ron-t kayaking blog
03 March 2014 ............ Cemaes to Dinas Gynfor
It was a beautiful day, and I wanted to do a wet session with my Celtic blades, so I headed off to Cemaes yet again.
It was right in the middle of a very big Springs, and the wind was round in the north and a bit east - so it had the potential of being quite lively out of the shelter of Cemaes bay.
The rolling and self rescues went okay - quite predictibly, this paddle has a little less grip in the water when rolling compared to a larger blade on a longer shaft - however it worked okay.
Celtic Paddles make the Kinetic blades in four sizes, and my blades, the 600`s, are the smallest of the four, and of course I have also shortened the shaft.
Out of the bay it was indeed quite lively, and every one of the headlands on the way out to Dinas Gynfor had a significant tiderace around it.
At Dinas Gynfor the usual eddy between the rock and the headland was a seething mass of white water, so not very welcoming - this whole bit of coastline is totally exposed to the north and east, and combined with a strong tidal current it can be quite challenging.
Looking out beyond the race that was lying offshore, it looked as if the water was a bit quieter than closer in, but there were still a few obvious tidal current features, so I gave Middle Mouse a miss.
I expect it will still be there next time.
Back to Porth Llanlleiana, and just as I got in two beautiful looking spotty dogs came running down the hill and started running around the factory with their tails held high - their owner was still coming down the hill.
They were excellent examples of a very distinctive breed.
There were enough waves coming in to make a landing not the easiest, so I gave that a miss as well, and headed back out - here is the usual view out to Middle Mouse, although it doesn`t look its best from here.
At the next headland the sea was quite rough, but by the time I got to the next one, it was all beginning to get a bit quieter.
Out beyond Middle Mouse there was a huge container ship, and it didn`t seem to be going anywhere, it was there the whole time I was out along that bit of coast, and it appeared to be just drifting broadside on the current, and heading sideways straight for Middle Mouse.
Eventually it started moving, and headed away from Middle Mouse.
Back at Llanbadrig Head, and the sea has quietened down some more - and just as you head round Llanbadrig Head you get your last view of Middle Mouse - it looks more attractive from here, compared to further up the coast, even though further up the coast is nearer.
Just round into Llanbadrig Cove there is quite a big area of rocks - at high tides all but one bigger one are covered - at low tides they are all exposed, but at mid tide levels they provide lots of little channels for some rockhopping.
I had a play around them on the way out, but by now on the way back most but not all of the channels were dry.
Old Quarry Point didn`t provide much entertainment, there was a bit of swell, but nothing very dramatic.
However you get a good view looking back towards Llanbadrig Head.
Just round the corner of Old Quarry Point, and there is a sort of rocky bay, and at one point there is some fascinating hollows in the rock - I was a bit too far away to get a good picture of them, you can sort of see them in this picture.
I was quite happy with my Celtic blades on this trip, as well as having a smaller area than my previous ones, they are narrower, so they have a more gradual bite when you first plant them during a forward stroke.
They also don`t show much sign of cavitation during the power phase, which helps to make them light and smooth to use.
I`d still like to try Greenland paddles to see what they are like, then have a think about where to go from there.
At the moment I like the Celtic blades, and they were worth getting, but I`d like to do some more exploring - and I am still interested in the idea of merging euro blades and Greenland paddles to produce longer thinner greenland-euro blades - which actually isn`t a new idea - they have been around for a few thousand years !
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