Day 2: Round Berneray and Mingulay (4hrs, 12.5Nm)

In one word, today was fantastic, totally making up for the difficulties of yesterday. In a few more words…I woke up this morning, the mist had come in, everything was damp, no chance of getting a fire going even with my emergency firewood imported from Barra. So again, I had to use the emergency stove! I was so hungry and couldn’t wait for porridge, so I had the rest of last night’s pork and potato stew and some of tonight’s pudding - home made carrot cake.

This has made me decide that I’m going to build the level of challenge slowly. It would be very hard for me to start the expedition, having honed all the skills that I will need, so I’m now looking on the trip as a progression of skills and an experiment as to what is actually possible.

I planned my trip round Berneray and Mingulay to work with the tide, first working out the HW/LW times, then working out tidal stream times, then planning a trip to work with the tides. I then did a specific risk assessment, identifying hazards on the planned trip, and identifying escape routes if anything happened (there weren’t many!). I was too tired to write up a journal entry at the time, but I’m writing it now, at home on the computer. Instead, this time, I’ll put a few photos in.

Morning sun shining through mist.

South coast of Berneray.

Cliffs and natural arch, W coast of Mingulay.

Grey seal pups.

There is something beautiful about the innocence of a place like this, not regularly visited or inhabited by humans, it felt like a new level of exposure and solitude. I kind of felt sad to be disturbing the seals in the environment they usually have to themselves. A couple of motor boats visited, I guess they were wildlife spotting, but when the boats came round the point, they scared a lot of the seals away. This somehow made me feel privileged that they were letting me get so close!

So reflecting on the first day, am I going to make any changes? Yes. Kit I’m dropping off at home will be: the 5 litre water container, in favour of a 1-litre SIGG bottle and the bladder in my BA, from now on I’ll just rely on river water; wetsuit - if I have to swim and dive for razor fish/clams, I’ll do it in shorts; on land footwear - don’t have space, sandals and wellies are enough. Kit forgotten in a rush/to add: trowel and toilet paper (the latter for emergency fire lighting).

Today’s food: breakfast - last night’s pork/potato stew; lunch - bread/jam/dried pork; dinner - dried pork and potato stew; pudding - carrot cake.

Day 1: Vatersay to Mingulay (3.5 hours, 8Nm)

It’s been an eventful first day. Paddling first against then with spring tides had me on edge slightly, or was that just the solo paddling? I ended up setting off on the water at 3pm, and after some stunning paddling, some wind against tide, and just some wind (coming down off Mingulay), I eventually arrived at 6.30pm.

When I was paddling round the east coast of Mingulay the wind was probably F4 coming off the island, which made the last leg hard and if there’s one thing I don’t like, it’s paddling into the wind.

Then I was given my next challenge…as I paddled down the coast of Mingulay I noticed that it was no small swell that was rolling onto the rocks, and I also saw wee explosions from waves on the beach! Oh no, ‘how big is this surf?’ I said to myself. I had 20mins of paddling wondering if the surf would be too big. After all my training in surf and buying a helmet, I was still scared and ready to paddle back to Pabbay if it was too big. Luckily it wasn’t too big but it was still dumping a wee bit. I chose the end of the beach least surf, chose the bit with the least sideways motion of water on the beach, took my deck off so I could get out quick, then went for it…all went to plan, apart from my cockpit and my left welly getting a soaking!

I worked out what I needed to do: find a place to sleep and make my ‘bed’; find firewood and heather; light a fire and start cooking dinner. However it didn’t go exactly to plan…

I made my bed - a small dugout with a sand pillow, and laid my bivvy bag and sleeping bag down - then went to look for firewood. To my dismay, I found not one, not two, but just three small bits of wood, disaster! I had some mint tea from the flask, went to go and find heather with my long life bag for taking it back, found some but the sprouts were new and full of water rather than the dead stuff which is around at the end of the summer. I couldn’t get the Kelly kettle going and because it was so late, didn’t have time to make tinder/kindling, so I had to use the emergency stove…disappointed! I guess this proves one point that living off driftwood on Mingulay is in no way sustainable! However, the nice surprise was the colony of Atlantic Grey seals on the north end of the beach, I’ve never seen so many, must have been 150 to 200ish.

It’s now 11pm. I’m in my bivvy bag on the south end of the beach on Mingulay. What a stunning place or at least it was when I could see it - it’s dark now. This has been an amazing first day, Mingulay is a beautiful place.

Today’s food: breakfast - nettle omelette with local eggs; lunch - homemade bread/jam and dried local pork; dinner - local potato and pork stew. Lots of mint tea.

Day 1 - Two hours and counting...

Well I'm nearly away...finally...so much planning, but probably not enough, has gone into this expedition! I'm aiming to be away at around 1.30pm from Vatersay east beach, off to Mingulay. Just doing final packing of my boat now to check it all fits...still got a few other things to do so better go.

I've got the next few days food packed using all locally (Scotland) supplied food: dried pork; bramble jam; home made bread; porridge oats; broth mix; Glen Fiddich whisky; Hebridean Ale; duck eggs. So I'll see what else I can find...

Next time I write will be Wednesday (Day 3), after returning from Mingulay....

Lots to do

The pressure has been on for the past few weeks to prepare for the expedition. I’m a bit behind where I’d like to be. A few days ago I managed to:

• Fit a fibreglass keel line to my boat and also an extra layer of epoxy for abrasion resistance, thanks for the helpful advice from the UKRGB Sea forum
• Wire up the solar panel/voltage regulator/battery/inverter
• Fit it all in my boat, with help from RNLI beach balls which hold the equipment inside in place!

KEEL LINE BEFORE

KEEL LINE AFTER

Describe the keel line stuff.

SOLAR PANEL SET UP OUTSIDE

SOLAR PANEL SET UP ON BOAT

Today I packed my boat, and it all fits in, not including food that is, which will be some potatoes, and some locally grown meat and vegetables.

Also did a few press interviews. It’s amazing the phenomena of news spreading! It’s probably down to the John Muir Trust who sent out their press release to lots of places. I don’t think the media would have been as interested without he JMT, not to say it isn’t worthy. It was brilliant having all the positive media support, compared to initial scepticism about the idea on forums.

I’ll write again with an update on the days activities, which will include:

• Reinforcing the solar panel fixing;
• Confirming dates for contacting media;
• Packing food in boat;
• Updating website.

36 hours and counting...lots to do...

The pressure has been on for the past few weeks to prepare for the expedition. I’m a bit behind where I’d like to be. A few days ago I managed to:

• Fit a fibreglass keel line to my boat and also an extra layer of epoxy for abrasion resistance, thanks for the helpful advice from the UKRGB Sea forum
• Wire up the solar panel/voltage regulator/battery/inverter
• Fit it all in my boat, with help from RNLI beach balls which hold the equipment inside in place!

Here's the before and after photos...

I wanted to put a keel strip on it to increase the strength slightly, and to greatly reduce the wear on the keel line so the boat lasts longer. Putting it on wasn't too hard, but I had help from a mate who fixes car body work, who is also the mate who has helped me do the website (thanks Stiof)! It's a fibreglass strip, cut from sheet with a stanley knife, then wet on to a sanded keel line that has been marked with masking tape. Then I put another layer of epoxy on for extra resistance to wear.

The solar panel is cool, expensive, but cool. At 10.30am it was producing 500mA, which is more current than the mobile phone charger uses!!

Today I packed my boat, and it all fits in, not including food that is, which will be some potatoes, and some locally grown meat and vegetables.

Also did a few press interviews. It’s amazing the phenomena of the word spreading in news/media organisations! It’s probably down to the John Muir Trust who sent out their press release to lots of places - I have them to thank. I don’t think the media would have been as interested without he JMT, not to say it isn’t worthy. It was brilliant having all the positive media support, compared to initial scepticism about the idea on forums.

I’ll write again tomorrow with an update on the day's activities, which will include:

• Reinforcing the solar panel fixing;
• Confirming dates for contacting media;
• Packing food in boat;
• Updating website;
• Buying food at local produce sale.
  

I hope that's been interesting for you to read. I'm really just excited and looking forward to setting off so I can stop worrying about planning, and get on with doing! Happy paddling or whatever else you may be doing...

Working 9 till 5 (2) vs. Expedition Planning! (1)

Planning this expedition sounds great, learning about what I can and can't eat off the land, practicing self rescues, and lighting fires - great fun! That's what I'd like to be doing, but trying to balance planning and expedition with everyday life including a 9 till 5 job is difficult, especially when I still feel like I don't know enough about what I can eat on the shores/land.

I'll be honest - this expedition is going to be a steep learning curve! I haven't had either as much time for research/planning or as much practice of doing stuff as I wanted. But hey, I'd always say that anyway...I know I'm pretty experienced at living in the outdoors, and I'm a not bad kayaker, so it's just there'll be more learning. I'm guessing I'll have a pretty steep learning curve with:

• what I can and can't eat that I will find throughout the Western Isles;
• how and when to catch fish;
• how difficult it is to light a fire from a spark and some tinder/kindling;
• what it's like to be on my own on expedition for 3(sh) weeks;
• how exposed the west coasts of Lewis/Harris are (worse/more fun than Barra?).

So back to work. Today I'll finish the big feasibility study that I've been written for Barra and Vatersay, which looks at all the renewable and alternative energy and waste reduction, reuse and recycling things that could on on the islands. A day of work, then off for a paddle...

Whatever happens, next week will be full on planning and then next Saturday (May 3rd) I'm off to Mingulay. The two things I'm most looking are: camping on and paddling round Mingulay, and paddling up the west coast of Harris and Lewis! Can't wait!

Survival thoughts

I've just been watching sea kayaking and white water kayaking videos on Youtube. Last night I continued reading Sea Room by Adam Nicholson, the family who own the Shiant Isles just of the east cost of Harris.

I'm mixed with feelings with extreme excitement about paddling up the western isles, and in particular the west coast of Harris/Lewis. And also feeling anxiety and fear about what might happen. What if I'm paddling along the west coast of Lewis with no landing zones and a gale picks up, sure I'm happy paddling in big swell with strong winds, but what if I have to make a surf landing?

You know when you haven't done something in a while and you start to wonder whether you're still capable of it? I feel that way about sea kayak surfing just now. Admittedly I've done a fair bit of draining and been battered around, but up there I'll be on my own. What will the weather be like? I'm just about to buy a helmet, and want to get at least 2 more days surf training before expedition. Also, 1 day of self rescues out at sea, on my own.


In Sea Room, he talks about a lot of deaths at sea around the Shiant Isles, from fisherman in sailing boats in the 19th Century. And yet all Google Earth thinks of the Shiants and the sea around them is shown above. The main cause he talks of is the wind and sea picking up unexpectedly, causing wind against tide (the tide flows fast over the shallowing waters between Shiant and Harris/Lewis) and waves emerging from the depths. The Blue Men he calls them. But these are sailing boats that couldn't right themselves, and would sink. My boat won't sink, and I can right myself, so can we as competent kayakers take on the elements more so than others? I'm also a lot better prepared than them: I can get the weather forecast anytime by listening to the radio, or speaking to the Coastguard on VHF or mobile phone - I just hope it isn't as cold as it has been in the last week (see forecast light N winds below).


My main concern is safety/survival. As much as I'd like to be, I'll have to face up to the harsh reality that I'm not invincible. The sea is the boss. It's in charge, and if it lets me on my journey safely, great, and if it's looking like it's not going to let me, I won't take the risk. But where's the line? Is that what makes life exciting - using your skills and knowledge to control the risk, and avoid the hazard? Maybe. one thing's for sure - big river kayaking really scares me, and so does the sea.

I'm not sure what will happen - I guess that what makes it an adventure. I'm really looking forward to getting immersed in the elements and seeing how it feels. It's been a whole winter without guiding, so it'll be my first long camping experience of the year. I'm looking forward to putting myself up against the elements and seeing how I cope.

So what can you eat in the Western Isles? Pigs, cattle, sheep, oats, sea weed, nettles, cockles, muscles, potatoes, carrots, fish. What else?? How am I going to survive? I guess I'll see. Whatever happens, I'm sure it'll be fun.

The Learning Curve - my interpretation

I’ve been trying to think about how and when people learn, the processes involved, and how we can improve them. My main thought is really that we don’t understand how the brain works, but we try to come up with models which seem to work and help us understand, some better than others.

One process I think that goes on is below - on the left is what I think is going on in the brain, and on the right are the tools we can use as coaches to affect the quality of the activity and learning. We do an activity, which then involves learning about something, and the end result is knowledge and/or skills.

As coaches, we can affect every part of this process, and good coaches can yield a higher quality of each, which is what I’m aspiring to. It then got me thinking:

• What is experience? Is it when we have lots of knowledge, or lots of ability, or is it when we have spent time doing something?

• And what happens when you haven’t been doing something for a while?

• What about if you’re learning more intensely, does that increase your experience?

• That’s a steeper learning curve. On the learning curve, it’s on graph, what are the axes on that graph, i.e. how do you measure learning?

I’ve tried to come up with a model for experience/learning.

So how do those two models tie together? I think that in gaining experience, there is lots of skills and knowledge acquisition, and the cycle in the first model is repeated over and over again for different skills and knowledge, and different cycles are going on continuously in parallel. I also think that memory is an issue, and memory of something is improved simply by more processing of it, i.e. the more you process something, the longer you will remember it.

You could go in to a huge if not infinite amount of detail about teaching / learning. I’ve just been thinking about how we learn because I wanted to identify some kind of process that I can work with and have some way of understanding it in my head. I have not authority on teaching or than that fact that I’m BCU/SCA coach, and am interested, so these are just wee ideas. I hope if you have read this far, you’ve found it interesting in some way.

Oh swell...

A few days ago I paddled home round the west coast of Barra from Halaman Bay to Cleat bay. It was a personal challenge that I'd been wanting to take on for a while. The swell was probably about 5 to 6m, and I know the you often see that forecast and it's not that big when it hits the beaches, but I guess the forecast (from Windfinder.com) is for out at sea.

I packed my boat, did a final pee, and set off through the surf. Watching the houses and people shrink, I headed north, side on to the swell and wind. So I was off the west coast, coming past Borve, where there is a reef quite far out. You can see massive waves breaking over it when the swell is big. I've kind of got a phobia about big waves - phobia or healthy respect, I don't know, bit of both - so I wanted to go out and see them. So, after the session with the kids, I headed off. It was difficult to get a photo that conveyed that intimidating nature of the sea I was in, but below is my effort.

I was surprised, as I usually am, at how quickly when you are put in a new situation, you can get used to it. After I had past this reef, I was quite happy, no, more than happy, in the big swell. I was on my own. The feeling of solitude and relying purely on your own ability and judgement is awesome! I was glad to get round the corner, when I could then paddle with the wind. At one point I surfed the reflecting waves back out to sea to get away from the rocks! Trying to take a video was a wee bit awkward at the headland as I was being thrown around like a puppet by the clapotis, recovery strokes galore! I was glad to see the following at the end of the paddle...

After a wee surf in, and collecting the things from the water that weren't tied on to my deck, it was home for nice hot bath.

I'm really looking forward to the Sustainable Expeditions expedition up the Western Isles next month. Like it says on the website, I've kind of divided up training into on, and off, the water skills. So I'm not just doing these crazy paddles for the fun of it, though that is the main reason, it's also to gradually increase my comfort and ability zone so that I can handle the expedition confidently. Train hard, play easy!

Learning experiences :
1) Using charts and in particular depths, you can get a really good idea if how the waves will behave, i.e. points of shallow/reefs will break, steep sea cliffs will not have breaking waves, but will just have up/down movement. This is common sense I know, having to avoid a reef with 6m breaking swell was a very graphic illustration.
2) Everything that's on the deck needs to be tied or fixed on, or expect to loose it!
3) Sometimes videos seem to tell the story of a situation better than pictures, at least when you get the videoing right.

Anyway, enough. I'm off to read others' blogs...

Going with the flow!

Yesterday I was happily reminded how much fun sea kayaking can be. Spring tides, paddling around in the bay (Castlebay), working with Ian on rolling , and edging, we thought we'd go and have a wee look the sea loch (Bagh Beag) just outside Castlebay. The tide was on the start of the flood, so we didn't think it'd be worth floating in casually, only to be imprisoned when the rate picked up. How wrong we were!

After floating in on a trickle, we played with edging , eddy hopping, and ferry gliding, we were engulfed (sometimes) in a raging torrent! So much fun! Oh the satisfaction from sitting on a standing wave! The photo's not great quality because it's a still from soem video. In 2 weeks time (next spring tide) I'll definitely be heading back for a play there - so much fun! Hopefully with a bit more wind and so some bigger standing waves.

It got me thinking about how we learn, and the processes involved, so I started writing in my notepad and have come up with a few ideas. I'll put them in my next blog entry in a few days...

Learning experiences: 1) reverse sweeps have a much bigger effect than forward sweeps when pointing upstream, due to the speed of the boat relative to the water 2) ferry gliding can be explained by resolving the forces into downstream and across stream...so you have your boat keel line at an angle to the flow, paddle forward, and the resultant force counteracts the downstream force, and pushes you sideways - the angle allows you to control down/across stream motion 3) where we were was really useful for coaching because it built up slowly enough to develop the skills as it did so.