I don’t know if the planet is really boiling but down in my part of the world we are having a warm, dry and largely benign – as far as sea conditions go – winter. On Tuesday, Margot got the band back together and we had eight paddlers out for an easy paddle on a “summer” winters day. There’s no doubt the band is getting older and a couple of people are facing serious medical illnesses, so each day with friends in a free and beautiful part of the world feels like the ubiquitous #blessing, except, I think #blessings are out now and #victim is in.
Our paddle total on Tuesday, however, was only 18 kilometres, two kilometres shy of our self-imposed 20 kilometre minimum target. Thursday, on an even warmer day with northerly winds, we set out to paddle 30 kilometres. For some reason, unknown to myself, I had decided I wanted to walk at least 8 kilometres (5 miles) every day for a week, so before paddling I went out at dawn to get the 8 kilometres done.
The northerly wind was a bother and, combined with the sea current running south, made progress north up the Murramarang Coast slow. We did 8 kilometres and then turned around and made up the final 22 kilometres paddling around the northern side of Batemans Bay as far as the new bridge over the Clyde River. Finally, with 24 kilometres on the clock, we could catch the tidal current and paddle back home. At our home bay, my odometer had not quite cracked 30 kilometres so I paddled out to sea far enough to watch it tick over, then back.
Now the real dilemna becomes obvious, stop at 38.5 km (30.5 km paddling and 8 km walking) or bump that number up to 40, an appealing number, divisible by ten – the basis of our decimal system. Bump to 40 is the obvious and only number. Luckily, trolleying the kayak home and a bit more walking and I was able to call Thursday a 40 kilometre day.
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