Deep Water Soloing Update - July / Aug

Since getting back from our North Wales seakayaking trip, I have been mad-keen and psyched to get back on the DWS now that the weather has improved and water temperatures have slowly increased! After several trips to the Meadfoot area of Torquay to get back on it and rack up some mileage on the abundance of quality routes there, I turned my attention to an area I hadn't been to before - Black Head, over Ansteys Cove area, Torquay. There are only a small collection of DWS routes here, but the climbing is super-steep and you can do laps on the routes to get a full power-endurance work out. It's a super little venue! I managed to onsight the brilliant Bazuka, 6b+, and the superb cave traverse here on my first visit, but couldn't commit to the powerful moves of Veruca, 7a/7a+ due to the rough sea state that day. After a bit of beta and a route description from Dave Henderson, who put up the routes, I went back a week later in more favourable conditions, and after a little bit of a play around and the chalking up of some holds, I managed to climb the route first go with no splashdowns. Result! :) 
Next up was a few trips to Lulworth Cove and the amazing Stair Hole! On my first visit the main steep sections of cliff were suffering from damp conditions and I was unable to get on the classic 'Horny Lil' Devil', 7a, that I so wanted to do. Instead I onsighted the fantastic 'Laws Traverse', 6b+, which had a great roof section and some splendid steep climbing in it, as well as other classics, including; 'The Maypole', 6a, 'Last Seasons Loozas', 5, and 'Cheddar Direct', 4+, to name but a few. On my second visit conditions were much better, with dry rock and neap high tides in the middle of the day that coincided with sun on the main steep sections of the crag. Perfect, Super! The first day there I spent some time trying the classic 'Animal Magnetism', 7a+, but couldn't unlock the right sequence in the middle of the main steep section of the route. After several splashdowns and a sliced up finger I admitted defeat that day and went back to cruising a few classics to get my flow back again. Second day, and I was super amped to get Horny Lil' Devil in the bag, so I wasted no time in getting straight on it! This route is steep and juggy with some big moves in it - much more my style! On my first attempt I made it past the halfway point and up to a large recess, but found it quite technical and struggled to get from here to the next big porthole jug, resulting in pumped arms and my first splashdown of the day. Second go, and I managed to get past the recess, and the next few juggy holds, and into the finishing corner, but getting my hand-sequence wrong here saw me pumped out and taking my second splashdown. Third go and I had the route and sequences wired, so all I had to do was climb efficiently and get it all right and the route would be mine. Halfway through the route and a kayaker paddles right underneath me coming out of the cave entrance! Undeterred I carried on, climbing smoothly and speedily to help avoid the pump. On the last big move into the corner I failed to latch the last porthole hold, but luckily held on! I tried it again, and still couldn't reach it! Getting a bit pumped now, I readjusted my feet and just threw myself at the hold, finally latching it. Woohoo! A couple more moves up and I was onto a ledge for a bit of a shake-out, before completing the final finishing moves to the top. I'd made it! So happy! Woohoo! Yeah! What a route - fantastic! :) Mission accomplished, I did my victory jump! Then I bashed out the Laws Traverse and The Maypole before calling it a day and heading home again. Loved Lulworth! :)
And then Berry Head DWS season arrived! Awesome! :) I was on it on the 1st of August, the day the bird-ban lifted, smashing out the classic Rainbow Bridge (upto the crux pitch) before heading over to the White Rhino buttress to bang out most of the super-steep routes there too. In fact, I was up there for the first three days straight, with the Saturday being by far the best day of the three for me. I was feeling pretty strong both physically and mentally that day, managing to complete the following routes in just the afternoon: Magical Mystery Tour, 6a+, The Wave, 6c, Rainbow Bridge Continuation, 6b, Cod Tympani, 7a+, White Rhino Tea, 7a (x3), Whoomze got der Keys to me Beema, 6c, Barnacle continuation, 6b/6c, Pink Roadster, 6c, Crossing the Tea, 7a, Watting yer Ouzel, 6c+, and the superb Cave Woman, 6c. After a couple of rest days, due to wet weather, I was back on it for most of the following week, adding The Oz Wall, 6b+, High Tide Running, 6b, Aeronautics, 6c, and Rainbow Scoop, 6c to the list, as well as spending a great deal of time lapping routes on the White Rhino buttress for more power-endurance training, prior to our proposed DWS trip to Portugal this year at the end of September. 
I've been to the DWS Mecca of Mallorca now for the last two years, and although it is indeed a fantastic venue for rope free climbing over the sea, I fancied a bit of a change this year. The Portugal section in the Mike Robertson 'Deep Water' guide book looked really inspiring to me, with lots of super-steep juggy routes above the beautiful blue atlantic, and the added bonus of surf on the menu for some of the rest days. The other key ingredient that swayed the decision for me, was the added bonus of about four routes in the 7b range, with at least two of them holding the coveted three-star status! My aim for this trip is to climb my first 7b route. Weirdly, Mallorca doesn't really have any three-star 7b's, and certainly none that suit my climbing style, so Portugal with numerous top-quality three-star 7b's that are steep, juggy, and 'SO' seems to fit the bill perfectly for me! :) Super-excited! I can't wait! :D
In the meantime it's back to climbing at Berry Head to keep the training going and hopefully get a bit stronger in preparation for Portugal! Can't complain! Love it! ;)
Photos, top to bottom: Black Head Cave, climbing the Crux of Veruca 7a+, Horny Lil' Devil 7a route, Lulworth Cove and Stair Hole view, climbing White Rhino Tea 7a at Berry Head.