12 club members enjoyed a weekend of paddling led by Advanced Sea Kayak leaders Amy Apple Goolden and Martin Leonard. The members were a mix of experienced paddlers and a few who had not been on the sea before. Age range 14 to 68. We camped at Tregroes campsite near Fishguard, and on the Friday night many of us enjoyed pizza in the onsite Bistro.
On the Saturday morning we were faced with a forecast of Force 5 winds from the North, which made most of the West coast in our area challenging. It was decided to head south to Porth Clais near St Davids, where we spent the day paddling from wind eddy to wind eddy. Strangely, the wind had flattened the waves so although the wind was consistently strong, the sea wasn’t too choppy. Best of all, there was sunshine sparkling on the sea all day. Paddling in two groups of six, we kept close to the coastline, exploring caves and finding rocks to play around and channels to squeeze through. Memorable was Cathedral Cave, a wonderful cavern filled with light, and The Slot, a narrow cave that we had to reverse into. We stopped for lunch at St Non’s Bay. There were lots of coasteering groups and climbers for us to watch. On the way back, paddlers enjoyed an easier paddle, and we landed in the harbour at low tide. After loading up and some checking out the ice creams from the National Trust Café, we went back to the campsite tired but content with a good day’s paddling.
On Sunday morning the forecast was Force 2-3 then increasing through the day. We decided to explore going right out of Fishguard Bay. The previous day’s wind had created a bouncy swell, but once again the sun was shining, and paddlers enjoyed rock hopping and the amazing coastline. Lunch on a small beach was followed by interesting experiments in weathercocking in Fishguard Bay. Gently surfed back to the slipway and then we loaded up and went back to the campsite.
Feedback was that everyone enjoyed the weekend and, despite the wind, we were able to explore and develop skills while admiring the amazing rock formations and scenery.
