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 a hardy lot! not a cabin in sight.
Day 1 Bressay & Noss (28K)
Our day started at 7.00am with the repurposing of the Northlink complimentary blankets, pillows and eye masks neatly packed in our back packs followed by a hearty breakfast! Graham and Bev gave a quick recap about the plan for our first day on Shetland. I anticipated a nice, chilled day to acclimatise to being 60 Degrees North! well, I quickly learned there wasn’t going to be a lot of chillout time on this trip.
Bev and I set off to find a parking space on Lerwick whilst the others caught the ferry to Bressay, the rendezvous was the Ham Bev and set off on a beautiful, sunny (Flat calm!!) morning and joined the others to undertake our trip around Bressay to Noss.
The lovely flat calm conditions were short lived, and we quickly dusted off the cobwebs with a refreshing Bft F4 rampimg up to Bft F5 and a swell of 1.5 – 2 Meters gave us a slightly unnerving following sea and a fleeing glance of the Lighthouse at Noss. The birdlife at Noss was spectacular, gannets, skua, artic terns and bullying bonxies scavaging for fish from other birds all made for a welcome distraction from the chunky waves that grew in height as we passed the headland. Almost 30k later we reached Setter where a manic shuttle ensued to get us back to our vehicles. We all made our way to Base Camp, Levenwick Community Campsite a great campsite with amazing views and all the amenities you need after a long day’s paddle. Tents were quickly put up, (Leigh and I enjoyed the comfort/luxury of our vans) and after a few refreshments, a plan for Wheels-Up at 9 am the next day an early bed was much appreciated.
Day 2 Sumburgh to Moussa (24.5K)
An early breakfast with most amazing view got our second day off to a great start.
Our destination was Mousa, which I was so excited to visit as I didn’t manage to get there on a previous trip to Shetland. I was really looking forward to exploring the Mousa Broch one of the best preserved Brochs dating back to circa 2,300 years ago.
Another shuttle ensued and we launched from Grutness, , the wind was forecast to be Bft F 4 Gusting 5 with .7 mtr swell Graham gave us a Flotilla Briefing taking us through the logistics of paddling with a following sea , the importance of group control , the risks associated with the paddler at the back capsizing , formations of paddlers and the importance of communication . The initial 6 km of our journey gave us some great caves to explore, although the swell did give some challenge for the cave dwellers – with the spotters quickly alerting them by what became a regular mantra “Big wave coming, big wave coming, really big wave coming”! After lunch we set off again crossing the headland to Honess past Levenwick, the conditions ramped up as we made the crossing, as we got thrown from one large wave to the next it was proving difficult to keep direction, Graham’s mantra of using edge helped with some boat control.
Who needs Sat Nav, we had Pat Nav heading on a bearing of 50 degrees we we all followed and had a very lumpy crossing to Mousa, glad to be off the back of waves I made a rather undignified landing on Mousa ! 2ndlunch and time to explore 60 Degrees North we spent time climbing the Broch, exploring the history and getting a feel of how life was so long ago. The crossing back over to Grutness was nice and calm phew!!
Day 3 Ronas Voe
Today was all about avoiding the SW Bft F 6 winds, so we set off to explore Ronas Voe Shetlands very own fjord , with a mix of red and black stone cliffs , stacks and caves to explore it provide much deserved shelter. We had a relaxed exploration, even the seals were chilled! after lunch we peeked out and could see the swell and waves from the Bft 6 so we headed over to the other side and returned to Heylor. We were too late for the coffee shop, however Grahams beady eye spotted the Cake fridge at Brae the homebaking was quickly scoffed by the hungry crew!
Day 4 East of Yell (22K)
Tents down and Wheels up for 9 am was the order of the day as we headed for the ferry to Yell arriving at Burravoe we unloaded , packed our boats, had coffee and cake before we set up another shuttle. Graham, Danny and I set off leaving Danny’s car at Mid-Yell and my van at Breckon Sands North Yell .
We encountered a few caves and some amazing natural arches sculped through time by the harsh wind and waves of Shetlands shores. We stopped for lunch at Wick of Gossabury , we considered camping on Hasccosay Island however decided to stop at Kaywick where we set up camp for the night . it was interesting to see the remnants of a cozy Covid 19 bolt hole with all the alcohol you’d need to fight the virus! The first campfire of our trip was quickly set up by Danny and we were warmed by its heat as we relaxed, had a few drams and enjoyed some campfire tales! Including some discussion about camping luxuries that people had brought, brownie points for guessing who had some of these “cant possibly camp without them items”!
a carrot grater , a down filled seat cover, tent slippers, 3 sleeping bags, 2 drysuits, a blow up pillow, a saw!!! As I said us DCKC Kayakers are a hardy lot! Not!
Day 5 North of Yell (26K)
Tents down and off we set Bev had meticulously timed our launch to ensure we got to the Bluemoll tide race before full flow. All I can say is Yell is well named!! There were a few Yells from me we encountered the 2m following sea and strong wind (Bft6 G BF8), again Graham was close by giving good advice about use of skeg, and edge and offering so much reassurance that I didn’t realise we had been through the tiderace, Bev’s timing was meticulous.
Gianni was having some great fun trying to surf the waves, the score was Waves 1 Gianni 0! He was winning until he encountered a channel with crashing waves, the next thing we saw was Gianni on top of the wave then quickly disappearing the next sighting was of his boat and no Gianni, a few attempts to roll and then out he came. Geoff who had been watching, sizing it up to try himself beat a hasty retreat! Well all I can say was there wasn’t a fight to go and rescue Gianni! We were all in awe of our leader Graham he was right in there and quickly recovered and reunited boy (You really are still a boy at heart Gianni!) with boat!!
We pushed on up the North coast of Yell with some challenging conditions, I struggled to turn and took my own detour, heading to Iceland!! I was never so relieved to see Graham catch up and paddled back with me to join Leigh, Pat and Danny, meanwhile Bev, Geoff and Gianni were having their own adventure with rocks, rolls and rescues!! Leigh guided Pat, Danny and I into land on a surf beach at Sands of Breckon where 8 weary paddlers trailed our boats up the beach, set up camp, it was so windy tents and thermarests were flying like kites! A united effort got everyone set up and stoves on for well earned grub! It was soo windy that the fire Geoff had taken his time to set up had to be cancelled (I’m not saying there’s competition between Danny and Geoff… but there is a lot of talk about who’s the best arsonist!) An early night was the order of the day.
Day 6 North – West Yell (20 k followed by a hasty retreat )
The plan for the day was to head to the North tip of Yell and down the West coast to get the ferry back to the mainland Shetland. The winds were forecast Bft 4 Gusting 6, SW which meant going into the wind down the West of Yell! For circa 10 k wasn’t holding much appeal for me! the lure of my van which was in sight from our campsite, and after discussion with Graham my decision was made, I was having a day off the water. The plan was to meet the others at the ferry. We all started packing up our tents and I set off to my van with all my gear and then Graham, Danny , Leigh and I lugged my kayak up through the dunes to the van , boy was I glad to see Hamish (my van) .
The others set off after a surf launch! heading to the north tip of Yell into a head wind Bft 4 Gusting 6 with a very confused and challenging sea, they made very slow progress to Whalefirth when the force of the wind and the sea state was becoming too much, and they took the wise decision to turn back. Meanwhile, back on dry land I was having such a relaxing day, I had a shower and decided I’d go for lunch, no one told me Yell is closed on a Wednesday apart from the village store where the sandwich choice was Tuna or Tuna!! I headed back to the tearoom at Burravoe and had coffee and cake while I was having a leisurely day, I realised I’d had a few missed calls from Pat and Graham, frantically searching for a signal I eventually got Pat who said they had turned back! Off I went to the rescue at Wick of Whallerie, I headed to the cliff top in search of my fellow paddlers and eventually saw 7 weary souls land on the beach, to say there was relief on some of their faces would be an understatement. After the usual shuttle and boat loading, we caught the ferry back to Lerwick. We had a lovely meal in the Lerwick Hotel and headed back to our favourite campsite at Levenwick where the tents were pitched in the rain and the dark, I think we all slept well.
Day 7 Sightseeing Day woohoo!!
this was when I realised, we were on holiday!! We had a great day sightseeing, we went to Sumburgh Head Lighthouse (Via the runway if you were in Danny’s car!) We had just missed the famous Shetland Orca Pod who’d been there at 11.00am! We got there at 12! We explored the lighthouse and had coffee and cake before heading to Jarlshoff. We headed back into Lerwick where we said goodbye to Leigh who was returning on an earlier ferry. We had another nice dinner in the Dowry and the guys went out to paint Shetland red! Bev, Pat and I headed back to basecamp.
Day 8 Vassa Voe , Nesting and Hoo Stack (25k)
another day, another shuttle! Wind a balmy Bft 3 with no swell! we headed to Vassa Voe and Danny and dropped the car/van off. We headed out exploring the natural arch and some caves then decided to take the 2 km trip out to Hoo Stack, well Pat was underwhelmed with Hoo Stack. Our encounter with a minkie whale which kept making an appearance and some dolphins in the distance made up for the disappointment of Hoo stack.
Day 9 the “Piece de resistance” Muckle Roe (20 K)
Wheels up at 8.00am we broke camp, said goodbye to the breakfast view and headed of for the jetty at Muckle Roe to explore what is described as the smaller version of Papa Stour (Did Danny tell you he’d been there!!). It wasn’t going to disappoint, it was absolutely Cave-Tastic, I think we explored every possible nook and cranny, each cave offered something different, some had skylights! Some pitch dark, some long, some narrow some you had to be a limbo dancer to get in but believe me we didn’t leave any undiscovered! Muckle Roe’s main feature, which is often not found by kayakers is the tunnel cave, there was no way Graham wasn’t going to find it with a loud shout of Boom we knew the Caveman had struck gold. we were in awe of what the tunnel offered, I’m pretty sure there was a crossroads in there! We spent over 3 hours exploring a few kilometres of caves, it took us just over an hour to get back to the cars. What a way to end our AWESOME SHETLAND ADVENTURE.
The photos are below or can also be viewed on SMUGMUG
Thank you kindly to Graham and Bev for their planning, leadership and support which kept us all safe and to Pat for her work behind the scenes, and to my fellow paddlers for great company.
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