Day 86

12/22/2013

My host, the same one who picked me up five hours late on Friday, managed to get me to my kayak for an 11:00 launch today, that is, only two hours later than I hoped.

But he also encouraged me to stay again at the bed and breakfast.  I had hoped to paddled 20 miles to Le Castella, but with the delay I risked getting there after dark.  So I paddled 10 miles to Vilaggio Carrao and the same bed and breakfast that was happy to host me again.

There forecast said there was a north wind, but this near the coast heading east I couldn’t feel it.  Above the beach that stretched along my entire rout was a forest interspersed by a couple of small villages.  Shacks that were undoubtedly hot spots in the summer were closed and sometimes boarded along the beach.

I passed lots of seagulls on the beach and a couple of ibises.

About a mile before my destination a small wave broke just before jostling me towards the beach.  Before I could point my bow out to sea I was hit by another, and then another.

I was on the sand.  A few more waves came and I managed to get out of it, but not without three or four of them crashing over my open cockpit.  Two inches of water sloshed around the bottom of my boat.  I took my pump out from under my seat and began to work it.

Huh, it was leaking.  While the majority of the water coming out of the mouth of the pump left the boat a small amount was sprayed through a crack in the side of the pump back inside.  It still worked, just not as well.

I made a beach landing, a little bit more smoothly than usual, and unloaded my kayak.  I carried all my gear and then my boat back into the woods behind the beach.

From there, I walked to my bed and breakfast and rested.

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Nautical miles paddled: 10

Total since Napoli:  342.5

Current location:  38.910938, 16.817545