I’ve been wanting to kayak around Anglesey as quickly as I could for 2 or 3 years but good weather, a big tide  and me being at home haven’t coincided until now. Over 10 years ago, I paddled around with Fiona Whitehead in 14 and a half hours and I knew I could do it quicker with different tactics. Since then the record time has been slashed by John Willacy to 9hours 55 mins.

I was hoping to start about 3am on Tuesday morning, but the forecast changed and stronger winds were due. On Monday morning, I made the last minute decision to leave that afternoon. I’d have the luxury of starting in the day light and I ‘should‘ reach the Menai Straits before dark. Hopefully there would be enough ambient light to make paddling at night through the swirly waters of the Swellies not too daunting.

Barry drove me to Llandwyn island and helped me carry my Rapier 18 down the to sea. I leisurely paddled a mile to the end of the island, briefly caught my breath, pressed start on my two GPSs and started paddling at 2.40pm. My start time and place was based on hoping I could ride the helpful flood tide for 35 nautical miles from Rhoscolyn round to Penmon Point. If I wasn’t quick enough then I’d end up fighting the current. Before reaching Rhoscolyn, I’d need to paddle 10 miles against the tide at the end of the ebb but there’s not much tide on the SW part of Anglesey so I hoped this wouldn’t slow me down too much.

I maintained a disappointing 4.4 knots for the first 3 miles but I knew this would be the slowest part of the trip. I had a force 2 wind against me which doesn’t sound like much but it didn’t help. At least I could get the slow bit over with at the start when I was fresh. After 3 miles, my speed picked up to over 5knots – happy days. A buoy with a slack rope showed  no tide, and a bit later, I had a smidgen with me which continued all the way to Rhoscolyn. I’m not sure whether it was a big eddy (I wasn’t close in shore), or whether the tide turned much earlier than I expected.

It took 57 minutes to Ynys Merion & 2 hours to get to Rhoscolyn. From here the tide slowly picked up and my speed reached over 6 knots and then over 7 knots. It peaked at over 10 knots a few times over shallow ground. I stopped every hour for a brief break – just long enough to have a drink and cram some food in my mouth. It was hot and muggy, even in just shorts, a Kokatat destination paddling shirt and lightweight buoyancy aid, so I drank water with rehydrating tablets in it. I think this was pretty essential to me feeling good throughout the paddle, as I struggled to eat much. After 2 and a half hours, I was really thirsty and took my only extra break for a drink. The wind had dropped by now and the sea was at times glassy, but I could hear breaking waves at Penrhyn Mawr. I was much further out to sea than if I was going for a play but the waves were still over a metre high and breaking. I tried to pick a line to minimise my bow crashing into waves and losing speed. The messy waves continued for a mile before another swirly, but calmer stretch to South Stack. Another stretch of breakers off South Stack saw me do my only brace of the trip and I watched my speed drop by 2 knots as I bounced up and down.

It was misty crossing Holyhead Bay and I couldn’t see Carmel Head or the Skerries for several miles. I was glad of the GPS and compass. The seas were still and I could hear the hum of a ferry for a long time, but thankfully it passed behind me. The biggest waves of the trip were off Carmel Head and West Mouse. My speed picked up to 10 knots as I approached the race, then dropped to 9 knots when not in the waves, or 7 knots when crashing through them. The confused water seemed to continue for a few miles and I began to think the whole of the North coast would be like this. Thankfully it calmed down a few miles after West Mouse and conditions were pleasant. My average speed increased to 6.5 knots and I realised that if I could maintain that then I would beat the existing record for paddling around Anglesey. I knew I had some slower sections ahead and wondered how things would turn out.

At Point Lynas, I headed SE into the mist, knowing Puffin island and Penmon Point lay 10 miles away in that direction. A couple of moored container ships, lots of curious shearwaters, and a lone seal made it a bit more interesting. I still had a reasonable amount of tide with me & stayed above 6 knots for the entire crossing. Flat calm water made progress easier. I wasn’t that aware of the time – only of how long I’d been paddling but a glance over my shoulder at a pink sun a few inches above the horizon reminded me it would be dark soon. After 7 hours 2 minutes, I arrived at Penmon and landed by the lighthouse for a few minutes. Barry was there and helped me transfer water from a bottle behind my seat to the 2 bottles I could reach on my deck bag.

It was 9.45pm – a bit earlier than planned for entering the Straits. As darkness fell, I rode half a knot of current around the corner, then found slack water and a persistent force 2 headwind for a depressingly long time. My Epic wing paddles glinted with phosphorescence. I put my head torch on so I could see the GPS. It wasn’t until I got close to Menai Bridge that the conveyer belt started and whooshed me along. Perhaps I was too early, or maybe I just couldn’t see the tell-tale wind against tide waves which would allow me to stay in the strongest current?  As I whizzed under Menai Bridge at 11pm, cheers of encouragement from the bank picked up my spirits. Barry, Phil, Dan & Kay were waving me on.

10 knot confused currents in the Swellies grabbed at the Rapier and pulled her in all directions. Fortunately I’ve paddled though here enough times in the daylight to not be too worried about it. I just kept paddling and used the rudder to correct my course. The scariest moment was when my paddle hit an unseen hard floating object – I may have let out a squeal!

After 8 hours, I had about 14 miles to go. If I could average about 7 knots then I’d have a chance at going sub-10 hours. I dug deep and tried to guess where the fastest current was. I constantly checked the GPS to see if my speed was dropping and headed right or left a bit if it did. The red and green channel buoys were useful too – if in doubt I headed for the next flashing light. I was very close to a 7 knot average as I was spat out of the Straits at Aber Menai Point. Here my speed jumped up to 9 knots and maintained over 8 knots for a few hundred metres in the direction of Llandwyn Island. Wow -what if this current continued for the last 2 or 3 miles?

I couldn’t see Llandwyn and I relied on my GPS and paddled in the direction of my start point. My speed soon plummeted to 5.5knots. Without being able to see any tell-tale signs of current in the dark, I just decided to paddle in a bee-line for the island. It took forever and I knew I wasn’t going to get under 10 hours. It was also a mile further than I was expecting (judging from  John Willacy’s record circumnavigation of 63.4nautical miles). As I got closer I saw the flash of light from Barry’s torch. He was on a sandy beach close to where I started. I kept digging hard, looking down at the GPS to try to judge when I was at my start point. Finally when I thought i was there, I checked the elapsed time on the GPS. 10 hours and 8 minutes (I initially thought it was 10 hours, 7 minutes, but that was ‘moving time’).

Could I do it quicker? Possibly – with no wind and swell. And I’m sure my ‘line’ could have been better in places.
Will I try? Not in the next couple of months, but never say never!

Thanks a lot to Barry Shaw for driving around after me all afternoon, dropping me off and picking me up.

Monday 22nd July 2013
HW Liverpool 11.35 (9.3m)
LW Liverpool 18.19 ( 0.8m)
HW Liverpool 23.56 (9.8m)

Start time: 2.40pm
Finish time: 12:48am Tuesday
Distance: 64.4 Nautical miles
Av speed: 6.4 knots