ron-t kayaking blog
07 August 2017 .............. The Swellies
I reckoned it was time for a trip to the Swellies - it was just building up to the biggest Springs tide, though the low tide level was a bit high - around about a metre at Holyhead.
I wondered if the higher low tide meant that a wave would form earlier, but it wasn`t the case, and in fact the wave was conspicuous by its abscence - it just never got going.
It was very slow to start, but eventually it got to the point that there would be quite a good wave for about ten seconds, then it vanished, and there was nothing for several minutes.
If purely by chance I was there at the right time I got a brief surf, but that was it - you couldn`t wait to see the wave forming and then head out, because you weren`t going to get there in time.
It is really weird how the dynamics of water can be so close to forming a wave, and yet not form one - I wonder how the designers of artificial courses do it - is it science, or is is black magic.
At one point I ended up on a wave well down into the rough water below where the wave normally forms, and I got a brief surf - however as soon as I was off the wave the current got its own back and I was flipped.
Nice to know I can still roll !
Eventually I gave up and took some pictures instead - looking downstream towards the Menai Bridge -
Looking upstream towards the Britannia Bridge - rather looking into the sun I am afraid -
Then I headed off to the other side of the Straits to see if there were any playspots over between the islands, but there was nothing.
So I punted my boat up and over some seaweed covered rocks, and paddled away upstream towards Britannia Bridge.
I was quite surprised that I was able to paddle upstream against the current under the bridge, and out into the next section of the Menai Straits.
Lord Nelson was keeping his usual watchful eye on the passing traffic - created by Admiral Lord Clarence Paget who lived in Plas Llanfair - according to Wikepedia, Lord Nelson is reputed to have described the Swellies as "one of the most treacherous stretches of sea in the world".
Time was heading on, so Plas Llanfair was as far as I went - you can`t really see Plas Llanfair from the water, it is quite hidden by big trees, however I could see along to Plas Newydd - not a good photo I am afraid, it is a fair distance away, and I was sort of looking into the sun.
But what an amazing illustration of just how society lived back then - or some parts of society.
However bang up to date, I believe that Plas Newydd is now heated by a heat pump that takes the heat out of the sea water in the Menai Straits - so if the water feels cold, it is because Plas Newydd is nice and warm.
Heading back now, and Menai Bridge is just visible through the arch of Britannia Bridge -
It was a pity about the lack of a wave, however it was a good evening weatherwise, so it certainly wasn`t a wasted trip.
The surfing in the Swellies is rather hit or miss - I have had some absolutely awesome surfing there, but quite a few days when it was a no-no.
The Swellies aren`t really my favourite place, I find it all rather shut in - not like some of the other tidal playspots around Anglesey, such as around Rhoscolyn and Penrhyn Mawr.
Around Rhoscolyn there are lots of islands, caves, and arches to explore, and Penrhyn Mawr sits right out into the Irish Sea, and on good day you get a super backdrop of the Lleyn Peninsula.
But if you go to the Swellies and you get lucky, the surfing can be epic.
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