Archive for the ‘kayaking’ Category

A vast reef stretched out half a mile from our campsite this morning. We rolled the kayaks over logs to get them the 200 metres to the sea and tried to find deep water between grass like weed and rocks to the open sea.

Strong NW winds were forecast so we hurried to cross the 10 mile Bay ahead. The wind was already quite strong and offshore and we planned to break up the crossing by stopping in the lee behind some small Islands in the way. The wind actually died off towards the end of the crossing which was great.

Once we rounded the next headland into Port Wrangel the wind kicked right up. We stayed in close out of the worst of it and crawled up the coastline until the gap was only a mile to the other side. The advantage of our slow pace was that we had plenty of time to take in the beautiful mountains, rocky pinacles and crescent beaches littered with logs. After ferry gliding across, the wind helped us for a while, then we managed to shelter from it round the next corner. After another hour we were battling a headwind again and decided to stop relatively early after just 17 miles. We’re in a beautiful location overlooking several Islands and some craggy granite mountains. All sorts of different clouds are flying by but it’s hot when the sun is out. We even had a sunbathe earlier. And made bread on a sick over the fire – filled with honey of course!

I think its due to be similar weather tomorrow but I live in hope for a South westerly!

I knew I was drifting closer to the two bears, perhaps too close but it was mesmerising watching mother and cub turning over seaweed with their big paws and munching on the choicest bits. The little one sometimes ate from the same patch as his mother and occasionally wandered off, searching the bushes above the beach and slipping over on driftwood logs.

We’d been watching them for about 10 minutes, slowly getting closer; looking, taking photos and filming. As I filmed them walking along close to the shore, I started wondering if I could paddle faster than they could swim. The wind pushed me closer and I saw the cub raise his nose to the air and sniff. I didn’t want to suddenly paddle away and scare or anger them so I just stayed very still. Mum and cub looked over at me and fire a few seconds I wondered what they’d do. Then they dropped their heads again and continued pawing the ground for food. We slowly paddled a bit further away and watched them for anther 10 minutes. The little one tried climbing up a fallen tree, he stood on his back legs and put guys weight on it. The whole tree fell over on top of him!

That was the highlight of a great day where we also smashed over the 1000 nautical mile mark with a 28 miler. A 5am alarm saw us on the water at 6.45 hoping to get a10 mile crossing under our paddles before the wind picked up. In fact
the wind was much lighter than forecast all day and conditions were lovely with a moody sky and snowy mountains just peaking out from time to time. Offshore craggy Islands provided entertainment as they changed shape and switched positions, and whale blows punctuated the air. Even the headwind this afternoon couldn’t spoil the mood. We landed on a gorgeous sandy beach on a calm sunny evening. I even had a dip in the sea which was great – afterwards!

Congratulations to the lovely Hadas who had just given birth to a baby boy!

I knew I was drifting closer to the two bears, perhaps too close but it was mesmerising watching mother and cub turning over seaweed with their big paws and munching on the choicest bits. The little one sometimes ate from the same patch as his mother and occasionally wandered off, searching the bushes above the beach and slipping over on driftwood logs.

We’d been watching them for about 10 minutes, slowly getting closer; looking, taking photos and filming. As I filmed them walking along close to the shore, I started wondering if I could paddle faster than they could swim. The wind pushed me closer and I saw the cub raise his nose to the air and sniff. I didn’t want to suddenly paddle away and scare or anger them so I just stayed very still. Mum and cub looked over at me and fire a few seconds I wondered what they’d do. Then they dropped their heads again and continued pawing the ground for food. We slowly paddled a bit further away and watched them for anther 10 minutes. The little one tried climbing up a fallen tree, he stood on his back legs and put guys weight on it. The whole tree fell over on top of him!

That was the highlight of a great day where we also smashed over the 1000 nautical mile mark with a 28 miler. A 5am alarm saw us on the water at 6.45 hoping to get a10 mile crossing under our paddles before the wind picked up. In fact
the wind was much lighter than forecast all day and conditions were lovely with a moody sky and snowy mountains just peaking out from time to time. Offshore craggy Islands provided entertainment as they changed shape and switched positions, and whale blows punctuated the air. Even the headwind this afternoon couldn’t spoil the mood. We landed on a gorgeous sandy beach on a calm sunny evening. I even had a dip in the sea which was great – afterwards!

Congratulations to the lovely Hadas who had just given birth to a baby boy!

Today we hoped to paddle over 1,000 nautical miles since Adak. Just two 11 mile crossings stood in our way. A gentle side wind looked promising but within 20 minutes it found its inner demon and started blowing 25 knots turning a flat sea into a rolling, tumbling, crashing wet and cold fairground ride. Sarah kept disappearing behind breaking crests then reappearing with spray on her face. Happily she was singing to herself in conditions which would have seen her paddling defensively and occasionally squealing at the start of the trip!

We’d been warned that North westerly winds accelerate out of these large bays and can be 10 knots higher than the forecast. Now we know why! We put the sails down as we were worried they’d get damaged in the gusts but still made good progress as an element of the wind was slightly helpful. After lunch on the mainland, we made a one mile crossing to a small island which took half a hour as the wind here was more against us. We debated going for the next 11 mile crossing- it would be possible but slow and tiring. We decided to camp early instead after about 991 miles. We’ll hopefully rest, catch up on sleep and have an early start tomorrow. It’s a similar forecast tomorrow but with a bit of luck the wind will still be asleep at 6.30am!?

We’re camped on a luxuriant bed of lush grass behind a cresent of grey cobbles that have been bulldozed into steep steps by stormy seas. It’s the only decent landing on our small craggy Island. We did find a couple of large bear prints a little way from here so we’ll be using the bear fence tonight incase they are recent. I’m looking forward to bed!