ron-t kayaking blog
16 June 2014 ............ Cemaes to Porth Wen
A beautiful afternoon with a Springs ebb tide, so I went up to Cemaes for a trip out.
I headed pretty much along the coast towards Dinas Gynfor, it was quite slow in places due to the current against me, and there were the usual tide races around the various headlands.
Being Springs, the current sweeping out around Dinas Gynfor was quite strong, and the east/northeast wind added a bit of chop to the sea as well - so I thought better of heading out to Middle Mouse - as I was heading along, I could see the usual distinct tail off to the west of Middle Mouse, so it was clear there would be quite a race out there.
So I reckoned I would head along the coast a bit more - easier said than done.
10 or 15 metres or so out from the headland - I couldn`t paddle against the current, and went nowhwere, all the time getting attacked by the chop both incoming, and reflected off the rocks.
So after a bit of re-grouping I had another shot, this time I stayed very close to the rocks - less current, but quite bumpy - and eventually I crawled my way along towards Hell`s Mouth.
Once nearer to Hell`s Mouth, there was a bit less current and a bit less chop, so I continued on to Porth Wen.
This is looking along the coast beyond Porth Wen - Bull Bay is beyond the furthest away headland.
Time for a teabreak - there are some good beaches in Porth Wen, but not at high tide, when they mostly dissappear - apart from that, it is a good place for a stop.
Here`s the brickworks - I believe the brickworks is privately owned, and public access is not allowed - but it doesn`t seem to stop people going there anyway, as it is just off the Coastal Path.
Whether the beaches are private I don`t know, but since most of the beaches are below the high water mark, maybe it isn`t an issue.
Just out from the brickworks there is a good arch - looking at the high water mark in this picture, it might be possible to paddle through it at high tide.
Heading back now, and looking back along the coast towards Dinas Gynfor and Middle Mouse.
Back at Dinas Gynfor, things had quietened down a bit, so I headed off to Middle Mouse - however I didn`t quite get there.
As I got close, I could see a huge eddy with a very strong current whirling around on this side of Middle Mouse, and I wasn`t too sure about getting tangled up in it.
I could have gone round the east end of Middle Mouse and down the far side - but that would have put me outside the tail, and I wasn`t too sure what I would meet there either, so reluctantly, I retreated.
But not before taking this picture of the masses of birds on Middle Mouse - they are maybe a bit too small to see in this picture, but there were (or are) hundreds of them.
Shortly after leaving Middle Mouse, and looking right along the coast to the east, as far as Point Lynas.
Heading back to Cemaes, but still quite a distance out, and you get a good view of much of the coastline towards Dinas Gynfor - it is quite a rugged bit of coastline, and hard walking if you are on the coastal path, with a lot of steep hills and rough ground.
One of the highlights of the afternoon was several sightings of porpoises - on the way out I saw them three times between Cemaes and Dinas Gynfor, and a very good sighting just about 30 metres away of a pair on the way back, a short time after leaving Middle Mouse.
I also had another sighting beyond Dinas Gynfor - I was coming through a rock passage, and beyond the rocks there was a brief view of a fin and a small bit of body - and to me it looked bigger than a porpoise, with a bit of a greyer colour - it didn`t rise up and down like a porpoise - could it have been a dolphin ?
It was nearly 2 km`s further along the coast from where I had all the porpoise sightings, so could be a possibility - it is a pity that my view was restricted by the rocks around me.
Maybe it is just wishful thinking !
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