Archive for the ‘kayaking’ Category

Today’s forecast was fantastic, a light following wind on a day when we had two notorious 4 mile crossings where “tide rips” were liberally scrawled on the chart. We were up at dusk and seen off by a curious seal and a noisy oyster catcher. We put the sails up and got a gentle push along the calm sea. After following a curving finger of jagged rocks for a couple of miles we were into our first crossing, Fenimore pass. As we were exposed to the Pacific swell and into the tidal race, the sea suddenly picked up. Our kayaks rose and fell on 2 metre waves. It was quite intimidating but waves rarely broke and we felt comfortable enough to keep our sails up for most of the crossing. The last of the ebb carried us south of the main danger until we reached calmer water beneath 2 jagged Islands. We stayed south wanting to avoid the start of the flood sweeping us into the tidal rips at the shallowest part of our next crossing, Atka pass. In fact there was hardly any current in atka pass and we cruised across watching hundreds of birds feed excitedly in the nutrient rich water. Even an albatross came to say hello. Once alongside Atka our bladders dictated that we find a landing spot. We discovered a great hidden crevice on a rocky coastline and munched heartily on all manner of tasty snacks.

Making the most of the good conditions-even the sun came out- we paddled on past noisy fur seals snorting their displeasure at our passing, eventually arriving at Sergiof Bay which almost bisects Atka Island. Another seal, an Eagle and some reindeer greeted us and we’re camped on a long black sand beach enjoying a peaceful evening, complete with popcorn drizzled with golden syrup!

Today has been about catching up on sleep, eating (rice pudding for breakfast followed immediately by fried tortillas with cheese and salami since it was practically lunchtime, fruit and nuts and soon to be falafels)

We woke up at 5am hoping for an early start to paddle 16miles across 2 feisty passes to Atka while the tide was in the same direction as the wind and it would therefore be calmer. I’d already been woken in the night by gusts slamming the tent violently so before getting ready in the dark we got an updated forecast from kayakweather.com. It showed the wind was due to be gusting 28 knots from the South. We decided to wait for tomorrow’s better forecast. While I was disappointed not to be moving on, I really enjoyed slipping back into my cosy sleeping bag for another 6 delicious hours! When we finally got up the wind was angrily blasting over the sea, riveting the surface and kicking up spray. A few pretty ducks tried to find shelter close to shore and a curious seal braved the blasts to pop its head up for a good look at the curious goings on. Sand is fired intermittently at the tent and overall we are glad we stayed in bed! This thought was reinforced this afternoon when Sarah had an email from a friend Lisa saying she used to watch the tidal rips at Fenimore rock (one of the passes we need to cross) from a volcanic Island 10 miles away!

If the tent stops shaking so much, we’ll get up early again tomorrow and hope to get across the 2 passes to Atka. In a cunning move we’ve put our clocks forward an hour ( we think the next time zone starts at Atka), but even though we’re tricking ourselves, getting up at 6am feels so much better than getting up at 5am!

Ps. Sarah is valiantly cooking falafels complete with a side of sand outside in the rain while I do essential chores inside the tent

Sarah and I moved 6 miles today. It doesn’t sound like much but we crossed a pass (the name given to the gap between to Islands here) and we only have 2 more to cross before reaching atka, an approx 50 mile long Island where people live on the eastern end. The pass we crossed was described in the pilot as having the strongest tide rips in the Andreanofs so is good to get it behind us. Despite a really gusty wind there were no tide rips where we paddled, just white caps and spray from the wind. The tides are neap at the moment and the races so far have been gentle unless the wind is against them. And so far the chart had been accurate in predicting where they occur. However just 10-15 knots opposing wind can create intimidating seas as we found in the 4 mile wide Chugul Pass yesterday. From Tagalak Island where we are now, it’s 16 miles to Atka across two 4 mile wide passes, with probably no camping options along the way. This afternoon would have been wind against tide so w e
finished early and are resting, eating and exploring ready for an early start tomorrow if the forecast is favourable and we’ll try to get across before the tide turns!