Big, big waves out in the Atlantic right now. Not conducive for fast kayaking, which I certainly need in order to make a 90 mile open water crossing. I went out today for 2.5 hours in a force 5-6 and got had an absolute blast. Towering, towering waves. Fun going downwind, brutal coming back. Once again the boat handles great but the limiting factor is going to be my endurance in such brutal conditions. I’ve been checking the weather every few hours just hoping I’ll get favorable conditions soon. It looks like we’re getting east winds for the next four days until it lines up perfectly with 10 knots coming from the northwest on Thursday. It doesn’t get much better than that but I wouldn’t mind doing without the isolated t-storm warning. Strong chance of dealing with a squall along the way. Should make for some exciting times- deploy sea anchor and outriggers and hang tight till the weather calms down.
As of now I’m continuously tweaking the boat, packing, unpacking, and repacking. Got some much needed clothes washing to do. Staying active by heading out in the brutal seas and running around Key West.
A few days ago I paddled a few miles off shore to test the waters and honestly missed a really brilliant chance to make the trip. Learned a lot about the boat and it’s captain though. This is some seriously scary stuff. Up until now I think the most unsettling thing I have ever done is solo night hiking. Settling down to sleep in the woods for the night can’t even compare to the continuous unknowing of what lies in the deep blackness just beyond the 70 lumens on my forehead while mobile. But paddling out into deep water knowing that I will find myself alone in the darkness bobbing above a mile of water beneath me is an extremely frightening scenario. Scary, scary, scary stuff. So this time around I am going to be leaving in the early morning sometime around 2 AM. The darkness will be my home and the light will be a welcome visitor. So keep checking in on this blog and on twitter @cobbgwc. Also, you can follow my daily adventures on my Spot satellite tracking page. If you miss an update on my departure, be sure to check out that live tracking page on Thursday to see if you see that little blip making its way to The Bahamas.