Studland Bay and Old Harry

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A group of seven of us booked on to a trip to Studland Bay organised by Mendip Outdoor Pursuits (MOP) Tim and Mike.

From the club were Martin Aspinall, Paul Farmer, Gavin, Carol and Aaron Price plus two others from outside the club.

Having read a recent article in the latest Canoe Focus magazine showing glorious pictures of sun and blue waters we expected the same but it was not to be.

We arived at the National Trust car park and parked 20 feet from the sea, unloaded our gear, changed and dragged our boats down the beach and set off.

We followed the shoreline around Studland Bay and along the way practised sea kayaking skills like leaning into the waves, which we were told would help us in what was to come! We also did a bit of rock hopping and also enjoyed the geology and wild life as we passed along the bottom of the cliffs.

As we paddled on, we noticed that the horizon had an odd look as we approached it and as we got closer we realised in was a churning sea, whipped up by the force 6 winds blowing around the headland.

Eventually we came to the end of the cliffs and the open sea and Old Harry. Mike and Tim went ahead to check the conditions but unfortunately they were too extreme for our abilities. Instead, we formed into two smaller groups and under the careful guidance of Tim and Mike, each was taken closer to Old Harry to experience the wind and waves - not recommended for the faint hearted.

We were then given the option to paddle one at a time around Old Harry and Paul, Gavin and Aaron volunteered. This involved setting off into the force 6 wind and surging waves and paddling hard between Old Harry and the cliffs and avoid being pushed into either or hitting rocks exposed by wave troughs. Once through, hard paddling was still needed to get out to deeper water for the return leg and avoid being hit side on by rollers.

After the excitement, we paddled back to Studland beach for some lunch and tea in one of the beach cafes followed by some more skills practise in the calm waters before packing up for home.