Minus One

It’s that time of year: north wind, south wind, north wind, south wind. Today it was north wind forecast so we left early hoping to get 40 kilometres done in reasonable time. The northeasterly was up early. We were at Wasp Island by 8:45 am. Flat Rock to Wasp Island felt slow. The northeasterly wind was stronger and we had a northerly current. At Point Upright, we had a pause in the shelter of the headwind, but we were three kilometres off the magic twenty! Bumpy conditions and a headwind to Grasshopper Island where we pulled the plug and paddled back to North Durras for a quick land break. My stomach had been queasy all the way and I had eaten nothing but forced down an egg wrap on the beach before we turned south.

Sloppy seas and lumpy, bumpy conditions all the way to North Head where we ducked into the bay between Three Isle Rocks and North Head to sit for a moment out of the lumpiness, then home across the bay. We came up three kilometres short so bashed back out and around to Caseys Beach and back for a final tally of 39 kilometres. One kilometre shy of the goal.

Below is my speed graph. The first fast bit is to North Head, then a quick drop in speed as we head north against both current and wind culminating in the slowest section to Grasshopper Island. The faster return journey with current and wind behind us.