Crooked Island trip log

Breakfast today:

• scrambled eggs x2, with tomato paste,  half an onion and half a green bell pepper
  
• 1 can of blue mountain coffee

Lunch:

• 1x G-granola bar, 1x Y-granola bar, half a tube of chocolate-condensed milk. (on water)
• 1L water

Dinner:

• 1 jumbo can of pork with preserved veggies, stir-fried with 1 head of lettuce.
• Dark Chocolate

Got down to the water just before 1100, but the thunders were cracking over my head and the WSC also hoisted a red flag.  The kayak actually trembled as the thunder cracked.

Stayed in the WSC to wait out on the storm.  Relaunched just before 1400, I did arrange for safety call this time, but I told Dennis I was going to use the same route as yesterday (i.e. turn around at Raft Head of Ngo May Chau), but in the end, I decided to follow my trip plan for today (except I didn't go into Tap Mun for lunch.)  If they did have to pull a SAR on me, I think they might have quite a task.  That said, I don't think I'm capable of drowning in Double Haven.

I know I didn't perform so well today, stomach hurts and am a little dizzy.  When I landed my hands were shaking, I wasn't scared or cold or anything, I was just ... weak.  That, or maybe it's the coffee.  I honestly can't remember the last time I had coffee.

Also had to stop to drink after about 15km, also took a granola bar and some chocolate-milk, but my stomach continued to hurt.  So I was distracted after the snack break, trying to deal with the burning sensation in my stomach as I paddled.  

Then I had to stop to read the map with the help of the compass, I got sort of nervous once I headed South from Crooked Island. 

Then I had to jump out to use the gigantic toilet (I sincerely hoped there was no shark in D-Haven, because I would have been a bright and shiny beacon for those bloody man-eaters.)  I think jumping into the water and pulling my pants down caused some of the petroleum jelly to come off, because after I climbed back into the kayak, I start to really notice the painful irritations of my abdominal skin.  The shirt/pants kept rubbing it every time I rotate my torso, as of right now, it's covered with red, angry sores.

I noticed I was really slowing down by the time I got to Grass Island; had to get out of the way of a fishing boat that was towing nets so I dashed as fast as I could between Port Island and Grass Island.  Again, I had to dodge a ferry that was heading to WS Pier from KLW, so I had to dash for my life between Tung Sum Kei and Tai Tan.  Otherwise, I slowed to a crawl, barely had the energy to even sing a song.

More or less followed the original route plan, except I headed straight to Crooked Island without stopping at Raft-Head; I didn't land on Grass Island for lunch either.

I'd say today is a trip-day, not a "training day."  The "oh no I'm lost" and reading the map part totally distracted me from thinking about rhythm, cadence, and postures.  I knew I was way behind schedule by the time I got back to WWC (Wong Wan Chau), and I couldn't care less.

1121 launch 1 -->T-storm cracked

1130 returned to pontoon (Like Siu Ming says, save the forest so you don't have to worry about running out of firewood!)

1254  Launch 2 (pontoon)

1323  NFK

1408  Bluff Head

1451  Peaked Head

1505 - 1512 * * * snack/ water break * * *

1523  Au Si Kok (Crooked Island West)

1548  Pak Sa Tsui 

1553 Butt Ka Chau

1616 - jumped out (toilet break along WWC)

1624 Zik Mun Tau

1641 Bluff Head

1709 Port Island NE

1736 Grass Is. Dragon's Tendon

1755 KLW

1809 Wong Mau Kok

1822 Tung Sum Kei

1827 Tai Tan

37.6km / 5hrs 33 mins = 6.77km/hr  (sniff sniff)