and the ALB log of the shouts, for the 22 June 2008.

The D-boat ILB and the Tyne ALB

A monster seagull tries to take out Rescue 169

After all that excitement we return to sit our exam paper.

Many thanks to Martin for giving up his Sunday afternoon and for arranging the live demo of all the possible local rescue assets.

We all passed by the way. Legal at last!

Holm on the (firing) Range

Disappointed that a bit of an epic trip planned from South Wales to Lundy Island had been called off due to unstable weather, a trip with a bit of a challenge was needed to use the better weather promised for Sunday. We were not let down.

Famous Five, The Secret Seven, there is a touch of Enid Blyton about both the Holms stuck out in the Bristol Channel. Interesting, intriguing, certainly worth discovering, Flat Holm (the most southerly part of Wales) and Steep Holm. Even if that does involve a visit to England!

There and Back Again

It is a challenging trip, requiring a long fast ferry glide between the islands. Just after the peak spring tide, we expected quite a full on experience, with a North, North East wind F3-4 occasionally 5 there was going to be a little wind against tide on the ebb on our outward passage. Tidal stream of up to 3.8 knots was going to be expected in the shipping lane as we crossed between the two islands. Hold on to your hats, have faith in your angle, and don't stop paddling!

Penarth Pier

Bearing out to Flat Holm (left), Steep Holm (right)

Leaving Penarth on the last hour of the flood, we made an ark out into the channel ready to drop down onto Flat Holm with the ebb. That strategy worked very well.

Dropping down onto Flat Holm

Arriving at the jetty, we made our way to pay our landing fee and begin being at the receiving end of gull guano dive bombing, a repeating theme on both islands.

The island had taken a few prisoners that morning. The ferry had been unable to pick up the previous days visitors (due to absent crew members) and so they were captured 'till the evening ferry could safely land at the jetty to extract them.

Rush of water between the two islands

The Flag and Foghorn (cool name for a pub)

A very interesting island. Attractions include a lighthhouse, foghorn, a cholera sanatorium, numerous gun emplacements built to protect the channel from invasion during the late 1800s and during WWII. The Victorian canons seem to have been literally tossed to one side to be replace by the modern weapons. And of course thousands of gulls. Marconi transmitted the first wireless signal over the sea from Flat Holm to Lavernock on 13 May 1897. Just as well he used morse code, as no one would have heard him over the screaming noise of the birds.

Canon and Lighthouse - Flat Holm

Ruins of Cholera Sanatorium

Gull Galore

The Famous Five

Sharing the water with other users

Welcome to Steep Holm

Imagine how we felt when the bared gate read "by appointment" (so inhospitable these English types), we tried to phone, no answer, must be in the garden (they couldn't be down the shops or far away now could they). Not ones to be put off, we scaled the gate (the Enid Blyton excitement got the better of us), to find Mr Maslen to arrange an appointment. It transpired that no one was on the island, so we left, by walking around the perimeter to return to the gate.

Looking back down to Flat Holm from the top of Steep Holm,
with Cardiff in the distance

Holy Buried Canon Batman!

Sunny Side Up or Over Easy?

Bofors 40mm canon with shells of a different kind

Stairway to . . . a search light

"Fish for tea love or do you fancy a Shag?"

Now bugger off or I'll Shit on you

See - I warned you

Jim enjoying a Swell Time mid channel on our return

Chris also having a Swell Time on our return towards Flat Holm

We enjoyed a few civilised pints at the invitation of the yacht club, on the balcony over looking the pier in time to watch the stranded Flat Holm visitors arriving on the evening ferry.

And as if by magic it all went calm and it's not as if Lundy Island won't be there for another day.