[pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-mz4BcTi2Qhw/VLVwlojMENI/AAAAAAAAkkM/Peil9Rnc-Bg/s144-c-o/IMG_1054.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage22Brazil5SalvadorToRioDeJaneiro#6103908661813055698″ caption=”An old museum light house at Regencia” type=”image” alt=”IMG_1054.JPG” ]

Highlights: Found my host!
Lowlights: Horrible launch effort
Launch: Heaviest surf belt
Landing: Sheltered river breach
Pos: here
Loc: Regencia
Acc: Posada
Dist: 76,9 km
Start: 6:00 End: 17:00

Getting out of this beach proved notto be as easy as I thought.I was even hesitating in the morning to go at all, as the wind would be strong again, and when I got up in the darkness as usual it was still blowing. But as soon as the light was up, it was under 10 knots again. The waves should have been reacting instantly and getting smaller also, please!

I decided to give it a go, the surf belt was wide, and basically the waves were trashing in quickly with two major big breakers close to the beach and furhter out. I got in my kayak and quickly closed the spray deck on something like a lower wave, but got turned sideways soon and even washed over to a capsize where I just had to bail out so closeto the beach. How lovely the handling of a sand water flooded kayak is…before you really get it out of the surge and are able to empty it out, it takes a while. I got on this first try almost 100 m down the beach with the wind and current,but all sand thank goodness.

The second try was slightly better, but it was still extremely hard work to stay straight to get the unavoidable breakers crashing before or on you from the front and not from a side angle which may capsize you againand does not gain any distance. Slowly but surely, I worked my way out through endless breakers to the last monster breaker which I let crash just 10 m in front of my bow, and really with the last bit of power and strengh I made it out on unbroken water. Still big seas here though…

10 km further down, I could not spot the entrance of Barra Secca, so I was ok with me having landed yesterday just some where…Wind was moderate first, seas gotlower, then up again with stronger wind at the “corner”. I assumed correctly as soon as the coast would be trending west again, the waves and surf belt would be lower, I still had strong wind, but could paddle quite satisfying quickly with way over 8 km/h, and soon realized with this speed I could make it before darkness to Regencia. Thank goodness, no more open beach landing so far…

I texted Peter on my sat phone if there would be Felipe waiting for me already this one day earlier as the planned host,but unfortunately I got no answer. My GPS chart also showed only one river mouth entrance, different to the sat images I could not see, so I had to take the first one instead of the much easier second one. Amazingly, I found a safe way through the breakers, and paddled in a narrow channel between beach breakers and sand bank breakers into calm river water.The water temperature difference between sea water andriver water was amazing! The sea got eventually quite cold for the last maybe 30 km with maybe 24-25 degrees, the river was pee warm again.

As I didn’t had any host and meeting point information, I decided to camp just on the sandbank close to the second entrance I eventually spotted, instead of landing on a not inviting looking rocky wall inside the mangroves which meant paddling against the wind also. Just as I had my tent up and my bath in the sweetwater of the river, myhost Felipe came along and obviously found me. He convinced me that this is the place to stop longer for the next 3-4 days, as he was able to help me with all my needs including fixing my laptop, providing a borrowed one for a while, fast internet and a nice place to sleep. Thank you so much! My next option with a friendly host would have been 50 km further along the next day,but I was really ready to eventually stop in civilization again after paddling for three weeksin a row with only two days off on a beach. Thanks to Christian Fuchs to organize all those host spots for me!

Felipe and Bert took me to Bert’s posada, where I eventually could relax and have a proper shower. Thanks to Bert to let me stay there for free! Felipe took my broken laptop and dirty laundry to get both things done at his home in Linhares 50 km up the river. A quick shopping in the small local supermarket for dinner, and I eventually fell asleep in a nice bed with air condition. Internet I would have tomorrow in a local office. All good! It is great to be in the helpful hands of good friends again…