Paddling Update: Day 25–26

Shark Cage Diving

How does Richard confront his fear of the Great White Shark, especially since he will have to paddle across “Shark Alley” off Dyer Island tomorrow? He goes shark cage-diving!

Thank you to Marine Dynamics Shark Tours who gave Richard and Warren an opportunity of a lifetime on their cage-diving boat, Slashfin. “What an experience! Such a professional group of people and so knowledgeable. We saw more than ten different Great White Sharks. Strangely enough, I am far more at ease after my time with the Marine Dynamics team,” said Richard. Marine Dynamics also gave Richard an escort when he paddled from Kleinbaai to Die Dam via Shark Alley.

Day 25 – Kleinbaai to Die Dam, 45km

Marine Dynamics put their 8m RIB, Calypso, and a smaller RIB on the water to look after me as I paddled past Shark Alley, which lies between Dyer Island and Pearly Beach. The fog got so thick that visibility was down to 10 metres. My compass had blown off the boat en route to Gaansbaai, which left me very disoriented in the thickest of it, and I had to be redirected by Calypso. The first glimpse of land through the fog was Quoin Point, and by the time I turned for Die Dam the westerly had picked up fast. Beaching was simple enough, just a couple of blinders to dodge and two-inch surf to land in.

Day 26 – Die Dam to Struisbaai (Cape Agulhas), 40km

At 5am I got a text message: “My GPS says I’ll be there at 05h11.” Paul Moxley had left Cape Town early to join me for the day’s paddle. We set off a little after five thirty onto a calm sea with no wind. The highlight of today has to be that I have just paddled around the southernmost point of the African continent, Cape Agulhas! By my calculations, which are dubious at the best of times, I have paddled a third of the distance around the country. How lekker is that? Paul treated Warren and me to fish and chips from the local caravan vendor in the harbour, and put us up for the next few days on his farm near Die Mond in a big old Cape Dutch farmhouse. Braai time that night. By 8:30am the next morning our Land Rover was, by some margin, the most southerly Land Rover, or vehicle of any kind, on the African continent.