Connor, Me and a lifeboat!

Monday 9th August 2010

Wake riding

The weather was settled, but the wind quite strong again, I carried the kit down to the lifeboat station, and found a film crew and a whole host of on lookers.

I asked the lifeboat crew if it was Ok for us to launch and watch from the water, it wasn't a problem, they were going to launch the ALB but it could be 10mins or 1 hour, no one was sure.

We sat back to the rocks, waiting, and eventually they opened the station doors.

Firstly we heard the engines start, and then a very loud blip of the throttles and a I heard the pin being knocked out of the retaining chains.

RNLI Garside made a huge splash as it hit the water, and then it rises up again.

And then it drops back into the water again, resulting in the large wake you can see building just behind in this, the last photo I took. Realising that the wake was easily going to reach us at our vantage point by the cliff base, I had to stow the camera, and take the slack up between my towline and Connors boat, I paddled us into the swell, wow! Three or four 2' high waves powered under us!

Shortly after the launch, 3 playboaters came ashore from a disapointing bitches trip, apparently the wave just didn't build enough to play at all.

The guys were from Germany, and the one in the sequence shots above did a display of front loops for us, and all in flat water!

Connor had a good chat with him, which I think made him feel happy about how kayakers seem generally a freindly bunch of folk.

We paddle under the slipway, and around into the first little inlet, and Connor had his first explore of a craggy inlet, with a beach.

Looking out across Ramsey Sound and towards the notorious Bitches Reef. How long until he wants to go there then?

Eventually, he got a bit tired, and wanted to go back in. I guess at only 5 and it being only his 3rd time in his boat, it must be quite tiring.

Just a short video of Connor getting to grips with the paddling