Fish & Chips at Wareham Quay
On Saturday, I anticipated 10 paddlers arriving at Lake Pier, Hamworthy, for a paddle up to Wareham Quay... however, due to a misunderstanding one name was scrubbed from the list, one paddler had already launched and would meet us later and then someone got lost, reducing the number to 7... Maj decided (having enjoyed the sight of Corfe Castle and Studland Beach) he would now launch from Wareham Quay and paddle down the Frome to meet us.
At 9:30, the harbour was flat and calm, but this slowly became more ruffled as the day progressed, ending with a few deep troughs which was a first for some!
We set off from Lake Pier and headed south to the Arne shore, which provided a little shelter from the south easterly wind, then followed the edge of the main channel up towards Gigger's Island. As we knew Majid was paddling down to meet us, we forewent the planned coffee break and headed around the south of Gigger's to shorten the distance. The tide was still flowing in, providing us just enough water to squeeze over the rather extensive mud bank, although I think some 'poling' was evident, when we got down to 10" under the keel.
Once over the mud bank, we joined the start of the Frome river, which is navigable to Wareham Quay and started the fight against the flow.
And after an hour or so, arrived at our lunchtime destination having collected Majid on the way!
A raiding party set off for the best chippy in town and returned to watch the locals trying to kill themselves, by jumping off the road bridge... after a while they decided to stop, when they were bouncing off the bottom...
After an extended lunch, we noted time was ticking on, so packed up and headed back to face the anticipated wind in the harbour, but only after Majid considered paddling between the hulls of a catamaran (he bailed, which was probably a good thing!).
The river meanders slowly back to the harbour, which gave us a chance to dodge the motorised pleasure craft using the river.
After leaving the Frome river, we followed the main channel until the last post marker, before heading left to find the shelter of Arne once again and to take a breather on one of the best beaches in the harbour.
A trio of Hou's
Revitalised, we set off on the final leg back to Lake Pier - the wind continued to blow and we continued to hide in the shelter of Arne, for as long as we could!
With one final stop to regroup, we headed along the final part of the Arne peninsula then crossed the main channel, which saw some rather deep troughs and a few cresting waves - needless to say at that point the camera was safely stowed and both hands were firmly on the paddle!
I'd just like to say a huge 'Well Done' to Jim for his first venture onto salt water and for handling conditions which were well beyond his comfort zone - totally aced it, despite a few nerves!
At 9:30, the harbour was flat and calm, but this slowly became more ruffled as the day progressed, ending with a few deep troughs which was a first for some!
We set off from Lake Pier and headed south to the Arne shore, which provided a little shelter from the south easterly wind, then followed the edge of the main channel up towards Gigger's Island. As we knew Majid was paddling down to meet us, we forewent the planned coffee break and headed around the south of Gigger's to shorten the distance. The tide was still flowing in, providing us just enough water to squeeze over the rather extensive mud bank, although I think some 'poling' was evident, when we got down to 10" under the keel.
Once over the mud bank, we joined the start of the Frome river, which is navigable to Wareham Quay and started the fight against the flow.
And after an hour or so, arrived at our lunchtime destination having collected Majid on the way!
A raiding party set off for the best chippy in town and returned to watch the locals trying to kill themselves, by jumping off the road bridge... after a while they decided to stop, when they were bouncing off the bottom...
After an extended lunch, we noted time was ticking on, so packed up and headed back to face the anticipated wind in the harbour, but only after Majid considered paddling between the hulls of a catamaran (he bailed, which was probably a good thing!).
The river meanders slowly back to the harbour, which gave us a chance to dodge the motorised pleasure craft using the river.
After leaving the Frome river, we followed the main channel until the last post marker, before heading left to find the shelter of Arne once again and to take a breather on one of the best beaches in the harbour.
A trio of Hou's
Revitalised, we set off on the final leg back to Lake Pier - the wind continued to blow and we continued to hide in the shelter of Arne, for as long as we could!
With one final stop to regroup, we headed along the final part of the Arne peninsula then crossed the main channel, which saw some rather deep troughs and a few cresting waves - needless to say at that point the camera was safely stowed and both hands were firmly on the paddle!
I'd just like to say a huge 'Well Done' to Jim for his first venture onto salt water and for handling conditions which were well beyond his comfort zone - totally aced it, despite a few nerves!