As a whitewater paddler I don’t know very much about sea kayaking. But I have heard of Holy Island/Anglesey and their popularity with sea paddlers.
With 3 days of good weather forecast we jumped at the opportunity to borrow a couple of Hammers to explore and play on the coast of Holy Island. (Click on the pictures for bigger images)
Our first outing was an afternoon jaunt from Trearddur Bay south before reaching Roscolyn bay and following the coast line up to Four Mile Bridge. With the wind behind us and tide flowing from Roscolyn to Four Mile Bridge I was soon running the 3km back to get the van.
The Hammers performed well, the skeg helping us to handle the choppy conditions and put some distance under our belts.
Unsure what we should do with our second day (and having timed our visit completely wrong to paddle through all the tide races north around the Stacks to Holyhead) we headed out for some rock hopping before venturing further from the coast to cross from Roscolyn to Rhosneigr.
With the skegs up the Hammers proved themselves to be very maneuverable, allowing us to skirt through the rocks and play on the small swell among the rocky outcrops.
Returning to Roscolyn bay with the aim of playing around the beacons on the rising tide we had our first encounter with a seal. This seal wasn’t bothered by our passing, unlike the next pair that we stumbled upon. With a young pup to protect they quickly chased us off and we moved around the beacon.
On our final morning the weather was beginning to turn slightly. A change in wind direction caused the swell to pick up, so after a quick play in the heavy water around the cliffs we headed into the bay for a surf. The head wind and heavy swell could have caused us some trouble but once again the Hammers rose to the challenge and coped admirably.
Our verdict on the Hammer: A great boat that can provide a lot of fun in a variety of situations in the sea and around the coast! We’ll definitely try to return to Holy Island (and time the tides) so that we can explore the races around the Stacks.
