There was quite a swell forecast for 5th June coming from the North. Consequently South Landing was fairly quiet in terms of the car park and sea state. Setting off Stu (VE Paddles) and I immediately bumped into a group of kayakers who had been out to Flamborough Head, who told us it was a little too bumpy for them, so they had turned around and were heading back. Off to our right we could see some large breaking waves, so Stu suggested we head out to these waves for a look. Err... ok!
The waves were breaking over the Smithic Reef and were a lot, lot bigger the nearer we got to them. Also the noise these waves made as they breaked was like a thunderclap, something you couldn't hear from South Landing. All in all it was a little intimidating. We had a play at surfing them, but sticking well to the sides to avoid getting worked by a very large foamy pile.
Having had a tentative play, we set off for Flamborough Head. As we rounded the head the waves were still big and very lumpy. However, we now started to encounter lots of Guillemots and Razorbills flying overhead.
After a brief stop at North Landing we headed up towards the Bempton Cliffs. Always keeping one eye out for any rogue breaking wave wanting to dump us on the shoreline. The wildlife was amazing!
At the Bempton Arch there were thousands of birds, Guillemots, Razorbills Kittiwakes, Gannets and even the odd puffin. We also spotted someone in an orange top at the base of the cliff starting to climb to the top. From where we were we could see they had no ropes and it looked pretty precarious.
On the way back it was a hard paddle. The sea was now getting rougher and very messy. Hence no photos. We also seemed to be constantly pushed towards the cliffs, so that we both ended up more or less ferry gliding against the flow. Around Flamborough Head the sea was quite uncomfortable. But once we were around the corner the sea flattened off. We then had a nice paddle back in the sun.
What a great paddle!
