Having bumped into Abo in the Paddlers the night before, followed by a solid nights sleep (thanks to Abo showing me the delights of a Welsh Pale Ale which I cannot remember the name of, and err the green and yellow label was it?), I joined Abo and PL at Rhoscolyn. Both Abo and PL wanted a short paddle as they both had to head back to the East Midlands, so we went out to the Beacon and rock hopped for a bit, played in the races and did some rescue practice (thanks for the practice Abo) 😉
After a spot of lunch it was time for Abo and PL to get going. So I saw them off back in Borthwen. I really didn't fancy getting off at that point and I had seen Andy Sloan with his intermediate MCC group arrive in Borthwen from Trearddur Bay, so I went over and asked if they minded me joining them for a bit. Andy was keen to take them out to the race of the Beacon and Andy was more than happy for me to tag along, so I could help out if necessary.
Out at the beacon I had a few surfs. Andy and his group decided to start heading back to Trearddur Bay, so I stayed on for a bit. The surfing was really good. When I saw the Andy/MCC group reach the cliffs in the distance, I thought I would be able to catch them up by cutting diagonally across the bay. At first I was being pushed by the tide and I could see I was making really good progress, with me being well ahead of the group in the distance, but then it was like hitting a wall! I was in the back eddy from the tidal race and I was paddling against it. Slowly but surely I could see the MCC group passing me, even with me catching the odd wave on the incoming swell, I was slowly dropping back. By the time I got to the cave at Rhoscolyn Head they were about 200 meters in front of me. But by now it was time to head back to Rhoscolyn.
I had a lovely paddle back.
7.8nm in total. Super fun paddle/day.
