So after spending the day hiking in the mountains, I spent the evening canoeing on the Menai Straits. After the gales this morning, I was concerned that it would be too windy for my group to safely navigate the straits in the dark, but as it turned out, conditions were perfect and there was not a breath of wind! In fact the water was like glass; without a ripple. With a glow-stick on our bouyancy aid (for safety more than lighting the way), but without torches, we set off from Plas Newydd on Anglesey. There was a sliver of moon showing and just enough light to guide us as we paddled west and across to the mainland at Y Felinheli.
There was loads of phosphorescence in the water, which glowed an eery bright green colour wherever the water was disturbed. At times it was so strong that any splash or bow wave had a bright green flash that slowly faded. It was mesmerising stuff and the students who had never seen it before were blown away. A stop for chips in Y Felinheli fuelled us up nicely for the return voyage where the weird lights in the water shone as bright as I've ever seen it. A slight haze of cloud cover prevented much in the way of star spotting, but the the main show was in the water. What a weird but wonderful way to spend a Sunday night!
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