Causeway Coast – A “Giant’s Trip” by Tim Haines

The coast of Northern Ireland is spectacularly beautiful. There are immense sea caves and towering stacks, great open sandy beaches and picturesque castles at frequent intervals. To keep kayakers entertained there are several tide-races, lots of surfing opportunities and, with much of the coast open to the Atlantic, ‘conditions’ are rarely far away. There is a very active local sea kayaking community that is hugely welcoming. What’s more, all of this is about an hour’s drive from Liverpool, once you get off the Birkenhead – Belfast Ferry.

Two vehicles, with four people in each, met at the Birkenhead ferry terminal for the 10.30 pm sailing on Friday, which would put us in Belfast at 06.30 the following morning. After a smooth crossing, we met our guides (Joe Rogan and Willy Smyth, from Sea Kayak Ulster) in a café in Bushmills for a cooked breakfast and a briefing. We were afloat in Ballintoy Harbour shortly after and conditions were ideal, with gentle Easterly winds and a small swell.

An attempt at surfing did not go well for me. I collided with John and ended up with a small puncture wound in my fibre-glass boat. This was somewhat embarrassing as I’d borrowed the boat from Sea Kayak Ulster. Joe was very relaxed about it, saying that the boat needed some repairs anyway and that it wasn’t an issue. The collision was entirely my fault but was a good learning point about boat control and situational awareness in the surf zone: if you can punch a hole in a fibre-glass boat, you can punch through a rib cage or a spine. I was lucky.