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

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 but was happy for me to join the group. (I hope Misha is not regretting his decision!) 

From my perspective my lasting first impression from this first 4 star group trip is that there were a number of paddlers with varying skills on the trip. There were a few very experienced paddlers just honing / practising their own skills in rough water whilst at the same time keeping a really close eye on the less experienced paddlers giving them regular helpful hints & tips on handling these conditions. They also rescued the less experienced when they capsized… This was my first trip with DCKC and it felt a fair ‘baptism of fire / stress test’ for me but I really appreciate the huge amount of learnings passed on and the experience I gained from the live environment! 

Our weekend started with a rendezvous on the Friday evening at Ewen’s family Croft in Colbost near Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye. Ewen had very kindly offered the group the use of his family croft which was so nice to come back to after a hard, wet days paddling in mid November. Seven of us slept in the Croft and two slept in their campervans alongside the croft. Once everyone had arrived  Misha gathered us around a warming open fire in the living room to discuss the detailed plan for the Saturday. The forecast for that day was a west north westerly wind, force 5 and gusting force 7,  0.5m wave height with a period of 12 seconds. Misha’s plan was that we would launch the kayaks at Ardmore Point and do a shuttle run thus allowing a one way trip in our kayaks down the sea loch from Ardmore Point to North Bay beside Stein. This scenario meant that we would be subjected to more or less the full force of the wind / sea conditions whilst at the same time contained within a sea loch in the unlikely event of real trouble. 

When we arrived at the launch area of Ardmore point on the Saturday morning around 10.30am we all looked out to sea. It actually felt closer to a more constant force 7 wind to me and the wave height both near the shore and further out also looked an awful lot higher than 0.5m! We started our day’s paddling with some practice skills in the bay which was partially sheltered from the weather and spent the morning practising various exercises like different paddle strokes, turning, edging etc to warm us up. We then landed for lunch after which it was time to head out into the full force of the wind and waves! Here we practiced in two groups paddling into the wind, waves and swell and then turning 180 degrees to paddle back to the other group. After a time with the waves building higher this exercise proved more & more difficult and it quickly became evident that we were going to struggle to keep the group together practicing in this area as the conditions worsened. These conditions made me appreciate Misha’s pre-planning and the importance from a training perspective of ensuring the weather is pushing you towards a safe environment rather than further out to sea. We then paddled into Loch Bay with the full force of the wind and waves behind us into a village called Stein. This was where the benefit of the experienced paddlers helping out the less experienced really came to light. They gave plenty of support and helpful pointers making it feel a tight and supportive group. It felt like everyone was looking out for one another.  

At the end of the day’s paddling I was relieved to get onto dry land. I would have to admit that this paddle was pretty challenging. I capsized twice during the day and want to thank Bev & Misha for assisting me to heel/hook back into my kayak. We packed up trying to beat the darkness and the rain without much chat but things livened up quite a bit back at the pub. It had a warm snug where we thawed out whilst discussing the day’s happenings interjected with lots of good banter. After this it was back to Ewen’s croft for a tasty tea for the whole group which had been previously prepared & brought to Skye by Bev, Marcus and Margaret – Thanks for this it was so appreciated!  

After our meal Misha shared with the group his plan for the Sunday. The forecast here was a north west northerly force 4 but a higher wave height of 1.6m with a 13 second wave period. The plan was to do a shuttle run again in order to do a one way paddling trip starting up at Port Gobhlaig near Balmacqueen and paddle down to Staffin where we would leave the bulk of the cars. With this plan in mind and a good few bottles of wine later we all toddled off and fell into our beds, I was so tired….  

On Sunday we got up nice & early and everyone enjoyed their breakfast. Thanks again here to Bev & Marcus who had brought enough breakfast stuff for everyone for the whole weekend. The only food the rest of us needed to bring was for our own lunches which was really spoiling us! On going outside early that morning we were well impressed with the views from Ewen’s family croft which included an amazing view of the sun rising over the Cuillins. 

After leaving Ewen’s croft we all headed up as planned to Port Gobhlaig then organised our shuttle run with the bulk of the cars left down at Staffin Bay. Our start for Sunday’s paddle launched us into a significant surf at Kilmaluag bay and Misha timed us all individually trying to avoid the largest waves to get us out into the bay. I was ‘taken out’ by a large wave here which Misha and Ewen described as a devil wave – ‘ha ha’ but I’ll take that. Nothing for it but to get back in, go again and press on. On heading out of the bay it was clear to see there was a large swell left over from the stronger winds on Saturday and the swell was of a height that made it difficult to see all the members of the group at the same time, even those fairly close to you. 

It was when we were well out beyond the shelter of the coast the purpose of this group became apparent to me again. It was reassuring in these rough water conditions to be with people in the group with much more experience, looking pretty relaxed, clearly keeping an eye out and giving helpful tips and support to increase the confidence of those less experienced. I spent a lot of time that day practising support strokes whilst at the same time paddling along so that in the event of being caught out, or a ‘wobbly’ moment, then the support stroke was more instinctive when needed. Kayaking down that part of Skye’s Jurassic sheer cliff coastline we could see there was not going to be anywhere for us to land for a break so we just had to eat our lunches remaining in our kayaks whilst we took shelter at the south end of Flodigarry Island. After lunch we continued to practise our paddling skills kayaking down the coast towards Staffin Bay. When we got closer and within eyesight of our landing spot we decided to do some rough water assisted rescue training which was both great to do and observe in these conditions. 

Before we knew it the day was over and it was time to land. When we landed at Staffin Bay pier we noticed a man in a yellow jacket looking very interested in what we were about. It materialised that the coastguard had been alerted by a concerned member of the public who had seen our rough water assisted rescue training. We apologised to him for being called out unnecessarily on this occasion whilst at the same time expressing our real appreciation that people like him were there if needed in an emergency. 

Once packed up we all caught up again for a last bit of banter before heading on our various ways back home. We all had some great views on the way down the road through Skye of the Old Man Of Storr under the full moon, the snow on the hills and massive stags by the side of the road to keep us on our toes! I was also aware that on the drive home I felt more relaxed than I had felt all weekend – I probably wouldn’t describe this weekend as one I really enjoyed but that said I’m really glad I went and feel I got a huge amount of learning out of it! If as I said previously the aim of this group is for more experienced paddlers to hone their skills on rough water whilst at the same time coach and give less experienced paddlers real life learning in as safe an environment as is physically possible I would have to give this weekend 10 out of 10 for achieving this target!