Dartmouth Yacht Club (UK) – Canoe Section

We four set out to camp at Scabbacombe. Tim F, Suzanne and Eugene, with tim P behind the camera in the green boat.

We landed in light drizzle and set up tents. In the foreground is a Hennessy Hammock, beached through lack of trees, but supported by a pair of Greenland paddles, demonstrating the versatility of this ancient style of paddling plank.

Photo by Tim Freeman

After a fish sauce pasta we relaxed as the drizzle increased and the light faded.

We awoke to sunshine and calm sea. Scabbacombe is not accessible by car, so is usually a peaceful place with occasional coastal path walkers resting from the repeated rise and fall of the path between Dartmouth and Brixham.

Tim P and Eugene continued towards Brixham. The sea was calm and the tide falling – an ideal time to explore the innumerable sea caves along this stretch of coast.

The rock strata become steadily more twisted as one approaches Berry Head. The folded limestone of Sharkham point provides dramatic scenery.

The massive coral reef limestone of Berry Head is flanked by layers of coral detritus washed down the reef slope, mixing with silt from the rivers draining into the shallow Devonian era sea. The strata are now strongly etched by weathering.

We turned Berry Head on the slack tide and paddled past the vast quarry towards lunch at the beach cafe at Brixham. Our return to Dartmouth was helped by a light following wind which pushed us against the tide.

timP

We passed by the Skat, a fine modern example of an oligarch’s toy as the crew were meticulously cleaning the sides. The side bays towards the stern were open to release the concealed motor boats. The helicopter was being prepared for take off, the multiple dome covered antennae tuned to the master’s broadcasts from the planet Krypton.

Further upriver the Nahlin, a graceful relic of the 1930’s, finely restored, provided contrast.

Further upriver still we passed the scorched evidence of a recent fire along the railway line, caused by a spark from the coal fired engine.

We paddled up with the tide, and sometimes with the wind, to scrape over the tide mill dam at Stoke Gabriel and then took a leisurely tea break until the rush of water over the dam became still, so we could return to Dartmouth with the outgoing tide.

tim P

The ruins of the sea water pool on the beach beneath the National Trust house Coleton Fishacre was the setting for our Sunday lunch.

Our departure was delayed by a successful surgery by Adrian on a seagull with a fish hook snagged in its mouth. It was not co-operative and prompted me to note to add two items to my first aid kit – a wire cutter and a beak clamp. The bird was already weak and may not survive. The beach is covered with discarded rope and netting and plastics. A miserable reminder of our trashing of the earth and its other inhabitants.

tim P

The club has three double kayaks. The stiff, and heavy, model pictured here and two inflatables. Perfect for messing about in the very warm weather we now have.

timP

Occasionally, a high spring tide at the right time allows me to paddle down to Dartmouth from the tidal limit at Bow Bridge. Just down Bow Creek, the calm freshness of an early summer morning lit up the ancient industrial and port village Tuckenhay. Now it has holiday cottages and apartments in the cider press and the paper mill, but these enduring place names and the disused quarries and lime kilns hint at the life it must once have had. Now Bow creek has silted up so much that there is little boat traffic and the Little Egret ornament the mud flats with their pure white feathers, disturbed only by occasional canoeists and motor boat people coming up on the tide to the two pubs. Their drinking time is limited, or much extended, by the short period when boats can float.

At Dartmouth I joined the canoe club boats for a tour on calm water to the Mew Stone, a natural harbour at low tide and home to a seal colony. Returning, we passed the dark pine grove on the east side at the entrance to the estuary.

tim P

The archipelago extending north from Gothenburg in Sweden is a wonderful kayak touring area, with exposed, austere granite islands and lush wooded fjords.

Our starting point was the campsite at Stocken, on the western edge of Orust. We were four members of the Vedbæk Canoe and Kayak Club in Copenhagen.

Jens, Jeppe, Tim and Bjørn

Our route is shown below

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The west coast of Stora Härmanö is exposed to the open sea and is harsh and devoid of vegetation.

Just behind this line of outer islands is the sheltered fishing town Käringön. This is delightful, because it is car free, with two-wheeled baggage wagons lined up at the harbour so people can push their groceries home along the network of footpaths.

We landed under the boat sheds, for a walking tour of the town.

It now seems to be a holiday home town, but there is some nice carpenter gothic architecture, typical of the homes of sea captains.

A five km paddle over open water brought us to the equally picturesque Mollösund. We passed through the narrow passage and further round the islands to the south to reach our campsite on Slubbersholmen. This forms a quiet lagoon, so we were not alone – it is a popular anchorage for bigger boats.

The next day we paddled northward and into the narrow channel leading to the network of fjords which surround the large island Orust. Although the tidal range is small, less than 2m including the effect of wind and atmospheric pressure, there is a fierce flow through the narrow channel.

Vessels are protected from being swirled into the channel walls by a continuous sturdy timber crash barrier. Here Jens and Jeppe are forcing the narrows, typically viewed from behind, since the 73 year old author of this post hardly ever gets an approaching view of his paddling companions. However, we miraculously all regrouped at the agreed meeting and resting places.

The inner fjords are well wooded, with abundant grassy spots for relaxation. There is abundant wildlife. The grass meadows are calcium rich from sea shell fragments and have a varied flora. But spring was late so very few flowers were blooming. The picture below shows a flock of Eider duck.

The scenery is varied, with surprisingly bold rock formations. Here is Bjørn below the crags of Högholmen.

A fortunate side effect of the lively streaming of the clear water is the abundance of shellfish. Here is Jens collecting oysters for supper. The water is only a few centimetres deep, so harvesting is a simple matter of dipping a hand in the water to grab the shell.

It was good that we had experienced outdoor cooks with us. Here is Jens’ system for cooking oysters, using a stainless steel grill and the aragonite cooking vessels provided by the oysters.

We enjoyed mostly good weather, being forced back by high wind once. These three and a half days spent around Orust were a memorable experience, combining the shiver of anxiety cruising past the exposed outer islands, the charm of the remote human settlements, the lushness of the inner fjords and the abundance of the edible wildlife.

We traveled about 100 km in three and a half days. There are many more pictures, and an index to where they were taken.
tim P