I haven’t been in my sea boat for some time, as the rivers of Dartmoor have been flowing rather well. However, a spell of dry weather kept me at home this weekend, with the plan being to get out on the sea and try to remember how a sea kayak works.
Three of us met early today at Swanage, bracing ourselves against a very cold and blustery north-easterly wind. With winds up to Force 7 forecast, we weren’t convinced that our intended paddle around the Purbeck cliffs to Kimmeridge was such a great plan, or indeed that it was viable at all.
Paddling through the tide race at Peveril Ledges was rather daunting, with spray being blown skyward off the tops of the waves, and surf breaking hard over the shallows. The point of no return for this trip is Durlston Head, a mile further; we decided to approach the tide race at the Head gingerly and if necessary, run away with our tail between our legs back to Swanage. However, we were pleasantly surprised to find that there was a clean passage to be had around Durlston, rising and falling on a sizeable swell.
We were now sheltered under the cliffs for the next two hours all the way to St Alban’s Head, and (with the sun finally out to warm us) it was really rather pleasant paddling. The tide race at St Alban’s caused us no problems, although it was a bit of a slog turning north back into the wind. We allowed ourselves a short comfort stop on a stony beach just beyond, and the final hour to our finish point was a lurvely sheltered run along the shallow Kimmeridge Ledges, dodging or surfing the occasional small breaker.
All good.
