Monday, January 13, 2014

Day 92

1/2/2014


In the port of Ciro Marina the water was flat.  A crowd gathered to watch me paddle away and I always feel proud to use my storm paddle.  It looks good.

Outside of the port, the water was not flat.  Two meter swells surged forward breaking into the beach.  It was the sort of water I would be uncomfortable to stop and pee in.  A fleet of five fishing vessels with cabins and crews approached me in a line.  As I passed them I watched the fishermen for someone to tell me I was crazy and give me an excuse to turn around.

I waved hello and they waved back.   I hoped that around the point the waves would die down considerably so I could pee.  If they did not then it would be too late to turn back and I’d have to make a beach landing.

A white lighthouse rose from the woods behind the sandy point.  I caught a few perfectly sized waves to surf around the point into flat water.

Ahhhhhheeeeeeooo.

I made slow steady progress with my storm paddle.

I passed a four story industrial rig with cranes.  A pipe big enough for a Volkswagen ran a thousand feet suspended over the water from the rig to a factory on land.

A man on the beach waved to me and seemed to be telling me to come in.  It turned out he was a great friend of mine from the day before.  After a joyous greeting he took some pictures and wished me the best of luck on my continued journey.

A few miles later another fellow called me over to the beach.  He was Coast Guard and had an official coastguard car.  He wanted to make sure everything was okay.  It was, thanks Italian Coastguard!

I passed the mouth of a flowing river and was soon at my destination, Cariati.  It turned out the dock I parked on was locked by a gate, so I hopped over it and had a look around.

The previous Lega Navale was supposed to have called ahead, but maybe they couldn’t find anyone.  Oh well.

I hopped back over the fence to rejoin my boat and get my things together for the evening.  The Lega Navale president and a fellow from the coast guard came.  They were expecting me.

We went to a boatyard where a number of beautiful brand new wooden boats of all sizes were in various stages of construction.  The builder offered to help me with my paddle, and even read and follow the instructions.

I’ll be here for a few days while I build a better paddle.  I’m leaving my boat in the high security coast guard compound.  The Lega Navale is putting me up in a hotel.

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Nautical miles paddled:  15


Total since Naples: 406.5


Current location:  39.505001,16.940327


 

2 comments:

  1. Looks like italians start to take care of you .) So, you are going to paddle with a proper Greenland (proper) paddle? I am still surprised you haven't started your trip with GP. Sounds like it would be good for your shoulders.

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  2. I miss the smooth lightness of carbon fiber and the way my blade used to catch the water, but I may get used to my storm paddle yet.

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