How do I describe last nights little adventure? "Dew drops on a lotus leaf"? I am sure Ryokan the legendary Zen monk would have said so.
Andye and I agreed to meet up at Balmaha after work for
an evenings paddle;Andy would be trying out his new inflatable
canoe.
So after a really tough day at work I headed home,
grabbed my gear and minus the KK (Kelly Kettle) as my good
lady had it locked up in here boot, I roof racked the
canoe and texted Andy to ask if he was taking his HUGE KK
(well it would 'nt be the same without a cuppa now would it? ),
then headed north and met Andy at Balmaha at around 6.45pm.
The wind was up a fair bit and the narrows between Balmaha
and Inchcailloch were looking a bit scary Big big waves
and a big wind... So we decided it would be fun to go anyway!
So we unloaded the canoes
And Andy pulled his out the bag and inflated his
And gave me the thumbs up when good to go!
After a pretty hairy crossing of the narrows, well not for
Andy in his inflatable that just rides the waves, while I
ferry glided across the big stuff trying not to broadside
and flip the canoe, we were in the lee of Inchcailloch and
into flat calm water and then onto Clairninsh
Andy was looking pretty relaxed in his inflatable and
albeit slower than a canoe, he was doing great with
either a canoe paddle or a touring paddle, using the
touring bi blade to maintain a fair speed.
Looking mean and green and so cool he wee's ice cubes
This is Southern comfort territory now
So after a wee paddle and explore we decided it was
time for a brew on Clairinsh
And what a place for a brew although someone had been
here before us and had left the remains of a campfire, broken
bottles, tins and loads of rotting veg and general crap lying about.
This is a real shame considering this is National Nature Reserve.
We explore the island and it was like stepping back in time,
plenty animal tracks and signs and we did some tracking and
tree identification which was fun in the grey dark!
Andy found a new pal, a rather aggressive swan when the food r
an out!
After a few brews and ages just chilling enjoying the place
and space we decided to head back. To our amazement we
looked at our watches and it was nearly 11pm But
after the intitial wow, we chilled and enjoyed it and had a
very lazy paddle back in the dark with the moon rising to the
west over Clairinsh in perfect flat calm conditions. The midges
were out in full force and we saw so many bats out over the
tree's and water, you would not believe. Andy asked me out
on the water "when was the last time you had a midnight
paddle like this?", I replied nearly a year ago. That year has
been too long, this was something special.
I remembered the words of Ryokan as I paddled back
under the moon.
"The rain has stopped, the clouds have drifted away,
and the weather is clear again.
If your heart is pure, then all things in your world are pure.
Abandon this fleeting world, abandon yourself,
Then the moon and flowers will guide you along the way."
The hard day at work was long gone now...
With no rush we meandered and slowly paddled back to
the marina in Balmaha and by 1amish we were on dry land again.
Excuse the pic but it was dark!
This was a great paddle with great company.
Thanks Andy for a good evening's paddle and I hope you
enjoyed it as much as I.
Andye and I agreed to meet up at Balmaha after work for
an evenings paddle;Andy would be trying out his new inflatable
canoe.
So after a really tough day at work I headed home, grabbed my gear and minus the KK (Kelly Kettle) as my good
lady had it locked up in here boot
, I roof racked the canoe and texted Andy to ask if he was taking his HUGE KK
(well it would 'nt be the same without a cuppa now would it?
),then headed north and met Andy at Balmaha at around 6.45pm.
The wind was up a fair bit and the narrows between Balmaha
and Inchcailloch were looking a bit scary
Big big waves and a big wind... So we decided it would be fun to go anyway!
So we unloaded the canoes
And Andy pulled his out the bag and inflated his
And gave me the thumbs up when good to go!
After a pretty hairy crossing of the narrows, well not for
Andy in his inflatable that just rides the waves,
while I ferry glided across the big stuff trying not to broadside
and flip the canoe, we were in the lee of Inchcailloch and
into flat calm water and then onto Clairninsh
Andy was looking pretty relaxed in his inflatable and
albeit slower than a canoe, he was doing great with
either a canoe paddle or a touring paddle, using the
touring bi blade to maintain a fair speed.
Looking mean and green and so cool he wee's ice cubes
This is Southern comfort territory now
So after a wee paddle and explore we decided it was
time for a brew on Clairinsh
And what a place for a brew although someone had been
here before us and had left the remains of a campfire, broken
bottles, tins and loads of rotting veg and general crap lying about.
This is a real shame considering this is National Nature Reserve.
We explore the island and it was like stepping back in time,
plenty animal tracks and signs and we did some tracking and
tree identification which was fun in the grey dark!
Andy found a new pal, a rather aggressive swan when the food r
an out!
After a few brews and ages just chilling enjoying the place
and space we decided to head back. To our amazement we
looked at our watches and it was nearly 11pm
But after the intitial wow, we chilled and enjoyed it and had a
very lazy paddle back in the dark with the moon rising to the
west over Clairinsh in perfect flat calm conditions. The midges
were out in full force and we saw so many bats out over the
tree's and water, you would not believe. Andy asked me out
on the water "when was the last time you had a midnight
paddle like this?", I replied nearly a year ago. That year has
been too long, this was something special.
I remembered the words of Ryokan as I paddled back
under the moon.
"The rain has stopped, the clouds have drifted away,
and the weather is clear again.
If your heart is pure, then all things in your world are pure.
Abandon this fleeting world, abandon yourself,
Then the moon and flowers will guide you along the way."
The hard day at work was long gone now...
With no rush we meandered and slowly paddled back to
the marina in Balmaha and by 1amish we were on dry land again.
Excuse the pic but it was dark!
This was a great paddle with great company.
Thanks Andy for a good evening's paddle and I hope you
enjoyed it as much as I.
