Wed 25/04-2012 Day 240

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Driving into Rio Maule in Costitucion, thanks!

Pos: here
Loc: Constitucion
Acc: Navy Constitucion
Dist: 41,5 km
Start: 8:30 End: 17:00

I forgot to mention that last night my Navy officers really got stuck in the sand! But instead of pushing, they released some air out of the tires, and the driver was slowly digging it out – even without the two guys pushing. This morning, I saw them doing the same *before* they came down the beach! Clever…but I can’t tell if they made it out safely, as I was afloat.

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Navy officer Alex from Constitucion is getting stuck in the sand with his car...

Finally afloat out there…at least this morning they got a bit of performance…it was a very bad launch through the two lines of breakers. Timing again…may I have been waiting longer without two friendly helpers? I got over the first one with no problem, but had to sit between the lines for about 12-15 big breakers crashing in front of me, one or two moderate ones more or less *on* me.

I paddled after each broken wave straight over the foam and stayed upright and straight, which was ok, but it was all very wet. I drifted a bit to the right side, where I saw already from the beach the breakers were heavier, and where I didn’t want to go. I was planning to paddle to the left out, where less breakers were… You simply can’t see until it’s too late over the high foam of the broken wave, if there is a next one piling up or not. I even had to back paddle a bit once to avoid being caught by a huge one. This all did take too long for my taste…

Eventually I could spot a lull after a moderate size breaker, and sprinted out. But I caught so much sea water in my face and probably also into my mouth during the process, that I was close to throw up once free. Sea water is simply not made for swallowing…

And – somewhere in between the launching process, I saw at some point something black floating in front of me – I quickly checked my all clipped on items under my front net – all still there…what was it? Sure, my rudder fin…broken off again, and floating on my fin release string…no idea what made it break this time on launching. I may have hit the ground again on a heavy wash back from the breaking wave, or the power of the breaking water was enough to be caught in my release string sideways to break it off. Again, I had not a single fin break in Australia, and probably many worse launchings and landings. Are the new fins less solid than the prototypes I probably had in Australia? Must be. Maybe there was a chance to save a few grams of weight…

It was all foggy again, and I felt it was rather smog – a mixture of fog and smoke from the many wooden stoves still in use to heat Chilean simple house holds. the sun took very long to burn it away.

The many rocks around Faro Carranza I could see, hear and even smell, as again many hundred seals and sea birds were occupying them. At some point I heard not the usual snuffing behind me, but a coughing sound which could have been as well a human…but there was no person…just seals. I also was disturbing a colony of probably thousand sea birds resting on the water for the night – good morning, birds! Sorry…

When I was crossing Bahia Las Canas, suddenly when the fog lifted I was more or less surrounded by about ten or even more small open fishing boats doing their jobs in the morning fog – sooner or later, not less than six of them were coming up to me to have a curious look and small chat, as far as my Spanish goes. Not sure if all of them got what I was doing, but two of them were offering me a lift on their boat into the harbor…no, thank you! But I soon should know I’d better taken them up oon their offer…

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A long jutting out jetty in a bay before Constitucion

As my gut feeling about the landing in the river mouth at Constitucion was a bit mixed, I tried to ask them also about the entrance – entrada Rio Maule muy facile? Si, si…as far as they and I did understand each other. Google Earth shows a wide open river mouth and no breakers. Just swell waves…but this picture must have been taken on high tide, and on less swell than today! The swell felt, compared to yesterday, relatively high and with a shorter period, plus some wind waves on top.

I approached the river mouth in a reasonable berth and in a bit of a dog leg as I thought it was right and where I could avoid the shore breakers to the south. This was also in a way where I was eventually hoping to spot an open gap with no breakers. But there was no chance for a kayak – first, the current of the outgoing tide was very strong. I could paddle only between 2-3 km/h or even less straight in, plus it was against the wind. My drift sideways took me further north than I liked. Second, it simply looked like the swell breakers were closing the opening fully out, from my point of view sitting very low in the kayak. I saw no open gap. And if I thought I saw one, it had breakers again very soon, and I drifted even more sideways.

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An arch - but a strange relation from hole to bow...

I saw a Navy car watching me, and was for the first time really hoping a Navy boat would come out to guide me in! Actually, I was expecting it somehow…was I just too early at 4.15 pm, as they expect me at 5 pm? Now I had only two options – paddling 2-3 km back to the tiny shelter of the last huge rocks, which had a more or less dumping beach, or calling the Navy on the radio if there would be a boat guiding me in.

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The bird rocks before Constitucion

I opted for the latter, as we agreed I’d land in Rio Maule at 5 pm. Communication on the radio took as usual a while for mutual understanding, but eventually they understood that I was asking for a guide boat. Just wait 15 min, please…ok! In this waiting time, the strong current of the outgoing tide and headwind was drifting and blowing me further north, and I paddled a bit to at least stay on the spot.

Eventually, I saw an open fishing boat coming out on high speed, with a similar huge hop over the waves like the guys did in Quidico! Okkkkkkk…two Navy guys and the driving fisher man with his daughter were in there not to guide me in, but again to simply load me on…it is way too dangerous to paddle in! Later, I learned this river mouth had already taken a couple of lives…thanks for letting me know NOW! On talking to the officers on my last beach camp I understood the river mouth landing is very easy and the water is calm and low – yes, the landing itself once you are through and in…sorry, I think these officers never have been out there in a small boat, not to talk about in a kayak…

Loading went all right with the three strong guys and myself sliding the kayak in sideways, and the ride through the waves into the river started. I followed my GPS track, and saw I was not too wrong until I had to stop. But at the tricky corner, the fisher man was speeding up, and slid through the breaking lines like the guys in Quidico – no chance to do that with a kayak in my speed against the current of the outgoing tide and wind. I’d be crashed sooner or later by a breaking line.

Thanks for getting me in! The way out has probably to be the same, though the current would be helping a lot.

The Navy guys invited me to stay in their beautiful new building right at the river mouth entrance.Thanks very much! Welcome again in the hotel Navy!

I saw a bunch of young guys in kayaks practicing racing style and C1 in the calm river part, but they took not much notice. Maybe I may be able to talk to them tomorrow!

Yes, tomorrow…I decided to follow my body and mind, and after long studies of the swell and wind forecast online, to have a day off tomorrow. I will paddle Friday-Sunday until Pichelemu with three more or less open beach surf landings in swell below 2 meters, and maybe one more day beyond, until on Monday the swell rises again over two meters to 3-4 meters on Wednesday with stronger winds. I will have to take off a few days around Tuesday-Wednesday, not sure yet how long, as the forecast is limited.

So nothing with the planned unbroken rush in reasonable daily distance through to Valparaiso – and the estimated arrival date is very unsure as yet. Sorry..especially very sorry for myself. I WANT TO BE HOME SOON! And I like to get those dreaded five surf landings behind me…only the last two landings in Valparaiso itself and on the headland of El Quiseo/ Algarrobo are really safe to land in harbors.

Thanks again to the Navy taking care of me and hosting me in their Port office house!

 

4 comments on “Wed 25/04-2012 Day 240

Karen

Excellent! Grateful to the Navy guys for helping Freya. Glad you are listening to your body/mind in receiving help and taking a day off.
Have a restful day. Maybe you will get some blueberries:) You will be home soon enough, just be careful, practice awareness, and use all your skills. Thank you for sharing today.

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