Paddle from Hout Bay to Three Anchor Bay.

Mike's invite to join him on this paddle was pretty last minute, which happens when the weather dictates. Fortunately Simon's Town paddlers are mostly adaptable, so there were plenty of takers.
Margaret, Derek, Mark, Basil, Barbara, Hendrik, William and myself set out on a perfect morning into a dreamy sea without any misgivings.

The trip to Seal Island was effortless and wonderfully scenic. As we approached the perfoming seals, the tour boat Calypso breezed passed, laden with smiling oriental faces. Cameras clicked furiously and suddenly we were big in Japan, although those awesome cliffs and the rising swell soon started to make us feel small and helpless.

Barbara soon took her first of many dunkings as the sea turned into a washing mashine. In the shadow of the cliffs the water looked dark cold and menacing and the mist started to roll in. Barbara's legs soon turned numb with cold which didn't help to improve her balance on her unstable surfski. We were very relieved to be in the comfort of our relatively stable kayaks.

As three of the kayaks started to disapear into the mist ahead of us and couldnt hear our shouts. William realised to his delight that he could legitimately use his whistle, (My ears are still ringing, but it did the trick) and Mike turned back to reasure us that calmer conditions were just around the corner at Sandy Bay and the mist would soon fade.

The eerie fog horn continued to boom out of the white fog ahead and we chose to not turn back but to trust Mike's experience. Barbara battled on gamely but wisely decided to bail out at Llandudno where we stopped for breakfast.
Mike was spot on with his predictions and the rest of the trip was pure pleasure.

Some of the highlights for me was the sight of the wreck of the Boss 400 looming surrealistically out of the mist and the hang gliders drifting off Lions Head. We truly live in an amazing part of the world and although False Bay with its Whales and Dolphins will always be the best place to paddle, there are definitely adventures to be had on the Atlantic side too.

Margot King

Dolphins, again

The huge pod of dolphins that has been gorging itself for weeks on the huge school of fish, which seemingly cannot find its way out of the bay to potential safety, made another appearance during one of my tourists trips. This time it was right in Simon's Bay and they were not feeding so hung around for 15 minutes or so swimming around the kayaks. Luckily my customers had their camera and got some great shots. As usual click on the photo to see a larger view.

Cape Point Paddle - Sunday 11th

UPDATE. The wind blew rather stronger than forecast so the trip was changed to a downwind run from Millers Point to Fish Hoek.

The forecast at the moment looks marginal for an enjoyable paddle to Cape Point unless you are fairly experienced. It does however look good for a Buffels back to Simon's Town paddle for the fitter ones. It's the swell that may prove a problem at the launch and if it's a issue there it will certainly it makes for big swells at the Point. So no promises, it's a call we will have to make once we are there.

It is important for us to know who is coming so if you are, please email margaret@paddlers.co.za to let us know.

Meet at Paddlers shop at 8.30am to organise car pooling. Remember your Wild Card, especially as some people may have to go back to Buffels to fetch cars.