What with the monsoon and BF 6-7, I thought I should proceed with caution. Turns out the most frightening thing was the thunder and lightning.
I left WSWSC heading into the wind, it was tough pushing the blade forward despite the feathering angle. Once I got past the East Arm of Chek Keng, the wind blew relentlessly from my starboard, and I had to consciously remind myself to lean into the wind. I was really worried that I might lose my paddle -- the gusts kept changing direction, and I didn't know which way it's gonna snatch at my paddle at any given point.
Launched from WSWSC at 1619, got to Tung Sum Kei by 1628, and turned around in KLW by 1703. I was going to go for Kung Chau, but as I turned North towards Grass Island in the KLW passage, I suddenly heard a familiar roar -- at first I thought a motorboat was nearby, so I turned my head and looked, only to see a large wave breaking to my right and slightly behind me.
I managed to turn around and rode the waves out of KLW back towards Nam Fung Kok before the whitecaps hit me. It seems funny now, but I felt a sharp pang of fear and panic as I realized what that roar was. It's an old friend alright; we've met on Tung Ping Chau.
I decided to go home while I still can, instead of pushing on to Kung Chau. I'm half-ashamed of myself for being such a wimp, but all the same it turned out to be an excellent decision- the thunderstorm deteriorated and I got seriously nervous about being struck by the time I got to Sze Tei. It also got very foggy and I had to struggle to get the strobe light out.
I recently changed my e-mail signature back to the navy seal motto: the more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle. Trouble is, I don't even get to decide when a training session would turn into a battle. I headed out this evening with the intention to train, but the adrenaline still coursing in my bloodstream tells me that it might have turned into a battle at some point. I was tense the whole time, worried about the ever-changing gusts. I struggled to get my gears out from behind my seat -- I packed my boat with the intention to practice rolling near shore, but curiosity (killed the cat and) took autopilot and I went where my heart desired.
Next time, if I change plans half way through a training session, I need to think about repacking my gears before spontaneity takes over. It was a major struggle to get the gears out from behind my seat and at the same time, struggle against the strong gusts and rapid current. The fact that I forgot, again, to bring a paddle float, also adds to my anxiety.
I sincerely hope the sea calms down a bit tomorrow. I'm not going to give up KA training at TMT, trouble is, the journey to the WSC might turn out to be more than I can handle. I'm sore and tired from that 8km into KLW already.
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