Post by richi on Apr 12, 2009 9:23:30 GMT
After paddling round the island last year and taking 26 hours 
to do it I had been planning on giving it another go.Last year I hadn't planned on going round in one go,it just happened when I was half way round :crazy:
I'd been putting in a fair bit of training and had been studying the tides for suitable dates,had originally planned on next bank holiday but as the summer species should be in full flow(and the tope season
)then,I decided to go this weekend.
Only thing about this weekend was the suitable launch times either 2am or 2pm.Opted for the 2am and fri evening went to bed at 8pm for a few hours sleep with the alarm set for midnight.
BEEP! was woken with a start and jumped out ready to go only to find I'd been sent a bleeding text!great how my phone is still in one piece I'll never know!
Finally midnight came and it was time to get ready,load up and head to the launch site which on this occasion was to be Calshot.
Got down to the beach where a few guys were fishing and rigged up for my 2am start,which ended up 5 minutes or so late due to a lengthy chat to the coastguard.
So at 0205 I set off with the ebb towards the Needles
The ebb was helping a great deal once I'd got in the main channel and I managed 9.4mph going past Hurst.
Hit the needles in 2hrs 25minutes :win:
It was eerie threading the Needles at night and there was some surf on the bridge
Headed onwards to St.Catherines,was struggling a bit on this leg,nearly dropped off to sleep a couple of times
Finally made it to St.Catherines after a further 3 1/2 hours making the time now 8am
Dunnose with St.Catherines in the distance
Onwards past Dunnose and Ventnor staying offshore in a direct line with Culver
Made it to Bembridge Lifeboat station just before midday
Mistook my Lepe mark for Calshot on the gps :-[and ended up paddling against the tide right on the last bit(just when I needed it :ahhh: :ahhh:
Finally made it back to Calshot after 13 hours 25 minutes :stoned: beating last years time by nearly half :win:
Boy was it hard lifting the yak on the roof after that!
to do it I had been planning on giving it another go.Last year I hadn't planned on going round in one go,it just happened when I was half way round :crazy: I'd been putting in a fair bit of training and had been studying the tides for suitable dates,had originally planned on next bank holiday but as the summer species should be in full flow(and the tope season
)then,I decided to go this weekend.Only thing about this weekend was the suitable launch times either 2am or 2pm.Opted for the 2am and fri evening went to bed at 8pm for a few hours sleep with the alarm set for midnight.
BEEP! was woken with a start and jumped out ready to go only to find I'd been sent a bleeding text!great how my phone is still in one piece I'll never know!
Finally midnight came and it was time to get ready,load up and head to the launch site which on this occasion was to be Calshot.
Got down to the beach where a few guys were fishing and rigged up for my 2am start,which ended up 5 minutes or so late due to a lengthy chat to the coastguard.
So at 0205 I set off with the ebb towards the Needles
The ebb was helping a great deal once I'd got in the main channel and I managed 9.4mph going past Hurst.
Hit the needles in 2hrs 25minutes :win:
It was eerie threading the Needles at night and there was some surf on the bridge
Headed onwards to St.Catherines,was struggling a bit on this leg,nearly dropped off to sleep a couple of times
Finally made it to St.Catherines after a further 3 1/2 hours making the time now 8am
Dunnose with St.Catherines in the distance
Onwards past Dunnose and Ventnor staying offshore in a direct line with Culver
Made it to Bembridge Lifeboat station just before midday
Mistook my Lepe mark for Calshot on the gps :-[and ended up paddling against the tide right on the last bit(just when I needed it :ahhh: :ahhh:
Finally made it back to Calshot after 13 hours 25 minutes :stoned: beating last years time by nearly half :win:
Boy was it hard lifting the yak on the roof after that!
Well done to you mate
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