Puffin Island Tuesday, August 29, 2006

This bank holiday weekend in the UK was not the best weather, but Alun and I still managed some respectable and fun climbing in the nearby slate quarries, and on Monday Gemma and I went on a little jaunt to the very pretty Puffin Island. Gemma and I disagree as to who is the bad omen, but the fact remains that whenever we go paddling together, the wind howls! Monday was no exception, but we didn't actually mind because it kicked up a few fun waves in the race between the island and the mainland.

Puffin Island, off the NW tip of Anglsey, doesn't contain so many puffins after rats were released onto this very special refuge, but a few years ago the rats were exterminated and the odd pair of puffins has been seen since. There are also lots of other nesting birds, like shags and kitiwakes, and it's a fantastic place to see seals. They are very curious here and will come right up to the kayak and even play with your paddle. I've already got some good underwater shots of Trys there with my minicam, but this time I carted my big camera with it's bulky housing to the island in the hope of some top quality underwater shots. I should have known that with Gemma there, it would be a bit too rough, and the rocks that the seals usually laze on were being bombarded by waves. Still, we made a quick circuit of the very cute island and made our way back to the 0.5km race which separates it from the mainland. It was a challenge surfing with the housing rattling around in my cockpit, but also a lot of fun! Just what the doctor ordered to clear away the cobwebs.