Instant noodles with an egg for breakfast, 1.5L water with sugar in it.
0643 - Nam Fung Kok
0701 - Ocean Point
0713 - Flat Island
0722 - Heung Lo Kok
0732 - Police Check Point (Tolo Channel)
0839 - Pak Sa Tau Chau
0847 - Pak Sa Tau Kok
0910 - TMT slipway
1520 - launch
1701 - Police Check Point
1710 - Heung Lo Kok
1721 - Flat Island
1731 - Ocean Point
* * * Entered Nam Fung Wan to muck around and checked out a tiger-kayak that ran aground.
1758 - Nam Fung Kok
1830 - Fred's
The tidal current was so mild I could hardly feel its effect. Plus, the wind was mild on the way back, at least it was so compared to the sea condition last Sunday (May 10) when I had to paddle against the wind and current/spray. In terms of time/speed, I'm much quicker on the return trip this time around -- no doubt due to the current that I couldn't feel at all.
I think I'm in much better shape than when I was in Japan. Just last week, my upper back was protesting rather pathetically by the time I paddled past Ocean Point in the evening. I kept needing to take breaks to stretch my back, and at the same time, had to worry about the tide/ sunset too. This time, I nearly regretted coming home so soon - I could have stayed till 1545, I reckon. Then again, I can't always predict the wind and current condition, so it's better to play it safe than to risk coming home in the dark.
Got cut up when muscling the kayak up that rocky hill after landing. As usual, most or all of my kayaking injuries happens during launching and landing.
KA day 2 was excellent. I really enjoyed Ng Siu Ming. Funny he told me about the book, "Sea Kayake's Deep Trouble," I've read it already, though I think, I'll do well to read it again. With him nearby, I felt safe enough to try rolling the tiger, and turns out it's easy anyway. Oh, and I managed to roll a CLG yesterday. I'm fairly confident that my RHS sweeping rolls on a tiger is bomb-proof now, though I still need to work on the finesses and coordinations, because I still don't know if I can roll an ultra-heavy kayak loaded with gears. And my LHS rolls are still very shaky.
Wrote Ng Siu Ming a letter requesting apprenticeship, and I'm surprised at how anxious I feel about this. I guess it's about time I concede that I can't do everything on my own and I need discipline and instructions if I were to commit myself to the New Zealand and trans-Pacific project. The great thing about Ng Siu Ming is that he isn't rigid about regulations, so if I were to do something a little off the wall, like paddling big waves solo in a leaky kayak, he'll still sit down calmly with me and analyze what I can do to make a bad situation better. And at the same time, he's sensible enough to walk me back to the first lesson of risk assessment and management.
Gonna paddle with Vincent tomorrow. Funny I'm relying on Dennis so much in kayaking, yet I met him through sailing. I retook the sailing course recently, and met Vincent, who seems interested enough in kayaking. Hopefully I'll find more regular partners and I won't have to paddle solo so much. I also met James today in TMT, the legendary TMCC kayaker-ran-amok. Sounds to me like he's another free-spirit who just wants to paddle and have fun, instead of sitting exams and winning tournaments. So here I am sitting around waiting for him to call.
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