Day 3 Harlyn to Crackington Haven
Posted by glyn brackenbury on Sunday, April 21, 2013
So, the day started really well, but finished in the Mega factory having the boat repaired....
A great nights sleep followed by a fantastic breakfast with friends. The forecasted winds hadn't really got going, and I set off before the tide turned to try and get ahead of the weather front that was due. Three hours of uneventful but chunky paddling ensued. I was joined by a pod of porpoises for a while, who were doing figure of eights under the boat and breaching, I'd of taken pictures but the sea had gotten a little larger by that stage.
I decided to head into Boscastle for a quick lunch before pushing on towards Hartland. Those of you that have paddled there will know that the entrance is really hard to spot. I'd been trying to stay offshore as the refraction of the waves near the cliffs was quite awkward, this meant I passed the island marking the entrance and ended up too far north, while I was trying to work out which way I needed to go I inadvertantly ended up close to a submerged rock, the ensuing couple of seconds all went quite slowly. I looked up from the map because I could feel the unmistakable sensation of being pulled up a wave, I looked down to my left to spot my landing, which didn't look good and got slammed sideways into the rock. The wave surged and died which floated and released me, and I sprinted away.
I reached under the boat and could feel splintered gel coat, so paddled as fast as I could to a sheltered bay that I could stop in. There was nowhere to land so I quickly tried to establish and repair what I could from the cockpit. Before I left Howard Jeffs kindly gave me one of his repair kit for the trip, and I was able to reach into my pocket and produce two perfectly proportioned vacuum sealed squares of Denzo tape, and seal the damage I could reach.
I then decided to get off quickly to properly assess the damage. I paddled round the corner and landed at Crackington Haven.
Now if I was going to try and break the boat at any point during the trip, 20 mins away from the mega factory couldn't have been better. Malcolm and Chris came and met me on the beach and within half an hour the boat was on stands being dried out for repair. Bear in mind the boat with me and all my kit must be around 160kgs, the fact I was able to paddle away is testament to the boats construction.
By six o'clock this evening, the boat had had 5 patches and a metre of new seam tape, and should be ready to go tomorrow. I can't thank the guys enough for getting it sorted for me, so I can continue.
I always knew I'd find a few difficulties in doing this trip, which is one of the reasons I'm doing it, however I didn't think I'd inflict them on myself!
Hartland tomorrow, without the schoolboy errors....
A great nights sleep followed by a fantastic breakfast with friends. The forecasted winds hadn't really got going, and I set off before the tide turned to try and get ahead of the weather front that was due. Three hours of uneventful but chunky paddling ensued. I was joined by a pod of porpoises for a while, who were doing figure of eights under the boat and breaching, I'd of taken pictures but the sea had gotten a little larger by that stage.
I decided to head into Boscastle for a quick lunch before pushing on towards Hartland. Those of you that have paddled there will know that the entrance is really hard to spot. I'd been trying to stay offshore as the refraction of the waves near the cliffs was quite awkward, this meant I passed the island marking the entrance and ended up too far north, while I was trying to work out which way I needed to go I inadvertantly ended up close to a submerged rock, the ensuing couple of seconds all went quite slowly. I looked up from the map because I could feel the unmistakable sensation of being pulled up a wave, I looked down to my left to spot my landing, which didn't look good and got slammed sideways into the rock. The wave surged and died which floated and released me, and I sprinted away.
I reached under the boat and could feel splintered gel coat, so paddled as fast as I could to a sheltered bay that I could stop in. There was nowhere to land so I quickly tried to establish and repair what I could from the cockpit. Before I left Howard Jeffs kindly gave me one of his repair kit for the trip, and I was able to reach into my pocket and produce two perfectly proportioned vacuum sealed squares of Denzo tape, and seal the damage I could reach.
I then decided to get off quickly to properly assess the damage. I paddled round the corner and landed at Crackington Haven.
Now if I was going to try and break the boat at any point during the trip, 20 mins away from the mega factory couldn't have been better. Malcolm and Chris came and met me on the beach and within half an hour the boat was on stands being dried out for repair. Bear in mind the boat with me and all my kit must be around 160kgs, the fact I was able to paddle away is testament to the boats construction.
By six o'clock this evening, the boat had had 5 patches and a metre of new seam tape, and should be ready to go tomorrow. I can't thank the guys enough for getting it sorted for me, so I can continue.
I always knew I'd find a few difficulties in doing this trip, which is one of the reasons I'm doing it, however I didn't think I'd inflict them on myself!
Hartland tomorrow, without the schoolboy errors....
Been paddling for 30 years mostly as a surf and whitewater boater. Living on the N coast of Devon and growing upon Anglesey has meant that the sea has never been more than a couple of miles away.
