News

Boden Boo to Lang Dyke 10/1/26

30/01/2026 By Amanda Grant Comment Closed

Leading a Second Saturday paddle with DCKC is made more testing if the forecasters don’t agree with each other and all keep changing their minds about what we should expect on the day. The club paddle on 10th January was a case in point. Living in Perthshire we had had temperatures of minus 8c, snow, rain, fog and rain turning to black ice in the week preceding the event but the forecast for Erskine on BBC and XC was consistently “fine” with temperatures hovering just above zero. So, on the Thursday before, Ronnie and I decided to let our trip from Boden Boo car park to Dumbarton go ahead. By Friday night ten of us had packed ready for an early start, the days being short, but then the forecast changed to snow, freezing temperatures and fog with light winds. Being keen to get out onto the water, we decided to go ahead. On Saturday morning we awoke in the dark...

Mingulay, Barra Head and the Uists, 14-24 August 2025

Mingulay, Barra Head and the Uists, 14-24 August 2025

19/10/202519/10/2025 By James Fraser Comment Closed

Words and Images By Paul Gardner A trip to Mingulay has been on the DCKC calendar for several years, but weather has always resulted in cancellation, or moving the trip to less exposed locations. However, this time it worked: a forecast for settled weather, at least for long enough to make it worthwhile getting the ferry across to Castlebay on Barra. On day 1, nine people made the ferry journey in three cars and a van, arriving in Castlebay in the afternoon, with plenty daylight left to drive to Vatersay, pack up and paddle a few km to a beach campsite on the south coast. Far enough to make sure you packed properly and didn’t forget anything, and near enough for one person to walk back to the car to collect their trousers. On day 2, we followed the chain of now-uninhabited islands south: Sandray, Pabbay and at last Mingulay, landing on a perfect beach. We were greeted by the NTS warden Ben,...

2nd Saturday Paddle; 10th May 2025 – Paul Meiklejohn

22/09/202522/09/2025 By Amanda Grant Comment Closed

Inchmurrin The trip was arranged and led by Janice with the assistance of Amanda and Richard; joined by Paul, Dearbhla, Agnes, Peter, Marek, Noelle, Susie and Mairi. Originally planned as a trip from Helensburgh to Kilcreggan, the team of leaders made the call on the Friday evening to relocate to Loch Lomond due to the forecast Force 4 to 6 winds that would be beyond conditions suited to our group. As a new paddler this was a perfect opportunity to develop my experience, which consisted of a few weeks in the pool and a single Tuesday evening session at the Loch. We set of from Drumkinnon Bay at Balloch in the glorious sunshine, heading along the west coast of Loch Lomond towards the island of Inchmurrin. We all understood that a southerly wind would be picking up later on, at which point we could make our return to base. On the way to the island we had a short unscheduled stop on the beach...

Gigha Long Weekend May 2025 – Rob Plant

Gigha Long Weekend May 2025 – Rob Plant

22/09/202522/09/2025 By Amanda Grant Comment Closed

Celia planned another kayaking trip around Gigha for the long May bank holiday weekend. (Ed. Is this to become an annual feature in the cub calendar?) We met at Tayinloan Pier at 10am, but due to high winds, we had to wait for the ferry, as the crossing was too exposed for a direct paddle. So we boarded the ferry with trolleys attached to our kayaks. Thanks to Andrew for bringing a wide selection of trolleys for everyone to use. Once we arrived on Gigha, we portaged to the beach and launched, heading south toward our intended camping spot on Cara Island. It was only a short trip, but the wind and swell were pushing us from behind, making for a brisk paddle. Upon landing on the beach, we discovered that Mark’s boat had been taking on water through the skeg box, and all of his Lomo dry bags had failed. We worked together to dry out as much gear as possible. Thankfully, the...

The Craic’n: January 2025

26/01/202526/01/2025 By graham Comment Closed

The Craic'n: January 2025 Editor’s Welcome Belated Happy New Year to you all and welcome to the first Craic'n of the year. 2025 has already given us plenty of un-paddleable weather, first the snow then the wind, with all four seasons in between. Included in this edition is a summary of a few weather apps for kayaking and other water sports to help us decide where and when to go out on the water. It is good to know that a good-sized group of hardy souls braved the cold and made the most of the window between the two weather events for the January’s Second Saturday Paddle. This time it was to Inchcailloch for the postponed Mince-Pie Paddle. - Were there even any pies left over from Christmas festivities for the event 🤣 But a good opportunity for trying out some of Santa’s gifts. Not a mince pie in sight! The committee are still working on trips and events for the coming year, these will include night...

Kilcreggan Trip Report – Dearbhla Mulligan

28/12/202428/12/2024 By Amanda Grant Comment Closed

On the second Saturday in December, 7 of us met at Kilcreggan pier for what was to be a very successful day of paddling. After a 6am start and a dark stop off at Balloch we were spoiled with a gorgeous sunrise on the beach. While loading our boats, there was lots of trepidatious chat about cold fingers and toes. I was told by those who’d been on the Bonfire paddle two days earlier that neoprene gloves were not the answer, and Misha pointed me to an article in last month's Craic’n about keeping hands toasty on the water. We set off with two objectives in mind: firstly, to see as many of the nice houses along the shore as we could; and secondly, to try and spot the police boat keeping an eye on us as we approached Coulport. With Amanda and Ewen taking turns at the front, we were not disappointed. Shouts of “seal” from Ryan alerted us to...

4 Star (Rough Water) Group Trip Report to Skye – Ronnie’s First Weekend Trip With DCKC

4 Star (Rough Water) Group Trip Report to Skye – Ronnie’s First Weekend Trip With DCKC

08/12/202408/12/2024 By Misha Comment Closed

Friday 15th November to Sunday 17th November ‘24 By Ronnie G. On a personal point of note when Misha posted a thread on the DCKC Whatsapp group a couple of months ago about looking for people who wanted to improve their paddling skills and experience on rough water in a safe environment I was very tempted as this is an area I’m very keen to improve. I would have to admit to feeling a bit apprehensive about whether my current kayaking skills were at a suitable level to join this group or not. When I discussed this proposed new group with Misha he explained that a group was set up by Alan Rollo a number of years ago offering the opportunity for peer group paddlers to practice and develop their skills in challenging conditions but in low consequence venues and that he was looking to restart / re-energise this initiative again. Misha explained to me this was likely to be pretty challenging...

Awesome Shetland Adventure

Awesome Shetland Adventure

06/10/202407/10/2024 By Celia Gray Comment Closed

Awesome Shetland Adventure August 2024 8 adventurers, Graham, Bev, Leigh, Danny, Geoff, Gianni Pat and I set off from Aberdeen on the overnight ferry to Shetland on Thursday 22 August. Northlink Ferries delivered, the grub is good, we all enjoyed a hearty dinner, apart from Gianni who was enjoying lots of fresh air and keeping a close eye on the horizon for the obvious reason! We set sail for Shetland as Graham and Bev dotted the I’s and crossed the t’s on what can only be described as very intricate trip planning for our Awesome Adventure, there was undoubtedly a great deal of work done by them both in advance of the trip, all of which made for an amazing adventure, thanks to both for all the homework it paid off! As the evening came to a close along with the bar! we settled into our sleeping quarters a range of pods, cinema and the restaurant floor, us DCKC members are...

Epic Summer Expedition to Orkney – Margaret’s Tale

04/07/202328/06/2023 By graham Comment Closed

Graham, Misha, Pat, Joe, Bev, Danny, Geoff, Leigh, Cam, Richard, Liz, Margaret The trip lived up to its name, a truly epic kayak to the cold and windy northern isles of Orkney whileGlasgow basked in the sun. Several days were 30k, most capsized at some point testing their rollingability or the team’s rescue skills from dodgy rocks and headlands, and day 1 winds were Force 5,gusting 6! Had I realized beforehand….!!?On Friday 26 May, nine of the group gathered at Thurso campsite. Plan A was going ahead, plans B(Shetland), C (other) had been cancelled. We were glad of Pat’s organizational skills with campsitespaces booked and just what we needed, a pattern that was to continue for the rest of the trip. https://dckc.smugmug.com/DCKC-2023/Orkney/i-NRM7PhZ/A Sat 27 th It was a windy, rough crossing from Scrabster to Stromness on the large Northlink ferry. Surely wewon’t be kayaking today was my thought. Little did I know. In Stromness we went to look at thesea, westerly, force 5, gusting...

DCKC Big Weekend Away: Tayvallich

DCKC Big Weekend Away: Tayvallich

01/07/202321/06/2023 By Pat Smith Comment Closed

We had 2 glorious days paddling based in the campsite at Tayvallich. We formed two groups, our group comprised Alan, Bev, Janice, Joe, Paul and me, Pat. On Day 1 we set off from Carsaig Bay for a 33km paddle south to MacCormaig Isles and back up Loch Sween to Tayvallich. It was a beautiful sunny blue sky day. We were protected from the F4 gusting 5 westerly wind on the leg south and enjoyed some tidal assistance all the way to EIlean Mhor, near the entrance to Loch Sween. We were able to get ashore at the end of a long north-facing inlet. The views were fantastic with great visibility. A conservation group had been working on the island and built a bothy displaying information for visitors as well as restoring part of the ancient chapel. We found the original cave used by monks (anchorites) who were seeking a hermit’s life for purposes of spiritual advancement - and maybe even...

Lismore introduction to sea kayak camping trip 17/18 June 2023

26/06/202326/06/2023 By Pat Smith Comment Closed

A group of 6 new and excited kayak campers( Eleni, Ian ,Harriet ,Kathryn, Wojtec and me ) led by Pat with Bev who kept an eye on ever changing weather forecast were delighted when Pat gave the all clear on Thursday night and it was Lismore here we come! Departure Day 1We left from the lay-by opposite Shuna Island at 10 am after perfect team work getting boats down to the beach and packed. The weather was supposed to be a gentle breeze and drizzle . No breeze no drizzle , so a very calm start to our adventure.We headed SW from Shuna guided by Pat who was keeping an eye on tides and flows across to the NE of Lismore though the little islands where we saw seals and pups galore, and started our main journey down Lismore’s western coast. The plan and route had already been described to us , we knew there would be plenty of opportunities for sightseeing...

Joanne

29/09/202229/09/2022 By Leigh Murray Comment Closed

Name?Joanne Durnan (17) How long have you been a club member?I have been a member since October 2021 Where do you stay?Clydebank What made you start kayaking?I started kayaking very briefly with the sea cadets and really enjoyed it leading me to join the club What do you enjoy about the sport?I love the challenge of kayaking and learning new skills. I also love being on the water and so kayaking is an ideal sport for me. Is it different to what you expected?It's very different. When I joined I honestly thought you could only paddle in one type of boat and only in straight lines! Now I know there's different types and loads of different skills to learn Where all have you been kayaking?I've been kayaking on Loch Lomond, the Clyde and the canal. What's been your favorite trip so far and why?The Inchcailloch trip - it was beautiful weather and we had a BBQ when we got there. It was also a...

Remote West Coast and Small Isles Expedition, September 2022

27/09/202226/09/2022 By graham Comment Closed

AKA the Shetland Trip Revised Shetland was the trip that we just couldn’t pull off this year. We had cancelled in June as the winds were consistently F5 and above and we cancelled again in September with a similar weather picture. Misha and Alan were moving on with Plan B before we got together ahead of departure and our best window was West Coast near Skye and fingers crossed out to the the Small Isles. By then, we were grateful to be getting away at all. We all signed up and swallowed hard our disappointment. Bev, Danny, Graham, Joe, Leigh and I were the rest of the crew. We met at the campsite at Ardleve on Loch Alsh in the evening prior to the launch, half of us coming direct from work, arriving late that night. Day 1 Kyleakin to Eilean a’Mhuineil, Loch Hourn 33km We broke camp in the morning and regrouped on the shore at Kyleakin. A posse of drivers set...

Alex

27/09/202227/09/2022 By Misha Comment Closed

Name? Alex (15) How long have you been a club member? 4 years Where do you stay? Milngavie What made you start kayaking or canoeing? My dad What do you enjoy about the sport? It's challenging Where all have you been kayaking? Loch Lomond, Loch Ard, Lake of Menteith, River Tay, and near Bergen in Norway What’s been your favorite trip so far and why? River Tay Have trips gone to plan? Yes What is your most memorable “oh shit” moment? Capsizing in huge whitewater on the Tay What’s the one kayak skill you’d like to learn? Tail slicing and play-boating What’s been the most challenging trip you’ve been on? River Tay...

Geoff

27/09/202227/09/2022 By Misha Comment Closed

Name? Geoff Nisbet (30) Where do you stay? Crieff What made you start kayaking/canoeing? A group of us got an "introduction to sea kayaking" gift voucher experience for a day on Loch Lomond. I was hooked instantly and knew it was for me. A few weeks later I found a sea kayak for sale on Gumtree and I haven't looked back since. My dad, Danny, followed suit and bought a kayak at the same time. We initially paddled mainly on Loch Lomond and then dabbled with a few saltwater lochs. The best thing we did was join DCKC where we developed our skills and have been fortunate enough to go on so many incredible trips. What do you enjoy about the sport? I love the adventure. I like loading my kayak with all my supplies and heading off on a journey where you can reach and explore places that otherwise wouldn't be possible. Is it different to what you expected? Not really – I have always enjoyed sports such...