Anglesey Camping Weekend 12/13/14 September 2025 – Better than expected by Francesca Annan
Wind and Waves

The last Anglesey weekend of the season had a rather windy forecast with the likelihood of poor conditions for a sea journey. Having arrived whilst most of the occupants of the tents and vans were in the pub, and not feeling like braving the rain that started just after my tent went up -phew, I checked the message board to see a 9 am campsite meeting about paddling plans and dived into my tent listening to the weather that fitted the billing.

Saturday morning dawned dry and sounded much less windy than expected in the tent. A plan was made for a morning of skills in Trearddur Bay. Keith passed on a report from Ella that the conditions in the bay were benign. Ian’s vigorous head shakes suggested that Ella’s observations were maybe being misrepresented. A group of paddlers headed down to have a look at the conditions, arriving before 2 groups from the Flowstate Adventures Sea Kayak Festival and bagging all the best spots for offloading boats and parking. There was a lot of white water to be seen, but also areas of slightly calmer, quieter conditions.

The plan was to launch and practice paddling into the wind and turning on top of a wave to begin with. buoys were identified as the outer limit of the area we should paddle in, and the first challenge was launching in the surf. When assisting people launching in the surf, always position yourself at the front of the boat.

Once launched, we ventured out to the first and then the second buoy; this was a challenge by choice. Paddling into the wind was tiring, heading back towards the shore took less physical effort and as some of the bigger wave sets came through, back paddling to slow down! Keith and Ian provided tips on turning techniques and the importance of edging during the turns. As the surf picked up in the middle section of the beach, some enjoyed a bigger ride towards the shore.

Then, having gathered the group together for more hints and tips, the challenge of crossing the bay was set, aiming for a mast and then tucking in to a sheltered spot by the lifeboat slipway. For those who wanted more of a challenge, a less direct route via the outer buoy we had been turning around was available. Turns out the direct route with another big set coming through was not much less of a challenge. Having crossed to the slipway, the next challenge was to head around a small island. Trearddur Bay has small groups of rocks out in the bay that can cause some big breaking waves if you get your positioning and timing wrong. Andy B timed his turn around the ‘small island’ perfectly; most went as wide as possible to avoid all hazards, get the timing wrong, and the results were big waves dumping on your head (Ella) or the boat rising up with the wave and flipping over (me). Out of the boat, swimming to avoid the rocks with a boat in one hand is hard work. Eventually clear of the rocks, Keith soon had me back in the boat, and we headed back to the sheltered spot.

From the shelter, most of the group headed back across the bay, retracing the previous route before turning to the beach where the surf was less. Lunch on the wall by the beach for some followed, before Saturday part 2 at Four Mile Bridge and the Inland Sea, but that is a story for someone else to tell.