Winklespruit to Umhlanga

After a few days with the Simpkins family (turns out Copper can cook), back on the water with the forecast showing a fading SW wind. Paul and Gary from Winklespruit SLC joined for the leg to Durban. Just past the surf zone my GPS clip broke, rusted right through – had to wedge it under the straps of my juice bags for the rest of the day.

Conditions were close to perfect, average speed nearing 13km/h. Since it was going so well I carried on solo to Umhlanga after Paul and Gary got out at Marine. My new VHF radio started emitting a high-pitched noise and freezing its buttons after about 10 minutes, so today’s comms relied on trackers and cell phones – except the satellite tracker wasn’t sending its signal and the cellular tracker’s battery had died too.

After a frustrating run of waterproof-gear failures (an mp3 player lost to a leaking pouch, everything now sealed in condoms before going in the dry bags), I’d emailed a local waterproof earphone company, Dri-Dock, out of frustration on Sunday – by the time I finished today’s paddle they’d already been in touch with Warren, and I met Peter and Carla for coffee and a set of samples to test for the rest of the trip.

In the afternoon, physio treatment for my left shoulder and neck at the Shark Tank medical centre – a world of pain, but it already felt much better. Warren read in the paper that a fisherman was shot four times at Winklespruit the previous morning, right when we would have been on the water. Staying with Billy and Tracey Harker in Durban until the NE winds ease.