[pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-n3Ip9JbMeEU/UuES-O7yc_I/AAAAAAAAZMU/u4e03JYasR4/s144-c-o/P1130023.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage17GuyanaSurinameFrGuianeGeorgetownToCayenne#5972075441240044530″ caption=”Just once again a little water depth but rather mud probing” type=”image” alt=”P1130023.JPG” ]

Darkness, headwinds and shallow muddy water

Pos: here
Loc: dark sandy beach across Albion
Acc: tent
Dist: 36,4 km
Start: 1:55 End: 11:25

I was jumping into the delicious mud crusted pants, shirt and socks, fortunately it was dark. No reason for the bugs not to bite my ass. I hurried to get going, before my precious water ran away again. No more mud fight tonight, just a few steps sunken into the beach. The moon was bright until 3 am, some stars later left enough light. I could aim for some dubious lights in the New Amsterdam river mouth, paddled conveniently in 15 knots wind (headwind, for sure…) on the shallow mud bank after high tide, until I noticed I got slower and slower. I was eventually just stirring liquid mud, and hurried to paddle closer to the noisy breaker zone. Sure I was not keen on paddling there, as just now the sky was quite dark, still caught a few by my side before I could balance to paddle just there where the breaker ran out onto the shallow mud bank with a small swell and deep enough water. I didn’t dare to head out completely, as I couldn’t see where it was ending and how high the breakers were at the end. Better stuck in the mud than capsized at night in breakers.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-CnwIA7FyLEI/UuETAfegVwI/AAAAAAAAZMU/ha4faJq6nyU/s144-c-o/P1120018.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage17GuyanaSurinameFrGuianeGeorgetownToCayenne#5972075480040363778″ caption=”Some old fishing pole stakes in the river mouth of New Amsterdam” type=”image” alt=”P1120018.JPG” ]

But neither happened, when I was reaching the wide river mouth entrance of New Amsterdam it just dawned, the breakers stopped and I could correct my course to the strong outgoing current and tide. Some lumpy water in the middle, but I made headway, slowly but surely. I had to give the headland on the other side a very wide berth as it was just muddy shallows on lowest tide. I managed to get stuck for 20 min, otherwise was stirring mud at a slow pace. How I hate these shallow muddy waters!

I had to aim to the mud bank’s breaker zone, got washed many times with brown water, until the sea ran up againhigh enough so I could paddle again on the calm mud bank. All day the wind stayed above 15 knots, different to the first two days where it was only blowing sharp in the morning, the rest of the day around half way convenient 10 knots. It is so draining to get up so early, stir in thick muddy and/or shallow water, fight breakers (though moderatly violent) and to punch into stiff 15 knots wind. I lasted only 9,5 hours, barely had some breaks, then I decided to call it a day on an inviting shallow dark sandy beach which looked three hours before high tide well accessible. Also to get tomorrow morning not that early again.

But I won’t make it tomorrow to Nickerie as hoped, it will take another day. It makes a big difference if you punch into 10 or 15 knots headwind. The rest comes and goes, breakers, water, more or less deep on mud or sand. What an annoying area to paddle here, at least in this direction. But that’s how my game goes!

One thing I am quite sure about: No one else will any time soon paddle all around South America, I bet. No one else can be so stubborn not to turn this section around, but to keep on going in the “right” way. Still no doubt that the perfect strong wind and current direction in big seas at the Pacific side had higher priority to have chosen to go clockwise for the whole trip.