We seem to have fallen into a pattern. At spring tides we play the tidal races at the Sound, and at neaps we paddle the 10 mile round trip to Chicken Rock Lighthouse from Port Erin, Isle of Man. It was neap tide on Saturday and so Jess and I made our way beyond the Calf of Man, and on a further mile out to sea to the light at Chicken Rock. We sought shelter from the tide for chocolate but while rafted up the tidal race seemed to grow by the second. Jess and I moved away and in doing so I was sucked into a whirl pool with a white water centre! It had appeared from nowhere. These events caused no real problem but I had been sent this article from Orkney by a colleague who works in my former hospital. I've no idea how this paddler became unstuck but I guess there's a lesson for all of us in how quickly things can change, especially in an area as tidal as Orkney.Update: you can view a news report of what really happened to the Orkney paddler here.
www.KAYAK.im
2 comments:
Details of the Orkney incident are at http://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=59603
The paddler in question has shown great generosity of spirit by contributing to the public discussion, from which we've all learnt.
Thanks Graham for the details. It would seem this chap was swept from the beach by a big wave. He wasn't actually in his kayak!
Post a Comment