Pos: here
Loc: Cabo Blanco
Acc: tent
Dist: 55,7 km
Start: 7:20 End: 17:20

I had to sleep with earplugs all night, as the nights’  high tide was washing quite some dumpers against the steep gravel beach , just about 5 m below my camp site around midnight.

Sliding down the kayak is always easy on gravel, but the last 50 m had again to be on sticky, wet finest sand. But this time I timed it right to load it on a spot where it could get afloat very soon once finished!

It was very windy that morning, 20-25 kn, but following. It created wind against tide quite some steep choppy stuff which I had to pay some attention to.

Single seals are quite frequently all day appearing behind me with a big “snuff” – some times it scares me to hell, but I like to talk to them: “Hello, fat guy!” or such :-)… sometimes they disappear with a big splash if something is frightening them. But they are always preferable to the Australian sharks following me and then *bump* into my stern…rather a snuffing and puffing seal appearing behind me and following me.

This time I just saw on the side behind me another big splash, and knew a fat seal has been disappearing as some thing has frightened him…once he was under water, I saw what it may have been this time – a probably 70 cm big flat stingray, usually fish who live more or less on the bottom of the sea, was swimming for a few seconds *upside down* on the surface – was the seal trying to catch and eat him, and the stingray was released in a fight for life and death? No idea…once the sting ray went under water again, the seal’s face appeared naughtily to have his usual curious look at me…strange…

The first long beach after my campsite was one of those very steep gravel beaches with no reef protection – it was home of literally 2000-3000 seals! They were grouped as usual in harems, but sometimes you couldn’t make out where one group ends and the other one starts – miles long! Amazing…I assume it may have been elephant seals again, as they love those kind of beaches and were not really active in the sea. But no ways for me to land on that beach…dumpers allover.

The wind calmed down very quickly to almost nothing all day, and so the sea went down again – thanks! I rather paddle not all day with full attention…and, I could paddle now inside reefs, and enjoy the scenery. Still mostly lime stone cliffs in all shapes and heights.

The end of the big Bahia San Jorge was quite a catchment area for rubbish of all kinds, as the main current seems to release all the trash there. I found quite a special floating piece which I took a funny picture of – but I’ll tell only when I can post the pic next time, the caption shows my creativity :-))

The last three tiny headlands before the coast turned around the main head land Baliza Ciega showed quite some tidal action – but luckily the tide was with me since 12.30, and I got flushed with 10 km/hr along very close to the beach, avoiding the main race and reef breakers. There is always a small gap with no wave action very close to shore, just wide enough to pass safely with a kayak – if you dare and there is still enough water on lower tide…or you have to make a very wide berth around those headlands!
Once it was very shallow over a crystal clear rocky reef around a sandy head land, the next time the headland looked like a row of old rotten teeth where the breakers were nagging on the bottom, leaving a meter of black holy (low tide mark) stumps still topped with some of the white of the teeth (bird shit on cliffs)…the sound the breakers made in the holy bottoms at this tide level was scary!

Baliza Ciega itself was an even more reasonable calm inside, but offshore the tidal race around the reefs was breaking white…

I assumed it must be very funny the around Cabo Blanco, but niente…one hour before low tide, it was streaming with 6-7 km/hr without me paddling, but no waves at all.

Cabo Blanco is a neat piece of rock, from the distance the light house on top was the icing on the cake of a conical shaped high cliff, with another one close by, at the end of a bare sand spit.

Coming closer, I saw I got a reception crew waiting for me already by the light house house, climbing on it’s roof and waving to me!

I came closer myself, and the whole rock displayed it’s beauty! Around the first corner, the expected seal colony occupied a large rock, and I had to pass a lumpy area between another big rock and the main Cabo Blanco.

I saw the guys running down the hill to great me at a rocky harbor on the back side, but landing options looked marginal, and there was no need to take that risk if around the whole cape there would be a shallow calm sandy beach waiting!

So I turned off the eddy into the main stream again around the whole rocky area, and enjoyed the beautiful view of the very special cliffs, all topped with birds and at this time even more bird shit! This is why it’s aptly named “Cabo Blanco”…

The southern bay was dead calm as expected, and I landed at the bottom of a very steep gravel beach. This time it was gravel of the finest! Smaller than peas…perfect to stick into my rudder on launching.

Two guys were waiting for me, and it turned out they were not from the Prefectura, but from the Armada, obviously having the job to guard the light house. They told me in Spanish if I’d need anything, I could come up to the light house, but as I’m used to maintain myself in the wilderness (which it was not here, unfortunately…three other cars were parking along the way…)., I was fine with every thing.
They also said that the Prefectura would show up later in a car…ok, nice, but what for???

I soon found out, after I waved the Armada guys good bye, that I could have my shower, get changed and eat. They may have expected me to stay at the light house, but I saw more problems to shift my gear a kilometer up the hill, and to leave my kayak alone with the other cars, and to have no relaxing peace after my hard working day. I told them I may show up later…maybe…but thanks for dragging my boat up the steep beach!

Just now, at 8.50 pm, the promised Prefectura car with two nice guys came, and I already wanted to pretend I was sleeping…but this would be unbelievable for Argentinean people who are used to having dinner at 11 pm!
They brought me about 6 huge bottles of soft drinks and fresh water, very, very nice, but I didn’t need any! I still had more than enough fresh water myself as I can’t rely on such kind offers. And they wanted to know if I’d be in Puerto Deseado tomorrow, but I don’t know yet…and my satellite phone number?…but it is not switched on all day…and…and…and…yes, you’ll get my nightly position e-mail as usual…yes, I’m just typing it…buenos noches!

The forecast is headwinds, first moderate, then light. But as it may change in strength and direction and my mood may change, I may go the full way of 65 km, half, or not at all. The coast is steep gravel all the way, but the swell is low, and the chart shows some weed fields, but no reefs or bays to hide. So landing may be ok at night on low tide.