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Flotsam By John Park

Of all the many joys of sea-canoeing, not least is the blissful relaxationby the campfire on a lonely beach facing the setting sun! All life is said

to have come from the sea, and whatever the truth of this there is nodoubt that the sea is a great provider, not only of food in the form of fishand shellfish, but also of the raw materials for our other necessities andcomforts of outdoor life.

By the miracle of fire, those heaps of bleached driftwood are convertedinto glowing mounds of radiant heat, toasting the feet, cheering the heart,drying the clothes, cooking the supper and miraculously turning burn

water into cans of hot, sweet, fragrantly steaming tea.No comfort is more satisfying that that which has been created from

the environment and caves, overhanging rocks, steep banks and othernatural features can be adapted to a comfort that the untrained mind cannever visualise. There are however, so many things that a bountiful seagladly casts at our feet to add to the comfort of our camp life. Theubiquitous fish box,chair with backrest, sideboard and cupboard, while

spars, broken oars, ladders, broom handles and the like form the clotheshorse on which to dry our garments and toast our sleeping bags at thefire.

Wooden pallets, those slatted platforms used for slinging cargo, areoften found. Placed on edge with the slats horizontal, a couple of longplanks can be inserted between the two top slats for about one fifth oftheir length; the pallet then forms a secure and rigid upright leaning back

on the longer lengths of planking, while the shorter lengths projectforward to form the base for a cantilevered roof. This roof may best beconstructed with short planks laid transversely, and the whole structuremade rainproof by interweaving polythene sacks, strips of canvas,matting or even seaweed. A wet day offers few pleasures greater thansitting warm, dry and snug at a blazing fire, looking seaward to throughthe rain to see what old Neptune is next going to cast at our feet on theincoming tide There is comfort too, when the wind blows the tops offthe waves and inhibits our canoeing, in the knowledge that this samewind is blowing the headgear off the heads of of fishermen, landed gentryand workmen on Oil related developments, to redistribute this in due

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course to the beachcomber. Few sea canoeists need ever buy a sou’-wester, deerstalker or humble bunnet, for the sea not only provides thesein it’s bounty, but also has the miraculous property of shrinking largesizes and expanding small sizes so that it is an invariable rule that all

headgear found is the correct size for the finder. The distribution ofheadgear along the western seaboard is an interesting study that couldwell lead the serious student to a place in the scientific sun. It will befound that all hats lie on beaches exposed to the south or west. Theoilskin sou’-wester in now almost extinct but the P.V.C. Type iswidespread, particularly the yellow kind. The black kind is largelyconfined to the Firth of Clyde. “Gannex”caps are mainly found inKnapdale and Nether Lorne, while deerstalkers and hand tailored tweed

caps with tartan linings tend to congregate north of Ardnamurchen Point.North Ayrshire and the Cumbries are the best for ordinary cloth caps,but these are seldom worth using other than for lifting hot frying pansfrom the fire

Short wellington boots are plentiful but seldom found in pairs, and unlikehats, are usually of the wrong size. In compensation, plastic “Flip Flops”are usually wearable, although right and left often have to be of different

designs.

Double texture nylon over trousers of the Royal Navy’s “Foulweather”specification are always an excellent find, and the Sound of Buteis a good area for these. P.V.C. Jackets are also useful garments, althoughit will be found that the kind having a civil engineering firm’s nameacross the backare often torn in places. However, the sleeves can readilybe adapted as servicable gaiters for us in scrambling up the scree of cliffs

and mountain sides.

Motor tyre inner tubes can be cut circumferentially to give two largestrong rubber bands or, cut radially, will give a large number of smallerbands. Five gallon plastic Jerry cans are readily converted to usefullidded boxes by cutting longitudinally three inches from one side. Theyalso make good washbasins should you wish to wash that elegant scarfor shirt found lying among the seaweed. Plastic detergent bottles oftenhave enough residual liquid to cope with any washing the canoeist mayhave to do, while deck scrubbers and similar type brushes will help keepthe floor of your cave clean and tidy.

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Combs are found on all beaches in profusion, and plastic curlersoccasionally, so the canoeist has no excuse when examining his reflectionin a pool of seawater after trying on his latest sartorial find, for presentingan unkempt appearance.

Synthetic fibre ropes are always useful. Fishing nets of braided nylon,when unknotted, provide convenient lanyards, while polypropylene netsand cordage can be teased out to give single strands ideal for whippingrope ends, sewing on buttons or making casts for fishing lines, the linesthemselves being frequently found complete with floats. A stoutscrewdriver should be in every beachcomber’s kit as useful nauticalironmongary is often attached to wreckage, and small pulley blocks,

fairleads and shackles are always worth keeping, along with bronze orstainless steel screws. Ammunition boxes are even better than fish boxes,but make sure they are empty before putting them beside the fire!

At least one member of our club has had the skill to find a full survivalkit, complete with Bible and playing cards, and few can hope to equal orbetter that. Nevertheless, keep looking! The eternal ocean will continueto cast it’s rubbish and treasures at our feet with careless abandon, and

is the the reality behind the fabled “Lucky Middens” of Cliff Hanley’sBoyhood Glasgow.

Good Hunting JP. The Paddler 1976