Paddling tales from the south coast – always have a backup plan by Frankie A
Late May bank holiday weekend was my 3rd planned weekend on the sea of the month, and the destination was the Isle of Wight. The plan was to paddle from Lee on Solent and circumnavigate the island over 3 days with 2 nights of wild camping.
Plan A
Plan A however became plan B, C or D by Thursday as the forecast changed to wind and swell conditions that wouldn’t have been any fun round St. Catherine’s Point. On Friday, the decision was made to do day 1 of the trip as planned and then trolley the kayaks to the source of the River Yar and paddle the River Yar to Yarmouth and then decide the route back to Lee on Solent (plans B, C or D). After a couple of hours packing the boat and figuring out how to accommodate my trolley wheels (why oh why did I buy such a big trolley I was muttering to myself) we set off for the crossing to Cowes in gorgeous sunshine with some more interesting conditions as we crossed the Ryde Middle sandbank.
We stayed as a tight group as much as possible constantly checking where all the sea craft were and keeping out of the way of speed boats, cruisers and yachts. Having successfully crossed the channel we continued on to make the most of the tide and the planned 4 pm break at Fort Albert, where we had about 45minutes to eat and rest before heading down the Needles Channel to ‘thread the Needles” and make our way to Freshwater Bay.
Arriving at Fort Albert I managed to mistime my landing just as the wash from a boat heading into Yarmouth hit the beach. I sat in a cockpit full of water until the wash dissipated I could exit without getting any wetter by falling in. A lesson to be remembered for the future. Back on the water at about 4.30pm we made our way towards Alum Bay before tucking in closer to the shore to creep around towards the Needles. The sun disappeared behind a cloud that looked like there was some rain on the way and then teased us for the remainder of the paddling occasionally emerging from behind the increasing cloud. The Needles are named for a Needle-shaped rock that was known as “Lots Wife” which collapsed in 1764 forming a reef that can cause interesting conditions. The Old Battery at the Needles was built in 1863 to defend the west end of the Solent.
The cliffs between Alum Bay and the Needles and then Freshwater Bay are spectacular, but there was very little wild life, just a few birds soaring above the 120m cliffs. The chalk band that forms the Needles stretches all the way to Isle of Purbeck on the Dorset coast and Old Harry Rocks (another great paddling destination) are thought to be part of the same chalk band. The Needles lighthouse was built in 1859 and until 1993 had a staff of 3 lighthouse keepers.
Having threaded the Needles, we carried on towards Freshwater, the wind had picked up a little and it was definitely cloudier, every now and then an odd white cap could be spotted , as forecast the weather and sea conditions were picking up. By now most of the group were thinking about food, as it was past 6 pm. Arriving at Freshwater the pebble beach was quiet, so after the slog of moving heavy boats away from the surf landing on the beach it was time to make camp. Camping on a pebble beach always fills me with joy and there was no need to create a flat platform on the beach, nature had done it for us.
Tents up and food cooked just as everyone was ready to relax around a camp fire and discuss Sunday’s paddle it started to rain, so the discussion only got as far as what time we needed to get to the Yar, local high water so there was enough water for us, meant a later start than we would have had if we doing the circumnavigation so I took the opportunity to get in some extra sleep at both ends of the night. At some point in the night I rolled over and noticed that the wind had picked up along with the rain, but it didn’t keep me awake.
Sunday started with the realisation that the weather forecast had taken a significant turn for the worse for the next few days and there was unlikely to be much shelter from the conditions anywhere on the island and crossing to the mainland on Monday wasn’t a realistic option. One of the group had also slipped the night before on the beach, and after a trip to A&E had an arm in a sling and was unable to paddle. A very short discussion followed, we would trolley as planned to the Yar, paddle the river to Yarmouth towing the injured group member and catch the ferry to Lymington. As we set off for the 2km walk to the source of the Yar, I stopped mumbling about my large trolley wheels as they coped with pot holes, pavements and kerbs with no bother. To avoid causing too much disruption to the local traffic we didn’t walk in one big group, and arrived with some time to spare (rest) before lifting the boats off the footpath down to the water.
The wind, which was picking up was behind us as we set off for Yarmouth and it was a relatively easy bimble up the river to the Yarmouth sailing club where we got off the water and trolleyed the boats across the road to the ferry terminal. Queuing in lane 6 we loaded onto the car deck after the vehicles and the ferry staff amused themselves guiding us in as if we were in cars.
Kayaks parked, it was up to the outer deck to view the conditions in the channel. Even without an injured group member, we would have been on the ferry. Off-loading at Lymington we waited by the overflow carpark for the lifts that had been arranged to reunite us with vehicles over an hour away in Lee on Solent. Four hours after arriving in Yarmouth I was on the road home reflecting on a very different but enjoyable weekend trip from the one I had imagined. And much to my pleasant surprise the car park app allowed you to cancel parking and get a refund for Monday’s charges.
The circumnavigation of the Isle of Wight remains on my to-do list – maybe next time
Frankie A