Another beautiful day... Tom Carlisle joined us today and once again we decided to head for Cemlyn Bay for the tide assisted push across the top of Anglesey. I also needed to get off home at Lunchtime, so we decided to paddle to Porth Wen (The Brickworks) , where I'd then paddle solo, back to Cemlyn, using the back eddies, whilst Tom and Si would continue across the top of the island.
There was much more breeze today, so consequently, with wind against tide, things were a lot more lumpy, than the previous two days. Paddling out from Cemlyn the swell soon hit us, but the tide ensured we made great progress to Middle Mouse. Just before middle Mouse we spotted some Dolphins and as we moved closer a large, 3 meter'ish, Bottlenose Dolphin, popped right up next to Tom's boat. As it did so it turned on it side to get a better look at us. Who was looking at who! Amazing...
All too soon we arrived at Porth Wen and we said our goodbyes, along with instructions to message each other for when a) I got back to Cemlyn and b) when Si and Tom got back to Cemlyn.
Paddling back against the tide to Cemlyn was fairly easy, hand railing the coast and using the many back eddys. There were just two headlands, where there were no back eddys and the tide was pushing straight into me. There was nothing for it, but to paddle hard and fast as possible, to overcome the speed of tide and to get around these headlands. I can't say I saw much wildlife or scenery on my return as I was constantly reading/watching the water, trying to work out the path of least resistance.
All too soon I was back at Cemlyn, ready for the four hour drive home. 🙁
A cracking day and a close up view of a Dolphin I'll always remember.
