So here we go. I'm about to attempt to cram 4 days worth of events into one small blog. so lets start with the basics:
The 18th to the 21st of May saw the PDYP take its annual Kayaking expedition to Oban with a group of our older young people. The goals of the expedition is to put people out of their comfort zones, push themselves and in the long term use this as a support system towards employment. This year we linked up with Sean from the building company Carililion who has helped fund the expedition as well as create links with potential employers.
Now for the break down of what we did.
Day 1:
day one saw us have an early start at the pdyp with the group showing up at 10am to help load the kayaks and the bus ready for the journey up to Oban. We managed to be on the road for 11:30am which was ideal as we had two members to pick up from Paisley on the way. The weather was beautiful on the way up as we left the rain of newcastle behind. After a long drive we arrived at our usual first night campsite at about 6:30pm. We quickly put the tents up before heading off for food at our usual fish and chip shop. We Met with Colin from Oban Seakayak Guides and Dave from Outside Edge who would be our guide this year. We chatted about weather patterns, tides and what the group would like from the trip.
After this we had a quick stop off at tesco before heading back to the campsite to get our heads down for the night.
Day 2: Day two saw an 8am wake up on the campsite and the customary bacon and bean wraps. After breaking down camp it was off to collect the kayaks and gear we would need. After the usual tetris game that is loading the kayaks we were on the water and paddling by 1pm. the first paddle saw us setting off from Little Ganavan and paddling round the back of Kerrara taking in the big skies and beauty of the islands. We arrived at our campsite 17km later in amazing sunshine. the evening saw the usual setting up of camp before the lads went exploring for fire wood (There was plenty of dead wood around) the evening saw us relaxing round the campsite before a freak rainstorm sent us to our tents at 11pm.
Day 3:
day 3 saw dry weather but conditions were slightly more lumpy than the day before but nothing the lads couldnt handle. After a hearty breakfast of porridge and cuppas we were on the water for 9:30am for what would be an exciting day of paddling. We set off with the goal of paddling round Seil. the morning paddle saw us paddling past an island that apparently looks like a sleeping dragon (not our words) before stopping of next to easdale for a coffee and a cake and for the lads, free short bread because they nipped into the art gallery. The afternoon saw us tackle the most difficult conditions of the trip with about an hour of paddling with a swell hitting us side on. Thankfully there were no capsizes and we made it safely into the Cuan Sound. What followed next was a gentle paddle to the beautiful Atlantic bridge and a cuppa in the sun outside the Tigh An Truish (or house of trousers, for anyone not up to speed on their Gaelic) after this we head back to our campsite of Barnacarry Bay. Along the way we had a following sea which once again made things interesting for paddling, but we all survived without having a swim (for darren this almost wasnt the case). We stayed at the same campsite as the winds were meant to be worsening the next day and if we didnt camp there we could be in for a difficult paddle the next day. The evening saw dave showing the lads some rockpool life which they loved. Day 3 saw us paddle a total of 27km with alot of it in difficult conditions.
Day 4
day 4 saw an early start of 6am as its true what they say, time and tide wait for no man. We were on the water and paddling the inside of kerrara. You wouldn't think 30 minutes would be so important but as we looked back on where we had set out from, what had been a fairly calm little crossing turned into a lumpy frothing mess, so we were thankful for the early push. We had an nice mellow 13km paddle back to Little Ganovan with a bit of wind and tide pushing us along. We also got to see where the first trans Atlantic telephone wire ran to. We were back on dry land by 10:30am with the lads loving the experience. After emptying the kayaks of all the stuff we had carried to help be self sufficient we had a quick comfort stop at Colins, who kindly put on some pizza and more importantly for me, coffee, before our long drive back to Newcastle. We arrived back by 8pm with some of the lads napping in the bus on the way back.
The Oban trip always has a special place in the hearts of those who do it, as its an experience like no other. wether this is trying sea salt potatoes (Sean said these were life changing haha), pushing themselves to paddle 57km in under 48 hrs or seeing the beauty of the area. All who have been comeback with a changed perspective on their lives. We would like to thank Sean from Carililion for helping to fund it and create links, Dave from Outside Edge for being such a fantastic Guide on the adventure, Colin for providing us with such amazing kit (you were missed while paddling) and most of all the lads for taking such a big challenge so well.
The trip started with 2 seapups (first timers) and 5 seadogs (those who had paddled Oban with us before) but by the end everyone had earned the name the Meadowell Seadogs.
