Pos: here
Loc: Balneario El Condor
Acc: Roberto’s beach house
Dist: 60 km
Start: 7:00 End: 15:30

This day was the chance to get away from that windy black beach spot! I noticed the night already was very calm, and when I glanced out of my tent this morning my wind water wheel showed clearly that the wind comes now nicely from offshore behind…

The wheel even stopped squeaking for an hour or so at night, so it must have been really calm.
And the surf was down to a reasonable size! Just what I needed…
I knew the following wind would breeze up the afternoon to a maybe some uncomfortable strength, so I hurried to make the best out of my perfect weather window.

Launching was still wet, with about three fresh sea water showers into the face…but it could be much worse!

I enjoyed my speed, breezed up by the wind, and probably some tides as well. It is nice to see on the GPS the average moving speed of more than 8 km/h, and actually paddling mostly 9-10 km/h!

My non-existing skeg rudder was all right in this wind direction from 4-5hr behind me, and I still had some control left with the pivoting stern piece. But I noticed some stern sliding!

My ETA was nearing 3 pm – what an easy 60 km! If there wouldn’t have been the lat 8 km…there I went even a bit wnw to head into the wide river mouth entrance toward El Condor, and then I had the quite breezed up wind directly from the side. And my missing skeg piece of the rudder was now very ugly noticeable! I was doing for more than two hours almost only right sweep strokes, and was lucky my arm was working all right for that. No chance to keep the boat straight in due side winds of 15-20 kn…

I was fighting to stay off some ugly breaker areas, as especially right before the wide river mouth started it became really big swells and offshore breakers! Not where I liked to be without a working rudder, actually not where I liked to be at all. I had my PFD on, and hooked myself to the boat, just in case…

But nearing eventually with the last 8 km’s very hard work El Condor beach, the water and surf looked as calm from the distance as it can be…well, until you are in the surf belt…

My missing skeg rudder was playing up, it was impossible with that strong side wind for me to land on the spot where I wanted! I ended up 900 m further east – and even got caught in a moderate breaker, having again to perform a (this time I perfectly took my time to set up) beautiful roll in the surf…

Ok, there I was, with wet hair in 20 knots wind, 900 m away from my dating spot with Roberto…but I just had to call Alejandro who called Roberto who picked me up instantly! Thanks very much to both for organizing it!

Unfortunately Roberto didn’t speak any English, so our conversation was limited. But no worries! We are always talking some how…

He put me in his beach house, which was the nicest one I have been staying in so far! Thanks a lot!

Roberto’s hobby is beach sailing, riding on a small three wheel cart with a sail on the wide beach belt. We have similar carts close to my home town in Germany as well!

I did my chores all afternoon, cleaning and washing my gear, including hosing down the boat. Feels good to be de-sanded! The tent pole sleeves always get full of sand as well when camping in a sand storm, so they needed to be emptied out as well. And plenty of other things to do! Not to forget my shower…