ron-t kayaking blog
10 March 2015 ............ Penrhyn Mawr
A day of good weather for a change - a lot less wind and rain than the previous day - and as it happened, there was a lot more wind and rain over the subsequent few days as well.
It was just after Springs, and I thought I would try for another shot at the Stacks.
However it wasn`t to be - there was a lot more of a sea than what had been forecast - I guess it was stuff left over from the previous day, as well as the start of the next spell of very windy weather.
Dinas Stack has a habit of emphasising the size of the sea, and it was fairly wild around there.
The sea around Penrhyn Mawr was really quite wild, with big long period waves coming in, mixed up with shorter waves. Masses of foam everywhere, and it was even too wild to get into the small channel at the back of Penrhyn Mawr.
No photographs I am afraid, I was somewhat engaged in staying alive.
After sort of "playing" for a while, although it was more a case of surviving, I started to head back - and a very large wave came up diagonally behind me, broke over a submerged rock, and proceeded to attack me with this large foam pile, with absolutely no concern for my welfare.
I sort of laid over onto it, rode it briefly side-on until it dissipated a bit, then recovered back up again.
It was an interesting example of why I think it is wrong to teach / learn rolling in isolation from other strokes - I didn`t do what you would call a classic bracing or support stroke, and I didn`t need to roll - it was a sort of in-between support and recovery - to me there should be an evolution in the learning process of bracing, supporting, recovery, and rolling.
Anyway, I headed back to Porth Ruffydd where it was completely calm, and sat in the sun still in my boat for a while.
Then I headed back to Penrhyn Mawr for another look, and I did manage to take some pictures this time, although as usual, pictures just don`t do the sea justice
The chicken run wasn`t being very friendly towards chickens, with some big waves coming in the far end, as well the waves refracting round the rocks at the near end. Look at the size of the wave at the far end in the second picture.
There was foam everywhere -
I did eventually get into the narrow channel at the back of Penrhyn Mawr - judicious timing meant I avoided the big ones, and effectively surfed a smaller wave right into the beach.
I guess it is all good experience, just being in that environment, not really achieving anything, just moving around and reacting to the sea.
Back at Dinas Stack, and I couldn`t get round to the back of the arch - huge mounds of water were bursting through the arch, and to have gone anywhere near it would have been ......... not a good idea !
Lots more foam round the back of Dinas Stack -
So a bit disappointing that I didn`t get out to the Stacks, but an interesting couple of hours out - and it was a beautiful day, with blue sky, sunshine, and little wind.
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