Author Topic: Hebridean Expedition :)  (Read 2375 times)

UKRiverSurfers

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Hebridean Expedition :)
« on: November 29, 2015, 04:49:56 AM »
Words by Graham 'Denny' Denny

 Lismore no More




 
"When you go will you send back a letter from America?
 Take a look up the rail track from Miami to Canada

 Lochaber no more, Sutherland no more
 Lewis no more, Skye no more
 Lochaber no more, Sutherland no more
 Lewis no more, Skye no more
 Lochaber no more, Sutherland no more
 Lewis no more, Skye no more"

                                               
The Proclaimers
 

 
 
In 2015 not only had I been served notice in my Job, but I was also in the process of moving home and on the verge of turning 40.... The Big Four Zero, halfway through, mid life??   Crisis??  :shock:

I know.., I know... These are the type of life events many of us have been through and bring feelings of excitement, freedom, apprehension, fear and at times… self-doubt.

I had decided to approach an old friend and Stand Up Paddle (SUP)  enthusiast, Dave Adams as my desire to get away, detach, and move on grew. I wanted wilderness....... To switch off and focus on a new direction. I had only tried SUP a few times before, including a mission around Beachy Head, (but that's a whole different story!) and I loved it. Dave took no persuading at all, as it’s fair to say, he is obsessed. And this is the exact point where I should have known better, I should've been more detailed in what my idea of wilderness was!!

What I pictured, was driving around various Scottish Loch’s, find some nice calm water, leisurely paddle about, look at the view, take some pictures, then back in the van, post the pictures on facebook, eat hot food and have a comfortable sleep.
Dave, on the other hand planned a 3 day expedition, to paddle around the Isle of Lismore, to carry all our gear on our SUPs and be totally self sufficient!
 
Once the idea grew into reality it didn't take long to get our other paddling friends, Chris Evans, Stephen 'Stuttieboy' Hale on the team! While I had little experience, their’s was something I had to tap into not just on the trip, but leading up to it. Trying to squeeze everything into a 79L dry bag. A tent, sleeping bag, pillow, towel, dry clothes, jacket, chair and food and water to last me three days. I was advised to measure food out by the gram!!. Sounds Easy, right? Trust me, it’s not.


Three of our boards packed and ready to go...

After a marathon 10 hour drive we parked up on the shores of Loch Etive to unwind and wait for Chris Evans who'd be joining us the following morning! 


From left to right, Denny, Stephen Hale & Dave...


Across the border...


Our park up for the night...


Loch Etive looking north...
 



We had an explore around Loch Etive as a mellow introduction to Scottish SUPing!



 





 

 














I was now feeling a lot more relaxed about our actual mission we had planned for the following day!








[size=200]Day One - Across Loch Linnhe[/size] [/u]

 
It was mid-June and we parked up at Port Appin on Monday around mid-day. It was dry, calm, little wind, with the sun hidden behind a permanent sheet of cloud. We got ready, loaded up our boards and set off.


Graham Denny



Dave's board loaded up and ready to go at Port Appin with Lismore in the background and Morvern in the distance.



And we're off :)


 


Stephen Hale


Denny at the back :)
 


Ben Nevis in the background :)


The water was calm and flat as glass and getting across at the closest point to Lismore, seemed straight forward, easy even! It must have only been 10 minutes and we had crossed, a great start!  As we paddled around the tip we saw the first of many Seals. I was surprised that my natural instinct felt no threat from them. We must have paddled about a mile when we stopped and Dave and Stutt had come up with an alteration to the plan, travel the whole way across Loch Linnhe to Morvern.
After such an easy start across the flat water I was feeling strong & enthusiastic. Dave & Stutt estimated it was about 2 miles.
 



Chris Evans






Distant Morvern in the background...





 It was only when we got about a mile out, tide and  wind became more prominent that I realised the 2 miles estimate may have been a ploy to get me to agree?

 
Looking back at Lismore and ever smaller Denny :)



 




Now throughout my life, in different situations, a multitude of songs always pop into my head. The last river sup for example was accompanied by Willie Nelsons “River Boy”. The Proclaimers 500 miles had already been sung at various points by all of us since arriving in Scotland (we all do that, don’t we?). However, It was Portishead’s “Deep Water” that played in my head.
When I was miles away from the Isle of Lismore and more miles away from the mainland on the other side, my experienced friends became dots, smaller than the heads of the following seals, as they battled the growing waves and wind with more efficiency than me, this is when I first started hearing Beth Gibbons haunting voice in my head.
“I’m Drifting in Deep Water”
CHECK!
“Alone in my self-doubt….. again”
Seals, Jellyfish, increasing wind and waves, mild hallucinations of seeing a giant whale beneath me…
CHECK!
Conditions were worsening, the challenge increasing which was both frightening and liberating.
I kept thinking Dave was almost on land, a dot against the vast hillside in front, yet he continued for another 10 minutes before I thought the same thing, happening 2 or 3 times in total. All in all, it must have been 2 to 2 and a half hours of constant paddling for me. I found myself using my knees as the waves increased, again my more experienced friends more steady on their feet in the worsening conditions.

I later found out that the waters we were paddling over were around 570 feet deep! :shock:



Morvern getting closer...


The great thing about paddling is that every stroke provides a new angle and the scenery around us was stunning. A huge expanse of water, surrounded by hills and mountains reminiscent of those in Lord of the Rings. Ben Nevis visible in the back ground and a host of wildlife, swimming and flying around. Wow.
There are lots of people who don’t believe this exists on our mainland. And in general pictures you see on the tartan lined boxes of shortbread my gran used to feed me just don’t do the area justice.


Landing on Morvern.


[size=200]Lunch stop [/size]


 

I was the last to get to the other side and when Dave suggested we stay there for the night, despite being tired, I wanted more. We stopped, ate lunch, huddled under a tarp Stutt had quickly erected while it rained, checked out the OS map for directions and headed off again.





 
 
 
 
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UKRiverSurfers

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Re: Hebridean Expedition :)
« Reply #1 on: November 29, 2015, 04:53:41 AM »
Words by Graham 'Denny' Denny

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Off again.




 
We stuck close to the coast line, the sea littered with jellyfish, the thought of falling in, pushed to the back of my mind… most of the time.
“I tried not to worry this time”, it came back “for I will weather the storm”.





We passed a quarry called Glensanda, where we saw two of only the four people we would see over the next few days. A huge red tanker called Yeoman Bridge filling up ready for its own journey. While this is not exactly a thing of beauty, paddling around it still offers views you would not be afforded otherwise.  Glensanda is totally giant but nobody really knows its there.





We continued on for another two bays and found an ideal spot to stop and camp up for the night. It was filled with lushious greenery, had a beach, a source of fresh water and good flat spots for pitching up :)





 



 



We pitched up and then I watched with amazement how Dave and Stutt erected a tarp cover using only a square piece of tarp, paddles and guy ropes, to set up in the middle of open ground. Amazing.





 
We cooked, ate, drank, got covered in bugs, itched, gathered wood, started a fire, laughed then crashed out. I slept well, really well.










[size=200]Day Two - Back Across to Lismore[/size]

The next morning when we woke, we took our time, drank coffee, ate, packed up and set off around 11:00. The guys were talking about the tidal race that would happen on the tip of Lismore, which sounded worrying to me, but the water as we set off was calm. The plan was to head along the coast then cross when they were at the closest point. That changed almost as soon as we were in the water, instead cutting straight across, whilst heading for the tip, which must have been 5 miles away.








If you look in any tourist information or lonely planet guide, there is always advice along the lines of “listen to the locals”. Wise advice for any traveller I would say. The only words we heard from any of the 4 locals we saw across the whole trip was as we crossed, when one of the two fishermen on a passing trawler waved and shouted “You must be mad?”, while laughing with his friend. I was glad the advice arrived when it did, rather than earlier in the trip. Then I could have opted out, now, in the middle of the water, I had no choice!  :?









 







As we approached the tip expecting the worst with a pack of seals in tow, it turned out fine, the water and the wind in our favour and the tidal race was non existent much to Dave's disappointment. 




[size=200]Coffee Break [/size]



We stopped at the southern tip of Lismore near the lighthouse on rocks covered in long seaweed. This was the only point I wished I had a better shoe on. As we walked up the rocky foreshore to the land, every step offered varying degrees of pain through the bottom of my wetsuit boots!

After my basic lunch ration, Stutt and myself walked up to the lighthouse. The grass path, mowed imaculatley, yet there was no sign of life anywhere.




Dave and Chris were keen get going again and had already got onto the water and were ready. I felt the pressure build once again as i walked back down the perfect lawn path. The sea was looking different, feeling different. The wind had picked up and the water was a lot more choppy. For the next leg, I was pretty much on my knees the whole time, it was a good job I was on a spongy iSUP. Taking up my customary position (get down boy) at the back of the pack on my knees  :cry: the nice calm paddle of the morning was replaced by a much more challenging one. The need to fill up the Lighfsaver Bottle that Stutt and Dave had, led to us stopping at a stream in a little cove. We needed to make sure we had enough fresh water for our next stop.

Once again the plan changed, with Stut, supported by Dave wanting to paddle over to one of the other little Islands called Eilleen Dubha to set up camp on. My energy levels were low and I was a little worried moving across open water again with the conditions, however, after sharing my concerns (basically moaning) I was persuaded.





On the way we passed a rock with a pack of Seals, who all dispersed into the water as we passed. A few of them were blowing air and splashing, yet I still did not feel a threat from them at all.




 

 
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UKRiverSurfers

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Re: Hebridean Expedition :)
« Reply #2 on: November 29, 2015, 04:58:14 AM »

 


 


This Island we arrived at was stunning, we entered from the west, on a big pebbled beach cove, with a steep climb to a small patch of grass and plants. It connected the West cove with an East Cove and would be what we called home for the night. The east of the Island saw the largest concentration of Seals, who appeared to go through a mating ritual over a number hours. There were as curious about us, as we were them.  They were barking, breaching and jumping and rolling around for hours right through the night.





Landing on Eilleen Dubha






Chris headed off at this point - having to be at work in Durham the following morning!
Tomorrows forecast was enough to persaude Chris that staying another night was not a good idea.




 







We had found the perfect campsite though, if a little midgey!














Escape was what I wanted and at no other point did I feel I had escaped more than right here right now. I had tinned Mackerel on Bread for my dinner, finished off my scotch that I had brought along in a small container, and we sat around the fire. Content.











[size=200]Day Three - Through The Storm![/size]


The next morning it rained, the sea was rough and as expected the wind was strong and heading from the west. Dave advised we needed to cross back over to Lismore against the tide and against the wind. Now these type of situations are when anyone in my shoes, with limited experience, needs to have someone with them with genuine understanding and experience. The obvious choice at first was to stay on the side of the mainland, however, we would have been battling wind and tide for the whole time back.
 
The moment we got in the water it was a challenge, even getting on the board. Once on, I had to paddle hard and consistent just to get out of the cove and not smash against the rocks, once out it was relentless and I was basically shitting myself!



“Gotta remember” continued Gibbons “Don’t Fight it, even if I, don’t like it, somehow turn it around”. It took at least 30 minutes of nonstop right sided paddling on my knees. Having run out of water I was seriously dehydrated and really had to push myself. Once we approached Lismore the shelter it offered was significant and I was able to get back on my feet. We stopped again to fill up with water and then set off for the final leg.





We continued to stick close to Lismore, under the shelter of its east shore until we saw our destination, Port Appin, then paddled across, with the wind behind us by now it was an exhilarating ride! :)




Landed back at Port Appin and our mission complete! :)


We headed back to our campervan spot and had another mellow night on the shores of Loch Etive before our drive home the following day.

















 
I reflected on the journey, as I had been doing the whole time. The high’s, the lows, the easy and the struggles of the water reflecting my life, giving me perspective of what had been, what was to come and how perseverance wins in the end.
 
“No matter how far I drift… Deep Water, won’t get me tonight”










[size=200]The End [/size]








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SUPcheat

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Re: Hebridean Expedition :)
« Reply #3 on: November 29, 2015, 10:26:33 AM »
Thank you so much for posting this.  I have gone through your whole travelogue in mute fascination.  What a treat.
« Last Edit: November 29, 2015, 10:30:13 AM by SUPcheat »
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Me: 6'1"@230 lbs 68 years old

johnysmoke

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Re: Hebridean Expedition :)
« Reply #4 on: November 29, 2015, 11:30:10 AM »
Very cool thanks for sharing!
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UKRiverSurfers

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Re: Hebridean Expedition :)
« Reply #5 on: November 29, 2015, 02:25:27 PM »
Thanks folks. :)
SIC Bullet 17v2 Custom
Richmond Custom Carbon 16'
Starboard Point 14'8
Starboard K15
Starboard Astro Touring 14
Starboad Big Easy
Redpaddle Ride 10'6
Badfish Rivershred
Jackson SUPercharger
Badfish MVP 9'o
Badfish IRS 7'2
Pack OC1 12'

 


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