Pos: here
Loc: Isla Prowse
Acc: tent
Dist: 62 km
Start: 7:30 End: 20:00

After I wrote my update yesterday already after lunchtime, believe it or not – it almost stopped raining between 3 pm and 6 pm! That meant as well the wind was increasing – the solid 40 kg rocks I carefully placed on the tent pegs since last night weren’t sufficient any more, and three of them got lose. I probably didn’t hear the first one, but with the next two getting lose at one time I heard the metal noise of the pegs on the rocks…high time to get dressed and to jumps out to fix it again! Can’t believe those boulders weren’t enough to hold my tent…

I assume they were simply slipping over the relatively smooth rock surface…I tried to squeeze them into a rock gap before I took three more heaviest boulders for each dangerous corner and made a pyramid…this will last! Or the guy lines would break first…I hope not, as I left my spare kevlar lines down in he boat…but I could assume the forecast30+ knots wind would try to blow my tent off this exposed rocky hill…the inlet was not sheltered enough in general to be wind free. The wind blows heavy down the steep cliffs! I finished my improvement work, not without lying in the tent for a few hours, wondering if my construction and the guy lines would hold up…but Isla Deceit’s storm was worse…

Already on pitching the tent on that spot I thought I better collect the rocks for the pegs first, as the full size tent blows easy out of your hands…and yesterday, just before I could build the first solid peg holding rock pyramid, a heavy gust almost blew me and my tent away! Yes, both of us…I could barely hold it for a few seconds…a horrible vision! The tent with all contents flying over the rocky hill into the water…with me probably still attached holding it, as I would never let go…:-)

This morning started with heavy rain again, waking at 4.30 am, I rather turned around again, though the wind was supposed to calm down soon to a reasonable level. But no way I’d start in heavy rain again!

Around 6.30 am, I heard a bit less heavy rain, I opened my tent window and had a look outside – a vision was just passing by my view! All was gray out there from the rain, but I could see a brightly lit floating object just straight across my bay! A huge cruise ship, preparing for their early morning breakfast in dry and warm sheltered fancy rooms…I knew I had the better accommodation!!

I was waiting until the rain finished fully, and even had my breakfast inside the tent, waiting…but now! I was convinced, this was the end of the rain, and so it was!!! I packed, my kayak almost flooded during the early morning high tide, but only almost  …and it was strapped to a small tree. Still, in the heavy wind yesterday, I was not too sure about my baby, but with shoes I couldn’t get down the hill dry to have a look – I would have to put on my dry suit for that walk…

It was a miraculous paddling day no rain until 5 pm!!! Even 50 % open sky!!! And a view into the distance I haven’t had since weeks, I guess! Beautiful paddling! First a bit headwind, but around 15 knots, decreasing. Still some work, but I knew it would get better soon.

Once I was turning north east, into the shelter on Isla ?, it was dead calm. A yacht came past me on the other side, not taking any notice. But lots of flippered animals around! Once out of the island’s shelter, now really turning north east, I could feel the movement of the open sea for a while – nice! But I assume this corner can be pretty nasty in windy conditions!

I was sneaking next through a maze of smaller islands, mostly marked with poles on top for some yachts, and another corner came where you could feel the ocean swell! But soon I was turning almost due east, and I was fully in the dead calm Canal Cockburn. The wind was fully down, the all the time nasty west wind was helping me now! But paddling on mirror calm water was fast and easy. I couldn’t really decide to stop, though at 5 pm it started to rain again after a bright almost sunny beautiful fjordland paddling day out of the picture album! Bu the rain was just over quickly, and I soon saw the sky clearing up again – and the most intense rainbow developed in front of me! How beautiful!

It was actually almost a perfect day again after all that tough headwind work – well besides my freezing feet and the complete lack of landing possibilities in the second half of the day. Not a single beach! I barely got once out of my kayak in a shallow area.

But eventually I spotted a beach, but that one was really nothing for camping! Boulders too big, and too narrow as usual. Another one came around the corner, and this one was at least acceptable, and I was ready to call it a day at 8 pm. I had to clean up my tiny spot besides a small river mouth from logs and sea weed and whatever rubbish came ashore, but eventually I had an even surface on fist sized rocks. Even a blue broom was among the rubbish which I jokingly used to clean my camp site!

The last finish gave a carpet of big green leaves to cover the rest of the stinky sea weed I couldn’t remove…but then I was ready to move in! A bold body wash in the small river, but I almost forgot my towel was still damp from the last camp…