Lepe through the Needle - August 28th/29th 2001.

The sun was extremely hot, even at 8.30am on this Saturday morning. As the 9 of us got packed on Lepe beach there was very little other traffic on the Solent. Main problem this weekend was not going to be wind, rain or waves but the temperature -forecast at 31C.

Leaving the beach a little later than hoped we headed out to the middle of the Solent. We needed to be through the Hurst Race by 11.00am before the tidal stream turned. In this temperature, hard work was not really considered desirable.

Once out on the sea, there was a respite from the heat. Not really a breeze but certainly cooler than expected. Keeping to the middle and buoy hopping we made fairly good progress and passed the Hurst just as it started to turn. You could see the Race starting to build as we hugged the sea wall by Fort Albert.

Now we could slip in closer to the coast and start to take a proper look at the Island scenery. The beaches were relatively busy as you would expect at this time of year but the colours of the cliffs and wooded headlands still shone out in the perfect weather. Lunch was taken briefly in Colwell Bay before pushing on to the Needles and beyond.

Plan? Not really, through the Needles, see how far we got before turning round and back to Fort Victoria beach for the night. Rounding Hatherwood Point was a bit of a shock to me. Alum Bay has become a parking-lot for yachts and gin palaces. Luckily we could still see the coloured cliffs and creep up under the chalk cliffs that house the Needles Battery and out to the Needles. Compared to our last visit this was a different place, then paddle-snatching winds had ruled out passing through the gap. A nice play wave forming through the gap and there was flat water to investigate the lighthouse and all the other rock formations.

Two other Kayakers then appeared. Peter and his son had, despite Peter having a bad back, managed to join up with us. Peter lives on the Island and had helped with the tide planning for this trip so it was disappointing that he was unable to make the whole day. We now drifted down the back coast to Freshwater Bay for our next break. There are no other take-outs on this stretch. From Alum Bay to Freshwater it is about 7km. So beware if there is a strong SW blowing if you make this part of the trip.

Packing onto Freshwater beach we swapped stories and ideas whilst enjoying the sun. Peter and his son had to leave us here as we headed back to Fort Victoria. The paddle back was gentle and relaxed as we cut straight across the bays to make headway before the tide turned again.

Fort Victoria has most things you want from a wilderness camp - good clean sand, bushes to dry your kit on, 24 hr loos and a café! OK not at a true wilderness camp but well worth using. Watching the sunset over Hurst castle, the gentle lapping of the waves and the occasional bell ringing of the buoy just off shore and we had a lovely evening. Most of the other holidaymakers had wandered off by about 9.30 so we did have the beach to ourselves.

Grand planning by SESK meant we had a serenade of bagpipes in the Fort grounds and firework displays on the mainland to watch as the evening wound down. It had been a long day, an early start and 42km paddling but well worth it. Only 1 tent as the rest of us had decided to bivvi for the night. Paul did find a park bench preferable to the sand, but that may be a result of a misspent youth!

Sunday was always going to be a lazy start as we waited for the tide. It became even lazier when we realised the café didn't open till 9.30. The breakfast comes highly recommended - £4.25 for a huge fry up, toast and tea!! Even Paul had to abandon his healthy eating in the light of such a bargain.

Eventually we drifted off and hugged the coast to Yarmouth. Not being in any real hurry we wandered into Yarmouth harbour. A bit like Tesco's car park on a Sunday morning but once under the road bridge it quietens down. We followed the river Yar to the end, barely a mile from Freshwater. With a good trolley or a friend on the Isle you could circumnavigate this end of the Island in a day.

The Solent was a lot busier today (but it always will be on a summer Sunday) there was a slightly fresher breeze today but we picked a course straight through the middle of the yachts and headed home. Once across, most of us stayed inshore but a couple hung further out trying to catch some extra tidal push but without much success. Lepe beach arrived and we were all there safe and sound after a really brilliant weekends paddling. Excellent weather had certainly helped but so had the scenery and the company of those who came along.

Just a couple of notes - Parking overnight at Lepe is allowed but with prior permission of the Park wardens and you need to pay for each day you are there. The beach at Fort Victoria is an unofficial campsite but I expect gets used quite frequently. If you stop there please be sensible and don't spoil it for others in the future.

Paddlers this weekend: Nigel Williams, Paul Frost. Peter Venters, Maggie Taylor, Joe Brown, Tony Brown, Gareth Moss, Harry (?) and Terry Hutchins. Peter Whitlock and his son for Saturday afternoon.

My thanks to you all for joining in this great weekend.