Words and photos:
Tom Thorpe

Part two of Tom’s epic circumnavigation of Ireland, which took place in August 2019. To read the first part go to https://paddlerezine.com/ emerald-colour-water-a-circumnavigation-of-ireland/ or https://joom.ag/s0se/p58.

Emerald colour water – A circumnavigation of… Ireland part 2

Paddler: Tom Thorpe is a teacher and semi professional sea kayaker based in Devon and Cornwall.
Days: 26.
Distance: 800 miles approximately.
Start and finish point: Portpatrick, Scotland.
Route: anti clockwise.

The south west headlands were great and because of strong winds and fog my daily distances were shorter than in other sections. This was the crux as I’d imagined but it was also my favourite part. Pushing hard to a sheltered spot and breaking a day down into sections is great. I’d take full advantage of wind eddies behind islands and headlands. The water was rough and I was constantly wet due to fog, rain, sea spray and sweat. I’d wear wet thermals everyday and keep a dry set for the camps. I met a family in Glenarough who really helped and fed me. Coming out of the fog, rain, clapotis and finding people who want to help, in the middle of a remote area is so amazing. Irish hospitality is outstanding.

The major crux in my mind was Mizen Head and it didn’t disappoint me. I had beam winds and very low visibility. Off Mizen, the peaks and troughs were large and I managed to time it right so I passed with wind and tide moving together. I was really pleased I wasn’t there with wind opposing tide because on that day I’m not sure it would have been possible.

The winds increased and as I surfed downwind past the Fastnet lighthouse in a F6/7 wind, I was relieved to get to the south coast. I wanted to take the outer route around Cape Clear and Sherkin just because I thought I’d regret if I didn’t, the tides were strong there and I surfed a couple of tideraces to get to Baltimore. The winds were forecast to get even stronger and I didn’t want to be hiding out on an exposed west coast headland, I was relieved to make it to the south coast and my plan to meet the south westerlies may have worked. I went to Baltimore and ordered the biggest plate of chips and beans I have ever seen.

I was over halfway and from now on I hoped that I could increase my daily distance and be more consistent with the distances I was achieving. The new rule from this point was; no rest days, no bad weather days, no excuses. I had taken two days off in 17 days up to this point and no more were allowed.

I checked the forecast and the weather was coming, strong south westerly winds and rain were imminent.

For the next couple of days the weather was ok and I had some lovely tail winds. The south westerly winds were well and truly here and their assistance was appreciated. I had pushed hard and paddled in some big water and headwinds to get around the south west tip and I was tired. The winds behind me helped me to back off on the power and re-coup some energy.

physical and mental

This paddling is not just about physical and body, it’s about a mental state and mental strength. Imagine making a goal to get to a headland 10 or 15 miles away; you can only really paddle straight to it because if you went around the bay it would waste energy and add distance. So you make it to the headland and you can’t land because it’s bumpy, you’re relieved to get there but you paddle around it and look ahead at another headland ten miles away and that becomes the new goal. That scenario could happen five or more times a day. Spending that much time in open water by myself was the biggest challenge. If the water was bumpy that would help to keep me engaged and sometimes the dolphins and porpoises would come to see me. I was happy to get to camp in the evenings and maybe meet people.

Some people love their own company and sea kayaking does attract and appeal to folk who struggle in social situations and want to spend time on their own. For me it’s a bit of both, I do want to escape but I struggle with myself after long periods on my own.

This was a circumnavigation of Ireland but really this was an endurance test and ultra marathon. An island and headland hopping epic.

On the south coast of Ireland there are more fishing buoys creating way points helping to chunk the big crossings, breaking them down into smaller sections.

Old Head

On the first day on the south coast I’d paddled past four big headlands and a few islands and done a lot of open water crossings, I was hoping to get further but as I passed the last headland all I wanted to do was get out. Old Head has big cliffs but paddling along it I spotted a place which would accommodate my tent. The rocks and ledges below didn’t look too challenging so I climbed out and lifted all of my gear out. The grassy ledge was fantastic and I set up camp, it was sheltered and east facing.

That night a storm came and the winds shifted south and blasted the grassy ledge. I woke up at three, put my headtorch on and scrambled down to my boat whist the rain fell hard. The big waves were not getting to the kayak, which I had lashed to a boulder and all was fine. I scrambled back to the tent and went back to sleep.

When it got light I woke up and the storm continued to unleash its fury. I sat on the boulders after breakfast and let the sea and winds settle. At around 10.30 the sea was still chunky, so the only way I could launch was to pack the kayak on a boulder and then push the kayak out on a line, I jumped into the sea, swam and climbed into the boat.

That morning I paddled in a big sea and low visibility towards Cork. I was keen to find a find a café, drink some coffee and eat some cake. Luckily for me I found my café and I ran in really excited. I spent 30 minutes searching for food and reading all of the ingredients and labels. None of the food was animal free except for some salt and vinegar Pringles. I ate two tubes and drank some coffee. The idea of getting lost in Cork and wasting time didn’t appeal to me, so I quickly launched and headed off to Youghal in strong winds.

Youghal is a lovely place and I restocked my supplies once again. I would run really low on food from time to time and in Ireland there is a serious lack of beach cafes. Food is heavy but I always tried to carry reserves. It’s pretty common that there wasn’t a beach café and if I didn’t have bread or I was running low on supplies I’d sit on a beach or an island and cook up some pasta. If my plan was to camp on a remote headland or island that evening and a water source wasn’t guaranteed, I’d ration my water. From time to time and cook my pasta and food using sea water, ideally 50 per cent fresh if I could.

I carried no more than four litres of water. Water weighs 1kg per litre, which slows me down. Water was needed to do dinner and breakfast and provide me drinking water to get to the next water source. It’s a valuable resource.

Often, when I reached a town I’d try and eat as many chips and beans as I could and stock up on calories to recover and prepare me for the next day. It no secret that I’d be running on a calorie deficit for a lot of the paddling days. Even if I had supplies it’s really hard to consume enough. I did suffer a lot of muscle wastage.

There is a lot of negativity toward veganism and being an athlete it can be tricky. In an everyday context it’s easy to be vegan. In remote locations, very much less so.

Downwind surfing

Setting off from Youghal the winds arrived. They came in strong and F6/8 was common. The winds were behind me and pushing and I surfed past the headlands and islands. Downwind surfing in an FSK is so much fun and I love it. In an expedition craft with weight it does use more energy but when surfing it’s possible to grab a few seconds rest. The wind continued to increase and after leaving Old Head the wind forced me to fully commit to a crossing.

The plan was to get around Hook Head but with the wind blowing at F8 I had to go directly with it. Luckily for me, the wind was blowing direct into Tramore. That’s where I ended up after spending a couple of hours surrounded by white water and often having waves breaking over me. I was relieved to make the harbour and I hoped that the winds wouldn’t be like that the next day.

The little harbour was lovely and the sun was shining so I relaxed for a while and a couple of local fishermen invited me into their shed and made me tea. I sat there talking and laughing with them for a while and I learnt about smugglers, fish stocks and local history.

Mick O’Meara

With that, Mick O’Meara (Ireland Circumnavigation record holder) turned up. He said, “Ah Tom, I heard you were in Tramore, let’s put your boat in the lifeboat station and come for dinner if you’re up for it.” Amazing! So that’s what we did. The weather wouldn’t be settling that day or the next morning so I was pretty pleased. We drank Guinness and ate an amazing meal and I slept in the summerhouse.

We studied the weather and the wind was still high. I didn’t want to be off the water for another day so I made a plan to paddle as soon as the wind dropped. Hook Head was right there and I had to get around it so I could get onto the east coast. Mick headed to the harbour to do a training session and I went down to watch. After the session they left and said their goodbyes and I sat there watching the ocean.

At about 16:00 the wind dropped slightly. The wind was still blowing F5/6 but and there was still a bit of chop from the stronger winds and the tide was running, but it was manageable. I got a really good line on Hook Head and downwind surfed past the headland. The sea was big and I think the biggest conditions I had paddled in, rain showers were passing though. Hook Head created some shelter and I raced to Kilmore Quay and set up camp, I was really happy that I managed to push on.

It was day 22 and I rounded Camsore Point and Cahore Point. I knew that I could achieve some big days but the record would not go. I was really happy with my choices and progress.

in the zone

My tidal planning had gone well and I had made the tidal gates I had needed to. I had paddled through fog, rain, big seas and paddled with low energy and a lack of food. At this point in an expedition I find that my body and mind are completely in tune and I’m in the zone, it’s a great feeling. Up the east coast I made a rule: No less than 40 nautical miles a day was allowed. I needed to be in position to make the crossing the next Friday, that was four days left!

The wind blew offshore which was mostly on my beam but when I was paddling out of Dublin, the wind began to increase on my tail and gave me a push, once again the wind increased to about F8. When a wind that strong blows behind a kayak it does help but it’s less of a downwind surf and more of a drift and is often a lot of effort, of course it did help a bit and it set me up for the final push.

I set up camp at Corstown and did all of my admin and ate a lovely meal. I set the alarm for 05:00. I had around 60 nautical miles to paddle the next day and there was no excuse, it needed to happen because the weather window on Friday morning would allow a safe crossing back to Portpatrick. I woke up and made it happen.

Conditions were perfect and I had some amazing downwind runs that day. It was bizarre when I stopped for lunch to see the Northern Ireland flags (Union Jack) flying. I felt really on form and carried on. The sea did get bigger but I was moving fast and felt really in tune.

I couldn’t believe that I was nearly there. Last year in Scotland, at the end of the expedition, my hands were wrecked and my lower back was all scarred and my bum bruised terribly. This was day 25 and my hands were fine, I was comfortable in my kayak and I felt strong and able. On the last section the sun started to drop low in the sky and my boat felt like it was made of concrete. I headed into the beach and to my surprise Maurice Bowens was waiting for me, my good friend Steve’s dad. It was amazing to see him and we ate dinner and we talked about lots of things. He bid me farewell and he drove off into the night. The camp was set up and I set my alarm for another early start, I had one last look to see if I could see Scottish lights in the darkness, but not yet, Scotland was still hiding from me.

The last day!

I woke up and was literally buzzing, I didn’t sleep very well but it didn’t matter.
I had all of the bearings sorted and had done my chart work the night before – 24 nautical miles and I would be on Scottish ground. I started early because the tide was flowing north and that would help. The wind was also blowing south westerly and would be increasing all day, that allowed me to start a little more south saving more time. Visibility was poor but there was enough, I didn’t have any fixed features to aim for until about two-thirds of the way across when the cloud cleared and I saw Scotland.

Luckily for me, Portpatrick is a white village set amongst dark cliffs. Portpatrick is the only village on that stretch so it’s perfect for navigation. I soon saw it from about eight nautical miles out and headed for it. The wind had increased and I had some amazing downwind runs and I thanked Neptune for doing me a favour. I cruised into the harbour, it was done at 13:20 on the 26th day. My emotions were all over the place and I didn’t land for ten minutes. I sat in the calm harbour with my head in my hands. What had just happened? Did that really happen?

Shout outs

Thank you to everyone who supported me physically, emotionally and technically, to my girlfriend Elise for understanding, to all of you on social media for the kind words and to all of my sponsors. Minimalism takes practice and every single piece of equipment I use is essential. Using the best gear available allows me to be fast and light. NRS provide the waterproof gear and clothing. VE paddles provide the Carbon Fibre. SKUK provided the amazing kayak – the Quantum.

Gear

The gear I could not have lived without and I recommend to everyone are:
NRS Orion cag: I don’t wear a drysuit whilst paddling in summer, using an FSK. I can’t be restricted. When the weather was rough the Orion cag kept me completely dry and warm.
NRS bibs: The bibs are amazing, they have attached socks and an essential relief zip.
Wing paddles: I wouldn’t paddle with anything else in an FSK
SKUK Quantum kayak
MSR reactor stove: Its very hot! Cooking in a tactical way is important
Vaude Power Lizard tent: So strong and so light!
Headtorch: A powerful headtorch with different functions and a red mode essential.