PADDLER 58
4 . The north coast of Scotland isn ’ t messing about
Cape Wrath is the most northwesterly point of mainland UK and is extremely gnarly . I had been so nervous about rounding it for months . It ’ s infamous – huge tidal races going in several directions , exposed to strong winds and massive waves , and with sheer cliffs for miles and miles , very few get-out points should anything go wrong .
Making it around Cape Wrath was one of the scariest paddles of my life and one I wish never to repeat . As I found myself surrounded by the craziest water I had ever been in and beginning to panic , I remembered a friend telling me how they had calmed down stranded pilot whales by singing to them .
So , as a last resort , I began to sing to myself . No idea why , but the first song that came to my head was American Pie . I admit it was a little comforting singing to myself , perhaps because it took my mind off the feeling of being totally out of control amidst millions of gallons of fast-moving water . Comforting , that is , until the line , “ This ’ ll be the day that I die ”, upon which the panic returned instantly . I made it around Cape Wrath , hoping the north coast would offer respite . It didn ’ t .
For over a week I made my way across enormous sea lochs , wind funnelling off mountains , huge cliffs and nowhere to escape . The north coast of Scotland felt real , and I felt very vulnerable , finding even more respect for Scotland ’ s waters than I already had .
5 . Scotland has spectacular , world-class wildlife
The wildlife was out of this world despite the north coast being regularly terrifying . One day I was surrounded by a pod of white-beaked dolphins ; I witnessed thousands of nesting puffins , guillemots , and razorbills ; I experienced fly-bys from fulmar and watched a seal emerge from the depths grasping a huge fish which it proceeded to tear to pieces with its teeth . I also came across a baby humpback whale , which was unfortunately deceased and wrapped up in fishing gear , and found a gannet with barbed hooks stuck in its feet . I became aware of our impacts on these beautiful animals , feeling more connected to nature around the coast than ever before .
7 . Filming an expedition is very different to doing one for fun
With just James and I on the water , we felt a lot of responsibility to capture all the important moments as best we could . This meant that from start to finish it was non-stop . We had to paddle day and night and work out logistics for that . We also had to arrange interviews , charge kit , film EVERYTHING , get scenic shots and cutaways , carefully consider sound recording , and ensure I was doing video diaries … it was full on .
Also , James was carrying all his camera kit on his kayak and felt constantly nervous about capsizing or getting salt water into the equipment . He did an incredible job , losing only one camera and lens to the water , and never once crash-landing his drone , despite launching and landing it from a kayak out to sea . What a legend . I , however , didn ’ t do so well . I fell off once during the trip – it wasn ’ t long after meeting the orca , and I was still on edge . I saw huge fins a matter of metres away from my board in the early morning low light .
They were darting around , hunting . My heart rate instantly soared , and I was convinced they were orca . I span around repeatedly , trying to see where they were , and fell in whilst wearing a radio mic . James was not impressed . Especially when we realised , they weren ’ t even Orca ; they were Risso ’ s dolphins ( still very cool animals !)
6 . Orca are really flipping big
Like , huge . Three times the length of a paddleboard . I know this because , for one very fleeting moment , a pod of them swam very speedily over to me , two males with fins taller than me circling my board while a female swam underneath me , turning on her side as she did so to look me in the eye . It was an incredible moment , absolutely life-changing and terrifying . I know that orca aren ’ t a threat to humans in the wild , but that didn ’ t stop me from experiencing a pretty intense reaction to being so close to something huge and so in control ! To witness this ridiculous reaction , please check out episode two !