The Beach Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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This cache is a cliplock container within a larger container (to try to keep it all dry!) with space for swaps and travelbugs.
In Millport bay there are 5 splendidly-named small islands - 3 small ones, the Leug, the Spoig, the Clach, and the 2 much larger Eileans. These add to the attractiveness of the bay and enhance its use as a safe anchorage for small boats, but can also present a hazard to boat users. The outer Eilean has a battery operated beacon at one end to help prevent boats from sailing into it at night!
Some adventurous steamer captains have, in the past, managed to bring their vessels safely between the Eileans at high tide, but this would not be possible these days as there are a number of popular moorings for pleasure craft near the Eileans.
Until the beginning of the 19th century it was often possible at the lowest tide to wade out across the sandbank to the inner Eilean. Unfortunately a ship sank there and it was necessary to blast out its hulk with explosives which led to a change in the formation of the sandbank. However, in recent years the sand has returned and it is sometimes possible during a low spring tide to walk out to the inner Eilean and, it is said, even to the outer Eilean!
The Eileans have never been inhabited and have had various uses over the years: some of their stone was quarried to create Portpatrick Harbour (you can still see where the stone was quarried from on the outer eilean), and there is an 1897 photo of some locals processing porpoises for their oil on one of the Eileans. The inner Eilean, which is quite tricky to land on with a boat, is popular with seals and seabirds, and it is also beautifully illuminated with padella lights (candles in small tins) each year during the annual ‘September Weekend’ fireworks display. The outer Eilean is much easier to land on because it has a small beach which offers a lovely view of the whole bay.
Unless you are lucky enough to possess a pair of long waders and are able to visit during one of the rare very low spring tides you are going to need a boat of some sort which is capable of landing on the shingle beach of the outer Eilean to get to this cache. This could be achieved with a kayak, a sailing dinghy, or a good quality inflatable dinghy with a motor or oars, but please do not attempt it with the kind of child’s inflatable boat which is only suitable for play within a few metres of a beach.
How the Eileans looked in 1951:
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
V uvq guvf juvyr oner-sbbgrq, fb lbh fubhyq or noyr gb svaq vg jvgubhg univat gb chg ba fubrf.