Lee Bay to Lundy
Island and back, solo. 2nd July 2015. - 76km. By Tavi Murray
The northern track is out, southern back, the trip home took 4 hours 9 minutes.
I’ve been wanting to do the Scilly Isles crossing for more
than a year now, but the right weather window and tides have not coincided, at
least not at a time when me and my friends were free. The ambition to paddle to
the Scilly’s lead me and two friends to do an Open Water Navigation and Tidal
Planning course with Roger last spring to ensure we had the skills to plan the
trip. Since then I’ve also done 5* training, and the OWNTP course is a
prerequisite for a 5* assessment. Somehow it seems wrong that those skills
should be theoretical at assessment time, so planning and doing an open
crossing went on my 5* action plan, providing an extra reason to want to do the
trip.
Research on the internet lead me to an article Roger wrote
about his own solo crossing to the Scilly’s (can be seen
here) ... I found it a really inspiring read and … hang on … he paddled it solo! Yeah,
but that’s Roger, he’s a Level 5 coach, he’s had his 5* for years and he’s light-years
beyond my kayaking abilities even in my wildest dreams. But just there a little
seed of a dream was planted. Then sometime on our way round the Roof this
spring, no idea how it came up, there we were having a conversation about the
Scilly’s crossing and the possibility of me paddling it solo. And not only was
Roger not laughing at the possibility, he seemed supportive of the idea …
So since we’ve come back I’ve been waiting for the weather
and the tides to coincide for the Scilly’s crossing. But the weather has been
really unsettled and the only window so far I was tied up at work. So that
dream remains at the top of my “to do” list. However last week Thursday looked fairly
settled in the forecast and it was spring tides. I’d bought the chart for
Lundy, and I’d stuck that crossing on my list too, but I hadn’t looked at it
any further. Tuesday evening I didn’t go surfing, I spread out the chart and
got my protractor, ruler and tide tables and started planning. Yes, even though
it’s an 80 km round trip it looked possible to do there and back in a single
day and the tide times made sense.
Who else wanted to come? And there was the problem, everyone
I knew was busy. Perhaps I could do this one solo? I’ll be honest, I wasn’t
sure I wanted to. The crossing has tideraces at each end and the Bristol
Channel tides are fast flowing, in my experience even ferocious. Even though
it’s shorter each way than the Scilly’s crossing it’s quite possibly a more
committing trip. I was really apprehensive … not committing to a decision. But
I also put my boat on my car, and got all my kit ready. Then on Wednesday
morning I looked again at the forecast, and it seemed pretty perfect, W F1-2
and sunshine, with 1.1 m swell. How, I asked myself, was I pretending I was
going to paddle to the Scilly’s solo if I couldn’t commit to this solo trip? I
developed a new test for myself: I imagined trying to explain to a friend why
we weren’t going to do the trip together. There was no explanation – I should
go! So I booked a hostel in Ilfracombe for the night and emailed Roger to ask
if he’d be my shore contact. The answer was a supportive yes.
Driving through north Devon I was dismayed to find it was
foggy, with visibility down to a few 10s of metres in places. That was one
thing Roger had driven home on the OWNTP course … don’t do crossings in fog! I
went to find the put in a Lee Bay and suss out parking and then headed to the
hostel. There I checked the forecast again. It was now W/NW F2-3, with
occasional F4 and rain all morning, possibly thundery. I set my alarm for 5 am,
as I wanted to be on the water at 7 am, but without conviction I’d actually be
paddling in the morning.
The forecast hadn’t changed the next morning, and although
it wasn’t the perfect conditions I’d planned on I thought it was ok, head wind
out, following wind back. I headed for Lee Bay listening to my car radio
warning of violent thunder storms … On arrival there was low cloud wafting through
the valley and visibility seemed poor. OK I thought, best not. I looked at my
map and decided to head for Woolacombe to look at conditions, I texted Roger
and said it was no go. I thought I’d do a short coastal trip or have a surf
before heading home. Driving up the hill towards Woolacombe I thought about how
I was feeling. Was I secretly relieved at calling it off? No, my only feeling
was deep disappointment.
What! There’s Lundy! From the top of the hill looking over
Morte Bay the island was clearly visible and conditions looked a lot better.
Arrrrgh! Was there still time to go? Rapid thought and I decided so long as I
could be on the water at 7.45 am I was happy my navigation would still be good.
Hey, I could paddle fast too and make up some time. I texted Roger again (poor
man!).
I was on the water by 7.30 am and phoned Roger and Swansea
coastguard just before Bull Point. I was finally on my way! The tide race
between Bull Point and Morte Point was a bit bumpier than I’d expected, it was
wind and swell against tide and my bow bounced over the breaking waves. Out of
the tiderace, things settled down a bit, but the 1 m swell meant Lundy kept
vanishing. It’s really hard trying to keep on a compass bearing in these
conditions! I used the clouds to steer by, but the wind moved these rapidly
meaning I had to stay alert. Birds soared over the waves checking me out as I
paddled. I stopped every hour for a few minutes and for a food and drink break.
After a couple of hours the rain started!
It was clear I was heading further north than I needed to,
but I was unsure when to let my angle off. I’ve experienced Bristol Channel
tides round Flatholm and Steepholm, and they require real caution. I
compromised, I’d aim to end up at the north end of the island which would give
me a trip down the east coast and 4 km of safety as the Landing Beach is at the
south of the island.
Arriving at the lighthouse at the north of the island gave
me a few minutes of hard work as there was a north going current there I still
don’t understand. But once on the east coast, the rain stopped temporarily and
I paddled slowly along, surrounded by singing and playful seals. There really
are hundreds! Lundy seems honeycombed by caves and I really look forward to
heading back for a proper exploration.
Lunch in the rain on the Landing Beach was pretty miserable.
I’d worn my drysuit and my thin top underneath was soaking from sweat. I
changed it and put on a woolly hat. From being too hot whilst paddling I was
now pretty cold. And it was raining heavily. My flask of ginger tea was really
welcome.
When my boat was in danger of floating again, it was clear
the tide had turned. Time to go! But there was no sign of England … I headed
off on my compass bearing. Conditions cleared from the west and after 90
minutes land appeared in front, exactly where I expected it. The trip home took
4 hours and 9 minutes (my nav was for 4 hours 20 minutes so that’s pretty spot
on!). Two thirds of the way over a porpoise arched up and stayed a few minutes.
Shipping isn’t really a problem on this crossing, but this
sinister vessel was moving very fast!
Landing at Lee Bay was interesting – surf onto concrete and
no beach visible in a place where I could access either slip from. I went in
rather cautiously with my spray deck off, paddling backwards and I carried my now
seaweed-festooned boat out of the surf as quickly as I could. I headed back to
Ilfracombe with an enormous smile, for a much needed shower, and then pizza and
a beer.
It was an amazing, awesome day and the trip felt like a real
achievement. I really loved it and I am so glad I paddled solo. I felt completely
at one with the environment and I have deep memories of many sounds and sights.
Lots of firsts for me too: first real tidal open crossing; first real test of
my navigation skills; first offshore solo paddle. I learnt an enormous amount
both about crossings and myself. So a really big thanks to Roger for being my
shore contact for the trip and for his support for my paddling aspirations –
I’ve still got that big smile! Here’s hoping the weather window for the
Scilly’s appears soon!
By Tavi Murray
Thanks for the Blog Tavi and a HUGE well done. I'm really very chuffed for you .... Roger
