This was my first evening paddle and it was really lovely in most respects. The conditions were great: comfortable temperature, little-to-no wind, flat seas and good tidal conditions.
About thirteen of us left Bulloch Harbour at around 7.45 and headed down to Killiney Beach. Most of the members were people I hadn’t met before. Adam and Pawel were there, but the others were all unknown to me.
It was a nice trip – the landscape and coast are about as good as it gets on the south side of the city – and I was happy with my progress. I was chatting with Gavin for a while – one of the members I hadn’t met before and the trip organiser/leader. I talked with Ben (also new to me) a bit as well. They were both friendly and encouraging and mentioned the club’s plans for training and practice during the winter months.
Unfortunately my back started to get pretty sore by the time we were getting to the half-way point. The plan was to head out from Killiney train station to the Shanganagh buoy (at least I think that’s what it’s called), then back to Bullock, but as I had mentioned my back to Gavan earlier, he asked about it as we got close to the station and said I should let him know if I wanted to head directly back. I decided to take him up on that and in the end a group of 7 of us headed straight back.
The plan was then to go round the outside of Dalkey Island, but when we got close, the leader of the return group, Eddie, asked me again about my back. When I said it was pretty bad, he decided to go back via the channel between the island and the coast. I felt kind of bad about it, but I was also relieved to be returning directly.
The return trip was fantastic apart from the back pain. It was really beautiful, paddling through the dusk. The light and the air and the sound created a powerful strangeness that was really compelling. It reminds me of times being on holiday somewhere foreign and feeling as if you’re forgetting your “other” life, or as though your identity is less solid and you could morph into someone different.
Setting off Heading back The Pigeon House
Apart from the back-pain, I was also a bit unhappy with the fact that I was the cause of changing the course on the way back. Being such a lovely evening, I’m sure a few people were disappointed not to be going the longer route around the island. That said, I’m probably being a bit paranoid, and most people seemed pretty happy when we got back – all-in-all it was a very good trip.
I really loved being out in the dusk and almost-dark, and the rest of the trip was really enjoyable in such calm seas. I think, though, that I need to accept that, for the moment, I’m only up for an hour to an hour-and-a-half’s paddling before I need to take a break. I have adjusted the foot-pedals and hopefully that will help, but until my hamstrings are more flexible I am likely to have back-pain issues if I stay in the boat for longer than that. I should also try warming up before the next trip and see if it makes any difference.