Fri 23/01-2015 Day 759

[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-qd4XZtZ2-Xw/VM4GZMO4gvI/AAAAAAAAlJ4/f-XeBfzBa0s/s144-c-o/IMG_1145.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage22Brazil5SalvadorToRioDeJaneiro#6110828774238487282″ caption=”The “Prins der Nederlanden” is watching me…” type=”image” alt=”IMG_1145.JPG” ]

 

Highlights: Thank goodness this small river mouth is there to land safely
Lowlights: Horrible landing all day in high wind
Launch: Big dumper with no great timing
Landing: Through low to moderate surf into calm water
Pos: here
Loc: Barra do Furado
Acc: tent
Dist: 40,3 km
Start: 6:30 End: 13:50

I had a quiet night with no visits, just that huge ship I guessed was eventually sitting still behind me with inside the harbor wall with the bridge towering high over me with great view on my camp site was maneuvering all night – in, out, turning, what the heck were they doing? Was that kind of a”driving school” lesson during the night inside narrow harbor walls? In the morning I could see the ship’s name – Prins der Nederlanden – maybe they were lost? 🙂 It was some kind of a special task ship, I assume working with building the arbor walls some how.

When I was due to get up, the wind was blowing strong straight on my beach, fore casted were 10-15 knots in the morning, 15-20 knots in the after noon. The only safe landing was in 40 km inside a small river mouth. the rest of the coast until there I could only guess from the satellite images – as the coast was eventually trending very much to the west south west and this has always meant calm seas and easy landings with a wind blowing along the coast and slight bit offshore, I assumed I could basically land eventually every where after the wide bent. The surf on the sat images looked accordingly.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-6nWdQ1-cQOQ/VM4GaRFx9MI/AAAAAAAAlJ4/UZn_CLog0hg/s144-c-o/IMG_1147.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage22Brazil5SalvadorToRioDeJaneiro#6110828792722355394″ caption=”Launch under the eyes of the bridge” type=”image” alt=”IMG_1147.JPG” ]

I was very wrong. My launch was already not the best, I felt so much watched by the guys from the huge ship’s bridge…but besides a cockpit half full of water all went all right. I pumped out, while watching not to get blown back to the beach. Then it was a kilometer of a tough paddle against the wind in quite big seas out to the last break water limiting this ugly harbor area. Very unfriendly paddling, and rounding the top of the break water was horrible. The very end was actually a long heavy floating jetty, not sure if that was meant permanent, or do they need them to extend the solid rock break water? I have no idea how they build such things. But no wonder there were yellow warning tons all around the end, but rounding those would have meant another long paddle against the wind…so I just went across this big heavy confused reflective waves area, inside the break water end and even more on the other side.

It slowly calmed down with the confused water, the big seas stayed for a while.No breakers though. I was hoping to get calm waters turning slowly but surely around the big corner, which basically was the case, but with the wind eventually reaching 20 knots. The beach looked steep every where, with the white wash from the dumper reaching horrible high.No wayyou could land here!

I turned around more, the wind eventually fully in my back from NE, the sea got slightly down, but the beach and landing stayed the same. Why the heck? I could paddle now relatively fast with strong wind from due behind, when I reached the area of some city with people on the beach and swimming. When they could swim in there, I should be able to land – if I wanted to? They were all surfers…and they got even more after some relatively harmless looking steep beach dumper area to what came after that…but first I was wondering why the city’s really huge fishing boat fleet was all on land? And not small boats, all large fish trawlers, which are always staying anchoring out in the water! They were about 100!! Ok, I also saw a bunch of new looking traktors and some ships on wheels, but no landing or launching action today, despite a bunch of fish trawlers being out there. To my idea, just recently this coast was either hit by a Tsunami, as the broken houses at the last big river mouth may have shown, or this coast got over the last few years some not normal heavy swells dumping on the beach. So many large ships can’t be planned to be stored all on land!

After this area with the dry parked boats where I may have been able to land with some luck, the surf on the beach really got out of control.The fat dumper was rolling in from SW hollow in a tube, looking like one of those waves the guys are surfing in Hawaii! Well, maybe a slight bit smaller, but so nasty I really didn’t dare to look and to envision I may get caught by one of those! I could paddle relatively close on relatively calm low swell water, how do such shore waves develop here? Well, it must surely have to do with the NE wind and the SW waves which seems to be such an unusual constellation that it is even marked on the chart having northely winds in this area here. How should I know…

The massive tubular waves calmed down eventually to still heavy fat dumpers washing high up the beach. I really needed to keep my nerves and trusting this tiny river mouth will be a safe landing also for me.Many fishing boats came my way, they obviously can get over the breaking bar which is clearly to be seen on the sat images. Still it was a mental very tough paddle, strong wind, no safe landing on the beach, and not sure about the river…

Some pile of artificial rocks about 2 km before looked on the sat images doable, but it was full of surfers and no good at all.Now the entry…surf went right onto the beach inside, but when I keep very close to the eastern break water wall, I could avoid the worst…still I got side surfed right on to the beach, but with moderate force on a shallow river beach I could brace out and paddle quickly into the calm sheltered water. Thank goodness…I’m in! A real relief…

I landed on the village beach, already thinking this is the place to stay and surrounded by a few curious people, when I discovered a remote beach on the other side and quickly launched again. This was the windy corner of the river mouth, and I dared to take a look on the steep beach surf. No, thank you…and camping here would not be too lonely also, as already two curious youngsters were following me by swimming just across the narrow river with fins…smiling broadly at me about their skills…but hey, there was another narrow river beach a bit more inside, with a flat meadow behind to camp on! Yes this is where I’ll be going, a remote beach with unlikely beach swimmers here, and a grassy spot to camp on with no flying sand and less wind. Yahoo! My privacy for this night…

But the wind carried the beach music noise over,and later around high tide two large fishing boats were anchoring on my side just close to me, obviously no unusual spot. But they leave me alone…probably they have seen me paddling offshore anyway and have respect.

For the next section, there will be no safe landing for 80 km until the river of Macaé. Not sure if the dumping surf calms down at some point and I could short cut this stretch…I really hope! 80 km with good following winds may be doable just in day light, but ugly.I will decide ifI go tomorrow or if I’ll put ina rest day before this stretch. This camp spot would be inviting for such a break!

4 comments on “Fri 23/01-2015 Day 759

My partner and I absolutely love your blog and find a lot of your post’s to be just what I’m looking for. Does one offer guest writers to write content for yourself? I wouldn’t mind publishing a post or elaborating on a number of the subjects you write about here. Again, awesome site!

Hi there! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my previous room mate! He always kept chatting about this. I will forward this post to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thank you for sharing!

Randall Lackey

Sounds like you’ve had a rough, challenging day. Rest well or I hope you maybe take a day off and prepare for possibly another long tough stretch. Either way, I’m sure you’ll me the task, even if you have to pay for it that night. Safe Paddling.

Frances Price

Since I do not have the skill or courage of Freya, Goddess of Love to the Seas, I shall be content with kayaking on the lakes here, and reading about your adventures. How I would love to see video of you fighting your way skillfully through the waves! Thank you for sharing this blog, Freya. I have told my students about you, and they will often ask about your progress. So you are inspiring youngsters, too.

Comments are closed