[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-TctoaiBtJHg/UyrueVz-nOI/AAAAAAAAZ-k/7ry26i_Q5kY/s144-c-o/P2210035.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage18Brazil1CayenneToAmazonasDelta#5992864459188509922″ caption=”The ever running shallow surf waves over solid ground” type=”image” alt=”P2210035.JPG” ]

I escaped the waterhell with my first two offshore rolls…
Pos: here
Loc: rivermouth Rio Lamute
Acc: tent
Dist: 53,7 km
Start: 7:10 End: 16:05

Last night I was successfully fighting a spider outside away from my tent, but got that same bug probably inside when I opened in darkness the top of my inner tent to close the outer tent as it started to rain heavily. Always shake the inner tent walls before opening! 🙂

At least I eventually felt something falling from the ceiling on my legs, quickly made light and saw the fat beast besides my sleeping pad…YUCK! KILLING INSTINCT! My sleep was taking a while to get back where it already was.

This morning I terribly forgot my lucky necklace inside the already packed tent, but luckily remembered before launching.I opened the tent bag before loading the boat again and another fat spider beast of the same sort was crawling out…but I got my lucky necklace! And I fought three times successfully a fat spider.

The haul to the water edge was about 500 m, but as it was all solid sand and I was well rested it was not too bad. Better than crawling through any meter of mud! I got the full help of the tide for about 40 km where I averaged 8,2 km/h! Unbelievable… seas were ok. It was raining almost all the time, sometimes with some more wind, but mostly it was blowing not too bad side on or even pushing a bit.

Then the tide changed, running against me and against the now clearly wanting to push wind. I should have had that fact on my mind, and that the forecast had gusts up to 20 knots. But I resisted the temptation to paddle into the river mouth of Rio Cunani with the first house to be seen in Brazil, right after high tide, and in these still relatively calm conditions I’d liked to see how I could paddle against the tidal current now.

Actually, I made not too bad progress with winds around 12-15 knots, even when it was raining almost all day.
I resisted another inviting beach with a house, thinking when the tide is even more down, the surf break on the shallow sandy beach is even less. Basically correct. But then about two hours after high tide the rain and wind switched their full power on, which usually lasts only for about maybe 10 minutes. This one now turned out to become a tropical rainstorm of 25+ knots, the water came pouring down like hell, for hours. I was almost drowning in the rain!! It accordingly whipped up the sea eventually when the tide against the now heavy wind was at the strongest, where I was expecting calm seas on down going tide.

Some corner point breaks were already quite ugly, I had to stay out and negotiated successfully the breaking stuff.
I would like to reach the first village, Euca, where the beach was supposed to be slightly less steep and to dry out far out on lowest tide. I was just in the middle of a small bay when I realized this rainstorm is going to last longer… it was whipping up the small bay like hell, and I could barely make progress. I couldn’t see anything that looked like shore, but had to keep direction into the breakers, means straight across. Just 3 more km… I saw some strange pole somewhere in the middle of the bay, and realized this was the mast of a local small sailboat shipwreck. Why here? I’d be about to know…but I could guess this spot must be shallow. The sea piled up in strange waves coming from everywhere on the receding tide in the continuous strong wind and rainstorm.

I was fighting a bunch of breakers successfully with whatever strong successful braces. Eventually I couldn’t avoid to get trashed any more! Those piling up waves from everywhere were not able to be anticipated, like clapotis, just about 2-3 m high. A huge one trashed down on me with full power. My very first offshore capsize on the whole trip! Even on other trips I got only capsized offshore once in Australia in maybe similar conditions . The roll up was all right, I stayed calm and waited a perfect position, as I knew I had only one try! If I’d get bailed out here, oh shit!!! It didn’t take that long until a second fucking trasher came over me, and this roll took two tries, probably because of still foamy water above me. Still I stayed relatively calm, kept on paddling like hell and saw eventually the shore as the rain may have gone down a tad. My eyes continuously looking into the rain were not improved or helped to get the best vision!

Then it was bumpy “only”, and I could make out the entrance beach of Rio Lamute, where I now needed to turn in. I knew this was not the shortest distance to carry on low tide, but I had no other choice any more, to paddle against the water hell to reach the other side of the small bay was too much. Eventually it calmed down fully coming closer to the water’s edge on half tide, and I had a vision! I really spotted two fishermen working on the low dry tidal area on their long net where I was just about to land. People! The first ones in Brazil, bar a few offshore fishing boats! HELP in sight! And I also spotted something even better – a wheel cart they were obviously using for their nets and fish pray- amazing! Just what I needed to get my stuff the about 800 m to the shore! After fighting successfully this water hell I needed some luck!

Pedro and Augusto were surely surprised and curious, what kind of water nymph emerged right out of that rainstorm…the two guys were dressed really with old motorbike helmets on their heads against the rain which they didn’t take off all the time! My Portuguese was nothing, I tried a few Spanish words, and with the help of my Portuguese printed card the guys understood. Still it was pouring down cats and dogs! Pedro decided to be helpful with the wheel cart, and with two loads we had gear and boat on the sandy beach which stays dry at night.Yahoo! Obrigado! Obrigado! At east some luck after today’s battle. Never start a day with a spider obviously guarding your lucky necklace for a while… but I discovered the beast, got the necklace on and won!

I made camp inside the bushes, and another lucky shot – my computer worked again! I just can’t send out of the bushes, no reception, and no way I’d get out of the bug sheltered tent again! I typed my short message earlier on the sand outside, checked weather and saw for tomorrow calmer winds. Thank goodness…a good dinner and a thankful prayer for being alive finalized the day.