Only a true kayaker can understand how I felt before the trip. For the last three years, if I wasn't in a boat, I'd be talking about being in a boat. Six days a week, at least a couple of hours a day, I'd be putting lots of warm clothing on (in the UK!), slipping my buoyancy aid over my head, and going boating. Then I came out to NZ for some of the most stunning boating in the world, dislocated my shoulder, and didn't get back in a boat. It was three months of going stir crazy, hanging out with boaters who really couldn't help and dreaming about getting back on the water. Pulling up at Ferg's Kayaks in Okahu Bay, I finally had my chance.
There wasn't really much to pack - the spare paddles were strapped on deck behind me along with the bilge pump and paddle float. The VHF, SPOT beacon and knife were all stashed into the new buoyancy aid, and the brand new, scratch free boat was taken down to the water. I gracefully scratched my boat down the concrete ramp into the water, and with but a few bracing strokes was on my way out of the little marina, to cross the mouth of the Waitemata Harbour. Looking to my left, I could see the center of Auckland spread along the water's edge, framed by the harbour bridge, with the Sky Tower towering (funnily enough) above it all. I could also see a cruise ship leaving the dock, entering the channel about two miles away.
Both shoulders ached after the first few strokes. The new technique of slicing the wing blade through the water as I paddled along felt really foreign, totally unlike the whitewater paddles that I flew out from the UK with, but this was a start. I was finally back into it. The unloaded boat was quite twitchy, at least in comparison to my whitewater boat, but I could slowly feel my body adapting to the new boat's motion. With just a meter of swell and light winds, there was little to really challenge me. I paddled with a huge grin on my face but with my head constantly on a swivel, looking for the small boats which were the real danger in such a confined, busy harbour. After half an hour or so, I crossed the red marker buoys which denoted the south side of the shipping channel, and I pressed on northwards with just a glance at the cruise ship to my west, which was slowly, ever so slowly, working its way up the channel.
With North Head just off my port bow, I was surrounded by small sailing dinghies and little aluminium fishing boats enjoying the warm, sunny evening. Sea birds were folding their wings and diving headlong into the water, and five loud blasts of a fog horn woke me up. It was the cruise ship, now about half a mile away, warning me to get out of the way. Already paddling at a three to four knots, I couldn't really speed up, so I altered course to cross the channel as quickly as possible. You can infer from this post that I'm alive, and the ship passed at least three hundred meters behind me. They'll have to try harder if they want to catch me next time!
The rest of the day was uneventful. First the naval radar station at Devonport, and then the expensive North Shore suburbs scrolled slowly past on my left hand side. There were tonnes of people out on the beaches and in the water swimming around, and I seemed to say hello to someone every second stroke. Eventually I reached Takapuna beach and surfed in on a tiny little wave, obviously being the seasoned pro that I am, remembering to pull up the rudder before it got too shallow (maybe). Once the boat was pulled up into the campsite, I was treated to an interesting dinner of Doug's first attempt at Sushi (maybe a blog post of its own) and I had my last night's sleep in the van, really excited about the trip to come.
Catch you all soon,
Sam and Doug
PS, a reminder to get your charts here if you're that keen. The first one is Approaches to Auckland, NZ 532.
Am I a true kayaker?
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