Fourteen intrepid explorers set off to Cobnor in Chichester Harbour to go sea kayaking on Sunday. Andy Hall from the activity centre hosted the day for us.
What a day! Clear blue skies, hot, but with a pleasant breeze. Only a few of us had tried sea kayaking before, so there was a little trepidation as we sussed out the equipment and got the boats ready. In reality the biggest worries were having enough water, enough sunblock and a big enough packed lunch to sustain us through the day.
We set off as the tide was beginning to come in and made our way out in to the harbour.
Chichester is a large natural harbour to the south west of the city. It has wide expanses and intricate creeks, and lots of wildlife including fish (that jump out of the water all about you), birds (all sorts, and everywhere) and seals.
We paddled out along the sand banks towards Thorney Island. As the tide was low this took us right out into the harbour. Pleasure boats and yachts were out and about, but we kept near to the sand banks out of their way. The scenery out there was stunning, and so changable. There were shimmeringn mists and mirages over the sand banks. Boats and buoys appeared alternately in the water or high and dry on the sand.
Andy took us quietly up one of the small inlets with the hope of seeing a seal or two basking on the sand. As we wound along the twisty path we could make out not just one or two, but about half a dozen lazing about in the sunshine. There were more in the water too. Their heads popping out of the water every now and again to stare at us. We must have been as much a sight to them as they were to us. We drifted around them for about half an hour - close enough to hear them snorting and moving about. Quite special.
Close by was a shingle beach, so we stopped for lunch on Thorney Island.
While we ate, the breeze died away and the water became as flat as a pancake. The tide rose, so the route home got shorter and shorter. We got back on the water and ventured over towards West Wittering beach. Now, about halfway over we got to a shipping lane of some kind. It was like the equivalent of the M25 in boating terms, and we had to get across it. Apparently 12,500 craft regularly use the harbour including boats from 14 sailing clubs. I think they were ALL out on Sunday! We made a dash for it between yachts. Made it; phew! Mark celebrated with eskimo rolls, and the rest of us went for a swim at the beach.
With the help of the last of the incoming tide we slipped back into Cobnor. What a great day! We finished off by finding a nice shady spot at the Bosham Inn where we got nosh and a beer. Brilliant - thanks for a great day Andy!
