Wed 29/10-2014 Day 673

[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-j-vbmByN-0U/VGSjGDieXkI/AAAAAAAAins/Mb3Vm-RsKJw/s144-c-o/IMG_0519.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage20Brazil3SaoLuisToRecife#6081164721281457730″ caption=”The windmills are typical for this section of the coast. Why?” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0519.JPG” ]

 

Highlights: I got out from that surf beach…
Lowlights: I had to try three times…
Launch: Once capsized and washed back ashore, one roll, third try I made it out through a heavy wide surf belt
Landing: Steep light dumper halfway sheltered river beach
Pos: here
Loc: River beach across Tibeau do Sul
Acc: tent
Dist: 49,9 km
Start: 4:50 End: 15:10

I was close to stay put this morning, as at 5 am it was just halfway running up tide, and wind as usual around 18 knots. The surf must be accordingly horrible? What I saw out of my tent in the first morning light looked and sounded not that bad – I’ll give it a try.

That I had to give it three tries was not the plan though – the first time, after a few washes up to shore sideways with a full cockpit as I couldn’t close the spray deck in time I almost made it out through maybe 5-6 surf lines, as the last fattest one broke just on me and trashed me. Capsize, two rolling attempts, useless in heavy surf. I swam ashore, got my breath back, and tried a second time. This one started better, but another trashy breaker capsized me again, this time at least I could amazingly roll up, but was sitting sideways and same old story, I was soon sitting sideways high and dry up the beach again.
Third try – feeling a bit weak already…but I broke through the surf, timed it always in that way that each breaker just crashed far away in front of me that I could stay straight on paddling through the white foamy water. I saw light at the horizon at some point, was surprised I didn’t capsize again on some ugly one, powered myself out by shouting on each stroke:”NOW! NOW! NOW!” and I was eventually out.I HATE THOSE OPEN BEACH SURF LANDINGS AND LAUNCHINGS!

The sea was too rough to have my usual breakfast on the water, I nibbled on some smaller things and thought I’d paddle those 14 km until this as “perfect shelter” marked by me on my GPS, a headland with hopefully no surf like to be seen on the sat image. There I will quickly land and have breakfast…but it didn’t look inviting at all, on almost high tide, no calm water to be seen, just reef breakers, no entry from the backside. Ok, then I’ll paddle around the corner to that first village headland at Baia Formosa. I didn’t have to land there, as the water gradually calmed down on the tide change and inside the wide bay in general. I sometimes wonder where the sea state is coming from, being so different on different corners of the coast.

A bunch of fishing boats fishing for prawns here, the village would have been probably a friendly place to stay. But I planned to stay in the next sheltered village corner called Pipa, overall 40 km only for today. I felt worn and planned a rest day for tomorrow in civilization with a proper shower after those soaking capsizes. But Pipa was the wrong choice – a holiday village only, with a reefy beach – I realized that too late. I could land on lower tide on a flat hard reef with no lumpy rocks, unloaded and dragged my kayak up on a sandy spot. Where to go now? I checked the options, asked a local with a friendly looking house about a possible campsite, but he just called the neighbor lady, the owner of a nice looking posada. The price is 150 Reals for a night, for two nights as I was hoping to stay here to have a rest day, this was just double. No, this was not what I could afford and liked to pay for that luxury. I didn’t feel that filthy yet…but was actually in that whole fancy holiday village looked at like a shipwrecked or castaway, not like a sporty woman needing some rest. I tried to ask some “Adventure tour” organizer, they were friendly, but couldn’t help me either. The whole beach was flooded on high tide, and the small village guarded by cliffs. No hidden corner for my tent here…and no friendly private host likely to find among all those tourists and moneymakers.

Well, I decided to launch again, and to hit the sheltered river mouth entry just 8 km away. The calm entrance was tricky to find from offshore with rough water and a long breaker line, but I had marked the precise calm entry point on my GPS, then with some guts I went through right and left trashing breakers and landed safely halfway sheltered on some low dumper on a steep river beach. Sure more inside it would have been even more sheltered, but the campsite out here looked nice. I always have to negotiate between remote privacy camping and sheltered landing, as the sheltered beaches have mostly houses. Here, I was camped “only” behind the local beach buggy highway, but the happy tourist groups riding them didn’t look like a problem to me at night. Some kite surfers played a bit more inside the river, but they didn’t take any notice either.

I need a rest day, and tomorrow is supposed to be a tad bit stronger wind anyway. I could fill up water, and may try to ask one of the beach buggy drivers tomorrow to bring me some? Maybe this will work…

I had a bath in the sea, rinsed my salty hair with a small amount of fresh water, sprayed some good smelling conditioner in it and felt almost like newborn. No bugs here like on the last beach, no heat in the now again strong wind.

But I had to do a couple of jobs around my gear and kayak – the day hatch is amazingly quite flooded already every day since I started. I can’t see anything where the water comes in, and can’t remember this was the case when I stopped in May. It must have deformed something on the kayak transport. Not sure if I find the leak tomorrow.

2 comments on “Wed 29/10-2014 Day 673

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Richard Mason

Sounds as tough you had quite a hectic day — you seem to be making good progress though.

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