Shambles on a kayak - yeah right !!

[Barto]

We are sometimes known as nutters, but this must take the biscuit. We did this trip last Saturday.

 

 

Richi has
already mentioned about the conversation that led to this trip. Unbeknown to
me, at the time, Richi had already been looking at the viability of fishing the
Shambles from a kayak. I believe the conversation provided the stimulus and a
like minded partner, that was needed to take the idea to the next level.

 

I would like
to mention at this point that many people had considered this trip "un
doable". Richi has a reputation for being, to put it lightly, a bit of a
wild card when it comes to kayak fishing. The distances he regularly travels
afloat is extreme by most people's standards. I can confirm that he is not
"a nutter with no regard for safety" but an astute planner of the
trips. Every finite detail is looked at and discussed. Safety is always
paramount. For this trip, he even gave Steve and I a printed route planner
which he had drawn on tidal, current and wind 
information.

 

The next
thing I knew was that Richi had found a window and at the last minute, the trip
was given the green light as the wind was forecast to remain unchanged. Steve
(lureman) was also going to join the party. What made this unique was that it
was also his birthday.

 

Steve came
down to my house the night before as it was going to be an early start. I
didn't sleep well. I was suffering with a head cold and, to be honest, was very
excited. I had never taken part in such a Christopher Columbus type trip. To
heighten the apprehension further, I have only been out in the Hobie about half
a dozen times and never sailed anything but in for a penny and all that. I was
not worried about taking a dunking. I was more worried about the photos that
would follow of me trying to right the hobie whilst Steve and Richi were
wetting themselves.

 

I went
downstairs and woke Steve at 02:45 and after the obligatory cuppa we left for
Lulworth. After dodging all the Deer on the back roads, we arrived at the car
park at 03:45. It was pitch black and we could hear the murmur of the waves on
the shore. Richi arrived shortly after us and we all got ready. We trollyed the
kayaks some 400 yards down the road to the shore and after a check of each other's
kit and the call to the coast guard, we launched.

 

We headed
due south as part of the paddle plan.

 

 We were heading for a mark some 4 miles
offshore before we were to make our turn due west. At this point we were
reliant on paddle/ peddle power as the wind was easterly and very light. We had
plenty of time so the pace was leisurely. The view of the rising sun beyond the
eastern cliffs was spectacular and we stopped and just looked.

 

We continued
to our turn and then lofted the sails. It was at this stage that I became most
concerned. As I said before, I had never sailed anything and I had flashes of
V8Rob's thread of  his outback with stabilisers.
If he needs them in the harbour, I really was in the sh1t. I lofted the sail
and off I went. We were heading west at a steady 3.5 mph towards the adamant
shoal.

 

When we
reached our first fishing spot, Steve managed to get a signal so the live
report could begin. Richi and Steve got the picks down while I tried another
mark some 500 yds away. After a couple of biteless drifts I caught up the Steve
and Richi. It was here that I realised I had made my first over sight. I say
over sight as I feel that a mistake is perhaps too strong. I left my anchor
behind as one of the benefits of the Hobie is that you can slow your drift by
peddling gently and by increasing the pace you can stay still or go against the
tide. Here though it was fast. Even on a neap it was a steady pace to hold
station. I covered a lot of ground and only managed a couple of doggies. Steve
was having a blinder. He had already had 4 species including an early smut. I
reckon that was god's way of giving him a birthday present as we hadn't even
got him a cake !!

 

Nearing the
end of our window on the shoal, a trawler decided to have a game of chicken.
The guys had to up the picks otherwise the idiot would have pulled them under.
He wasn't stopping. It was here that the wind increased dramatically from the
east. I would say that it was up to about a four. This increase forced us to do
a bit of off the cuff planning. It slowed our progress dramatically to the
banks. We would only get a narrow window there so we hoped the wind would ease
and swing to the forecasted southerly direction. We continued west with the
rising sea state. To give you an idea, I had a wave rise up and break over me
completely covering me. I was sat there spitting water whilst Richi laughed.

 

We reached
the northern edge of the banks. We could see the flotilla on the southern edge.

 

They were
about a half  mile to the south west. It
would have been great to drift by them but due to the easterly wind, time had
beaten us. We drifted west until the swinging wind and flooding tide forced us
to start our trip back. We raised the sails and headed north with the flood. On
the way back we talked about what we had learned, what we would have changed
and what to do differently next time, yes next time. With about 2.5 miles to
go, the wind had dropped to such an extent that they were not worth using so it
was back to peddling for me. My back was killing me - not as fit as I used to
be.

 

 

 

The approach
to the cove was lumpy. The fossil forest causes a confused sea at all tide
states but this was easily negotiated. When we entered the cove there were lots
of people about. There were a fair few that saw us coming. There were a barrage
of questions as we started to haul the boats from the water. One bloke, who was
the owner of a rigged prowler on the beach, asked Richi where we had been. You
should have seen his face when Richi told him. "you're joking" he
replied "It's miles and it's dangerous, you couldn't have done that".
"22 miles exactly" said Richi "and yeah, It couldn't be done"

 

[Jim]

What a cracking report !

 

I'll have to accept your words about planning and safety but it frightens the hell out of me !

 

Well done.

 

 

Jim

[Guest]

well done ..... sounds like a great experience. 

[Rob]

Brilliant! Pppppp! 6 p's at its best, well done, thanks for the report.

 

Rob

[great white]

Well Done

I thought 8 Club boats charging around the channel Islands was exciting

 

Not sure I fancy 22 miles in a Kayak

[Adam F]

Awesome guys, well done.

 

One question: why didn't you launch at Castletown, or even one of the Coves near The Bill.... And shorten the paddle and increase fishing time?

[Barto]

Awesome guys, well done.

 

One question: why didn't you launch at Castletown, or even one of the Coves near The Bill.... And shorten the paddle and increase fishing time?

Adam,

 

We launched at Lulworth so that the tides and wind would help us. If we had launched further west, we would have been fighting the wind until early afternoon and the ebbing tide until late morning. It is easier to paddle 16 and sail 6 as opposed to paddling 10 or so into a wind and tide.