Scillies 2006

by Tim Freeman

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This is how you load your sea kayak onto the Scillonian at Penzance

Sometimes the water was calm and beautiful, clear to the bottom in quite deep water.

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But we had some wind too. One day we did battle with a gale, force 11 was forecast. We kept close to the beach on our home island St Martins so we could walk home if necessary – and we were forced ashore when the wind reached about force 9. A few minutes later this was our view:

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One of our better days:

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Camping in a thing called a ‘basher’ one night on Sampson:

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But I mostly used my trusty tent. It survived the force 11, but beware of the weak sandy soils on St Martins. Heavy rocks are needed on top of the tent pegs to keep them in some places.

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Bishops Rock Lighthouse, the end of the world, we did not paddle round it in the end but considered it.

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Launching at St Marys is not easy, down steep steps. Here is jeremy, our leader. See his website for the trips he organises commercially www.jeremyvanr.com

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