Stand-up-Paddleboarding from Borth
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Back to Borth -
Ceredigion Coast -
Crabs by the Reef -
Cruising the Reef -
Jellies -
Picnic Spot -
Private Beach
Another lovely summer’s day here and although I have work to do in both the garden and the new shed I decided that not all sunny days should be spent doing outside chores and opted for some ‘recreation’ instead. After a short 25 mile bike ride I headed into Borth with my Stand-up-Paddleboard. I’d packed a picnic and a drink in my camelbak so, put that on and jumped on my SUP and headed out towards the point. It was a little choppier than I had expected as there was a bit of a SW wind. Typical, I had planned to paddle south so would be heading into it and no doubt a NW seabreeze would fill in later so that I’d be heading into a headwind on the way back as well.
I had my Garmin Fenix 3 set to open water swim mode. I could set up a paddleboard mode but the swim mode works well enough and it also counts my strokes which is nice to know. I didn’t have my heart-rate monitor on though as this was supposed to be a recreational activity and not training. I was making good progress though. My watch beeps at me every time I complete 100 yards and I was ticking off each 100 yards in a little over 1 minute. It wasn’t long before I was out of sight of Borth and it was just me, the cliffs, the seabirds and the deep blue sea.
Ceredigion Coast
There were a few large jellyfish around again as well, although I’ve yet to persevere to get a decent photo of them. There were at least three different types, large Barrel Jellyfish, the smaller Moon Jellyfish and the distinctive Compass Jellyfish. Here’s a blurry, murky picture of a Barrel Jellyfish as I passed over the top of it.
Jellies
Before I knew it I had made my way to Wallog where I decided to haul up onto what was my own private beach for a while. I stopped and ate my lunch. The sun was shining, there was no one around and had I more patience it would have been a lovely spot to just sit and chill. I did so for about 30 seconds but I’m no good at such things so soon jumped up and headed back out to sea ready for the trip back to Borth.
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- Picnic Spot
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- Private Beach
The wind had eased now and the water calmed down but I think I must have been heading into a current as my 100 yard times had dropped to around 1 minute 20 seconds now. I also trailed a mackerel trace out behind me, for the journey back. I didn’t catch anything though. I was still making good progress however and soon rounded the cliffs back towards Borth.
Back to Borth
Once back at Borth I decided to explore the reefs a little. In behind them were the water was calm it was gorgeous, just cruising gently over the tops of the rocks. The visibility through the water was really good and I could see that the rocks themselves are now quite well colonised with various seaweeds and I could see a large Spider Crab as well. I should have caught him for dinner really but had plans to go Spider Crab hunting at Ynyslas a little later on so left him alone.
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- Cruising the Reef
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- Crabs by the Reef
If you look closely you can just about see the Spider Crab in the second photo above. After a bit of a cruise around the reefs, I headed back to the beach, packed up and after about 6 miles on the water headed back up to Ynyslas to look for Spider Crabs.
