CLG revision with Stephen

Did a CLG revision course with Stephen Poon today; also enjoyed bantering with Kit-Jai (Ho Man Kit). I had a good workout, I spent every free moment practicing the "dragronfly self rescue," until I nearly got leg crams, then I switched to use my right leg instead, then break time was over, and I worked out with my group, then went back to practice the self-rescue again.

I like running through scenarios and team rescues with different partners, especially CLG newbies. They make interesting mistakes that wouldn't be so interesting if you were to make them in a real rescue; they also bring in new ideas and make you question your own rescue routines and philosophies. I really like how Siu Ming lets us explore and decide for ourselves what works and what doesn't. Stephen is a little more straight forward, he demonstrates and tells us how it's done, but he is also open to discuss and negotiate variations. He isn't pushy, so trainees had more room to take up the roles of leadership, instead of getting force fed information, peking-duck style. For me, this kind of learning environment works best.

I also had a chance to get to know Stephen Poon better. Funny I did a silly psycology test on facebook last night, it's supposed to match me up with a symbolic Miyazaki-anime character. I hoped against hopes that I would be matched up with Kiki the young witch, but I got matched up with Ponyo instead =_= (Why do I have to be a fish!!?) The interpretation says I'm too curious for my own good and can't help but to throw myself into adventures that are sometimes beyond my depth, the only saving grace is that I'm supposed to be, get this, "pure and innocent," so that people often come up to me and offer helps O_O

Ha! Pure and innocent my ass. I don't think I've acted innocently since my 9th b'day! But the rest seemed eerily accurate: people do come out of the blue to offer helps, no matter where I go or what I do. I had a lot of helps when I hitch-hiked Canada as a teen; I am also getting a lot of helps from fellow paddlers and hikers in Hong Kong. Today, even though I wasn't particularly hungry or thirsty, Stephen fed me water and snacks. (reminds me, a gweilo once fed me a can of soda on SK water too!) It's not a big deal, I suppose, but I've always pictured Stephen as a somewhat distant person who seldom shows interests in other's businesses. Respecting that, I also try to keep my distance and not be too rowdy when I'm in his company. So I was surprised today when he came up to me for no apparent reasons and extended his supports. He also expressed his interests in paddling TPC and checked to see if I feel up to it, that's a pleasant surprise -- because usually I have to force and coerce others to come paddle with me, in fashion similar to pulling teeth. This time, I have a willing victim :)

So I'm thinking, it's not that I'm brave to uproot myself and take up adventures on impulses; it's just that somehow, my world isn't that dangerous a place. I just happen be surrounded by nice, giving, supportive people all the time, wherever I go.



Course summary:

1. Briefing, prereq-check
2. stretching and launching,
3. warm up (paddled to the opposite shore)
4. Eskimo rescue - bow and paddleshaft, both sides, from 10m
5. X-rescue, solo (CLG rescue swamed Europa) * * * Stephen commented that I should have moved the paddle out of my way when I empty the boat.  I had the paddle tied to the painterline between my CLG and the europa; Stephen moved it to port side, which gets it out of my hair, and helps me balance my boat. * * *
6. Bow-tow, stern carry (100m each)  * * * not that it matters, but Stephen is the only trainer I've met who manages to pronounce "tow" properly.  All the other coaches I've met say "tao" ^.^;; 
7. ABC rescues, rotate roles, discuss issues that came up. * * * my main flaw was communication. I thought I knew what to do and trusted myself to excell in every task, so that I didn't bother to talk to the other rescuers.  As a result we wasted a bit of time trying to figure out what each other were doing without bothering to ask or say anything.  On the brighter side, they also commented that I'm very detail-oriented.
8. "dragonfly" self-rescue -- Stephen had us try to hold the kayak in draining position for at least 5 seconds, and also try to finish the routine with the rescuer on the sterndeck.  I got a few really spectacular bruises from learning that move.  The most painful one was jamming my right hand fingers against the handgrip as I try to reach for it while I flip the boat and throw my body onto the deck at the same time.
9. Lunch Break
10. One general issue in the team-rescue was that rescuer-A often had trouble negotiating his kayak when he tries to reach the patient, so we worked on boat handling and tried to come alongside a dinghy. Stephen had us practice CAS using stern rudder.  Like Siu Ming, Stephen also points out that you can turn port or starboard with a stern rudder on one side. This trick must be in vogue.
11. Discussion: different towing methods, towline handling, and their usages
12. A long distance tow ... (to the white buoy, Stephen forbids patient to put in their oars, so I disappeared into the cockpit and tried to sleep when it was my turn to play the patient ^_^)
13. Somehow we skipped the single-rescuer tred-water/ CPR rescue. Oh well.
14. Break (I did a shitload of self-rescues, and taught two girls stern rudder, because they were having trouble keeping course in the wind on their tandem sit-on-top.)
15. Paddled around the lake along the shore CCW once, then practiced team rescue, then paddled around the lake CW again, Stephen seems to think this helps us build up strength and endurance, which I agree are all important to a CLG rescuer, but seriously, two rounds around the lake ... that shouldn't even count towards warmup. Anyway, I then went back to practice the deep water self-rescue between the two runs, again.
16. On land, we debriefed, practiced throw-line and throw-bag, went through the CLG arm signals, and were dismissed.

I also practiced rolling a few times, boy, I'm getting real rusty! I think, on top of my 20-30km routine, I also need to get some regular rolling practices going, because I don't think I'll survive a wet exit in the NZ surfs.

Drunk on a day off

Took a day off to recover and had half a bottle of red wine ... can't believe it but I'm pissed drunk already.  So much for "quit drinking."

Day Trip Route Maps

Island Hopping + Mui Wo 25KM route

DB -> Lamma -> SMBWSC (60km return)

Lantau Southeast Run (27km return)

Rockies white water kayaking accident

Rockies kayak accident leaves man in hospital

Last Updated: Tuesday, July 14, 2009 | 8:20 AM MT Comments24Recommend38

CBC News

A kayak accident at a Rocky Mountain national park has left a young man in critical condition.

The man, in his early 20s, was kayaking with a small group in Yoho National Park on Monday when he overturned and hit a rock.

He was knocked unconscious and help was called. The man was airlifted first to Golden and then taken to a Calgary hospital.

The man was kayaking at Wapta Falls, the highest volume waterfall in the park, which is 30 metres at its highest point. The park is on the B.C.-Alberta border.

Lantau SE run

I was surprised to find out Dennis went up to mainland China today; so I called up Siu Ming last minute to arrange for safety calls.

Siu Ming called back to find out which boat I was paddling, who I'm with, etc, in case he needs to make a police report.  But I had my brand new waterproof MP3 player on and didn't pick up the phone ... so typical. =_='

That reminds me, I should organize my route info in case I need to call up someone else for safe calls.  I should also post picture of my kayaks, in case of potential SAR.

4:50 DB 

5:06 Marina

5:33 Mui Wo

6:12 Ha So Pai

6:18 Nav Beacon 177

6:50 Yi Long Wan

6:59 turn at the rock/headland where I can see Pui O (13.4km)

7:39 Nav Beacon 177

8:22 Mui Wo

9:07 DB

So I did 26.8km and then some.  It was dark by the time I got back to Yi Long and I had to more or less hug the coastline.

kayaker breaks world record in 200 ft plunge

Extreme Kayaker's World Record Plunge

Tyler Bradt Plummeted Nearly 200 Feet Over Palouse Falls in Washington for a New World Record

By LEE FERRAN
July 28, 2009

If you had been walking by Palouse Falls in Washington state in late April, you may have caught a flash of a red kayak barreling toward certain doom over the falls.

Bradt braved the 180-foot-plus plunge over the falls, reaching estimated speeds of nearly 100 miles per hour during the drop, and crashed into the foamy white water below. All the action was captured by Bradt's production company, Revolutionary Innovations.

He survived the feat with only a sprained wrist.

"I was expecting to take quite an impact and potentially hurt myself," Bradt told "Good Morning America."But he said he did not expect to be seriously hurt, otherwise, "I would not have done it."

Bradt says, "Just got a sprained wrist at the bottom," when the paddle he was holding pointed straight down, snapped upward on impact.

"Not even broken. Happy days," he said about his wrist.

The feat set an unofficial world record for longest drop by a kayaker.

Bradt said he doesn't know what he was thinking on the way down, "I really couldn't tell you," because he was concentrating so hard on landing in the correct landing position.

Bradt set a previous record back in 2007 when he paddled over the 107-foot Alexandra Falls in Canada's Northwest Territories, according to the Seattle Times. That record was broken in March by a Brazilian who went over a 127-foot waterfall, but Bradt questioned that record's credibility since the Brazilian reportedly landed on his head and not in a proper nose-first fashion.

Waterfall kayaking is an extreme sport that, for something like Palouse Falls, Bradt said athletes can't really train for.

"It's not like you can go out and do half of it," Bradt said. "Visualization is really important. Having kayaked for most of my life, I can really visualize what it's like to run a waterfall."

CLG, Trailwalker, Drowning

After 3 storms, we have a clear weekend at last - well, more or less. 

So loads of people decided to plunge themselves into the water, and some of them decided to get themselves killed.  We had one fatality on Lamma water, and one on Sai Kung.  It's a sobering reminder that even a warm, flat body of water such as that of HK can kill.

Anyway, I rested on Friday to "reserve" a bit of energy for Trailwalker training on Saturday.  Went to Sai Kung early in the morning for CLG with Siu Ming, then met Paul just before 6 to hike section 3.

It wasn't bad either.  I was tired but not totally bombed out.  We got "lost," well, as lost as lost can be on MacLehose anyway.  Somehow we veered a left and got into Shek Hang, we wasted about 30 minutes doubling back (and got our foot gears all wet.)  Came back up, and guess what we did ... we went back the way we came from and had to double back yet again =_=;;  

After we crossed the MacLehose/ Shek Hang intersection for the 3rd time, I got nervous.  Paul kept apologizing, but then it's as much his responsibility as mine.  I'm not very good at land-bound navigation (is it even called navigation on land??), and I'm not an experienced hiker, so I think I wasted quite a bit of energy in the panic.  Anyway, it's good that I got lost with Paul, because he is an excellent leader, and eventually we found our way out, and we were able to debrief and discuss what we did wrong (we were in too much of a hurry and didn't bother to check the signposts in the dark.)  It was a good "crisis management" lesson for me.  But I also think I'm relying on him too much, I really should have brought a map with me (I had a compass.)  If something were to happen to Paul, I wouldn't know how to help him, nor would I know how to get out of the trail, nor would I know how to give instructions to rescuers to reach us. (bring signal flares??)

My knees and toes hurt pretty badly when we ran/hopped down hill towards the end of section 3.  Paul said I have to "get used to it," I don't know, I think my legs are about to lose their buoyancy, and I'll have to load my kayaks with more floaties in the near future.

Practiced CLG again on Sunday, and rested on Monday.  I'm going to start hunting for the gears that I might end up using in NZ, because I want to have a chance to test them out before I throw them into my Nordkapp.

Things I wished I had during Trailwalker training:

an extra pair of socks and shoes

more drinking water (I had 1.5L poccari sweat, Paul had 3L of water)

dinner before the hike

map

a handkerchief 

extra batteries (my torchlight got quite dim.)

runners with better traction! 

Lantau SE run, and hardcore cross-training plan

Hiked and rested yesterday.  Paddled the Lantau SE run today.

4:49 DB

4:57 Pincher

5:37 Mui Wo (Tung Wan Tau)

6:25 Nav Beacon 177 (past Ha So Pai)

6:45 Tai Long Wan

7:05 Nav Beacon 177

7:09 Ha So Pai

7:37 Mui Wo (TWT)

8:07 the beach at the "pincher"

* * * paddled out to Disney to admire the firework, but stopped to turn around when they stopped shooting * * *

8:24 DB Tai Pak

Then I called up Dennis to report my touch-down, and asked him about the Lantau trip ... I still don't believe it, but he agreed to come!  We haven't confirmed a day yet, but the tentative plan is for him to come over to DB after work on a Friday, drop off his stuff, shower, get some dinner, brief, and then we will launch either late night or early morning (as in 0300 kind of early morning.)  We will paddle till around noon, when the sun tries to bake us alive, we will land for lunch and hide in the shade for two hours.   Then we will paddle back to DB, try to land before 5:00pm, shower, stash the stuff in my apartment, get a takeout pizza from wildfire, and then bus/ferry to meet Paul and Yuki for overnight trailwalker training.

Mwahahahaha, how is that for hardcore, back-breaking cross training?  Paul and Yuki will probably have to give us piggy rides!

I still have to go back to our trip log to guestimate how much time we might need for the sea trip.  In all likelihood, we will be toiling for well over 24 hrs non-stop!  

Hei Ling Chau Sunset

Snapped a shot at HLC/ Sunny Island as the sun went down.  I used to get irrationally scared when it gets dark and I'm still out on the water, looks like I'm finally getting used to it now.

Finally it's time to change the batteries in my C-strobe, I've been using it since I came back to HK in March, (but I don't think I started night navigation till April) so I'm pretty impressed with it.  Speaking of, the batteries didn't die entirely, the strobe light still goes off brightly, but it went from the original 60 strobes per minute to one strobe per 29 seconds!! 

And it must be a bad equipment day, because my blue "emergency grab kit" bottle finally broke.  Very sad to let it go, looks like I'll have to hunt down another wide-brim water bottle for my electronic gears again.

Spend the morning corresponding with Grahame again, I'm starting to like the Kiwis, they seem like a friendly bunch :)  Anyway, didn't launch until late in the evening, then I ended up bullshitting with a gweilo on Tai Pak, so I didn't get onto my yak till after 5.

1717 DB Tai Pak

1724 Pincher

1805 Siu Kau Yu Chau

1833 Arr Sunny Island

1901 Arr. Hei Ling Chau

1909 ... saw the Dam ...

1922 rounded the end of Dam1

1930 rounded the bent on the second dam

1939 left HLC pier

* * * got lost in the dark again and ended up in Nim Shue Wan

2015 Marina 

2021 Pincher

2031 DB Tai Pak

Dream Interpretation

I need a dream interpreter.

Last night, I launched rather late, it was pitch dark by the time I got to the NE side of Peng Chau, so the entire journey was a bit ... frightening.

Then I worked out in the gym, and met Kam to chat about kayaking, he told me about his fears of open water, of sea creatures...

* * *

In my dream I paddled Martlet out to some far away places to meet a group of Hongkie paddlers lead by Siu Ming, the plan was for me to join their group excursion, and we will have lunch together.

But then a small foreigner child appears lost on the beach, and she was severely sun burnt. Siu Ming tried to help the girl, but I speak better English.  I agreed to take the girl to the life guard station and help her find her parents and maybe interpret for her while she receives medical attention, while the kayak group launch.  I will catch them up later, because Martlet can travel faster than their Perception seakayaks.

One thing lead to another, by the time we managed to contact the girl's parents, it was very late.  I called Siu Ming to find out where they were, but I couldn't understand the instruction he gave -- suddenly I wasn't in Hong Kong anymore, I was in some unknown place, with unknown rivers and open water and islands.

Eventually I decided not to launch, but I still need to paddle my kayak home, and I didn't know where I was, and it was too late even for me to paddle home.  So I left Martlet by the river bank and took public transits home.

I "woke up" in my dream to realize I had forgotten to tie Martlet down, and the tide was rising.  I tried to hurry back to the river bank, only to realize I have no idea where that is, or how to get there.  I asked other boaters, I asked shop owners by the river, nobody knows.

Suddenly there was a crowd, they were watching something spectacular.  I walked over to see what's happening, turns out they were admiring two tornado twisting and dancing across the sky, and finally descending all the way to the water.

I was terrified: where is Martlet?  She would never survive a tornado!

Then I woke up (for real this time) filled with grief and guilt, only to realize, I already checked Martlet and Taurus after the cat-1 storm yesterday, and they are both okay.  (Not so sure about the seahorse in SK though.)

Funny girl, I am.

Yesterday:

1806 DB Tai Pak

1810 North "Pincher" of DB

1823 Sam Pak

1837 Sam Pak

1922 Peng Chau NE (didn't round KYC, because it was getting dark, so I turned around en route and paddled over to PC instead)

1933 Peng Chau SE

1947 Peng Chau Promenade 

1955 South Pincher of DB

2018 DB

Again, the jumping fishes were spectacular.  Their ghostly silver-white skin shown like a large breaking wave on the dark water surface.  A few of them jumped into my boat again, I still couldn't help screaming out loud when they bounced and wiggled on my lap; and I hate the "cute fragile high pitch schoolgirl" culture. (I know, I'm properly ashamed of myself.)

T1 -> T3 : Moody me, Moody sea

Sometimes a T3 is so lame it's not even worthy of a BF3; this time though, the gusts kicked my ass.

Went out for dim sum with my family in the morning; one thing leads to another, my mom decided she needs to lecture me on water sports safety. It's not the first time, and I don't suppose it's gonna be the last, but she has no idea what she is talking about, she seems to think she has the mandates from heaven to talk down to me just because, well, she is my mother.

It's rather silly, really. I got very very angry, like she is doing something rather indecent against my person. I have no choice but to speak in Chinese with my mother, and my hongkie friends in Canada have attested that I speak like a child when I speak in Cantonese ... what do you expect? I only ever speak in Cantonese at home, when I'm being talked down to by my mother, father, or elder brother.

My lingustic retardation just added fuel to the fire; she imagined the darnest "dangerous" situations -- like pirates and sharks and tsunami-sized rogue waves -- and she hasn't got the patience to listen to me when I try to explain to her about HK water. She cuts me off and tell me "the observatory advises against such and such," well, kiss my ass, the HKO has been wrong so many times, I'll be rich if I get a penny every time I get screwed by their stupid forecasts. Besides, it's a big sea, you can't take one blanket forecast statement and apply it to the entire HKSAR. I told her she isn't qualified to critisize my judgement, because she has neither the training nor the experience, I mean, even Siu Ming and Man-sir and Dennis don't challenge my decision to launch during a storm, and they are experienced paddlers. I will explain to them why I think a sea is negotiable, or why it isn't, and they will contribute something useful, and analyse with me, but my mighty mother will grasp at any thin straw, and if she can come up with nothing else to say, she will beat the same dead horse and tell me "the observatory says so and I know they are right." In the end, she even called me a "know it all," "full of yourself," and "waster of tax-payer's money."  Such loving parent she is, honestly.

Sometimes I think she riles me up just for the fun of it, like she is trying to make sure she can control me and talk down to me like a kid. There were times when I happily discourse with my father, who shares some of my enthusiasm for the open sea, and she will cut in to insist I just made my stories all up, because she can't navigate on open water, and she has no idea how to use a map, then there is no way in her screwed up world that someone as unworthy as her lowly daughter can.

I hate her; I'm furious, I wanted to hit her. But instead, I walked out of the restaurant before I had a chance to say something venomous. I decided to launch, and even as I walked down to the beach, I kept thinking, "you are so sure you are right, I hope I die in the storm tonight. That should make you happy."

* * *

With a death-wish in my head, I launched. For the second time, I found my cockpit home to a clan of ants. Took me half an hour to clear them out (good thing Martlet is very easy to empty.) and off I went.

It was windy, but it didn't start out looking like a storm. The low pressure made it very difficult to breath, I kept having to stop for water. The wind was behind me at first, so even though I wasn't focusing on speed and stroke efficiency and postures, I was still making decent progress.

I noticed the ever diligent net-casting fish boats were all parked inside HLC shelter, so I thought, maybe there is some bite to this typhoon warning.

Somewhere along Mui Wo/ Ha So Pai, the wind switched to my port beam. I was still angrily cursing my mother at the time, so I wasn't paying too much attention. I'm just so glad that Martlet comes equipped with a rudder, because there is no bloody way I could have handled a beam wind like that when I was so very distracted.

Once I rounded Ha So Pai, things got really really nasty. It got dark all of a sudden, and the air pressed down hard in bursts. Big drops of rain drummed against my back, luckily, the wave followed me again, but it was steep enough that Martlet's bow digged into the water from time to time. That, compounded with the constant boat waves that came from my port side, made a very confusing sea. 

The wind and waves pushed me so hard from behind, for the first time I understood what Fan-goh said -- it slows down the boat to put your paddle in the water when you negotiate a following sea. I darted forward like an arrow, relying heavily on the rudder to keep the course true; I swear, as shallow and fast as I paddled, the waves still travelled faster than my cadence.

It was not the roughest sea I've paddled, the strong monsoon at TMT was no less demanding. The trouble is, I wasn't mentally prepared to deal with a rough sea today. Normally, with an energetic following sea like that, I would thank god for being alive long enough to experience something so powerful and exciting. But today, death was on my mind, and I hadn't stopped thinking about dying to get back at my mother when the Shek Wu hits, and when the thunder finally cracked, I jumped, my heart pounded furiously, and I couldn't help but to think, "this is it, I'm really going to die today."

I willed myself to calm down, to no avail. The sea condition wasn't terrible, it wasn't something beyond my control, but my emotion state was.

So I landed on the South facing beach between Cheung Chau and Shek Kwu Chau. There was a bit of dump surf at the landing site. I managed to get out of the boat without incident, but the second surf pounded on me too soon, I took one quick look and decided I was fighting a losing battle, and gave up trying to drag Martlet up the beach. That decision probably saved my fingers; the surf pounded on Martlet violently; the PFD, maps, and electronic gear bottles got washed away as Martlet went belly-up, and before I had time to right the boat, a third surf crashed. I stood besides the cockpit and did not wait for the water to recede to act this time -- I righted Martlet -- who was filled with sand by that time -- and ran up to drag her up as hard and fast as I could.

So I had a sea-kayak version of a garage-sale, my paddle, gear box, maps, and croc shoes were all floating around the surf line. The crocs, gear bottle and PFD were light enough to float back, as soon as I retrieved my electronic bottle, I swam out to try to retrieve my paddles -- bolted around just in time to realize I wasn't even wearing my PFD (I had a death-wish, remember?), so I ran for my life with the surf hot on my heels, grabbed the PFD, put it on as I waded out into the water again, and swam for the paddles.

I knew it was a bit dangerous, but I wasn't going to get stranded there without a paddle.

After retrieving the paddle, I decided to call Dennis before I get back into the water to retrieve the rest of my stuff. I still can't believe I tried to swim out without a PFD, and without making a safety call.

After retrieving all my gears, I sat down just behind the waterline, and felt totally, royally screwed. At some point, I was almost ready to admit, "mom was probably right."

Then I suddenly noticed I was trembling, I'm not sure if it was just my anger at my mother, or the adrenaline, or hypothermia. I decided my heart wasn't going to slow down with "rest," and so I made up my mind to paddle back to DB while I still could.

I stuffed everything that I might not need into the stern hatch -- including my sunglasses and cap -- it was just too cloudy/ foggy.  That was a baaaad decision.

When I finally scooped enough sand out of the cockpit, I studied the surf, watched for the water line of the biggest surf, placed Martlet accordingly, fitted my spray deck on and waited.

And I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Waited...

But the big surf never came. I pushed with both of my paws on the sand to lift Martlet up and forward a few feet; finally a mid-size surf hit us, but it wasn't enough to float my boat; only enough to veer Martlet to port side a little. Which was a bit nasty, because when the big one finally hits, it steered Martlet further towards the left, and nearly gave my left wrist a fracture as I tried to push against the sand to launch forward.

But I did it; got hit by the on-coming surfs a few times, but I leaned back and kept paddling forward, and made it through the surfline without incident.

Water was somewhat calm when I relaunched, the Shek Wu squall moved behind Shek Kwu Chau and beyond. I felt fairly defeated -- I got the stormy sea I wanted, it wasn't beyong my ability to handle, but I wasn't in the right mood to tackle it, and I ended up feeling very miserable.

So I dragged on and on, I shouldn't be tired, but I was dragging my feet (so to speak,) and paddled slowly. I stopped many times, I felt sure I would benefit from a hearty tantrum, I wanted to cry, I was sure I would feel better if I just let it all out. But then again, I wasn't sure if the weather would turn nasty again, and I needed to stay feisty if I were to survive the storm, so I paddled on moodily.

Sure enough, a second squall hits, this time, it hit me right in the face, and I wished I had the brain to keep the sunglasses/ cap within reach then. For the second time I was plunged into the fog, but the almond-sized rain drops hit me squarely in the eyes. It hurts, it burns, I could hardly keep my eyes open, yet I daren't have them closed. Even as I forced them open, it was no use. I could hardly see - I knew there was a red flashing navigation beacon within 10 meters, yet I lose sight of it as the squall engulfed us.

When the squall finally passed, I saw a bird flying alone high up with the cloud. What a brave, lonely bird! I thought admiringly, only then a light flashed, and I realized it was an airplane. Somehow I felt better, knowing there are other sentient beings battling against the elements right there and then. As Santiago says, "one is never alone at sea."



2:42 DB (launch)
3:24 Mui Wo
4:02 Ha So Pai (N.Beacon 177)
4:30 landed on beach

5:07 relaunch
??? Ha So Pai (N.B. 177)
6:53 Marina Beacon
7:18 DB (landing)


I tried to memorize my arrival time at many check points, which I regularly do when I paddle solo, and usually I'm pretty good with a sequence of small numbers like that. But today, I was too distracted to remember the numbers. I know the launching and landing time was accurate, I know I mucked around at the beach for about half an hour. Beyond that, nothing is certain.

DB morning walks day 2

Started hiking around 0710 today, just finished (0930ish). We went up the stairs behind Chrystal Court, up to the resovoir, and then we hiked pass the curry patch into the overgrown path, all the way to the Trappist Dairy, and then looped back to Nim Shue Wan, and then DB.

Think I'll work out a bit in the gym, pick up brunch, and then go back home. Might come back to paddle later in the evening, when it's not as hot.

Expecting really windy (if not stormy) weather this Sunday, wish I could do a long trip, but I have CLG with Siu Ming. O well, I should be very careful what I wish for, lest I get it...

Getting on with the program

Rested yesterday because I was losing too much blood. (And cos I'm getting lazy)

Hiked for just under 3 hrs with Carol and Sunny this morning, we started just behind the fire station, up the hill around the resovoir through the steep grids, came down, and hiked up again through the steps behind Crystal Court, and then down again through the steep grids.

My left foot was acting up, not sure what it is, it only hurts when I'm walking uphill, it's fine when I walk down hill or on stairs.

Speaking of, I'm actually supposed to follow a program. This is the first time I've done any sort of cardio early in the morning before I get down to the water =_= I guess it's a good time to get on with my program finally.

Not sure if I really want to get onto the water in the morning though. The sun is up already and I'm not keen about getting another major sunburn. Maybe I'll get my brunch, work out a bit in the gym, shower, go home, and then come back in the late evening.

Lost in Mui Wo -- In the dark

rested yesterday, for some reasons my quads were quite sore.  And the blisters on my palms were killing me.

Met Carol to discuss trailwalker training on Lantau.  After our chat, I finally dragged myself down to the water and launched Martlet.  I was only going to do my 23km routine, but then I haven't had an accident for over a month now, and we all know that's just too good to last...

DB Tai Pak   5:48pm

Kau Yi           6:29

Sunny Is.       6:51

Hei Ling C    ???

Mui Wo        ???

Marina          ???

DB Tai Pak   9:02 

That makes 25km in 3hrs 14 mins = 7.7km/hr  Plus fumbling with compass and map and fishes and cell phone, so I think, the speed isn't too bad.  

Right, the accident.  I was just going to go through with my normal 23k island hopping routine, the late evening sky was amazingly beautiful, so beautiful it was, that I forgot to look where I was going before it gets really really dark.

So it got dark, I was rounding the dam of HLC, somehow I thought Disco Bay is the only civilization on Lantau, so I saw city light, and I got drawn into it like a moth drawn into a flame.  By the time I noticed there was a welcome store, McD, and China Bear, I knew I was in trouble. 

Pulled out my map, since it was too dark to use my regular compass, I tried to use my CASIO watch compass, but somehow it wouldn't give me a reading.  And my fingers got tired trying to hold down the backlit button. (it wouldn't stay lit anyway.)   I ended up needing to use my strobe light to help me see the black compass that I always wear around my neck.  Note to self: next time, get a glow-in-the-dark compass.

Paddling in the dark was unnerving.  I wasn't able to judge the distances of the landscape, and a fairly large boat sailed pass me without any light on at all -- no red, no green, no white light, I only saw its silhouette when it moved between me and Disney.  It's scary, I wasn't sure if it could see me either (I did had my C-strobe on) and the engine sounded really close to my kayak.

When I finally got out of Mui Wo, I thought my phone rang, because something was vibrating between my legs... strange, I know, because I DID NOT KEEP MY PHONE BETWEEN MY LEGS.  Turns out not one but three little fish jumped into my boat.  I loosen up my waist band before launching so to alleviate the salt-sore on my ab, and the fishes just slide right into my pants... ;__;  When I finally realized what was happening, I freaked out and screamed my head off.  I think the ninja-boat next to me heard me, because they sped away from me towards Disney.  Anyway, I couldn't take the suspense anymore.  I called Dennis for some moral support, mostly to hear myself say that I still have everything under control ... more or less.

The nastiest part of it was that I didn't bring a bottle of water.  I thought it was going to be a quick repetition of a well-practiced routine route, but shit happens.  Next time, bring water no matter what.

I was so thirsty when I finally landed, I tried to muscle my water-filled martlet up to shore, and in the process, probably did something to my collar bone where I had a fracture a few years ago.  I bailed the water and carried the boat with my other shoulder afterwards.  I guess I won't know if it's hurt until a day or two later.

After shower, I did a bit of weight training up in the gym.  Worked on shoulder/chest muscle, back, triceps, and quad.  

Ready for bed now.

NZ shark attacks kayaker (old news)

New Zealand 

08.01.2000 

A kayaker on a quest for seafood nearly became a meal himself when a shark, thought to be a great white, attacked his craft. 

Michael Hogan was kayaking about 1.5km from shore, between Sandy Bay and Whananaki on Northland's east coast, on his way to get paua when he was lifted and dumped into the sea on Saturday in what has been described as a classic great white attack. 

"There was just this explosive 'whumpf' noise and then I fell out," said Dr Hogan. 

At first, he thought he had hit a rock, but the clearly visible bite mark on the bottom of his bright yellow kayak has been identified as belonging to a shark at least 4m long which probably mistook his kayak for a whale. 

The bite punctured the tough plastic on either side of the hull and measures about 45cm from the top outline of the jaw to the bottom. 

Dr Hogan said he was unafraid when he went into the water, and concentrated more on keeping hold of his paddle than on the grey-green shape he saw swimming away. 

"I thought it couldn't have been a shark because I didn't see any fin and then it just disappeared." 

But kayaking buddy Hugh Oakley-Browne, who was 50m away when the attack happened, had no doubts. 

"I heard a noise like a 'thunk' and when I looked over, the boat was just starting to flip and there was something grey attached to it that wasn't on it when we left." 

He paddled over to Dr Hogan and noticed a long, deep gouge in the bottom of the kayak. 

"I checked that he still had his legs, which were dangling in the water, and then I helped him get back in." 

The pair continued to Whananaki but made sure they hugged the coastline on their way back. 

Department of Conservation marine scientist Clinton Duffy, who keeps a record of shark attacks in New Zealand for the International Shark Attack File, had little doubt the kayak had been attacked by a great white. 

"There's really nothing else that could do it." 

He had never heard of a kayak being attacked in New Zealand waters, but a shark did puncture an inflatable boat some years ago in a similar attack. 

"It was lifted out of the water too." 

Mr Duffy said the shark would have probably seen the silhouette of the kayak from below and confused it for a small whale or large dolphin. 

"They usually attack from below and behind on their prey. They do one massive and incapacitating bite, then they let them bleed to death on the surface and come back and feed on them later. 

"This shark would have grabbed the kayak, thinking it was something yummy, and got a nasty surprise when it got a mouth full of plastic." 

Mr Duffy said recent publicity had highlighted the numbers of great whites in New Zealand waters. But they were no more common than in the past. 

Only nine sightings of great whites had been recorded last year, compared to the average of about 14 a year. 

This summer, great whites have been spotted in Whitianga and near Maketu in the Eastern Bay of Plenty. 

On Friday, in neighbouring Hahei, experienced fishermen thought they saw a great white only 500m from shore. 

Last month, a 2.6m shark was caught in a net 300m off the Takapuna Beach boat ramp. 

Mr Duffy said shark attacks were rare in New Zealand, and no one had died in one since 1976.

DB to SMB to DB log (2)

Turns out you do get used to 70k+ a day, my body isn't as tired as before, the number one problem this time is salt-sore (lower back, butt, armpit, palms) and, well, lack of food. (And sunburns, of course.)

When I left my apartment, HKO was still hoisting the T1 signal.  So I thought I would probably just paddle out to Lamma and then come back to get back to bed.

Then I called Siu-Ming, his wife picked up and told me the group will go ahead with the trip, so that means I have to go to SMB afterall =_=  I tried to hurry then, because I mucked around quite a bit along lamma, and the strong headwind puts me way behind schedule already.

When I got there, Siu Ming and his KPG kids were already by the beach ready to launch.  I made it there just in time to be briefed about the route plan.  Turns out we can't go to Po Toi afterall, I knew WSC managers banned Po Toi long time ago, I thought Siu Ming knows, and was going to do it under the table.  Imagine my shock when he just blatantly walks up to the manager and told them "we are off to Po Toi today." =_=;;;

So Chun Hum Kok it was.  Which means no restaurant; we had to munch on our emergency rations.  I had nothing but a granola bar, ho hum.  Siu Ming shared his bread and sport drinks with me but still, I mean, you just don't try to survive a 70km trip on bread alone... 

I'm starting to believe I am solar-operated, because I managed to go home afterall, despite an intense hunger pang that wouldn't go away.

I felt good during the first 30km, despite very strong head wind.  Progress was slow but I wasn't tired, my right armpit got a little sore from rubbing against the PFD, which I took care of by, well, taking it off.

Crossing the WLC in the morning was okay, total darkness plus the large boats parked between the WLC and ELC made navigation a challenge, but traffic was very quiet and so it wasn't particularly stressful.  By the time I was ready to cross the ELC though, sea liners and tankers were running at full throttle, I wasn't terrified, but it was definitely stressful.  I definitely felt relieved when I finally got to Bluff Head.

On my way back, traffic wasn't too heavy at ELC, I was a little worried about sunset by the time I crossed WLC, and again, navigation was complicated by all the large boats anchored between the channels, but otherwise, it was uneventful and only very mildly stressful.  I was able to zone out a little, because I was surprised when I suddenly realized I was at Tai Lee, before I knew it, I was nearly at the end of my 70km journey.

When I was crossing the WLC, a yacht sailed by and asked if I needed help.  Funny, when I paddled to SMB last month, I really wished I would run into someone who could give me a lift home.  This time though, I felt fine, and I told the sailors as much.  But that just goes to prove, the DB sailors are a friendly bunch.  I should really get to know them better.

The trip log:

0412 DB Tai Pal

0425 DB "pincher"

0438 Tai Lee

0445 Peng Chau SW

0659 Lamma (Beacon 132) 懐かしい〜

0728 Luk Chau

0805 Lamma Wong Chuk Kok

0912 Wong Ma Kok

0939 Lo Chau

0955 SMB

* * *With KPG group * * *

1334 Chun Hum Kok 

1452 Wong Ma Kok (turn around)

* * *solo again * * *

1606 Lamma Wong Chuk Kok

1657 Luk Chau

1722 Lamma (Beacon 132)

1901 Peng Chau SW

1912 Tai Lee

1932 DB Tai Pak

DB to SMB to DB route plan (2)

My second crossing.  Expecting really heavy sea tomorrow, so there is a chance that I'll have to turn around at some point.  Worse yet, I may have to call the trip off all together.

[Solo]

Boat: Martlet

Paddle: Kiska

planning to wear the yellow PFD

Will have my cell phone handy for distress calls and weather updates.

The Kau Yi - Green Is. crossing is too intense for my liking; so I made up a new route:

DB  0 km

Tai Lee 2.5km

Peng Chau SW 3.5km

Sunny Is. E 6km

Lamma PKT 13km

Lamma Wong Chuk Kok 19km

Stanley Bluff Head (aka Wong Ma Kok) 25km

Lo Chau 27.5km

SMBWSC 30km

The idea is that I won't have to cross the East Lamma Channel at all if I have to turn around at 0700. Plus, I'm familiar with the Lamma coastline, so I'll know where to find an emergency ditch site and plan an escape route if it comes down to that.

T1 going strong

T1 going strong and expecting an upgrade to T3 this afternoon. Even Tai Pak is covered with whitecaps, I'm eager to go out, and maybe I will...

Trouble is, if I were to train with Paul and Yuki tonight, I need to get on the bus by 1500. Oh, to launch or not to launch, that is the problem.

[edited to say]

Paul Caffyn's books arrived today!!  Between a stormy sea and a pile of books on NZ water, I'm in heaven!

T3 now, hiking cancelled tonight, so I can launch my boat ^____^

Bulletin issued at 13:00 HKT 11/Jul/2009

Tropical Cyclone Warning  At 110300 UTC, Tropical Depression over the South China Sea with central pressure 994 hectopascals was centred within 60 nautical miles of two zero point zero degrees north (20.0 N) one one four point eight degrees east (114.8 E) and is forecast to move west-northwest at about 12 knots for the next 24 hours.  Maximum winds near the centre are estimated to be 30 knots.  Radius of over 2 metre waves 100 nautical miles.  Forecast position and intensity at 120300 UTC Two one point two degrees north (21.2 N) One one zero point eight degrees east (110.8 E) Maximum winds 35 knots.  Forecast position and intensity at 130300 UTC Two two point one degrees north (22.1 N) One zero seven point nine degrees east (107.9 E) Maximum winds 35 knots.  Forecast position and intensity at 140300 UTC Two three point zero degrees north (23.0 N) One zero four point nine degrees east (104.9 E) Maximum winds 20 knots.

CHWSC 24km

Arrived SK early so jogged for 3 laps (7min53) then cooled down and stretched.

Paddled 24km today, Fan Goh didn't come, we ended up with Man Sir instead.  I think I did okay in terms of speed, but the low air pressure combined with the unbelievably high temperature slowed everybody down -- it was suffocating.  I felt as though I could hardly breath at all, and my heart was racing, probably due to a mild case of heat exhaustion. (my HR was 152BPM!)

Will hike trail section 3 tomorrow.  Am going to work out in Shatin  during the day and then join Paul and Yuki at 5 in SK for the hike.  And then I'll come home to get ready for the SMB trip...

Not sure if my body is ready for this.  I sort of regret jogging today; I guess I'll just have to do my best and see what happens... For all I know, the SMB trip might get cancelled due to the T1.

Saving it up for This Sunday

Paddled with Mark on Wednesday, just paddled around Sunny Island and then stopped at the beach to chat.  Boy, he is fast.  More to the point, he seems to know what he is doing.  I look forward to seeing the NZ vid with him, and maybe BS a bit about trip prep and gears afterward. 

Rested on Thursday.

KAT with Cho Kau and Fan Goh etc Friday ... it's gonna be brutally hot (up to 35.7C at Shatin Thursday)  

HKO can't seem to make up its mind about the weather for this Sunday.  It went from BF2/sunny to BF2/rainy to BF6/rainy + gusty.   Why  oh why?  WHY?  Why is it that every time I have a long journey ahead, the wind decides to pick up?  (And the tide works against me to and fro ...)

Not sure if I'm going to join Paul and Yuki this Saturday.  I need all the reserves for Sunday.  And I'm going to bring my sleeping bag, just in case...

Another DB sea-kayaker

Gym:

1 hr cycling (L4, "34km")

one set of everything except for the reverse squat -- a gweilo was using it and I got cold waiting for him to finish his set.  I mean, he kept loading it up with more and more weight, I'll probably break my back trying to unload it.

Paddling: Used my old 22k route.

1600 DB

1641 Rounded the corner of Kau Yi Chau (drifted too far North due to wind and current and wasted a lot of time paddling back south ... I need to learn to work with the element more.)

1704 - Sunny Is. NE

1738 - Hei Ling Chau S

1813 - Hei Ling W. (Pier)

1845 - Marina 

* * * Met Mark, chatted for a while, silly me, totally forgot the fact that I had my cellphone with me...

1905 - DB

I've been moaning and whining in my head for some times, "why do I have to do push ups to train for kayaking??  I don't use my chest muscles!"

Well, I got a bit sore from the gym workout today, then went straight down to the water.  Ha!  Funny how I thought you don't use your chest muscles for paddling.  I was quite sore when I started paddling, but the lactic acid faded away after a short while.

Finally finished JLPT

4th of July -- no celebration for me, just last minute cramming and studying.  My only excuse is: you can cram information into your head; you can't cram training and daylight.

Dad asked me, "why aren't you paddling today?  It's nice and cloudy."  Seriously, I never thought I would live to see the day when daddy told me off for not playing outside due to an immanent exam.  

5th of July -- Wrote JLPT, then went to Stanley SMB to attend the KPG lecture/ trip briefing with Siu Ming.

Exam went okay; as expected, I find vocab, listening and reading comprehension quite easy.  But I might as well just bring a dice or two for the grammar section.  

I sort of stayed up late to study (I had the audiobooks on while I tried to sleep anyway, and I stayed up till 0300) so I was tired when I got home.  Decided not to train.

Today (as in the 6th) ... well, there was no excuse.  Except my back/ neck really really hurts, probably because I haven't sat still in front of a desk for so long to study.  

So I finally dragged myself down to the gym with a book in hand.  

Cycled for 2 hrs at Level 4 (random hills) -- according to the machine, that's 68km.  Whatever, I stayed where I was the whole time, in front of the picture window, so stupid.

Then I decided to just go through each equipment available in the gym.  Turns out there is a proper inclining bench for situps afterall.  And there is a set for working the back muscle that simulates pull ups -- so I no longer have to dangle myself precariously off the bars.

Siu Ming said I should still show up in Shatin now and then to work with the program.  Ho hum.  I wish Fan goh would let me paddle there, it's so criminally stupid to have to bus for 5 hrs just for 3 hrs of paddling.

My bum hurts from the cycling, better get some sleep now.  Don't want to miss paddling tomorrow. (It's gonna be a HOT day!)

塘福泳灘已懸掛紅旗

Damn, just when things get interesting, I'm stuck at home, studying for JLPT

(星島)2009年7月4日 星期六 13:09

由於大浪關係，離島區的塘福泳灘已懸掛紅旗，顯示在該處游泳會有危險，市民請勿在該處游泳。

single-helm boy sails around the world

17 years old sails around the world, alone.

And his next project is Mt. Everest, apparently!  How nice it is to be 17~

If he publishes his book/ documentary soon enough, I wouldn't mind reading it.  I'm a bit of a chronic lone-wolf adventureholic myself, so it would be good to know how others grow up to be that way, what they get out of it, and how do they deal with the intense stress, exhaustion, and loneliness.

Pre-exam crams: no paddling today

Didn't paddle today, JLPT coming up this Sunday and I have to study.

So took my ipod with some JLPT1 past paper to work in the gym. Spend 40mins+ on the strider (6km), did one round of the weight routine (only did 10 pull ups though), went to get dinner, and I'm ready to go home.

I might as well rest while I can. Expecting 75km of hell next Sunday (12th July), got a KPG trip with Siu Ming launching from SMB, trouble is, I need to bring my boat over from DB, which means I have to paddle over 60km just for a 15km trip. Somehow the math doesn't add up...

DB - Kau Yi - DB

I know, I know, I haven't blogged for two days. Internet at home is down. It's weird blogging in the resident club, there is no privacy at all.

Went windsurfing on the 30th of July, was going to go to Shatin, but the traffic jam kept me. So no gym nor kayaking, again :(

1st July, I paddled over to Peng Chau to meet CK, Lam-Jai, and Winnie, we then paddled (sloooowly) over to Mui Wo for lunch, and paddled back to Peng Chau for canoe-polo. It's a lot of fun, I laughed so hard my belly still aches. I suck at it, am not particularly gifted with balls of any sort, but enjoyed humiliating myself none the less.

Today, oh... today. Wasted all morning trying to talk to the HGC people, apparently I'm not the first to call so they will send someone over to check the hardware in my building on Saturday. So it looks like I won't get internet access tonight neither.

DB 1627
* * * wasted about 5 minutes waiting for a cargo boat to pass, turns out it wasn't moving u_u * * *
Tai Kau Yi 1744
1755 -> called Dennis (the other side of Kau Yi)
DB 1910

Not sure about the distance, they don't have googleearth here in the resident club computers.

Am going to toil in the gym now. Ho-hum...

[Gym Log]
24mins on the bike
30mins on the strider (4km+)