It’s the winter solstice but, before I get to that, let’s talk briefly about PLBs. So here’s the Ocean Signal rescueME PLB1 that arrived the other day (coins for scale!):
While some other models also had features I liked (e.g. inherent buoyancy without the pouch/tether or confirmation that your signal’s been received), there were several that really drew me to this one including:
- Smallest/lightest.
- Longest battery expiry date (seven years, or February 2029 here).
- You can fly with this one because the battery contains less than 2g of lithium.
It would be nice if they could transmit from an unattended floating position like an EPIRB, but none of them do, and I might yet put an EPIRB on Fly sometime. Although this is probably good enough for the degree of offshore-ness I need when we’re not subject to Australian regulations here! But what a palaver it was registering it with the Beacon Registry service… had to specify a primary use (maritime, pleasure, for Fly, with callsign, MMSI number etc.), then second use (maritime, pleasure, small unpowered vessels) and third use (land, climbing, mountaineering, backcountry trips etc.) with so many boxes to fill. Just stuck ‘Scotland’ in the boxes for area of operation when they give some far narrower exemplars, so maybe try to be helpful and revisit that if I ever take it abroad. But seriously… nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!
Anyway, to today and my solstice paddle (in the Safari 330)… no photos because I didn’t want to be fiddling with stuff in cold air temps (c.2.5°C), so didn’t take a camera, but I did take my new PLB. Saw the strangest thing: a ship coming up the loch with its bow wave floating halfway up its bow (like these ‘hovering’ ships folk see in certain atmospheric conditions except that it was the wave apparently levitating, not the ship). Also quite a few seals, especially at Sgeirean Shallachain, where I almost had to get out and walk to pass inside at pretty well low water (1.5m height and the skeg touched the sand twice)! Total 11.6 nautical miles, 13.3 statute miles or 21.4 km over the ground, but had some help from the tide at times. Took about four and a half hours, and done today as probably the last suitable day of the current spell:
What else to add? The Safari is a well-behaved and capable wee boat; conditions got a bit choppy as the wind picked up from the port beam crossing from Sgeirean Shallachain to Ardsheal, but quite happy how the boat handled it as well as glad it’s self-bailing! Think I’ve got that forward stroke Amanda was coaching me in on Saturday working nicely now with the earlier/wider release she wanted, and the whole stroke works the same on the Safari as a narrower sea kayak, so no confusing modifications necessary for the different boat type. Also trying to relax my grip and making sure my top-hand push is really a push and not just a straightening of the arm, and have to say I was paddling more efficiently for longer and nothing’s sore today. It hopefully goes without saying that the straight northwards crossing back to Onich was done to cross Friday’s track for the continuous link-up that brought; otherwise I’d probably just have headed straight for Rubha Cuil-cheanna from the rock Sgeir nan Ròn at Rubh’ a’ Bhaid Bheithe, which I wanted to go round anyway. And that’s it for now! :-)