On the lake in Loughrea

We love the lake in Loughrea…

Locha Riach nó Locha Riabhach, arís ag brath ar an duine – variously translated as the grey, dappled or speckled lake. It’s a spring-fed limestone lake, about twice as long as it is wide, and shallow enough in spots – perfect for two new kayakers! There are lots of slipways thanks to the anglers & best of all it’s within sight of J’s house!

My favourite bit is the crannógs, man-made islands dating back to the Iron Age. There are several, scattered around the lake – Barrack, Long, Middle, M’Coo, Blake, Stone, Reeds & Shore (imaginative names there!). One has an anglers’ shelter built on it, along with a floating pier, but most are just small circular clumps of trees & scrub now, but I love the sense of continuing history that they give to the lake.

ar Locha Riach

We use the lake as a training ground – we’ve learned its different moods & the prevailing winds, the sheltered spots & the lumpy bits, & practiced everything we learned from the training sessions with instructors.

It’s a wonderful place for a quick paddle when you’ve only got an hour or so to spare in the day!

from Sallerna looking across to Cleggan Head

Cleggan is An Cloigeann in Irish, meaning head or skull, usually thought to refer to the headland across the bay, though there’s a wonderfully gory story about an early missionary Ceannanach (Gregory) being beheaded by the local pagan chief & then picking up his own head to wash it off before conceding defeat by finally lying down to die some hours later! Don’t know if that story still appears in the official hagiography

Even though we were now classed as ‘improvers’, our skills were not yet up to open water without the company of more experienced kayakers, so we stayed within the shelter of the bay. It still gave us plenty of opportunity to explore & get to know our new kayaks, without having to practise any rescue drills!

We also got to try beach launching & landing in different conditions & managed not to make total fools of ourselves in front of expectant friends & family

I'm going over there!

The other new skill we had to develop was good communication on the water. I had to remember that sound carries differently on the water, and words get whipped away by the wind!

Exploring Cleggan Bay

And on the days that were too windy to paddle there was still supper to be caught…

Fishing off Rossadilisk

Makes & models were endlessly discussed, reviews read, pros & cons weighed up… skeg or rudder? what shape hull? what length? what paddle? wetsuit or drysuit?

Budget was a factor, and more so because secondhand kayaks are like hens teeth, so we accepted we would have to invest in new ones… we probably rang & emailed every kayak dealer in the country, comparing prices & deals!

Trying out wilderness kayaks

The process was a good indication of the friendliness & openness of the seakayaking community – everyone had their tuppenceworth to add and we got a lot of good advice on choosing a kayak & essential gear.

We also got to try out a few different types with Kayakmór, Shearwater & Deep Blue, and everyone had a different opinion on the best one to buy

One piece of advice that proved invaluable was on length – a lot of the kayaks we looked at were 14-15 ft but we realised that we probably would outgrow them too fast, and we would be better off investing in a slightly longer boats now. I wasn’t totally convinced, especially as I was worried about lifting a 17ft kayak by myself, let alone getting it onto a roofrack! I followed the advice, thankfully, and went with the longer boat – I would have been kicking myself now if I’d chickened out!

We ended up in River Deep in Galway. Pat, a whitewater & sea kayaker, gave solid advice without pushing a sale – always good! After weeks of indecision we finally made a choice – a lovely red Valley Aquanaut & an even prettier sunburst yellow Venture Easky 17! The initial plan was to share them & take turns… that didn’t last longer than a few days – J paddles the Aquanaut & I’m at home in the Easky

settling in to our new kayaks

Coupled with a pair of Werner paddles & Yak cags & pfds & a few other essential bits&bobs of safety equipment, we were ready to go play with our new toys!

Out on Lough Corrib with Kayakmór

Sometime last May, J was sitting by the river in NUIG waiting to sit an exam. A kayaker paddled by heading upstream & J had a lightbulb moment… as soon as the exams were out of the way he started looking for ways to get on the water.

His enthusiasm was infectious & I was drawn in, initially sceptical, but  quickly converted – this was brilliant!

In the next few weeks we were on the water as often as possible, staying in Galway or Dublin depending on what tours & training days were scheduled.

Basically, we were addicted & were fast boring our mates to death with tales of kayaking! 

Day Trip with Kayakmór

Kayakmór are based in Galway – J went on a few evening trips with Jim & we both went on a day trip up the Corrib river to the lower Lough Corrib in mid-June.

Still very much beginners, the training was mainly about learning to go forwards & backwards, and how to fall out properly! But we got our first certificates 

I went on a few evening paddles after work with Sean & Eileen of Shearwater- out of Howth Harbour, around Ireland’s Eye & back, meeting the seals & learning to rock-hop.

Learning to Fall Out

Paddling back into harbour after sunset, the last pale evening light in the sky, I couldn’t believe I’d been missing out on this all these years!

We also went on a few Sunday morning trips around Dalkey Island & the Muglins with Des of Deep Blue.

By now (July) we were seriously shopping for our own kayaks…

Sunset Off Howth

There’s an explanation of the name ‘currachín’ here