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leadership / group management , medicine , photography / videography , camp craft and ‘ feral ’ living , plus many other useful skills to lubricate the mechanism of our quest .
THE TEAM
We are a group of nine paddlers who have grown to enjoy each other ’ s company . A lot of ice was broken , eating and camping together near Oban , before sharing a wonderful lunchtime ferry journey to Castlebay , Barra . Mull gave us our first captivating wildlife sightings of a porpoise and white-tailed eagle . On reaching the open sea adjacent to Coll and Tiree , a large pod of common dolphins entertained us with high-speed gymnastic manoeuvres of joy . As team building experiences go , this five-hour ferry journey was a great way to start our time together .
We have since discovered so much to like and respect about each other . Our past and present working lives have included : travelling the developing world as a missionary doctor ; flying helicopters for both the army and police ; social science international development ; police work and industrial rope access ; social housing and computer coding ; anaesthetics and intensive care ; chef work on three continents , sea kayak building and coaching ; physiotherapy and medical safety ; teaching and more sea kayak coaching . Our interests and values are equally fascinating and varied . It is the privilege of my working life to get to know such amazing people on great sea kayaking adventures .
We are developing mutual support and trust for each other . Off the water , the teamwork continues in our camp craft and camaraderie . Shared food , including foraged and appropriate Scottish whiskey , adds to the team ’ s morale .
THE SKILLS
Each team member brings valuable skills to our joint endeavour . From a sea kayaking perspective , we are all at least competent group members in moderate water conditions . Our team members also bring specialist further expertise in meteorology ,
THE WILDERNESS
Sea kayak expeditions are about exploring wild places and taking a break from our everyday existence . The Outer Hebrides exemplifies this with its dramatic environment and wildlife . Our biodiversity log has further grown : more white-tailed and golden eagles , bottlenose dolphins , otters , urchins , starfish , sponges , edible seaweeds , great northern divers , gannets , black and standard guillemots , terns , skuas , skylarks , the calls of corncrakes , cuckoos and so much more .
This edge of the world environment sees substantial Atlantic Ocean swell meeting great cliffs and beaches . We are near the birthplace of North Atlantic lowpressure systems , which occasionally torment these islands with awesomely powerful storms . Time spent in this environment helps put into perspective our every day worries .
HISTORY AND CULTURE
We ’ ve had a rest day on Vatersay to explore the local history through its community centre and our welcoming local permanent resident neighbours . At the far end of the island , we visited Eorasdail . Founded in the 1900s and abandoned in the 1970s . It was established by fishermen from neighbouring Mingulay Island . Only the gable book ends of houses remain , a testament to brave and inspiring people .
Memorials on Vatersay also record two voyaging tragedies caused by storm conditions . An emigrant ship , the “ Annie Jane ”, bound from Liverpool to Quebec , was wrecked here in 1853 , killing 350 people . And during the Second World War , an antisubmarine Catalina flying boat crashed with the loss of 9 young airmen . Twisted aluminium wreckage marks the crash site . These remind us of the dangers of exploring the seas and skies around Vatersay .
THE MEMORIES
Our experiences will soon be collated into a series of stories / anecdotes , illustrated with our albums of photos and videos . We will remember stepping out of our kayaks into far deeper than expected landing waters ; rainbows , sunsets , starry nights , sunny blue skies , crystal clear waters , turbulent seas , and the passage of weather fronts . We met friendly local people and unexpectedly met up with old friends
PADDLER 97