Tue 03/04-2012 Day 218

P4040015.JPG
My campsite at Caleta Quedal

Pos: here
Loc: Caleta Quedal
Acc: tent
Dist: 58,9 km
Start: 8:15 End: 20:05

It was low following wind forecast – for the morning and noon. Then low headwind, but these I got for two thirds of the day. Plus swell of 2-3,50 m.

So overall reasonable conditions for paddling “outside”. I was planning 55 km, as the bird flies, to Caleta Quedal, the first very safe landing. I should have remembered it is always a bit more going around the corners – eventually 58,9 km. Usually, this doesn’t worry me much, as I am used to paddleling 60 km and more. But today, it was tight reaching the destination regarding the threatening darkness.

P4050017.JPG
Caleta Quedal from the other side

The quite early upcoming headwind, though low, was playing another game to slow me down. It was chopping up the so far calm sea swell from south west, plus the choppy backwash of the cliffs reflecting the sea, so paddling became wet. It became even more wet, as around 4 pm, it started to rain, first lightly, then quite a lot. And it didn’t really stop, making the heaven darker than it should be, and nightfall seemed to come earlier.

“Official” sunset was 7.45 pm. My ETA on my GPS kept on staying around 8 pm, and some hours away it usually has about 1/2 hr which is kind of “spare”, I assumed I’d arrive just about in last light. It gets more precise the closer you come to your destination.

Still it was a risk, having to land in darkness. The rain was increasing, and so was the headwind from around 10 knots to 15 knots. It even felt like there would be a lot of gusts – until I realize the “gusts” were basically me paddling downhill the big swell, as always on the “gusts” my GPS speed showed around 10 km 🙂

I tried to figure out carefully my ETA myself, but my speed ranged from 2 km/hr paddling “uphill” to 10 km/hr nd more surfing “downhill”, so I switched on the “average speed” function, which tells you your real moving speed. It was always around 5,1 and 5,2 km/hr, so I calculated my ETA to the headland where I could turn in around at just 7.45 am – just about “official” sunset. Plus a bit of paddling into the bay – actually 1,3 km, and I’d be safe and sound!

Well, there would have been two other bays with sandy beaches on the way – one about 19 km before my actual landing, one about 12 km. The fist one at Ensenada Capitanes had two sandy beaches, one facing east which looked nice from the distance, but probably had a fat dumper on it, as it was facing the swell almost directly. A smaller one was facing north, which I may have tried, just in case, but it was only 3.30 pm!

The other one at Rio San Luis was also facing north. Still all three would have been hit hard by the south west swell.

So I decided to land in my south facing Caleta Quedal, even if it would be in last light or even just about darkness! But I didn’t expect the latter, my GPS data showed I will make it! And I paddled hard – as hard as any one can in 3-4 m swell, choppy seas, increasing headwind, cliff back wash and increasing rain! You don’t even look any more at the sea breaking sometimes over 10 meters high at the continuous cliffs, rocks and islands – it is nerve wrecking. No chance to land anywhere. Once I left my marginal beaches behind and decided to go for the safe one, no way to land anywhere. And the GPS data was pushing me – hard, harder, the hardest! I really didn’t fancy a night paddle and landing in those conditions with possible rocks anywhere, so this was what I had to do.

And once you decided to do it, your body does it. Your mind switches off, the only way to keep it working was to count the birds in the many bird swarms flying over your head. Yesterday, I saw for the first time pelicans on this trip! They are so beautiful and elegant! Still there are some penguins around, I wonder for how long?

The scenery was stunning all day, hight rugged cliffs, more impressive than all Fjordland ones, as these here are battered by the sea. Single rocks, small island, pillars and stacks all over, and I had to keep my distance to the breaking seas on those. Sometimes, it is looking so scary you simply don’t want to see it! It reminded me to the west coast of New Zealand, stunning!

But if you are up to paddle almost 60 km under time pressure in those weather and sea conditions, you eventually see only the next group of rocks, the next headland you want to reach. Plus steering continuously on the GPS figures. I knew I’d make it, but I knew it would be close – and tough, hard work. Plus the rain, wind and swell was not really going down towards night fall either!

Eventually, I turned into the bay, the swell went down, but the back chop of the rocks stayed for a while. The last few 100 meters it became obvious it would be again a dumping beach – you see it by the white foamy sea washing up the beach sometimes more, sometimes little. But to the right there was a small rocky headland, I may turn in there and have a bit of a less dumper? Yes, for sure, the beach looked less steep there, and I landed in some funny sucking conditions, until I realized a strong river was flooding out at that corner! Sure! Those beaches are always created by rivers! But not always, the river mouth is open and you can paddle in. Sometimes, or even mostly on smaller rivers, it is blocked by a gravel bar, and the outflowing water finds its way through the gravel. How was Ito  know? Yes, maybe a closer look on Google Earth would have told me. Still, it depends on the season how much water such a river contains! Some part of it’s bed was dry in the hinterland.

If I’d been able to see more in the last light than the white wash up the beach and the few rocks, I’d be able to paddle into the river with a small surf, on some deep enough water to paddle around a small corner into a dead calm lagoon. So I landed too early, still all right with no real dumper, but the side wash was almost ripping me and my kayak away!

But eventually, it was all good, my kayak and myself was dragged up high and dry, and I made camp in darkness and rain. How nice! But it’s nice, to eventually after a while of work to be dry and warm and safe and sound!

11 comments on “Tue 03/04-2012 Day 218

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Jörg Hofferbert

That´s what we´ve seen from the pics from google-earth, that must be a real fine area.

Whereever you stay and with whom you spent the next days, i wish you happy easterdays (don´t worry if you stay alone somewhere).

das geht ja richtig voran. aber ich bin sicher, dass du jetzt gut konzentriert und nichts riskierend, dein erstes ganz grosse ziel angehst. valpareiso–was für ein name. viel glück

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