Ooh, Iβd missed this thread, despite being a paddler!
Back in August, racing on the Itera expedition adventure race, our opening paddle leg was a big βun β Iona to Staffa, then to Inchkenneth, then to Mull. A journey Iβd always wanted to do, and had always assumed Iβd do in a sea kayak rather than a well-laden 2-person SoT in a race!
Tensions were pretty high before the race as itβs not a section youβd fancy in poor conditions, but it was as calm as I could ever have hoped for. Staffa was gobsmacking, and as we crossed to Inchkenneth we had porpoises and a Minke whale nearby β one porpoise surfaced and jumped directly between our teamβs two boats, when we were less than 10m apart.
β Approaching Staffa
β Looking back at the sunset as we headed to Mull