Pembroke Bank Holiday Day 1, Sat 6th May to Freshwater East by Andy and Christine Bond
Fourteen of us set out from the Kestrel Bunkhouse for the short drive down to Stackpool Quay car park and were on the water fairly efficiently for around 10 am. Once on the water Ian gave us a short briefing and asked us to pair up for the trip. For the two of us, this was only our second day on the open sea, but was reassured by Ian and others in the group that we should be able to cope with the conditions.
We had started off a couple of hours after high tide, heading east along the coastline. The sea conditions became quite lively after we’d left the comparative stillness of the quay, with waves hitting us seemingly from every angle. We passed Freshwater East Beach, heading for Manorbier Bay as a prospective lunch stop. However, around East Moor Cliff, the swell and waves built up and Ian felt it wise to recce the breaking waves to see if it was safe to land on the beach. In his view, it wasn’t. Martin suggested we could paddle up to the braking waves and voluntarily capsize, but thankfully that idea was ignored.
Ian decided it was safer to head back to Freshwater East for lunch. We carried out a carefully choreographed landing, approaching in small groups so help was on hand for the arriving paddlers, and enjoyed a well-earned lunch stop in the sun.
After lunch we headed back in fine weather without major incident, arriving at Stackpole Quay around 2:30 pm. Most of the group decided on a further short excursion westwards along the coast, reaching Stackpole Head. Here we witnessed huge numbers of puffins darting out to sea and then gracefully swooping back to their clifftop nests. A couple of seals were also spotted, basking on shoreline rocks.
After a short paddle back to Stackpole Quay we landed in the now boulder-strewn quay and were faced with a very tiresome carry back to our cars. It had been a great day for the two of us though, new experiences and great company, which left us looking forward to the next trip.
Andy and Christine Bond