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We left Glasgow at 06:40am on 23/04/06. At 08:50 we arrived at Point Sands camping site. Given the forecast for the following day we wondered about either taking the car over to Gigha or leaving the car at Tayinloan ferry terminal, giving the option of returning by the ferry. We decided to paddle across and were on the water by 10:10.
Conditions on the day: wind was W 2-4 backing SW 4 then S 2.
Tide times for Gigha Sound: 23/04/06
|
LW |
HW |
LW |
|
05:16 |
11:54 |
17:36 |
|
0.7 m |
1.3 m |
0.6 m |
GPS
map of route. Total 39.4km.
Launch
at Pointsands camp site.
Gigha
Sound.
Cara
on the horizon
Ardminish
Point, Gigha
Heading
south.
Mike
in the Alaw Bach.
First
of countless sandy coves.
MV Loch Ranza, the Gigha ferry.
Another
sandy cove.
Harvey
in the Alaw Bach paddles over crystal clear water.
Another
sandy cove.
An
amazing network of lagoons and skerries south of Gigalum.
Heading
to Cara from Gigalum.
Isla
in the background from the skerries between Gigalum and Cara. Note the swell.
Another
sandy cove, Cara.
Cara
House
Another
sandy cove.
Primroses
on Cara.
Heading
for the Mull of Cara
Note
the Brownie's Chair.
No photographs. There was quite a large swell round the Mull.
Heading
up the west of Cara.
West
of Cara, Mike is hidden in a trough just in front of Harvey.
Another
sandy cove.
Eider
duck.
A
channel near Eilean Liath.
Eilean
Liath and the Mull of Kintyre behind Mike.
Another
sandy cove.
Jura
in the distance.
Another
sandy cove.
Valley
Nordkapp LV
Mike
tries some fishing with Jura in the background.
Spot
the camp.
The
Mull of Kintyre beyond Gigha Sound.
West
coast of Gigha.
Mike.
Jura
sunset.
End
of a perfect day.
The forecast was for force 5 to 6 so we decided not to hang about. We were on the water by 06:50 and landed at 09:50. Wind was force 4-5 gusting 6 SE veering S.
Tide times Gigha Sound
|
HW |
LW |
HW |
LW |
|
00:12 |
06:52 |
12:59 |
19:08 |
|
1.3 m |
0.6 m |
1.3 m |
0.6 m |
We considered various options:
1. walk to the ferry then walk back to the car on the mainland. Bring the trailer over to Gigha and collect the boats.
2. paddle round to the ferry and use the ferry to cross to the mainland then paddle back up to Pointsands.
3. paddle back!
We chose 3. On the crossing the wind was 5 gusting 6 (paddle blades were being snatched by the wind). In the middle there were several places where crest to trough was 2 metres. The Tide was against us, the wind was against us. We could have avoided the tide by paddling south close into the GTigha shore then using the tide to carry us back north to Pointsands. However that would have meant paddling beam on to breaking waves so we decided to head across from Arminish Point which meant paddling into the waves at about 45 degrees. At one point we slowed to 1.6km/hr. We paddled across 3 abeam so we could keep an eye on each other. The course was 118 degrees and I used the GPS to read out the bearing from current position to the waypoint at Pointsands. I tried to keep the bearing at 118 degrees. If it changed to 120, I would head further south into wind and tide to compensate. The GPS track shows this was pretty successful.
Leaving
the lee of Gigha in the soft dawn light. An otter played round us.
Sound
of Gigha.
Shellduck.
Another
sandy cove.
A
quiet moment on the crossing.
Cara
on the horizon. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of bacon butties.
issued at 05:30 23/04/06 Mull of Kintyre to Ardnamurchan Point.
Wind: west or northwest backing south 4 or 5, occasionally 6 in the north later. Weather: mainly fair. Visibility: good. Sea State: moderate or rough, and very rough in the north for a time. Outlook for the following 24 hours: Wind: south 5 or 6, increasing 6 to gale 8 by evening, veering southwest 5 by Tuesday. Weather: fair, then rain by evening. Visibility: good becoming moderate, occasionally poor. Sea State: moderate, occasionally rough in the north.
Theyr.net
wind forecast for 8am 24/04/96.
Hazards:
References:
Common sense:
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Site editor: Douglas E Wilcox (D.E.Wilcox@clinmed.gla.ac.uk
)
Last edited 04/05/06
Created 04/05/06