Day 221, Wednesday, 26.08.2009

(picture by Mac Holt)

 

I felt ready to go again – six days break were more than enough! I was planning on two recovery days from the overnight stint along the cliffs, and I reckon I missed out at least two good weather days. But my body said “no” , and it was quite clear this time. I can’t even remember when I have been that sick!

 

The rescue team around Mac Holt wanted to make up their unlucky performance on my arrival, and volunteered to elp me to get my gear down to the beach and to escort me out of the river mouth. Thanks, Mac and crew!

 

The guys arrived in time at 6.45, and I was quite happy to get going again.

 

The paddle out of the river mouth this morning was nothing compared to the arrival day, I didn‘t even get a single drop in my face! Well, probably because of Mac’s great guiding…  :-))

 

Winds were light to moderate as forecasted, with getting a bit stronger in the afternoon. Normal pattern…

I was happily paddling on a low swell close along the cliffs, first time enjoying close by the view of probably a similar cliff line than the previous long one. Plenty of caves and rock formations!

 

My enjoyable paddle with a decent speed lasted for about 15 km or until around 10am, when the “afternoon” sea breeze set in…right around the corner of Bluff Point. I was glad my initial dizziness and a bit weak feeling for the first 30 min or so was blown away with that upcoming headwind!

 

It was blowing almost out of the nowhere solid 20-25 kn, plus the sea lifted considerably to 3-4m swell, plus some ugly seas on top. Holla die Waldfee! There we are again! In the middle of some toughest headwind paddling, not really forecasted *that* strong…but a lonely sea kayaker has to take what he gets! At least until the next possible landing…and this was not before Lucky Bay, about 40 ahead from Kalbarri!

 

So again, head down, teeth clenched and paddle your ass off…was this worth the effort? My GPS clearly told me the answer – NO! Speed down to 2-3 km/h, slowly eating up the 100m marks…I desperately checked on possible landings – there was already a marginal one right around Bluff Point, where the cliffs stopped and the beach set in. The fringing rocky reef seemed to be for some meters like a flat platform, and as the wind had lifted by now, but the seas didn’t follow up that fast, the surf looked kind of all right, with some good timing.

 

I was really thinking you should better go in *now*, before conditions and your maybe not yet 100% perfect shape make the paddling very unpleasant…but I simply didn’t dare to go in.

Another possibility about 10 km later looked like a 20-30 m gap in the rocky reef, but the surf and ugly wide and long side and back surge was shying me away. Another gap like that came up after about another 5 km, it looked like a bit less surfy, but the side and back wash was still horrifying.

 

At some point I was wondering about a whale between me and the reef? Was he stranded on the reef? I was actually paddling as close as I dared to to check on possible landings, was there really space for a fat heavy whale, probably two, mom and kid? 

 

I kept on fighting to “Lucky Bay”, this must be a “bay”! There should be a clean gap in the reef, by then changing into an offshore one, leaving a sheltered lagoon like bay for a calm landing. I had the coordinates in my GPS from Google Earth, and was counting the 10 m down by now…

 

Right before the onshore reef turned from occasional rocks into a solid bar again, about 3 km before my marked gap, I had enough and dared to go in on the back of a foamy breaker, after letting some bigger breakers pass with some back paddling,

Those leftover 3 km to the bay entrance would have taken me another solid hour to get there, and I felt my energy reserves were simply at the end at that point. That happens really not often…

 

Further south I saw only smashing spray off the solid breakers on the reef, and guessed what if the “clean gap” in about 3 km turns out to be not clean, or simply not existing free of surf in those conditions? This was a landing which looked like I could handle *now*, and I went for it, actually with a good timing it was no big problem.

 

I was sitting already dry on the sand, as a last fat breaker washed me even higher up the beach, where I could quickly jump out and rescue boat and paddle. Enough for the first paddling day!!!

 

I felt first time not like camping directly at the beach, and found a bit of shelter from the strong wind in the dunes.

 

 

Text message from Freya via satellite phone:

27.59 114.09,  before Lucky Bay. 40 km, 7:30 am  to 5:00 pm.  20 to 25-knot headwind since 10 am, stupid, slow plugging 25km down, not worth the effort.

1 comment on “Day 221, Wednesday, 26.08.2009

photonchaser

Hey, once you turn the corner going east, it coud be a tail wind! I hope you find the hole in the weather to get around. We all love ya!

Go Freya!

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