3rd – Loch Ailort
The first paddle of the season was due to take place on Loch Ailort during the last weekend in March, but the forecast was predicting winds which would make paddling on Loch Ailort tricky as down drafts from the surrounding hills can easily knock an unwary paddler into the water. The Monday was no better so again the date was pushed back to Thursday 3rd April when high pressure was settling over the country and good weather could (almost) be guaranteed!
On the day, ten paddlers set off from Alisay on the south shore of the loch and crossed behind Eilean Buidhe and Eilean nan Trom which is only navigable at high tide. They stopped to have a look at the pretty white house at Laggan before heading round to Peanmeanach which they found deserted, and the bothy locked and shuttered.
It was decided to carry on to the beautiful white beach half a kilometre east of Rubha Chaolais for lunch. This beach unlike many in the area is always free of washed up seaweed and the inevitable litter. The amazing views out to Eilean Chaolais , Eilean nan Gobhar (aka Goat Island) and beyond to The Small Isles encouraged the paddlers to linger over lunch in the sun.
Having decided to cross to the south shore of the loch and as the wind had all but died away the group paddled to the west of the two islands before heading to the shore below Forsay to admire the varying architecture of the houses scattered among the Scots Pines.
Turning east past the impressive structure of Roshven House and its rolling green lawns the group headed past Cooper’s Knowe and back to the take out at Alisary.
This was a short paddle of just over 13k, but with the beautiful weather and amazing scenery it was just perfect for the first foray of the season!
Distance paddled: 13.3km
Paddlers: Iain, Ruth, Gill, Arthur, Sheila, Bill Scott, Elvire, Peter K., Kate and Joa
Sunday 13th – Loch Leven (not Rhue Peninsula!)
The club’s second trip of the season was to be a paddle round Rhue point from the sheltered bay west of Millburn Cottage round to the beach in Loch Nan Uamh under the Glen Mama railway viaduct on Sunday 13rd of April. However, Windfinder was forecasting winds gusting to F4/5 from the southwest which would have meant uncomfortable sea conditions, so the organisers decided to change tack and paddle in the more sheltered waters of Loch Leven from Ballachulish to Kentallen Bay.
Four paddlers met on a sunny morning at the public car park behind the Isles of Glencoe Hotel and launched into the calm waters of Loch Leven before paddling west with the tide past the site for the proposed new distillery and under the Ballachulish bridge. As the tide goes out and the waters of Loch Leven try to squeeze themselves into Loch Linnhe through the narrow channel between North and South Ballachulish some interesting swirls and eddies form which can catch out an unwary kayaker! Having successfully negotiated the narrows the paddlers entered the more open waters of Loch Linnhe and were met by a head wind blowing from the southwest. After a quick tea break the paddlers rounded Rubh a Bhaid Bheithe while watching a group of seals playing in the water by a small island, the sun glinting off their backs. It was then on past the busy Holly Tree hotel before lunch stop on the beach at Crom-Roinn.
During lunch the skies darkened, and the wind picked up noticeably. On leaving the beach the paddlers were faced with a following sea, some breaking waves and even hailstones! So skegs deployed the group paddled the three kilometres back to Rubh a Bheithe and into sight of bridge and calmer waters.
Back at the takeout point, some of the group practised self-rescues and rolling before a well-earned cup of tea and the long journey home!
Distance paddled: approx. 21km
Paddlers: Bill Scott, Joan Smith, Ruth Sime and Elizabeth Laidler
