Supermoon

The Lap no. 9 - D-Day -10 Months

Aug 16, 2022

Supermoons make super tides*, and when a super tide squeezes around a headland or between two islands, you get a super tide race (not a real nautical term).

Negotiating tide races is a major gap in my paddling skillset. I live on a deep bay where the tide doesn’t run fast, and you can always paddle uptide without much effort. The route around Ireland involves some serious tidal conditions around the major headlands and all along the Irish Sea. Getting around the North is one of the fastest legs of the trip because the tides squeeze between Ireland and Scotland like the effect a thumb has on the flow of a garden hose. A kayaker in that patch of water can ride the tide like a conveyer belt and cover a few kilometers while taking a lunch break in the boat.

Fast-moving tides can create turbulence—called “overfalls”—when they run against the wind or the swell. These can be hazardous, even to ships.

A tide race can be terrifying or outrageously fun for kayakers depending on abilities and boat-handling skills. Getting through these boiling, churning, fast-moving messes is the most technical skill I will have to use on The Lap.

To get some practice in a tide race, I went out in Gascanane Sound—between Sherkin Island and Cape Clear Island—with Pat Rodgers. Pat did The Lap in 1997 and now leads sea kayaking tours from his home on Sherkin. We waited for some of the biggest tides of the summer and sought out conditions he normally avoids with his clients.

We explored Cape Clear for a couple of hours while we waited for the peak flow. Pat brought along homemade flapjacks for lunch, a staple of his tours.

The calm water between the islands started to run like a river on the flood tide. Overfalls began to churn in the current. Picture river rapids running over an area the size of a few football fields with calm water on either side.

Before we crossed the eddyline and entered the current, we watched a sailing yacht cross the Sound to open water. The ocean-going vessel was practically airborne. I thought about what a friend had said when I told him I was headed to Gascanane Sound on a spring tide: “if you’re not at least a little intimidated out there, you don’t really understand where you are.”

I switched on the GoPro, and we got after it.

In the video below, I’m running with the tide race to get to an eddy behind a rock where the water is calm. You can see the swell standing up and forming overfalls against the tide.

*The scientific term for a phenomenal spring tide on the supermoon is a “perigean spring tide.”

Thank you, Pat, of H2O sea kayaking, for your knowledge and coaching. I would recommend taking a tour with Pat if you’re in West Cork and want to get out on the water—whether you’re a total beginner looking to do some sightseeing or you want to get out in challenging conditions to hone your skills like I did. This is the best way to see West Cork.