Searching for the hidden gateway to Atlantic

The Radio 4 forecast at 5.20am confirmed what we knew already, we were going to paddle that day. We allowed ourselves the luxury of another 1.5 hour of sleep and then, finally got going.

The paddle around the lighthouse and further past Rhuba Heallacro was again a spectacular display of what nature could create, however we were more interested in what was to come next. In the past the locals built a causeway between South Uist and Benbecula to ease their travels between the islands. Great but could we go through? Not much information on the chart apart from that is an area with very shallow water. We timed to be there at high water. We could see cars driving across the sound, how could we get the kayaks across?

And then we saw it, a little bridge, yes we can! What’s more, there was a co-op as well. Finally, as we finished the first bottle of whisky of this trip that same morning.

After a short break the sound had filled with water. Now we had to find the break between the Gualan sand bar and the island. It wasn’t easy, the land, the dunes and the rocky outcrops, all looked like one. Sometimes the water was just few inches deep and we worried of beaching it.

Suddenly the tide started to run against us, there must be a break. And then we saw it, the chanel through. So we paddled into the North Atlantic.