Sea Paddle at Stackpole, 6 June 2023
We all met at Stackpole and started our paddle at 6.40pm.
Attendees (total 24 people, 24 boats): 5 responsible adults, 11 other adults, 8 children. This turnout included 7 females. There were 3 newbies - Rhian, Phil (Moggy) and Emily. They had a baptism of fire :-).
We set off approx 6.40pm on quite choppy waters, sunny skies and a brisk Easterly/North Easterly wind, and headed for Barafundle Bay. Some split off (with a responsible adult), to the next point (just before Broad Haven South Beach). The rest of us made full use of good surfing waves on Barafundle Bay. It was brilliant….the youngsters had a fab time and the adults had a great time being youngsters again. I, myself, love kayak-surfing and had a little play…capsized twice, but getting better overall. I’ve also come out with a few bruises, but this comes with the territory - nothing serious. It hardens you up! Sorry, that was a bit me-ish.
Unexpectedly, about 7.15pm a kayak-fisherman came paddling towards us on Barafundle Bay, a bit worried as he had lost his 2 fellow fishermen friends and where he had come from was the point just before Broad Haven South. Two of our very strong kayakers/responsible adults, Mark Cox and Clive Johns, paddled out immediately towards the head and searched for them. Next thing we see one paddling back on his own, so one was located. Geoff, a very strong paddler of the Club’s, went out to meet him and reassuringly paddled back with him to the shore. We waited a little longer for the 3rd fisherman, Mark and Clive. However, we had children who were cold (from getting wet and playing), needed to get back before dark (before 9pm preferably, as parents waiting on shore for them) and before the tide turned (going back out at 10.15pm). Routes are generally worked out to come back with the tide, as people can be tired by then and coming back against tide could be very hard/impossible for some.
As we started paddling back to Stackpole, waves were very choppy. One older youngster somehow capsized, but he was towed back (along with his boat) to shore by Julian Orchard (responsible adult). Initially, Julian emptied the boat (which, with the chop, was quite a feat). The plan was to get the young lad back into the boat, to paddle back. However, he could not get back in (again, chop didn’t help, as boat was refilling with water).
Looking back periodically, we could see the heads of 3 kayakers, so Mark, Clive and the 3rd fisherman were all on their way back to us.
Everyone returned to Stackpole safely, if not a bit tired. On the plus side, the rescuers will have arms and shoulders like Popeye :-).
This was a baptism of fire for our 3 newbies, but they were never at any point in any danger. They kept back from the surfing waters and, as onlookers, were very safe. Emily felt a little sea-sick, but we encouraged her to look towards the shore and not to stay still for too long. She said this helped her. Since having a little read, they advise to not look down at your boat (try and focus on wide-range view) and bring some chewing gum and chew on that. I’m not sure if this is a choking hazard though. Alternatively, bring a couple of salt crackers and eat those.
Well done to everybody who attended and helped people in whatever situation arose.
Most of our sessions….the water is like glass and dead calm. Everybody here was safe and looked after, so there is no need to be put off. Not many pics - too busy enjoying ourselves and focussing on helping others. Cheers to Mark Cox and Jake Canton for these though.
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