11 of us met in the car park at Milsey bay. Some had travelled through beautiful weather only to find a dense haar starting within a couple of miles from the coast.
The wind was lighter than forecast so after brief deliberation we decided to paddle in reduced visibility of about 100m and stay within sight of the shore.
Ian was keen that we should stick closely together in two sub groups given the conditions.
The lack of clear visibility made paddling slightly surreal as we headed towards the invisible ‘leithies’.
Fortunately breaking waves white foam was more easily seen amidst the grey!
We followed the leadership and direction of Ian who sure-footedly led us to Canty Bay and then on past Tantallon to the secluded small harbour beside Seacliff beach. Minimal breaking waves meant safe ( and upright) arrival there for a lunch stop.
We almost had some sunshine there and after lunch we headed back.
Our journey back allowed some opportunities for rock hopping and the visibility was in the order of 200m or so.
We had one episode of sea sickness on the return journey no doubt encouraged by the lack of a clear horizon.
We found it useful to be able to paddle in such poor visibility with such gentle sea and wind conditions ( and experienced oversight).
Photo opportunities were few and a touch monochrome!
Thanks to Mike, Raimonda, Phil, Grace, Ivor, Stephen, Martin, Emily and Janet for being up for this paddle and for Ian’s leadership and organisational skills.
Neil Black