Isles of Scilly

[Sue]

Just got back from 5 fantastic days in the Scillies, the most wonderful place for Sea Kayaking. Beautiful beaches, short crossings, calm water even in a Force 4, empty campsites, BLISS :D

Went over on Scillonian, bit rough coming back on Saturday!

Nick.......you'll be pleased to hear the Orion stayed upright!

Sue

[Jonathan Theobald]

Sounds great - what does the ferry cost and how much do they whack you for taking a kayak?

[Sue]

£75 return, plus £44 for kayak :rolleyes

Not cheap, but well worth it :D

Sue

[Jonathan Theobald]

Will get out my piggy bank, and start sticking in the pennnies.

[NickB]

Good to here the Orion (and you!) stayed upright. I can't agree with you more regarding Scilly, for day tripping it has to be one of the best places to paddle, don't know how long you stayed but I know from personal experience that although Annette and I have spent a number of weeks over there that some kind of magnetic force keeps drawing us back. Not this year though, our girls are just too tiny. Who knows maybe next year.
With respect to cost, we have mostly gone with a group and stayed at the Cornwall Education Campsites at Pellistry on the northern end of St Marys. This has meant that boats have been taken over on a trailer and charged accordingly as a single lift onto the Scillonian, I am not sure of the exact amount but I believe it is around half of what you spent.
Man au vaur, Hells Bay, Shipman Head, Bishop Rock etc. kayakers heaven!

[Sue]

We were only there for four days, arriving at St Mary's Tuesday 12.30 ish we paddled over to St Martin's and camped there Tues and Wed, then to Bryher for two nights. Very different in character these islands. Both campsites are very close to the beach, especially St Martins, so it made for a very relaxing holiday.

I've put some photos on

community.webshots.com/sc...D=70392031

Sue

[Mike B]

Sue - any chance of making the pics visible without having to log-in ? (Error Message advising "you are not the owner of this etc etc.)

I'd like to see these pics sounds like my partners idea of what a kayaking holiday should be!

[Sue]

"..........any chance of making the pics visible without having to log-in ? (Error Message advising "you are not the owner of this etc etc.)"


Oops, sorry about that!

Try: community.webshots.com/al...2031BFVgsN

Sue


Edited by: Sue  at: 4/28/03 10:24:26 am

[Mike B]

Looks good!

[sub5rider]

Something wrong here....

There are no kelp covered rocks to drag the boats over; it appears to be all sand. Doesn't that make it hard?

Our Summer Isles trip pix will be at
www.boltoncanoeclub.org.uk tomorrow - then you can see what a proper beach looks like.

Orioneer

[Jim]

Nigel wrote "Something wrong here...."

Oh no! After all our hard work convincing Nigel that paddling into or accross force 4 and above, and landing between rocks on beaches consisting of lethally greased boulders is both normal for sea kayaking, and lots of fun, you had to show him the pics of that apparent sea kayaking paradise didn't you!

It's a myth Nigel, there is no such place! On the other hand there is a helicopter to the Scillies, maybe you could take your onion and fry? {groan}

JIM

[Sue]

Sorry Jim, I'll try to put things right!

Listen Nigel; Sandy beaches are a nightmare. Your feet sink into deep soft stuff impeding your progress dreadfully, especially when carrying a loaded sea kayak, one doesn't drag a glass boat of course. Sometimes the sand is hot, burning the feet even through wetsuit boots, and then the water's edge, where you retreat to cool your blistered toes is so warm that is doesn't help at all. Oh no, give me a slimy kelp-covered barnacle-encrusted rocky foreshore, with a freezing sea any time. ;)

Sue

[Jim]

Kelp covered and barnacle encrusted would have been a godsend! The kelp stopped short of the rocks, but was there to catch our paddles. Barnacles provide incredible purchase (grip) although very tough on your soles and other parts if you do fall! No, we had no barnacles, just wrack and algae covered rocks the size of footballs or bigger, some of which even rolled when you stepped on them to make sure you couldn't possibly take mor than 2 paces without falling over!

JIM

[Mark R]

Finally got around to looking at your photos...lovely. Will be there myself in two weeks.

A few questions, any advice would be grateful...

How far is St. Mary's campsite from the ferry landing?
Will we need some kind of trolle to make the trip?
Can you launch from the campsite?
Can you recommend any charts/ books/ sources of info?

Many thanks,


-----------Mark Rainsley

[Sue]

Mark, you'll love it!

We didn't bother to camp on St Mary's as the campsite is up a hill and trolleys would have been even more kit, of course you could use your Lazee Lizard but I guess you're not tall enough. :rollin

We paddled straight from St Mary's harbour to St Martin's, it's only a mile or so, and the campsite on St Martin's is almost on the beach, a lovely spot.

We used OS Explorer (1:25,000) map 101, Isles of Scilly, as well as the Admiralty Chart of the Scillies which is the same scale. The campsites are marked on the chart.

There's lots of info on
www.scillyonline.co.uk
www.simplyscilly.co.uk
www.pzcc.net (Penzance Canoe Club)

St Martins Bakery is a place not to be missed, or to avoid, depending on your point of view!

Sue

[Mark R]

Many thanks. I have about a billion otber questions, but one or two at a time.

Can you get food (apart from the bakery) on St Martins (ideally cooked and served?)?

Any mobile phone reception there? (crass question but there it is)?

Cheers,


-----------Mark Rainsley

[Sue]

Mark, panic not, there's a pub that does lovely food! There's also a posh hotel which does very expensive food, and there's a post office/village shop. All within a short walk from the campsite.
Mobile 'phone signal is excellent.
Sue

[Mark R]

Splendid. Pub = Good.

Do you know anything about the parking arrangements/ cost to leave the car at Penzance?

Thanks,


-----------Mark Rainsley

[Jonathan Theobald]

Mark, why not get in touch with Penzance canoe club?

They're a very well organised and friendly outfit, and I bet they'd be glad to help.

Last year I took part in a sea kayaking event they organised and was so impressed I came away wanting to move to the town.

[unregistered]

Mark, You can leave your car on the sea front (not sure about safety??) or there is a pay n display car park which is ok but still not very secure. Or there is a place where you can park undercover fully secure.

I think it costs a bit but probably worth it!!
www.supervolt.com/rcp.htm

Or you can park in the Penzance heliport for slighty less (I think)

With regards to paddling out there - weather permitting try and go for the round island trip around the back of the islands, out to Bishop's rock and back through the Western Isles. You will need perfect weather!! Caus out by the Bishop can very big!!
Stopping off at the Turks head on St Agnes for a pint!

Hope this helps

Simon

[Jim]

"Do you know anything about the parking arrangements/ cost to leave the car at Penzance?"

If the ferry can take cars, maybe you should consider taking it purely to solve the battery charging issues you mentioned earlier? Granted it's quite a big expensive way to take a portable generator on holiday but you know your car chargers are all compatible with it :-)

Of course with your massive collection of batteries, you'll either need a car with several charging/power points, or you'll have to get/make some splitter leads......

Certainly for my trip to Washington I intend to use the hire car as a source of power for charging batteries, lets hope the rivers aren't too close together :-)

JIM

[Mark R]

I'm not sure the Scilly Isles have too many motorways to drive around recharging upon.

For recharging the batteries, we are bringing a small hamster, wheel, you get the picture.


-----------Mark Rainsley

[Richard Uren]

Us friendly & organised folks at PzCC could possibly help you out.Ps This year`s sea race is on 25 May.

[Steve B]

Mark - could you please buy one of these, find out if it's any good then report back so I know whether to buy one?

Thanks ;-)
Steve B.

[David P]

Bother - now you've got *me* interested too! I'm tempted to get one just to find out. More eco-friendly in use than the hamster (no need to feed it) but depends on a solid 12 hours' sunshine to half-charge a set of batteries. Maybe the 240V standard British pub is still the better bet - with a dual role in providing food and drink at the same time?
--
David P.

[Sue]

Both campsites we stayed at had battery charging facilities, though we never used them. We switched our 'phones off most of the time, as one of the joys of being away is no'phones! I used mine twice in the 5 days, to make sure my son wasn't trashing the house, and still had power in the battery when I got back to Penzance.

We used the secure car parking, can't remember what they charged but it wasn't a lot shared between 4 people, and it was good to know that it was secure!


Sue

[Mark R]

Packing for the Scillies tonight. The long-range forecast looks pretty grim.


-----------Mark Rainsley

[Chas C]

I heard they only have one copper, and being a tad inbred they probably won't mind you wearing your pictured outfit - take care walking around in the dark though.

Have a great time, oh yea Heather too.

Chas

[Mark R]

Chas - 'Have a great time, oh yea Heather too.'

I had the choice for half-term of club WW in France, steep creeking in Italy or godonlyknowswhat with McMahon in Austria. I chose sea paddling with my wife. Am I not a fine husband?


-----------Mark Rainsley

[Chas C]

You certainly are, I'm sure the brownie points you earn will be well spent - if they haven't already gone.

Hey do you have a picture of Heather in one of those tops, just askin.

Chas