Days 70-78, Feb 5-13 2010
I decided some time ago that I was not up to a circumnavigation of the South Island. I was naïve when it came to my understanding of New Zealand’s weather where it is far cooler than I’d naively expected. I heard a weather reporter this morning suggest that Auckland was in for a “stinking hot day”. It was forecast to reach a top of 25° Celsius, barely more than a warm winter’s day where I’m from.
Despite my reluctance to tackle the South Island I had resolved before my arrival in Wellington that a crossing of Cook Strait was definitely something that I’d like to do, and that with a visit to Picton and Nelson encompassing the Marlborough Sounds, it might be enough for me to call it quits.
Whilst Cook Strait at its narrowest point is only 23km wide it is as Wikipedia notes “one of the most dangerous and unpredictable waters in the world”. For once I was not prepared to simply rely on weather reports and my own confidence in the water.
I made a couple of phone calls. The first to Philip Rush, the man who has swum the channel more than anyone including two double crossings, and a second on his suggestion, to a local kayak store. Philip did suggest I get back to him if needed and in hindsight I wish I had.
I did learn that for a crossing the first requirement is to select a day with low mean tides i.e. when the difference between low and high tides is minimal. The second requirement is calm weather. People can wait months for these two factors to come together. As it was the tides were ideal just three days after my arrival but I was in two minds about the weather and in hindsight I missed an excellent opportunity.
Leaving aside the opportunity I missed the weather report for today offers an insight into conditions that are indicative of what I’ve witnessed of late -
Issued by MetService at: 4:24am 12 February 2010
Valid to: 12:00am 13 February 2010
Forecast:
*** GALE WARNING IN FORCE ***
Northerly 20 knots rising to 35 knots tonight. Sea becoming very rough. Poor visibility in rain easing during the morning.
Outlook:
Outlook following 3 days: Rising Saturday morning northerly 50 knots. Changing Saturday evening southerly 25 knots, then dying out overnight. Developing Sunday morning northerly 15 knots. Changing early Monday southerly 20 knots.
Conditions like this have seen me remain in Petone near Wellington .
With a crossing of the Strait almost certainly not happening - the tides will not be right again until after February - I have got myself ‘up’ and am now committed to tackling the west coast of the North Island. When I commenced the trip I did not know if I’d last a day or a week and I have now covered over 1,300km and have had some wonderful experiences but I’m not yet ready to conclude the journey.
I have learnt over recent days that the kayak’s broaching when coming in on the surf is quite normal so I will be approaching this particular aspect differently and I am in fact now relishing the prospect and challenge as a result of this knowledge. A good thing considering that the west coast is more prone to surf than that which I’ve already navigated.
So now having fattened myself up after the significant breaks of late I am ready now to commence what I am calling the home leg. If successful it will see me paddle up the entire length of the west coast of the North Island, around the North Cape, and then back to where I started in Auckland.
My plan is to leave on Sunday presuming that the 50 knot northerly winds have blown themselves out.
I decided some time ago that I was not up to a circumnavigation of the South Island. I was naïve when it came to my understanding of New Zealand’s weather where it is far cooler than I’d naively expected. I heard a weather reporter this morning suggest that Auckland was in for a “stinking hot day”. It was forecast to reach a top of 25° Celsius, barely more than a warm winter’s day where I’m from.
Despite my reluctance to tackle the South Island I had resolved before my arrival in Wellington that a crossing of Cook Strait was definitely something that I’d like to do, and that with a visit to Picton and Nelson encompassing the Marlborough Sounds, it might be enough for me to call it quits.
Whilst Cook Strait at its narrowest point is only 23km wide it is as Wikipedia notes “one of the most dangerous and unpredictable waters in the world”. For once I was not prepared to simply rely on weather reports and my own confidence in the water.
I made a couple of phone calls. The first to Philip Rush, the man who has swum the channel more than anyone including two double crossings, and a second on his suggestion, to a local kayak store. Philip did suggest I get back to him if needed and in hindsight I wish I had.
I did learn that for a crossing the first requirement is to select a day with low mean tides i.e. when the difference between low and high tides is minimal. The second requirement is calm weather. People can wait months for these two factors to come together. As it was the tides were ideal just three days after my arrival but I was in two minds about the weather and in hindsight I missed an excellent opportunity.
Leaving aside the opportunity I missed the weather report for today offers an insight into conditions that are indicative of what I’ve witnessed of late -
Issued by MetService at: 4:24am 12 February 2010
Valid to: 12:00am 13 February 2010
Forecast:
*** GALE WARNING IN FORCE ***
Northerly 20 knots rising to 35 knots tonight. Sea becoming very rough. Poor visibility in rain easing during the morning.
Outlook:
Outlook following 3 days: Rising Saturday morning northerly 50 knots. Changing Saturday evening southerly 25 knots, then dying out overnight. Developing Sunday morning northerly 15 knots. Changing early Monday southerly 20 knots.
Conditions like this have seen me remain in Petone near Wellington .
With a crossing of the Strait almost certainly not happening - the tides will not be right again until after February - I have got myself ‘up’ and am now committed to tackling the west coast of the North Island. When I commenced the trip I did not know if I’d last a day or a week and I have now covered over 1,300km and have had some wonderful experiences but I’m not yet ready to conclude the journey.
I have learnt over recent days that the kayak’s broaching when coming in on the surf is quite normal so I will be approaching this particular aspect differently and I am in fact now relishing the prospect and challenge as a result of this knowledge. A good thing considering that the west coast is more prone to surf than that which I’ve already navigated.
So now having fattened myself up after the significant breaks of late I am ready now to commence what I am calling the home leg. If successful it will see me paddle up the entire length of the west coast of the North Island, around the North Cape, and then back to where I started in Auckland.
My plan is to leave on Sunday presuming that the 50 knot northerly winds have blown themselves out.
