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No Tornadoes on Dawlish Seafront
I'd heard that Tornado, the lovely new Peppercorn Class A1 steam loco, was going to be passing the South Devon coast today. I'm no train-spotter, but thundering steam and pretty cliffs is a photo opportunity if ever there was one. A plan was hatched: paddle out to a scenic spot, lay in wait and get a killer picture.
First, I'd need a sea anchor. Kayaks drift in the wind, and inflatables doubly so: I need a parking brake. A small Ikea bag was quickly repurposed: some coat-hanger to stiffen the mouth open, and many staples to hold it in place and discipline the handles. Add a grotty old carabiner and Bob's your uncle: just clip to the anchor line (which is in the anchor trolley). The sea anchor, it must be said, was great. You could fish with this, easily. I could certainly put the paddle aside and concentrate on the photography with both hands and full attention. The boat went deliciously stable, and drift was right down under 10m / minute (tested with the GPS anchor-drag alert). To work as a drogue I'll want to put a fist-sized hole in the base, to allow a smoother flow-through. Still, pretty damn fine for free.
So there I was, watching the world go by, and very mellow it was. The allotted time approached. The light was awful: hard reflection off the water and the cliffs in shadow - should have guessed that. Still, a thundering steam locomotive: that's teh awesum. I can fix the rest in post.
Only the train never came. I got excited over more bloody Virgin CrossCountry trains and more two-car local runabouts than is reasonable. Eventually I had to pack up. And it turns out all the train photos were rubbish anyway (though I did get a nice one of a tour boat, a poopy buoy and another mandatory cockpit shot). A lovely calm, mellow little paddle even without the star of the show.
(title hat tip to Andy Horton, who may well have found a tornado today)
First, I'd need a sea anchor. Kayaks drift in the wind, and inflatables doubly so: I need a parking brake. A small Ikea bag was quickly repurposed: some coat-hanger to stiffen the mouth open, and many staples to hold it in place and discipline the handles. Add a grotty old carabiner and Bob's your uncle: just clip to the anchor line (which is in the anchor trolley). The sea anchor, it must be said, was great. You could fish with this, easily. I could certainly put the paddle aside and concentrate on the photography with both hands and full attention. The boat went deliciously stable, and drift was right down under 10m / minute (tested with the GPS anchor-drag alert). To work as a drogue I'll want to put a fist-sized hole in the base, to allow a smoother flow-through. Still, pretty damn fine for free.
So there I was, watching the world go by, and very mellow it was. The allotted time approached. The light was awful: hard reflection off the water and the cliffs in shadow - should have guessed that. Still, a thundering steam locomotive: that's teh awesum. I can fix the rest in post.
Only the train never came. I got excited over more bloody Virgin CrossCountry trains and more two-car local runabouts than is reasonable. Eventually I had to pack up. And it turns out all the train photos were rubbish anyway (though I did get a nice one of a tour boat, a poopy buoy and another mandatory cockpit shot). A lovely calm, mellow little paddle even without the star of the show.
(title hat tip to Andy Horton, who may well have found a tornado today)