Day five and six!

Day five Rosslare to Cullenstown

Getting ready to get onto the water.. Anticipation lay to what was ahead. The unknown. Reading the map there was marked tidal races around the headland from Rosslare and then the intimidating St Patrick's bridge.. 

I was a little bit unsure about St Patrick's bridge. From the maps we have I was unsure whether we would be going around The Saltees or not. And then I read a book given to me called Oileáin which suggested that we would get pulled down onto the bridge.. What did that mean. Sucked in? Or were we to expect a small tidal race. Anyway we head around the headland from Rosslare no problem and then headed straight for Kilmore Quay over the bridge.. How bad could it be if we go on slack.

Anyway there was no sucking down or pulling in.. We crossed just as the tide turned to the flood and there was a little race picking up but we were fine and great place to stop at Kilmore Quay. This is where we found the RNLI shop and needed to show our support by adopting two new bears to the team Sam and Billy.

This day we had lovely winds from behind all day force three to four. Expedition boats are a must for a working skeg. Although NDK boats are not dependent on the skeg the tired paddler is. Very useful to put the skeg down and cruse along. excellent surf in the afternoon for those small energy bursts we had in us.

We then landed on a beach first one with facilities for those of us that wanted a lovely cold shower... Mm...

Day six Cullenstown - Tramore (east side of the bay)

Today was the first day of rain.. Wet rain it was poring down. Can we wait five more minutes? No use it was hammering it down. Quick dive to the kayaks with our kit and a strategic packing of the tent to keep the inside as dry as possible.. We will see how long that lasts before we stop caring so much.

We had a lovely morning on the water dispite the rain. It was actually nice to have the cooling rain instead of beaming sun for a few hours. We had lunch and continued around to the light house and hooks head. For the first time in six days we met other kayakers on the water. No surprise really as we have been staying out and making some crossing but today we kept close to sure and met a group on sit on tops.. Friendly guide with a group of Americans. Great to see others on the water.

As we got around hooks head the sea fog came in and the visibility was low. Time to trust my navigation skills and follow a bearing 280 degrees for an hour and we should hit land... And we did.

Having been in our kayaks for a few hours already it was maybe time for a break. But not the best landing spots. The decision was made to carry on. I had my fist pee in my kayak with the use of a sheewee very happy about that and a quick bar to eat and we carried on.

Six nautical miles to the next landing spot we decided to proceed. This was around three o clock.. Knowing the wind was going to pick up at five.. We head on. As we were paddling I could see the speedometer was going slower and slower. Vibeke was finding it hard against the headwind which was picking up. But we were plodding on getting closer to the headland we needed to get around. Energy levels we obviously a bit low. So I shout over to check if she had food. Yes. So we continue. We were not far but with a decelerating speed we were not getting there very quickly. And the winds still picking up.

Vibeke' she energy levels getting lower and lower and she also squired a pain in her wrist resulting in her not being able to paddle.. Especially in a surf as her hand was hurting. The beach didn't look for away so frida rated up and I started toeing them into the beach. Yes towing two fully loaded kayaks was not easy. Going at about one and a half knots not too quickly but faster that what we were paddling with an injured paddler. After about thirty minutes the beach wasn't looking much closer. And it was time for me to give up my super hero badge and asked frida to drop forward in the contact tow and paddle as well. She then replied.. But she did just pass out a few minutes ago. With me to just reply. Ok just lay her on your back deck then. So she did where Vibeke was sound asleep until being woken up by the occasional breaker.

Wasn't the best situation to be in. The thought was there ready to make an emergency landing on the rocks. But steady wins the race. We kept the pace down and carried on. The river coming out and wind waves blowing in there were some interesting conditions.. I almost went over.. Waves pushing me one way and the raft of kayakers pulling me backwards.. I took the biggest deep breath ready for that roll.. Turned out my very low low brace saved me.. That was a close one.. Steady through the surf and eventually we made it to the beach.

We were amazed we made it to the beach all of us exhausted.. Camp went up quickly and food in the belly. Best night sleep for us all.

Day seven

Day seven we have had a rest. Hitch hiked to the nearest town. Vibeke had visited the doctor for her wrist and had some great advice from the pharmacy.now we are enjoying a cold beer in the pub hopefully ready for more paddling but less action tomorrow.

- Ashley