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Expeditions 6. Kayaking Round Malta
Expeditions 6. Kayaking Round Malta
| 6. Kayaking Round Malta |
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We arrived for a long weekend with the plan to paddle around Malta in 2 days with a 3rd day for round Gozo and Camino and we would as always camp out. The team for this paddle consisted of core Big 5 team members, Richard and Aisling (Ollie and Dave were unable to make it due to work pressures). We were joined by Caoimhe and Tadhg (Irish Internationals in polo and wild water racing respectively, and Aisling’s sister and brother in law) and Jamie Queen. Clarke had agreed to join the team for the two days round Malta as well for the ‘giggle’. The plan was to leave from his base at Mellieha Bay and paddle clockwise round Malta taking advantage of the prevailing wind conditions. Day 1 was planned to be a gentle warm up of 18 miles and to also allow time for packing and departing from the bay in the morning. The kayaks were Wilderness Systems, Cape Horns, Tempests and their double The North Star (sadly the brand new fleet of P & H Scorpios had arrived but were at the dock awaiting clearance). The forecast was Northerly winds so we received a slight push round the island that day. Pretty soon we had made it round to the Grand Harbour in Valletta and enjoyed a stunning view of this World Heritage city with its ramparts and city walls. We also explored our first caves carved out in the stone below the city walls, paddling through like extras in an Indiana Jones movie. A short paddle across the harbour past the former military hospital standing proud on high ground, overlooking the city, and we stopped for lunch on a beach. It was lovely to be soaking up the rays with a warm wind whilst paddling in such beautiful surroundings, although we were forced to don plenty of sunscreen to prevent lobster red faces and arms. We pressed on round the island past the gunnery ranges (fortunately not in use) to discover that they were shooting…some sort of movie to our relief! The campsite for the end of day 1 was to the far East of the island on a sandstone ledge under some jagged looking cliffs. We arrived ahead of schedule and all looking forward to making camp. Clarke had pulled the ace card with a bag of spicy traditional Maltese Sausages and a bag of charcoal. As always the boy scouts skills came to the fore as firewood, kindling and lighting skills were proudly displayed. A bag of white wine was appropriately chilled in a nearby rockpool as we watched the sausages cook to perfection. The main course was spaghetti bolognaise cooked with fresh herbs, spices and a large bag of mince from the cool bag. It has to be said that getting in to camp early (not something we were used to with 13-21 hour paddling days in Alaska) had its benefits. The gentle crackles of the fire we had built were interrupted by 3-4 massive expositions from the camp fire showering us all in red hot embers. We never did quite work out if it was air pockets in the sandstone rock over heating or something in the wood but it certainly made us jump and run for cover. We were joined by other members of the Aisling’s family, her mum(Carmel) and dad(Martin), brother (Shane), nephew (Liam)and sister in law (Tania) and it was great to have a family reunion amidst our adventure. Shane, a former Irish Sprinter planned to swap with Tadhg for the second day of paddling. Our spag bol was quickly devoured as people began to think about getting a good nights sleep ready for the 28 miles the following day. Morning was a slightly slow start. The tents were covered in a fine layer of sand debris and dust from the flaking golden cliff. We were paddling a long stretch of cliffs on the South Side of the island where there would not be any get out points and the cliffs would tower out from the sea over 150 metres. Spirits were high as we set off and after passing the last town of Birzebuga we then approached high cliffs which would run for nearly 15 miles. They reminded us of the Isle of Wight and with a force 3-4 against us and with waves reflecting and bouncing off the cliffs it made for interesting paddling. We managed to keep up a reasonable pace and despite their impressive nature we couldn’t help wish for the cliffs to end. We were treated to a large number of stunning arches, caves and rocky crags for most of the Day 2 paddle. The long paddle was broken up by lots of places that you could disappear into the back of caves, paddle through narrow passages and gaps which was good fun. The South Side of the island is currently home to a resident oil rig and also a solitary small stack of rock called Filfla island. The tail end of the second day seemed to run and run, where was the beach we were looking for, surely it was lunchtime? At about 4pm we finally passed a couple of larger caves set into a very golden colour sandstone cliff and the bay was in sight. The run into the crowded beach involved a minor surfing exercise on some foot high green waves and then landing on a sandy beach. After hours in our kayaks no one was quick to spring out of the kayaks, as we took our time to flex aching joints and stiff legs. We grabbed a quick bite to each and drink at the welcome café at the end of the beach, emptied some resident salt water from the Wilderness Cape Horn kayaks and headed back out. The whole operation took little more than 20-25 minutes. We pushed on with Gozo in full view round to the Ferry Port where we were to meet Tadhg and the rest of the family. We rounded the final headland of rocky crags and the ferry port had arrived, complete with a rota of ferries in and out. Given the headwind and slow progress we decided that it was better to camp here than push onto to the campsite on the far side of Camino(the island between Malta and Gozo). Our revised campsite was past the ferry and the breakwater in front of a newly built hotel. We abandoned our ships (small ones) and began to set up camp next to a car park and in between the hotel and the beach. Some ‘Paddington Bear’ type stares were displayed by locals which we ignored, pitched tents and cooked up some super sized steaks conjured up by Martin. We also tried out the new Mountain Fuel recovery drinks and sachets which also seemed to hit the spot. It got dark quickly and without the standard much longer routine of expedition life we experienced with the Inside Passage we decided it was time to grab some much needed rest. The next day was predicted to be a Force 5 for most of the day. Morning arrived far too quickly and we couldn’t help but notice the rippling tent walls signifying the wind had indeed picked up. We had a long day ahead but decided a bacon sandwich was required before the off. The Trangia was fired into life and sorted out refreshments and loaded our kayaks. We were torn between packing light, ditching some kit knowing we had a headwind predicted for the afternoon and retaining tents and other potentially essential kit in case of an emergency. We decided to head clockwise (maybe in hindsight not the best idea) and set off down the wide channel between Malta and Gozo, quickly leaving Camino behind us. There was a good push down towards the headland and we made good progress but needed a transit point (point on the headland to provide a vector to ensure we weren’t pushed past our destination). Rounding the headland was the start of more beautiful cliffs, high and mighty. It was a few kilometres round the island until we would search for the Inland Sea. The final stretch was some pretty bumpy water with a waves reflecting off high cliffs, wind and a small tidal influence. It was marked by a small fort on the hill overlooking it. A beautiful hidden oasis accessed via a tiny slither in the rock, we again felt like ancient explorers. Without doubt it is one of the best sea kayaking features of the island, paddling through the gap into the rock dodging the small Maltese sight seeing boats until it opens into this beautiful hidden bay with eateries and traditional buildings. We took the opportunity to eat and laze in the warm sun. It was difficult to tear ourselves away but we knew we still had a long paddle ahead of us. The next section was 150m high cliffs for 10-12 miles so again no get outs, just keep paddling. Like before it was interspersed with small caves and arches to break up the paddle. Our scheduled stop was Ramla Bay, a place I had dived and surveyed as part of MAP (Maltese Archaeological Project) some 20 years earlier. As we cleared the most Western side of the island the wind increased until it was a good Force 5, headwind. Our eyes stung as waves and spray broke seemingly through to the back of our eyeballs. It was demanding but fun paddling and we managed to maintain a reasonable pace into the wind. It was important to use whatever shelter was afforded by small headlands and cliffs as we edged our way around the Island. We measured the windspeed (a tricky exercise) holding our digital anemometer aloft, 33 km/h was the strongest we recorded. Our late lunch stop at Ramla Bay was not a moment too soon. I am sure that the local sun worshipers must have raised an eyebrow or two as these tired looking, salt covered kayakers beached and sprawled on the sand. The rest stop was well earned and too easy and we probably loitered there a fraction to long, including eating and grabbing a coffee from the local hut. Then it was the final third, the top corner of the island and back across to the tip of Camino and then the short hop to Malta itself. Only it was heading quickly towards dusk. In these conditions it was almost impossible to hurry, we just had to keep powering into the wind and waves. We reached the Northern tip of Gozo with an estimated 30 minutes until sundown and a 6 -7 km crossing Back to Malta punctuated only by Camino. It was decision time, go, don’t go. We concluded that we should push, hard, to Camino, knowing we could either press on to Malta or make camp on the designated campsite on Camino as a contingency should we need it. We were glad we had retained the tents and kit that morning. It was tantalisingly slow progress to Camino and we arrived at the Northern tip with sun down but not dark and decided to push the final stretch back to Malta. Head torches (not ideal as they impact on night vision) and glow sticks were donned and we paddled hard for the mainland. We arrived in darkness at a local shanty town/fishing village and escaped our kayaks for the 3rd time that day. That left the remaining 6km to push round the headland back to Mellieha Bay. It was a case of do it then or face the hassle of transporting kit back and forwards to complete it in the morning. Aisling and I were also emotionally attached to the original plan of round in 3 days. We turned off torches and allowed our night vision to return and left the small fishing village, who may not have even registered our arrival or departure. It was fairly lumpy and once round the bay the swell made it awkward paddling at pace. We remembered a fish farm and some rocks and negotiated past them in the darkness, using most of our senses combined. We landed tired but glad we had made the effort to complete the paddle that evening. The following day we joined the rest of the tourists visiting the island and wandered round Valletta. Jamie, Clark and myself spent an extra day playing in the new P&H fleet and paddled back to Camino and the aptly named Blue Lagoon. We got to play in and out of the rocks and caves with no time pressure which was good fun. Malta, Gozo and Camino are definitely a great place to sea kayak and you will not be disappointed with the cliffs and caves. The team are now focussing their training for canoeing the Yukon. This time we will follow the route taken by the gold prospectors, paddling from Whitehorse in Canada 750 miles through to Fort Yukon, just inside the Arctic Circle. |
