Catching Up.

   A run of days of light onshore winds made it possible to get down to the coast twice this week - to catch up with some kayaking that I'd been deprived of by weeks of fickle weather in the winter and spring.  Both trips were early morning starts, to beat the heat, with The Twist (my inflatable kayak) which was bought solely for short paddles on the sea in the summer.

   On both occasions I was afloat by about 0730h., back on the shore about 0930h. and home again before the hottest part of the day.

   On Monday I went to Garrucha, paddled the full length of the seafront, entered the harbour and mooched around in there for a while before retracing my route back again.  A bit of an easterly swell hitting the beach made getting afloat a bit tricky - but was achieved without mishap.  I was not so lucky landing on my return!  Fortunately, at that time of the morning, there weren't too many people around to witness some floundering around at the waters edge.  According to my GPS thingy I had paddled about 5 kilometres.

   Only one big ship was in the harbour - the Oslo Wave 2 (registered in Singapore) was loading gypsum.  This vessel, a general cargo ship of 12993 gross tonnage, had docked in the early hours of that morning - amazing what one can find out by just Googling the name of a ship.

   While I was mooching around, a Danish yacht (a large, sleek, fancy looking, plastic thing) left the visitor's berth and headed out to sea, passing near me.  The youngish, fit-looking crew of bronzed Nordic yachtsmen showed little interest in an old guy in a tiny inflatable kayak - so I didn't wish them 'bon voyage', as I would have done if they hadn't ignored me.

   On Wednesday I went to Mojácar.  There was still that easterly swell, so I went to a spot on the seafront where I was certain I could get afloat, and ashore again, without mishap.  In a little bay, created behind a stone and concrete mole, there  is almost always calm water, whatever the sea is like on the seaward side of the mole.  A pleasant couple of hours was spent paddling both ways along the shoreline.  There was very little wind when I set off but that freshened later, giving me an opportunity to practice using the drogue I always take with me.  It was very restful drifting slowly, held head to wind, along the coast with the drogue deployed.  The only mishap on this trip was the loss of a sun hat when I gust of wind whipped it off my head.  Despite frantic attempts to fish it out of the water I eventually had to watch it spiralling down into the depths.  Should have worn the one with the chinstrap!  Another 5 kilometres was covered in this occasion.

   Yesterday, when in a newsagents in Albox, I spotted a postcard, an aerial view, of the exact place where I had paddled on Wednesday :-

 
   The seaward corner of that little bay, just behind the mole, is a perfect spot for getting afloat when it is difficult to do so on an open beach.

   The last time I took my kayak to this spot was Thursday September 7th. 2017.  Several more photos of this place are on the blog of that date.

At Last

At last, for the first time this year, I have managed to get out on the water with my folding kayak for a 'proper' paddle.

I did get out with my small inflatable kayak (The Twist) one fine Saturday morning back in February (Feb. 9th.), but that was just for an hour or so pootling around in Garrucha harbour.  Ever since then fickle weather, on the coast and at Embalse de Negratin, has kept me off the water.  Whenever I looked ahead at a day which appeared good for kayaking, the weather forecast changed at the last minute and strong winds, from the worst possible directions, put paid to any plans.

However, yesterday, everything looked promising for an early morning start at Embalse de Negratin.  There was a last minute change in the forecast, but very high winds weren't predicted until late in the day.  I planned to be off the water long before then.  So I arrived at Playa de Freila at 7.00am and was all set up and on the water by 8.45am.  Breakfast had to wait until I was afloat.   The water level in the reservoir was much lower than when I was last here, so I expected the various inlets along the shoreline towards the dam to look very different.

Just a gentle headwind at the start.  A fresh N.W. wind was forecast for the morning, coming over the top of those high 'badlands' in the distance.  I had banked on it being a lighter wind at water level.

I didn't recognize this inlet at all from a previous trip along this bit of shoreline.

Sun bleached and weather-worn dead trees, stumps, roots and bushes were quite a feature of this trip.  Some were quite sculptural.  I could see mystical figures or creatures in all of them .... perhaps I shouldn't give my imagination free rein!

Some rock outcrops were quite nice also.

I stopped here for a leg-stretch and a comfort stop ..... also to try getting out of the kayak when fitted with the spray-deck which was supplied with it.  Until now I'd never felt the use for it .... but on this occasion I thought I would try it out and see how I managed getting in and out of a much reduced cockpit size.  Getting in had been O.K. but I thought I would try getting out again somewhere private, rather than embarrass myself when I got back to Playa de Freila and found an audience there!  Luckily I managed just fine, as there was quite a few people around on the shore when I did get back.

I got as far as the Torre de Maruq, the remains of an ancient Moorish lookout tower last visited on May 19th. 2017, before turning back at around 11.00am.  It was getting uncomfortably hot on the water by then.  The outward leg of this trip, dipping in and out of all the inlets, had taken just over two hours

As I made my way back to Playa de Freila the wind died away completely, leaving the water quite mirror-like.  However, this didn't last and the weather forecasters were eventually proved correct.  As I packed up to leave for home the wind came back with force ...... and  created a nasty chop on the water with flecks of white where wave tops were collapsing.  Just as well I had made an early start.

My straight-line return leg to Playa de Freila took just 45 minutes.  The cafe-bar, which was closed when I set off, in the car park at the top of the slipway, was now open and quite busy.

Time on the water for this quiet paddle was approximately 3 hours and the total distance paddled, according to my GPS thingy, was 6.95 kilometres.  All in all, a very nice morning on the water - it was good to finally get afloat again.

A Trio of Little Trips in The Twist

Since my last blog post, 'The Maiden Voyage of The Halibut', I've had a trio of little trips with The Twist.  All were early starts, to beat the heat, launching soon after the sun came up and getting home again by mid morning.  Just short excursions, to shake the dust off the paddles (so to speak), to places I was familiar with from last year's paddling trips.


Wednesday Aug. 22nd.  Garrucha seafront.  Was last here Aug. 23rd. 2017.  Was lucky to find a parking space by the promenade. Very little wind but a bit of a swell from the S.E. Paddled the length of Garrucha seafront (both ways) and then had a little sortie into the harbour and marina.  Always interesting to see what boats are moored at the jetty for visiting craft, and where they come from.  On this day they were French, German and Spanish.  One ship was loading in the harbour and I watched another dock with the help of two tugs.  By the time I got back to the beach, where I had launched, there were quite a few people having an early morning swim - from the sound of the voices they were mainly Spanish.  Evidently Spanish women like a sunhat when bathing - heads with hats were bobbing around all over the place!  Had a swim myself before leaving the beach.  Time on the water 1½ hrs. but that was a bit too long - it was getting uncomfortably warm when I landed and started packing up.


Wednesday Aug. 29th.  Extreme southern end of Mojácar seafront.  Was last here Sept. 22nd. 2017.  Quite a swell form the S.E. and a bit of surf on the beach.  Had to carry the kayak to a calm corner in the shelter of the rock and concrete mole to launch - and returned to the same spot later to land.  Stayed well out in deep water behind the surf line - riding the swells was lovely.  Was on the water for about an hour.  Had a swim afterwards.

Too much surf, here in front of the car park, to launch comfortably.

Developers have ruined these mountainsides.  Little boxes of apartments stacked on top of each other.  Reminded me of the hit song "Little Boxes" from the early 1960s about developments in the USA.    The main road passes at the back of this development so I guess you can only see it like this from out on the sea.







Tuesday Sept. 18th.  Villaricos - the little harbour/marina at the northern end of the seafront.  Was last here Oct. 11th. 2017.  Tried to launch from the patch of sand just outside the harbour entrance (as last time) but waves were breaking rather too heavily on the beach, and not long enough gaps between the big ones, to launch without getting very wet.  'Plan B' was a short walk, and carry the kayak, to a concrete slipway within the harbour - only hazard there, was very slippery seaweed on the underwater surface of it.  Pootled around the harbour a few times with the occasional sortie out of the entrance into deep water - no problems with the bit of swell but an unexpected fresh wind off the land was a slight concern.  A capsize there, or a broken paddle, could have been a problem - next stop could have been North Africa!  Inflatable kayaks are a bit susceptible to wind.

That slipway saved the day.  The harbormaster's office is to the left, and behind those palm trees is a bar and restaurant.

 A view from just outside the harbour entrance.  The tops of those palm trees on the seafront show the direction of the wind.  A stiff offshore wind in a small inflatable kayak is not a welcome thing.










Footnote:

Autumn is here now.  Days and nights are gradually getting cooler.  Thoughts are now turning to getting the folding kayak out again and returning to much longer paddles on Embalse de Negratin.  There are still bits of it I haven't seen.

                                                                         

Twisting in Garrucha Harbour

   Been back on the water with my Twist today.  Open water sea conditions, due to a run of days with fresh onshore winds, haven't been ideal for me lately, but I thought it would be nice and sheltered in Garrucha harbour  for a pootle around - and it was.

   There aren't any suitable places within the harbour to launch a kayak, so I started from a sheltered stretch of beach just outside the entrance.  The sun was just coming up as I parked on Garrucha seafront and unpacked.  An early start enabled me to get on the water by 8 o'clock - and off again before the sun was too hot.

0730h and the sun's up - just.

0800h and Garrucha beach is pretty deserted as I get onto the water. 

Also pretty deserted in the fishermen's part of the port,

Behind these boats is a covered area for drying and mending nets.

Maritime rescue vessel.

The commercial part of the port was busier.

   The Dutch cargo ship "Moezelborg" arrived while I was there.  I watched the tugs nudging her into a berth to load gypsum.  A variety of cargoes used to be shipped out of Garrucha, now it is almost wholly gypsum.  A constant stream of heavy lorries bring it to the dockside from a mine inland.

Space here for another ship.

Onwards to the pleasure craft marina.

Among all the plastic boats was just one traditional looking craft.

Heavy lifting rig to launch and recover very big boats.

Office of the Garrucha port authority.

Leaving the harbour and heading back to the beach.

0930h and a few people on the beach now.

Aquatic play area.

Looking back at the port of Garrucha - been and seen it all.

Beating the Heat

   The purchase of a lightweight, single-seat, inflatable kayak (see My Kayaks and My Kayaks Photo Gallery pages) has enabled me to get back on the water again for quiet paddles ........ just for short periods.

   Early yesterday morning I had a trial run with it.  Left home just before 7 o'clock and was on the water, on Garrucha sea-front, a few minutes past 8.  Unloading, inflating and carrying down to the water took about 15 minutes, which is a lot, lot quicker than with my folding kayak.  I was off the water and heading home again before the day got uncomfortably hot.

   On the water, despite its small size, the Twist performed well.  It was comfortable, rode reassuringly easily over swells and can turn on a sixpence.  It does yaw a bit when paddled hard, which is only to be expected of a kayak only 2.6 metres long (even shorter waterline length), but, with my quiet paddling ethos, that is inconsequential.  Although not a contender to my Valkure 1 folding kayak, the Twist looks as if it will be a fun craft for any opportunity of a quick paddle.

   Sorry there aren't any photos of the maiden voyage.  The Twist does not have a secure, dry cockpit like that of its predecessor.  Stowage of a camera needs a bit of thought.