Day 1: Deja Vu Take 2

Deja vu. Take two.

Too many to put down here but you get the idea. It was the start of my second attempt. Almost a carbon copy. If anything it is a great way to get all my family in one spot. Not to mention so many friends on and off the water. There were even a handful of school mates.

Thank you to everyone who came down to see me off and to the fleet of paddlers that escorted me for the first few miles. Priceless!

Eventually I was all alone paddling towards the horizon with Cape Town’s  impressive Table Mountain slowly fading behind me. Slowly being the operative word. A head wind had started building. The forecast was for a Southerly wind to build. Not cool.

Eventually the forecast conditions started to build and I tried my best to put distance between Osiyeza and the shore. The swell was now getting a little out of my comfort zone. Crumbling peaks would wash over and flood the cockpit. I had to hold on to Osiyeza with one had and the other on the paddle.

Cold and very wet. Speeds improved but I suspect that was much to do with currents than my padding skills.

I popped down into the cabin to switch on the Satelite communication. I managed to down load my WhatsApp messages. By the time I had typed two messages and pushed sent a wave crashing came over me.

Not what you were thinking. A different wave. A dreadful wave.

It came from the pit of my stomach.

It was if a witch had cast a spell on me and turned me into a dog.

I flung open the hatch and stared barking like a dog. It probably sounded more like a dog in pain than a scary type of bark.🤮

After the dog spell was over I decided I would had to paddle through the night to stay out of the cabin and avoid any more spells.

I managed to get to about midnight before I could do no more. I slipped into the cabin and just lay down and shut my eyes. Wet and cold I got a few half hours of rest. The other time was spent turning off the AIS alarm for ships around me.

Kind of feels just like day 1 last year.

Deja vu

Coordinates: -33.226900° 17.593400°
Amount raised for Operation Smile: R113,086
No of Smiles changed: 20