10 of us met on Sunday morning at Milsey Bay in North Berwick for the July grade A- paddle. The paddlers were Susan, Keith, Joanne, James, Lisa, Debbie, Stephen, Dougie, Richard Leeson and Richard Hope. The forecast was a bit iffy for an A- paddle with force 3 winds and force 4 gusts. However, there was no swell or waves so we decided to go ahead. We hugged the coast going west past the harbour and on to Yellowcraig beach paddling against a gentle force 3 breeze. At the beach the wind completely died so we headed out to Fidra in beautiful calm conditions. The pace was slow and we enjoyed exploring the inlets on the east side of Fidra and seeing the fleets of puffins before landing for lunch on Fidra. This was a first time at Fidra for 3 paddlers who thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
After lunch the wind picked up a bit which made challenging conditions for some as we headed over to the Lamb. Some felt they were near the limits of their comfort zone, but enjoyed the challenge. From here we headed back to the coast to avoid the wind, which then dropped again so we did a little rock hopping and practiced edging and turning skills as we headed back to Milsey Bay. We were off the water shortly after 2pm, though Dougie managed to get some people to stay for a wet session to conclude as others loaded up.
The trip was less than 4 hours overall and we paddled at a gentle pace keeping everyone together as a group. We saw a lot of seabirds, including great close up views of puffins. Stephen had a laminated copy of Alan Fraser’s seabird leaflet and ticked off quite a few. A very enjoyable paddle and nice to finish early.
Richard Hope