Sunday 21 – Tues 23 April.
The first challenge for our dynamic water team was actually finding any conditions at all! Rarely for Anglesey, it was flat calm with almost no wind! We opted for North Stack tide race as the middle part of the ebb offered a good rate of flow at a convenient time in the morning.
Without any wind there were no surf-able waves, so we played in the current for a while & then followed the tide around to South Stack, checking out the various caves en route. A friendly seal nuzzled our bows as we watched a group of climbers tackle some intimidating routes on Gogarth cliffs.
At South Stack lighthouse there was a good flow through the narrow channels under the bridge which allowed us to practice upstream moves. Accurate boat angles and the use of successive eddies were required to navigate back up stream in the narrow channels. A few laps here & then on to Porth Dafarch. A classic Anglesey trip under our belts in perfect conditions.
Day 2 – A 12-16kt north-westerly gave us some nice wind-over-tide conditions from Point Lynas all the way to Cemaes Bay. As we rounded Llanlleiana Head we observed that the race off West Mouse was starting to stand up nicely so we ferried out on spec to catch some surf. It is quite an exposed spot & challenging to keep the group together here, & also not easy to formulate a coordinated plan while afloat, so I decided we should push on to Cemaes Bay instead of sticking around to play here.
Rob & Chris Wade returned to the vehicle & kindly offered to pick up Simon, Chris Wood & myself from Cemlyn which allowed us to carry on & investigate the race at Harry Furlough’s Rocks.
We approached with caution & tried to identify the eddys & safe water areas but it was too hard to see what was going on between the rocks from upstream. Instead we had a nose into the race on the outside of the rocks where the wind had set up a steep wave train at 75 degrees to the flow, offering us each a couple of exhilarating surfs. The water was quite challenging with very large chaotic waves coming from all angles, and the flow was continually bringing our surf trajectory towards the rocks.
Chris casually demonstrated his rough water roll & then paddled onto a wave the size of a bungalow, riding it gracefully into the wind-sheltered zone. I was turning my boat to suggest to Simon that we join Chris outside the race & wrap it up for the day, when he appeared above me atop a precarious pyramid of water & announced in no uncertain terms that he’d come to that conclusion independently! On the right day, & with a little more familiarity with the safe water zones in this area I think it could make for an interesting play spot, but today it was more of a handful than we were looking for.
Day 3 – The wind had veered more northerly, still around force 4. Perfect for the flood tide at Penryn Mawr (except that it started at stupid o’clock in the morning!) We compromised by aiming to arrive there at 07:30 (mid flow), play until 09:00 & then follow the dying tide around the stacks in the opposite direction to day 1. That meant doing the shuttle at 6am!
The middle race hadn’t formed a wave train this time, however there was a small & consistent surfable shoulder at the head of the race which gave Chris Wade the opportunity to demonstrate some impressive boat handling skills. The eddy between the middle & outer races was a mass of powerful boils & was not a friendly place to sit, so I decided to leave the outer race alone this time. For some reason it was also angled more offshore than I’ve previously known it.
The boil zone dished out a couple of lessons & offered some unplanned rolling & rescue practice.
On arrival at North Stack we found the tide to have turned early & there was now a small wave train off the headland. We were able to gain the upstream advantage by surfing to the head of the race & tucking in close to the rocks. It would have been great to hang around and play here, but if we’d left it any later we wouldn’t have got around the corner, so unfortunately it was time to call it a day.
My thanks to Simon Lerpiniere for patiently supporting my leadership learning journey, and to Rob Hitchmough, Chris Wade and Chris Wood for being good company and a solid, up-for-it team.
Thanks to Chris Wade for the photos.
Duncan G
Lakeland Canoe Club 