Bitches Report, June 2001
I thought I might describe the peculiar set of experiences I have enjoyed since Friday. I tried my hand at 'canoeing' and I must say I found it splendid fun and to be recommended...you really should all go out and try it...
Due to a mixup, the others couldn't find where I was camped at, 4 am on Saturday morning...so they couldn't find me and make me paddle on the morning tide at the Bitches rapid...thank heavens, I really did need a good kip.
I did however go out on the evening tide, along with Si Wiles and Claire Chapman. The weather was lousy and the surf wave was blown out flat, very disappointing. We messed around at the playhole, where disaster struck. Claire took a swim, no big deal in itself. Whilst trying to swim to the rock at the top of the eddy, she was sucked down on the eddy line...and vanished. A welsh lad with us panicked a bit, and started talking about calling the lifeboat out. I calmly reassured him that she'd pop up below us in a
second - but she didn't. We spread out and began searching along the eddyline, and we were all beginning to panic now. I've never seen anyone disappear underwater for so long. Thank the stars, she finally popped up, a full and unbelievable 150 feet away from the rock. I assumed she'd be unconscious, but she was just very shaken up and stressed (understandably...all she'd apparently seen was darkness for a loonnngggg while) and Si towed her to the island for much needed time out.
Getting back was a nightmare; it was her first time at the Bitches and she'd been wary anyway. After that experience, every riffle scared her so we had to take a conservative route back, dropping left of Horse Rock and then eddyhopping our way upstream to St Justinians.
The weekend had to improve from there! On Sunday we slept in and missed the early tide, but lovely clean 4-5 foot surf appeared at Whitesands, so it was spin and bluntarama as we threw our boats around. Claire acquitted herself well for a novice surfer, and Tim even managed a near-kickflip...not bad as he was trying something totally different at the time! I hopped into Simon's new tiny Pyranha 'S-Club 7' and it was awesome, the most fun I've had in a boat in a long time. We could both just about get it aerial on the blunts, very fast and light. Try one! Amusingly, Si will be taking it to the Zambezi in September. Hope he takes a snorkel, he he he...
They had to go home, something to do with jobs. That left Chris Wheeler and myself for the evening Bitches tide. The wave didn't work for too long, but it was fun.
At 5 am the next morning Chris rattled my tent and I did indeed take his name in vain. The paddle out to the Bitches was grim too. Despite the lovely sunny morning, we made life hard by attempting a direct crossing to the Bitches. I won't be trying it again, for a while we seemed to be getting nearer Ireland than our intended destination.
We eventually arrived at the Bitches. We were the only kayakers, but six boardies had hired a launch and were swimming from it to the wave. They were filming a short piece for 'Transworld Sport', so Chris and I adjusted our hair and makeup!! Only two of the boardies managed the feat of surfing the wave (Jean-Paul from Twr Y Felin managed an awesome five minute surf), but full respect for the effort of trying.
Chris and I agreed that as they were making a film, a] we had to make our efforts look good and b] we couldn't just camp out on the wave and front-surf, we had to 'try' things to shorten our runs and give them a chance.
The resulting pressure meant that we paddled like mad things and really went for it, it was like being in a competition. Luckily the wave was as good as I've ever had it, really big and steep with a big curling shoulder. My own 'piece de resistance' was a big blunt into a cartwheel on the face...although from where Chris was watching it just looked like an everyday wipeout...
;-)
Anyway, the best paddle I've had, at what is becoming my favourite paddling location. Full marks to Chris for forcing me to get up to enjoy it. If you haven't been out to St David's yet, you need to make the trip. There is something there for all tastes and abilities. I love it!!!!
Mark Rainsley
Information on paddling in Pembrokeshire.
