[pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-l2ZAp42Rn-8/VGSjUATvoKI/AAAAAAAAins/EC-ytjeh_4E/s144-c-o/IMG_0534.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage20Brazil3SaoLuisToNatal#6081164960932536482″ caption=”More windmills” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0534.JPG” ]

Highlights: Low wind at night and until 6.30…good distance…
Lowlights: My nerves…this is too much of a dangerous high wind ride
Launch: Low surf ok
Landing: High speed wind through low surf
Pos: here
Loc: tiny village before Galinhos
Acc: tent
Dist: 62,7 km
Start: 4:45 End: 14:40

It was such an amazing calm and quiet night-no wind was shaking my tent, no flying sand through the mesh, wind was below 10 knots and from ese. This peace lasted until 6.30 also on the water, then it breezed up to about 15 knots, the water still calm and no swell. I made good and easy progress. The coastline was sandy dunes as usual, quite boring, and littered with wind mills. For some reason…

Landing looked still all easy everywhere, the tide went down until 8 am. Sao Bento do Norte was the last larger village, many fishing boats in the bay. When I was there, I probably already had easy 20 knots behind me, and I was thinking to go to shore to relax a bit. But simply turning around the corner and wanting to turn in against the wind made me changing plans, I could also relax here in the calm but windy bay in my kayak while riding along still with 5-6 km/h. The sea was still low, and I felt I could handle this stuff quite all right.No breakers, just white wind whipped sea surface. The coast was trending slightly south,which was giving also shelter from the waves.

I was happily riding along, thinking all is ok in this strong wind. I had one more sheltered corner to land marked on my map about 7,5 km after the wide windy but sheltered bay of Sao Bento do Norte, I’d arrive there around 12.30, too early to stop…15 km further along will be the next sheltered corner on a tiny village. Landings already looked quite tricky with a heavy side wash in the strong wind…but why should I land? In less than 2,5 hrs I’d reach that village corner around 14.45 and this would be my goal for tonight.

Surely I knew I’d be paddling over high tide at 2 pm, but conditions were still possible to handle, I felt ok to push on. Karels wind forecast was up to 21 knots, I had paddled 20 knots, though I knew I didn’t feel comfortable with that… why the hell didn’t I stop at that last sheltered corner? It was in the middle of nowhere in the desert, but a possible landing with lower coast and little side wash. Before it was steep coast with some dumper with the tide reaching to some top edge, plus heavy wind side wash, still possible to land, but probably very inelegant…at least it was sand only.

The last 15 km changed rapidly for the worse, the coast all rocks before high dunes, the sea bumping off accordingly ugly. No possible emergency landings any more, no calm but wind washed water any more, even though breakers were still scarce and low. The wind was now way over 20 knots, blowing me along, but I felt it was too much for the end of the day…what…if??? And surely one of the rare breakers tried to catch me…I escaped with an ominous feeling just 1,5 km before the sheltered corner… will there be enough shelter to land? The tide change at 2 pm did maybe relax the now more frequent breakers a tiny bit, but the wind did not relax at all, it rather breezed up even more.

I spotted two fishing boats dancing on the water, this must be working, where there is a bay with people, there must be no rocks and some landable beach, even in the high wind. I didn’t give a shit now about beach life with noisy people…I needed to land! Now… the corner was small, but the rocks were gone, the surf all right, the wind blew me strongly onto the beach and I quickly jumped out to rescue my boat. I didn’t even dare to throw the paddle up the beach as it would be blown along very quickly…thank goodness, I landed safely… this was a bit too much for the last 15 km.

I looked over the deserted beach facilities if there would be some shelter for my camp, but the pub and the umbrellas were all almost disappeared in the sand, nothing about beach life here any more…I walked to the other side just behind the corner dune,this was the first time I had to seek shelter camping on the beach in the heavy flying sand.I didn’t dare to let my unloaded boat sit there to wait last to be dragged up, it may have been blown away… so boat first, while my bags got covered with sand…very pleasant…putting up tent was still an ordeal in that small shelter. I HATE THIS! It is probably blowing now with 25 knots or such, no sign yet to ease off…

Just as I was ready to shower and change, a lonely horse rider passed by, why just now? I just want to be inside my tent, out of the wind and out of the flying sand with at least a tiny fresh water rinse outside…some basic human needs…

I will not paddle over high tide tomorrow. Low tide is at 9 am, so I may have 5, at most 6 hours of reasonable paddling time I think. I will be crossing some rivers tomorrow, at least many possibilities to land and no rocks, I think… though what the sat images show you can’t take for granted…