ron-t kayaking blog
04 February 2015 ............ Not quite South Stack
One of the things that occurred to me was that whenever I have been out to the Stacks, it has been during Neaps, and close to slack water.
Today it was a very nice afternoon, just two days before the height of the Springs, and with a bit of an east or northeast wind.
It was an ebb tide from just before lunch until late afternoon, and I launched maybe about an hour or so after high tide.
Easy going paddling out from Porth Daffarch, Dinas Stack was looking good, just as it usually does.
Round the back of Dinas Stack, and there was just enough water to get through the arch, using the swell to help me on my way past the rock - although my timing wasn`t just as good as it could have been - hesitation and rock hopping are mutually exclusive !
Then across to Penrhyn Mawr - being the ebb tide, there wasn`t much to play on, so I carried on, and it was noticeable that the sea was picking up a bit, with the waves coming in from the northwest - I am not sure why they would be coming from there.
Past the next headland, and then at the third headland there was a bit of a race, and it was noticeable that at that point the sea picked up quite a bit - so that was the end of my picture taking.
I looped into Abraham`s Bosom a bit, and headed across to the other side of the bay - and the closer I got to the sort of a point at the outer end of Abraham`s Bosom, the bigger and more lumpy the sea was getting - I think the point is called Pen-las Rock.
By now it would be a good two hours into the ebb tide, so the current would be pretty well at its maximum.
As I got closer, I decided I wasn`t going any further, so came back across Abraham`s bosom.
The race at the headland was by now quite distinct and quite a confused area of sea, but as soon as I was through it, the sea calmed down.
The hidden passage still had water in it, but the two ends were just a bit too shallow and narrow to get through them - it might have been possible in a much shorter plastic boat, but not in a full size composite boat.
Back through Penrhyn Mawr, there was a bit of a swell to help me on my way around the outside of Tide Rip rock, and I then found that the current was flowing the wrong way through the inner race - I think that during the ebb tide there is a huge eddy that ends at Penrhyn Mawr - I don`t really know where it starts - it could be Treaddur Bay, or Raven`s Point, or even Rhoscolyn Head.
There was enough of a swell to get a wee bit of rock hopping around some of the islands at Penrhyn Mawr, then it was back across to Dinas Stack - and I love the big holes on this side of Dinas Stack -
Round Dinas Stack, with the current flowing the wrong way again, and the next headland has some more impressive cliffs - and holes.
Just before turning into Porth Daffarch, the cliffs on the east side of Porth Daffarch have some good holes as well.
So I wasn`t out for long, but it was a very interesting trip, although a bit of a shame I didn`t get to South Stack - it was certainly the biggest sea that I have ever been out in along that bit of the coast.
How much of it was caused by the wind and general sea conditions, and how much of it was caused by the tidal current I don`t know.
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