Mike Ashton was driving me back to the surf club launching site. Thanks, Mike!

I decided to launch at midday with the outgoing high tide, and hoping once paddled around Charles Point and the tide turned the ingoing tide into Bynoe Harbour would help me again.

Plus I wanted to check on the post office Monday morning if a missing parcel eventually arrived. Plus I didn’t get much sleep the last two nights and hoped to sleep in a bit Monday morning…(which I again didn’t, 3 hrs for that night again only…too upbeat…)

So I was ready to go at 12.15 Monday, after a quick ABC radio live interview from my mobile, standing in a quiet corner in the post office, and some interview and press shots for the Darwin paper on the beach.

Jo, a nice sporty fire fighter girl, living at Helen’s house upstairs, drove me around to the post office and to an electronic shop to get a new mouse for my computer. She and a friend also joined me for the first half hr paddling alongside on their surf skis. Thank you, Jo!!!

My boat was as heavy loaded as never so far, food for three weeks takes weight and space.

I loaded fresh water only for three days, as I would be able to fill up again on at Channel Point. But I reckoned I was a bit generous in food shopping…but I simply don’t like to get sick of having no or no choices in food. I could have posted food parcels ahead, but was simply too busy and lazy…so paddling again a 100kg+ boat!

I felt quite out of tune with the sea after that long 12-days break, but I was mentally relaxed and full of happiness. It feels sooooooooooooooo good to be in love!!! 

Thank you, Greg, being there for me! Even a strong woman sometimes needs a strong man’s shoulder…

Some friends said I may lose some “fans” by making my new love public…I really appreciate the worldwide supportive “fan club” I’ve got and the mental support with all the positive comments!

I love my role in the public interaction, but what a woman (and a man as well, I reckon…) *really* thrives on is not being everybody’s public darling only, but having “The Shoulder” to lean on…it will make my public appearance only more energetic and sparkling!

So no worries, guys, I’m not “lost” for continuing the trip and the public gossip… just simply lost my heart…happens…but I’m already full of brand new ideas for the future! Please stay tuned!

Once my two surfski escort paddlers left me, I was alone again on the water…slowly finding the rhythm back again.

I estimated to arrive at Dum In Mirie Island in darkness around midnight, but definitively underestimated my lack of sleep, the very heavy boat and the not at all pushing tides at neap tide. 

Around Charles Point the steady south easterlywind was quartering, was soon there was no noticeable wind and tide any more once it turned dark.

Luckily the moon was full out in his half, so it was actually quite a beautiful and easy night’s paddle. If there won’t be my urgent need for some quality sleep…

As the water was quiet, it was easy for my to lay on the back deck and go for deep short powernaps without extra stabilisation…helpful, but it took it’s time…it was eventually around 4am when I turned around the south-eastern corner of Dum In Mirie Island, ready to head to the beach landing and settlement on the western side.

My map and GPS chart showed a reef connecting the chain of 6 bigger islands west of Port Patterson, but so far a reef has been everything from looking on the map, from a shallow sandy always flooded spot to an always dry rocky area.

I simply didn’t expect to arrive that much after high tide at 1am, and I simply didn’t expect parts of the reef was that dry already I can’t pass over it with a kayak…I may have been on thesafer side paddlind along the north western side of the island chain, but…

And it happened…I was quite a while paddling already in now moonless darkness on the reef area without problems, easy afloat in deep water.

But eventually I noticed I was stuck on a rocky reef with sharp edges, which I couldn’t previously spot with my flashlight. The map and chart didn’t show anything different than “reef”.…I careful tried to back up, but had to exit my boat to avoid damage on the hull.

Luckily my neoprene socks were always handy on my deck for such occasions, as barefoot in TEVA’s only may still give you ugly scratches on the feet. And no way could I afford any more skin damage in the tropics. I was just nicely healed…

So sock and sandals on, I dared to jump into the shallows to navigate my boat out of the trap. A BIG splash besides me scared me to death in the dark night, and the rushing away creature was obviously scared as well.

It may have been a big Manta Ray, as later in light I saw quite some flying around. But it may as well have been a croc…though I didn’t spot any shiny eyes before I dared to jump out.

But I can tell you, it is NOT a nice feeling stumbling around in knee deep water through rocky sharp reefs in pitch darkness with having a moderate strong flashlight handy only…

I thought I found the exit eventually and jumped in my boat again to paddle on, paddled hard, just to notice I was stuck again on a rock…I reckoned later that rock and my hard paddling in darkness thinking I’m free of rocks already made that ugly hole in my hull, which I discovered also only later…

I jumped out again, stumbled around a bit more to find back to the deep water, some more scary splashes besides me…I was frightened to death!!!

Eventually I decided at 5am it’s not worth risking damaging the boat and a croc nibbling on my legs…I simply jumped in the kayak again, felt I was sitting ok on a flatish rock ledge with no big poking rocks around, and went for a nap. Fuck the splashes around me…

Low tide and light was at 6am…so one hour at least to get some urgently needed rest. Then I could at least *see* see what happened and where I am…the easy landing beach should not be far away!!!