Paddling Update: Day 20–24

Day 20 – Melkboss to Witsands, 57km

On the water just after 5am. The swell had picked up and the tide was low so it took a bit of timing to make it to the back line. The day’s plan was simple, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, so I headed straight across Table Bay with Robben Island to my right.

Rounding Karbonkelberg things got a bit bumpy with a 3m swell still running, so I opted out of the straight line between the rocks. From there a NW wind started to blow and I got my first taste of a downwind, a broad smile showing all the way to Slangkop Lighthouse, only to disappear approaching the point off Witsand, where the surf was pounding and my heart sank at the thought of a tricky landing, until I rounded the point and found a clear path to the slipway. Smile back on. VHF comms with Warren had been down most of the day, the external mic had stuck on transmit and drained the battery, so I switched to cell phone, only to find the Land Rover phone on silent. Teething problems worth sorting out close to home.

Day 21 – Around Cape Point to Buffels Bay, 33km

No wind in the early morning, then switching from SE to westerly. The swell had flattened out so much that rounding the point I am sure I could have touched the rocks. Bianca Beavitt joined me and we made a comfortable average of 10km/h, stopping to paddle into the “cave” on the False Bay side where the water was crystal clear to at least 12m down.

Day 22 – False Bay Crossing to Hangklip, 40km

Our earliest wake-up yet, 03h45. My good mate “Beetle” Bailey joined for his Cape Point Challenge training paddle. A pod of seals came porpoising past and I turned to Beet: “I don’t like seeing this, it’s often a sign something may be chasing them.” Shortly after, the safety boat told us a pod of killer whales was coming our way. What magnificent creatures, about fifteen Orcas sped past only a few boat lengths away, definitely the highlight of the trip so far, about fifteen of them with a juvenile among the pod. The deal with the safety boat was that if they spotted anything of concern they would come alongside fast, so when the rubber duck came motoring toward us later, Beetle and I paddled close together bracing for the next thing in the water, only to be told we were now half way. Earlier in the day Warren had radioed to check I was OK after I stopped to film near the lighthouse, he later admitted he had become a bit of a tourist attraction himself up there, fielding questions from busloads of visitors about the paddler below.

Day 23 – Hangklip to Hermanus, 43km

The wind was howling around the mountain the night before at the legendary Hangklip Hotel, but by midday it had eased enough to launch. There were lots of penguins around and dark patches on the water as wide as 50m, schools of bait fish. I do not like paddling over bait fish. We stayed the night before at the legendary Hangklip Hotel, not in the bungalows but a private two-bedroom holiday house with a great collection of vinyl records and two turntables. It was Warren\u2019s first dinner duty, and he served up a gourmet creamy cheese, spring onion and tuna pasta with a glass of red wine. Saturday is Judy\u2019s birthday and Sunday the swell is over 6m, so those will be rest days before pushing on past Gaansbaai on Monday.

Day 24 – Danger Point, I now understand how it got its name

The further off the point I got, the bigger the swell seemed to get, a swell running in from straight ahead and one from my left. When the two met and peaked, the crest would crumble into a massive rolling ball of white water big enough to break my boat. I had to paddle almost 2km SW, straight out to sea, to get beyond the reefs. It was a very long, lonely and nervous 2km.

Arriving at the Kleinbaai slipway I was surprised to get a round of applause, a group who had been tracking my progress had come down to see me paddle in. Michelle from Marine Dynamics Shark Tours quietly asked if I’d seen any Great Whites today. I said no. “Oh,” she said, “well I can tell you they saw you.” Marine Dynamics have agreed to escort me through Shark Alley when I head off next, but not before putting us in a cage, underwater, to let a Great White swim past. I may be about to come face to face with my biggest fear.

Rounding the point that day I had to paddle almost 2km straight out to sea to clear a second reef I later learned was the Birkenhead reef, named for HMS Birkenhead, wrecked here in 1852 while carrying troops to Algoa Bay. There were not enough lifeboats for everyone aboard, and the soldiers famously stood firm so the women and children could board safely. Only 193 of the 643 people on board survived, and their conduct gave rise to the “women and children first” protocol still known today as the Birkenhead drill.