Festival of light with a twist…by James G

Paddling on the sea at night can be a phenomenal experience. Not being able to see the sea around you as it passes under your boat encourages you to relax, absorb what is going on, and allow the boat to move while you provide the propulsion. In the right conditions, it can be hugely beneficial. 

As per the golden rule of sea kayaking “pick your day” is paramount. I had wanted to explore the Irish Sea at night for a while, and with the change in clocks, it was a case of waiting for a 8-9 pm high water and very minimal winds. On Wednesday, that all came together.

 Whilst we were not treated to a moon to provide us with some ambient light, a high pressure forced some clouds down and made the night somewhat darker. our own 360 white lights would have to do. My plan had been to head out to the ‘Valaris Norway’ a decommissioning rig moored some 750m east of the Lennox Gas Platform off the coast of Ainsdale. The Norway is significantly bigger than the Lenox, with an accommodation platform and some 300 persons on board. It also has an exclusion zone around it which is documented by Peel Ports for ships operating in the area. (See the map attached for further)

Staying out of this is essential, and with no navigation features other than the mark 1 human eyeball, GPS is the only true way of staying outside.

On the night, Tim, Kris, Laura and I met at the beach, loaded up our boats, attached our trolleys and walked out into the darkness. We were launching 2 hours before high water so didn’t have far to trolley, but some sand bars were visible, so we pushed our boats through the water to the sand bars and set off for the Norway.

The wind was force one southerly winds gusting just into force two, the sea state was very minimal, but it was enough to keep your attention drawn. As we passed over various sandbanks you could feel the difference in the sea state before getting into deeper water. It took us an hour to reach the exclusion zone. The Norway is quite a spectacle at night, its lights are bright and it provides some illumination on our way out.