Banter Bay
“Nobody likes being alone that much.”
-Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood
This week, I was more social with my training. On Sunday morning, I joined a group paddle across Bantry Bay. Their planned route was about 10 Nautical miles, which I doubled by crossing the bay solo to meet them at their launch point.
The morning solo leg was glassy calm like the Bay was having a Sunday lie-in. The only activity on the water was a pod of porpoises having a feeding frenzy on the approach to Glengarriff Harbor.
The forecast called for the wind to pick up to a benign small craft warning around the time our group planned to turn south and cross the Bay. What started as ripples and cat’s paws became light chop and built to larger lumps, mixing with a small groundswell from the Atlantic.
Out in the middle of the bay, a sailing race tacked into the gusts towards their turnaround point at the cardinal mark indicating the rocks off the western end of Whiddy Island.
The conditions were perfect for sea kayaking: not too windy, not too rough, but not too calm either. It was one of those days where your boat dances and you feel the power of the sea without being overwhelmed or intimidated by it.
At Whiddy Island, I broke off from the group to paddle home while they continued into Bantry Harbor. The waves stood up in the shallower water between the island and the home cove I was aiming for, and I finished the day with 20 minutes of lumpy solo paddling.
Safety in numbers
Crossing Bantry Bay during a small craft warning would have been a very different trip solo. I would have been more cautious and may have avoided a direct route across the middle of the bay.
I also would have learned a lot less.
Group paddles are no substitute for developing seamanship to handle conditions on your own, but going with others adds a nice sense of security that makes it easier to explore your limits in safety.
On our crossing, I practiced bracing, surfing downwind, and other rough water skills miles from shore knowing that if anything went wrong, I was protected first by my roll and self-rescue and second by the skilled group of paddlers within shouting or whistling distance.
Going to sea without this second line of safety is part of what makes solo paddling so exciting and rewarding. But if you only train solo, you risk limiting yourself to conditions you’re comfortable facing alone.
And sometimes it’s just nice to have someone to talk to out there.
A weeknight overnight 🏕️
My buddy Dan is over from Wales again. The last time he was here, we bivouacked on the Sheep’s Head Way. This Wednesday, we camped near the end of the Bay, at an abandoned copper mining village.
It was like backyard camping as a kid, complete with way too many snacks for a single overnight and the feeling that we might see a ghost. We caught up and bantered more than we might have at home in front of Netflix or out in a pub.
It was the perfect reminder of all there is to love about sleeping in tents and sharing the sea with pals.
Thanks for reading,
-Charlie
Thank you to Mike Jones for coaching and guidance.
Kokatat is the official gear sponsor of The Lap.
The lap will be fueled by Resilient Nutrition’s Long Range Fuel and bars.
Expedition coffee by 3fe.
