Circumnavigation:
Holy Island

Route Distance: ~18 nm / 33.3 km
Prevailing direction: CCW
Record: 2014 - 02:55:45
Solo: 7
Team: 10

Records

John Willacy
K1M02:55:452014
David Attenborough
K1M04:18:392013
John Willacy
K1M04:28:002005
Image

There are a number of 'Holy Islands' dotted around the country - this one (Ynys Gybi) is linked to the Isle of Anglesey. While Anglesey is a popular paddling destination itself, the Holy Island cicumnav condenses the best of Anglesey into a one day adventure. This popular trip involves a wide range of the sea paddling spectrum: tideraces and overfalls, sheer cliffs, caves and coves, along with inland paddling and sandy beaches. Tidal planning is crucial here as there are two tidal sluices through the embankments to negotiate - at Stanley and Four Mile Bridge.

BEWARE: To negotiate Stanley Embankment correct tidal timing is ESSENTIAL - this sluice is LETHALLY DANGEROUS at certain points of the tide.

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Circumnavigation: Holy Island

Solo

Click column header to sort.
Posn.K1WCatPaddlerElapsedDateBoatTideDirNoteVerifiedLink1
1K1MJohn Willacy02:55:4513-Jun-14Rockpool Taran 18
CCWYes
2K1MJohn Willacy03:03:2014-Jul-21Rockpool Taran 18
CCWYes
3K1MJohn Willacy03:18:3722-Jul-21Rockpool Taran 18
CWYes
4K1MJohn Willacy03:28:0228-Jan-23Rockpool Taran 18
CWYes
5K1MRichard Griffiths Hughes03:53:3322-Jul-21Rockpool Taran 18
CCWYes
6K1MDavid Attenborough04:18:3904-Dec-13P+H Quest
CCWYes
7K1MJohn Willacy04:28:0021-Nov-05Nelo Inuk
CCWYes

7 solo paddlers

Teams

Click column header to sort.
Posn.CatPaddlerElapsedDateBoatTideDirNoteVerifiedLink1
1TeamPascale Eichenmuller
John Willacy		03:29:5726-Aug-19Rockpool Taran 18
Rockpool Taran 18
CCWYes
2TeamPascale Eichenmuller
John Willacy		03:50:5407-May-21Rockpool Taran 18
Rockpool Taran 16
CCWYes
3TeamNick Cunliffe
Kamala Sen		04:50:0610-Sep-15Valley Avocet
Valley Nordkapp LV
--
4TeamPete Evans
Steve Miles		05:00:0012-Feb-13SKUK Explorer
Rockpool GT
CCWYes
5TeamBryan Dickinson
Jenny Wong		05:03:5210-Jul-21Rockpool Taran 18
Rockpool Taran 16
CCWYes
6TeamGary Edwards
Thomas Edwards		05:35:1715-Oct-23SKUK Romany Excel
SKUK Romany Surf
CCWYes
7TeamJames Gerrie
Eamon Hanlon
Roger Simmons		06:09:5831-Aug-23SKUK Romany Surf
P+H Delphin
SKUK Romany Surf
CCWYes
8TeamSteve Miles
? ?		06:51:4211-Apr-21

CCWYes
9TeamSteve Ahearne
John Willacy		07:05:0015-Sep-07Rockpool Alaw Bach
P+H Quest
CCW--
10TeamJames Gerrie
_ unnamed group		07:10:0214-Jul-22SKUK Romany Surf

CCWYes

10 Teams -- 21 Paddlers

Notes

David Attenborough (04-Dec-13)
David set the standard for a Holy Island Circumnav. He had a 13 min wait at Stanley Embankment for the flow to ease off enough for a safe passage through. From David:" I learnt a lot on this trip, which means I should be able to beat my time in the future. The reasons I believe this record could be beaten: As I said I had to stop for 13 minutes at Stanley Embankment to wait for the speed on water to slow so I could paddle up it; I was paddling with a force 4-5 NW wind that slowed my progress on my Northward and Westward legs of the trip and made the seas north of Holyhead 'Interesting' and those around North Stack 'Very Interesting' (and Exhausting!); This trip was done on a spring tide (Liverpool 9.9m)"
Pete Evans / Steve Miles (12-Feb-13)
From Steve: "We had to wait on Stanley for half an hour and could not resist ten minutes playing on the South Stack wave,it was just perfect. And, 10 mins out of my boat at Penryn Mawr, which wasn't running (but don't ask)."

Summary:

Circumnavigation: Holy Island

Solo paddlers: 7
Team paddlers: 21
Teams: 10

Recorded Start Points:
    • Borthwen (4)
    • Cymyran (3)
    • Holyhead (1)
    • Penrhos (1)
    • Porth Dafarch (6)
    • Rhoscolyn (1)
    • Treaddur Bay (1)

How To Submit A Time/Paddle.

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