We awoke at around 8:30am to an empty house. Following an offer the previous night to ‘stay for as long as we liked’, and given the extremely daunting task of getting back in the kayak after yesterdays marathon paddle, it was with tremendous reluctance that we decided it was best to take advantage of the good weather conditions and continue our journey.
As soon as we got back on the water, we knew we had made the right choice. A strong tail wind meant we were averaging over 11km’s an hour (nearly twice yesterday’s average speed), and with the sail up, we could expect to be in Whitemark in under 4 hours. As we rounded the north-west corner of Flinders Island, so did the wind. Our strong tail wind had now become an equally strong head wind and our rapid progress turned into a painfully slow and strenuous crawl. We hugged the shoreline in an attempt to avoid the brunt of the wind, and by ‘hopping’ from the shelter of one rock to the next, we gradually made our way down the coast.
After about an hour the winds turned gale force, and no longer were there suitable rocks behind which to take shelter. Despite paddling furiously, we were being pushed backwards. We scanned the beach for an appropriate place to go ashore, but the combination of sharp rocks and sheer cliffs made landing impossible. The prospect of heading back and losing valuable ground was too much to bear, so, with our energy levels fading fast, we landed on a small rock to further assess our options. Given that the water was fairly shallow, we agreed that the only option available to us was to tie a rope to the front of the bow and walk the boat in the knee deep water across the rocks until we could find an appropriate place to land. Cursing not having stayed at the Renwick’s and being relentlessly battered by big waves, strong winds and now heavy rain, we slowly and painfully made our way along the rocks. With careful co-operation, one of us would hold the boat whilst the other would half swim, half wade ahead with the rope in hand to a suitable rock and drag the kayak over. This process was repeated for over an hour until eventually we came across a small inlet with a sandy beach. With the last of our energy, we pulled the kayak onto the beach and took shelter. In the pouring rain our attempts to start a fire were futile, so we got into our bivi-bags in an attempt to keep warm and quickly fell asleep.
When we awoke, the sun was shining and to our great relief, the wind had dropped considerably and had spun around to the north. We packed the kayak and were soon back on the water and making good time down the coast of Flinders Island towards Whitemark. The rugged cliffs and jagged rocks were replaced by acres of farmland with grazing cattle and sheep. The occasional farmer would stop and watch curiously as we paddled slowly by, and with the sun setting we pulled in to Whitemark at around 8:30pm.
As soon as we got back on the water, we knew we had made the right choice. A strong tail wind meant we were averaging over 11km’s an hour (nearly twice yesterday’s average speed), and with the sail up, we could expect to be in Whitemark in under 4 hours. As we rounded the north-west corner of Flinders Island, so did the wind. Our strong tail wind had now become an equally strong head wind and our rapid progress turned into a painfully slow and strenuous crawl. We hugged the shoreline in an attempt to avoid the brunt of the wind, and by ‘hopping’ from the shelter of one rock to the next, we gradually made our way down the coast.
After about an hour the winds turned gale force, and no longer were there suitable rocks behind which to take shelter. Despite paddling furiously, we were being pushed backwards. We scanned the beach for an appropriate place to go ashore, but the combination of sharp rocks and sheer cliffs made landing impossible. The prospect of heading back and losing valuable ground was too much to bear, so, with our energy levels fading fast, we landed on a small rock to further assess our options. Given that the water was fairly shallow, we agreed that the only option available to us was to tie a rope to the front of the bow and walk the boat in the knee deep water across the rocks until we could find an appropriate place to land. Cursing not having stayed at the Renwick’s and being relentlessly battered by big waves, strong winds and now heavy rain, we slowly and painfully made our way along the rocks. With careful co-operation, one of us would hold the boat whilst the other would half swim, half wade ahead with the rope in hand to a suitable rock and drag the kayak over. This process was repeated for over an hour until eventually we came across a small inlet with a sandy beach. With the last of our energy, we pulled the kayak onto the beach and took shelter. In the pouring rain our attempts to start a fire were futile, so we got into our bivi-bags in an attempt to keep warm and quickly fell asleep.
When we awoke, the sun was shining and to our great relief, the wind had dropped considerably and had spun around to the north. We packed the kayak and were soon back on the water and making good time down the coast of Flinders Island towards Whitemark. The rugged cliffs and jagged rocks were replaced by acres of farmland with grazing cattle and sheep. The occasional farmer would stop and watch curiously as we paddled slowly by, and with the sun setting we pulled in to Whitemark at around 8:30pm.