This is in the list of trophy paddles and a “must do” for any discerning sea kayaker. It has some really fast tidal races of 6knts and overfalls. You can land on Skomer island and that is in the harbour for a cost of £25! Skokholm is a definite no no and there aren’t any suitable places to sneak in either. The Islands are bird sanctuaries with regular visitor trips from Martins Haven. Having paddled around the Island I would say a boat trip would be worth the money if you’re ever around that way. The birdlife is stunning.

There is one visitor mooring buoy for sailing boats, but I assume you would have to book in advance. The area has many ship wrecks, one of which is The Lucy, which sank on February14th 1967 and lies in 36m of water in North Haven.  She struck a rock just to the south of Jack Sound.

See http://www.dive-pembrokeshire.com/lucy.html  

We set off from the very small and busy harbour of Martins Haven, parking our vehicles at the top of a very long hill, and checking in with the warden before hand.

We were not allowed to paddle within 100m of the rocks due to nesting birds and mothering seals. Picking our way through the moored boats we headed for Tusker Rock, giving us our first glimpse of Skomer, and then paddled across to Midland Isle,  and then into North Haven. We waited by Rye Rocks for the tourist boats to go in first. They were lining up! A couple of seals were playing around us half curious.  Huge bird colonies of Razor bills and Puffins were clinging to the cliff faces within the harbour. Further out the Puffins were sat on the water in rafts of 100 or so birds. You could paddle right up to them. They didn’t appear that bothered and those that were, just skipped across the water.

…….And in between the Puffins and Razor bills were a plethora of other birds and seals of course! We took a long time crossing the top of Skomer because it was stunning, with flat water and only a slight NE F2 wind. We reached Garland Stone on the north west corner, where we were expecting a tidal race and overfalls, but there was next to nothing. We took a very leisurely paddle down the west coast eventually coming to Skomer Head.  We could see a few people standing on the cliff tops watching our progress. We then headed south, just over a 2 mile open crossing to Skokholm, a weak north flowing tidal race made our going a little slow. Skokholm was privately owned until 2006 when it was bought by the wildlife Trust who managed it. During the Norman times, Skokholm was used as a breeding ground for rabbits. We found an eddy in Mad Bay where we had lunch on the water, no where to land remember. There was a survey boat loitering in Little Bay on the north east side which kept an eye on us. Lunch over, we headed west and rounded the Long Nose and got our first glimpse of the Lighthouse, quite impressive.

There was an overfall just off the headland which made the water a little lumpy but not concerning and was expected.

We continued west along the south coast to Franks Point where we met our first major overfall. I must admit, I wasn’t expecting it as everything else had been flat. So it was a case of dig in, head down and enjoy the wet and bumpy roller coaster ride. Overfalls are always unpredictable, one minute you’re surfing, then you’re being pushed backwards, sideways, upwards and downwards. And of course you’ve got to make sure you’ve cleared it properly before you can relax otherwise it will suck you back in! We then had an open crossing of just over two miles to the mainland, and it was time for a well earned comfort break.

The guide books suggest landing on the south side of Gatesholm Island because its easy to land, but we decided to do the north side and had to skip and semi surf through rocks making a quick exit from your kayak before the next big wave came in to upset your day. Getting off our rocky cove was just as entertaining.  The pictures don’t show the real conditions with big sets of waves coming in. We rock hopped up the coast through Jack Sound. The building tidal race didn’t concern us as we had timed our north transit to suit. Again a very interesting coast line with many big and deep caves to explore.

On reflection, if I were to do this trip again I wouldn’t bother with Skokholm, other than the lighthouse, Skomer had it all.

Many thanks to my fellow paddlers, especially Dave Puttick who organised the week in Pembrokeshire. Pictures are courtesy of my fellow paddlers Dave P, Estelle K, Chris P (all BCC) Brian, Gordon, Tania, and of course myself John H (BCC)