SHETLAND ADVENTURE

A bold plan to cruise 130nm from Largs on the west coast of Scotland to the Shetland Isles in his 25ft Finnmaster shows that size is no limit to adventure for kayaker Andrew Morton

- Andrew Morton

I was brought up with boats from an early age. My father bought a Seagull outboard, without a boat. We just hired a rowing boat on holiday, fitted the outboard and off we went, exploring the myriad lochs and islands of the west coast of Scotland. I can still remember the starting technique: you unscrewed the petrol air lock, switched on the fuel, closed the choke, set the throttle to half way, wound the rope round the wheel on top and pulled on the cord, after warning all those behind you to sit well back!

In my teens, I was desperate to have my own boat but all I could afford was a kayak, or a canoe as we called it in those days. It was made of canvas and wood, and came as a kit. The handyman who assembled it for me also built a trailer for it so that I could fit it to the back of my bike and cycle the 4 miles to Loch Lomond and go canoeing any time I wanted. Happy days.

Why do I tell you all this? Because 58 years later I am still kayaking and all that experience on river, loch and sea has stood me in good stead for cruising on my bigger boat – Tiptoe. When I’m caught out in stormy weather or on a powerful tidal race, I’m less stressed because I’ve paddled on much worse in my kayak, and survived. A wave over the head is no big deal!

PADDLE POWER

Wind the clock forward to 2005 and at last I could afford my own motorboat. It was a second-hand Bayliner, and cost me £10,000. The salesman said, “You’ll soon be on to something bigger and better!” And of course he was right. By 2011 I was onto my third boat, a brand new Finnmaster 76CA, which cost me close to 10 times the price of my Bayliner.