It was a relatively easy paddle from Yorkies Knob to Trinity Beach.  There was a rain shower which caused a rainbow right over Trinity Beach.  I timed my landing in between wave sets, but this was the first time I had hauled my kayak out of the water fully loaded, Oh My!  Too much stuff and it hardly moved!  I didn’t beat the waves filling my cockpit, now it was really unmovable. After pushing the kayak back out, bailing the cockpit, I did it all again.  This time I knew the weight and I used the waves to push the kayak as high onto the beach as it would go.

The winds were picking up as well as the swell and waves.  Plans to grab some food and sunscreen were abandoned; it was crucial to get going.  I completed a quick video and photo and pushed my kayak back out to sea.  By now it was 8:30am.  It had taken two hours just to start at Trinity Beach.  No use crying over spilt milk, time to launch.

It seemed like forever before I passed Yorkies Knob.  I focussed on the point of land to pass to get me into Turtle Cove, my day’s destination.  Finally, I reached Cairns.  I saw the buildings and the beacons guiding ships safely into port, but not for long.  The clouds closed in as I completed one last compass heading verification before losing sight of all land.  Heading 110 degrees.  As the waves and swell heightened, and the wind increased to 30+ knots, I maintained my heading.  I was grateful for my Instrument Flight Training (IFR) and time flying the gauges as I am a private pilot.  Now the rain hit me.  It was so heavy, I could suck my rashy and get a drink of water.  The thing about IFR flying is Air Traffic Control is looking out for traffic for you.  No one was looking out for me or even knew I was there.  I kept my eyes and ears craned for any other vessel, but really who in their right mind would be out in weather like this! 🙂

It was 45 minutes before land appeared.  I instinctively headed toward it, but my compass was telling me a different story.  Remember, fly the gauges.  In training, my flight instructor had me fly the plane with my eyes closed just using my other senses to guide the plane.  When he had me open my eyes, we were in a nose dive!  It was to make the point that you CANNOT guide the plane using what feels right.  You MUST trust the gauges.  Boy did I want to head toward that land, but I dutifully headed back and maintained 110 degrees.  In 15 minutes, I glimpsed the right land, dead on the nose.  Whoo Hoo!

I wanted to grab some food from my deck bag, but the moment I stopped paddling my kayak turned and the waves broadsided me.  Keep paddling.  Hey, there’s Cairns again!  The storm had pushed me backward, Aaargh!  Alright, time to make up some time.  The wind hadn’t really decreased, and progress was slow.  Oh, how lovely, another storm heading my way.  Keep paddling, focus on the land ahead, at least while you can see it.  The clouds closed in again and I was in a white world.  In about 10 minutes, the swell was three metres, there was nothing but white caps all around me and the wind had increased to 40 knots. I could no longer keep my heading.  All I could do was point my kayak into the incoming waves and keep it upright.  I had to keep an eye over my shoulder because the waves were coming from all directions.  There was no progress to be made, this was about surviving…