What a difference 24 hours can make. The photo above is of a flat calm, windless blue desert with Jess just visible in the distance. It was a desert as Ian, Jess and myself failed to catch a single fish over several hours on Saturday.
But 24 hours later the deep blue was replaced by the battleship grey of a typical gusty Autumn Irish Sea day. Force 5 SW winds across spring tides at the Sound produced challenging conditions. Ian was forced to role a record breaking 11 times! I rolled once and Jess remained unscathed. All 3 of us were in Rockpool boats. Jess normally paddles a different model of boat but for various reasons, she borrowed my Rockpool Alaw Bach putting me in my 3 piece Alaw Bach. I think it would be fair to say that in her usual boat she sometimes struggles to catch the waves in the race but in the Rockpool she was transformed. I don't think this is all that surprising as the Alaw and Alaw Bach were designed and built by Rockpool for Rough water conditions, but even I was amazed by just how much difference a change of boat seemed to make.The middle 4 photos were taken by Jessica Egelnick as most of my own attempts failed to turn out on this day.
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1 comment:
I suppose I could be converted. If I were buying a new boat today, I'd have a hard choice. I like the solidity of my Romany, which takes a beating well. The shape of the cockpit and thigh braces suit me perfectly. But in the Alaw Bach, I didn't notice the roomier cockpit and more upright knee position, and the lighter and longer boat did catch the waves better. I don't think I'd replace my Romany, but perhaps I might need a second boat? Anyone selling an Alaw Bach?
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