The snow has melted and the temperature is now about 6 degrees C, about the same as the sea. A lull in the weather (now returned to normal - wet and windy) meant we could get out to exercise the paddle muscles on a familiar route.
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| Sunset? - it must be lunch time! |
Along the way we had plenty of time to think about deveopments for Paddle Orkney '11 (involving TV personalities and playmobil) schemes for buying the boat of our dreams (involving secret bank accounts and time-share garages) as well as ways of making the route from St Mary's to Scapa more interesting (any suggestions other than those involving dynamite, on a postcard please!)
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| Is this the same geology as Newfoundland? |
Along the way there were a few waterfalls created by the snow melt which have to be appreciated close up.
We reached Scapa as the light dimmed and the sunset proper was occurring.
Time for a bit of wet practice!
We headed towards the sandy beach but the water remained murky with run off from the snow and significantly colder than further out in the bay.
NK was determined to practice the static brace and the butterfly roll and that is what she did, finishing with a nice butterfly to store away in the muscle memory and practice through visualisation in the warm.
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| NK - before immersion. |
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| NK - after immersion. |
I think it is too cold to learn anything new but it is possible to have a good think and sort out a few annoying anomalies.
I still feel a bit funny after that wetting.... But I am thinking of Dougie..... I think Deepdale to Hemp Stack is really good, it could just do with some income generating caves!
ReplyDeleteI assume you were referring to Newfoundland with "NFL"? We were in fact in very close proximity at one time many millions of years ago as part of the Old Red Sandstone continent. You can Google it to fin out more info.
ReplyDeleteTony :-)
Yes Tony we were - as we paddled we thought you might be able to tell us more about that. Its a strange anomaly that the border between Scotland and England now lies roughly where our bit of land that used to be attached to your bit of land got stuck to its new neighbour 410 million years ago.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.scottishgeology.com/geology/scotlands_history/10things.html
You gotta wonder about these things as you paddle around the exposed bits of rock like we do in our own backyards!
Beautiful place. We found out my wife has british citizenship due to her dad..now to coinvince her to go there and work while I paddle....
ReplyDeleteCheers Lee - bits of the coast on this journey are quite nice, especially with the setting sun on the south facing red sandstone.
ReplyDeleteYour ice sculptures are something else though - all the more amazing for being so temporary.
In Scotland we have national homecoming events, next one in 2014!
http://www.homecomingscotland2009.com/default.html