Glenmore to Port Shepstone

Took the previous day off to recover and celebrate my birthday, saving celebrations for that evening since paddling resumed today. Back to the 03h45 routine and a 45-minute drive back to Glenmore. My satellite tracker battery was flat, having forgotten to charge it for a week. No favourable current today – about 2km/h against me for most of the day, and a 2.1m swell with a long enough period to be watching constantly for the big set. Nearly got collected by one about 30km in – a panic sprint back out to sea was just enough.

Local paddler Mike Halliday came out to keep me company for a stretch. Beached on the western side of the river at Port Shepstone and paddled up a bit to a take-out spot, where a chap was launching his ski boat with his car up to its doors in the sea. The South Coast Herald came down for pictures – the exposure was picking up the closer we got to the end.