2026 05 02 Pembroke St. Ann`s Head

2026 05 02 Pembroke St. Ann`s Head

Day one of the annual Pembroke Bank Holiday Weekend saw the group head for West Angle Beach to paddle across the sound towards St Ann’s Head Lighthouse. Conditions were good with a small Southerly Swell of about 0.5m, light SEly wind. On rounding the headland, the Spring Tides produced areas of chop, and the swell breaking against the cliffs gave a great backdrop.

Heading around into St Brides Bay, we could see Stockholm (the island, not the capital of Sweden) and Skomer in the distance. We ducked in and out of the rocky coastline, Jousting with each swell. We turned around the corner of Great Castle Head and looked into West Dale Bay. This was the scene of last year’s incident, and the swell was much larger today. One by one, we headed in, timing the surf to try not to be broadsided and flipped over like a cork. We all made it onto the beach without serious incident.

After Elevenses, we launched and, with the help of a partner, who held the bow into the waves, chose our moment to paddle out to sea and the safety beyond the break.

The tide had now changed and was pushing us back towards Pembroke Haven. We landed on a small unnamed beach under St Ann`s Head for a second elevenses. The tide was now rising, and the odd swell lifted an unwary paddler’s boat back into the sea, requiring them to leap into action to retrieve it.

The crossing back to West Angle required us to cross the two main shipping channels. It was all clear when we set off, but of course, when we were mid-channel, it suddenly got a tad busy. Charter boat to our right, yacht under power to our left and then the Irish Ferries boat to Rosslare came steaming down the main channel. We kept together and paddled at a steady pace, keeping our heading, and all passed safely behind us.

The tide was, of course, out at West Angle, and the wide sandy beach needed teamwork to move the boats to the car park. We packed up and headed back to base – the Kestrel Bunkhouse at Stackpole.