Posted by Who needs the new Playstation 4 when you’ve got the game play of the Derwent River at your doorstep on a hot, windy Sunday afternoon …
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| Hmmm … there do appear to be a few yachts out there. |
Yep, 15kms of downwind fun with nothing between us and Kingston beach but two yacht races, mixed seas and strong wind – lots and lots of wind.
How much wind?
We’re talking enough wind to de-mast a yacht …
… and to make taking a photo from a ski really difficult (so sorry about the poor shots).
Yep, Playstation 4’s are for wusses I say (but that’s mostly because I’m pretending I don’t really, really, really want one).
With the bravado out of the way, the truth is that it was a bit of an overwhelming day. We just missed getting hit by one yacht which tacked out from behind the blind spot of another and suddenly found itself with an outrigger and a ski sitting right in front of its line with nowhere to go, and there were a few other close encounters besides … we’re talking misses by metres in seas which need a whole lot more than that for any kind of safety margin.
By the time we got to the John Garrow Light we were pretty stressed out (and I was so parched from the constant adrenalin and having nothing to drink that I was drinking sea water before I managed to steal Stephan’s drink), but at least we were out of the races with nothing between us and Kingston but wonderful clean seas and beautiful runs …
I went for one swim just near Kingston beach, but under Stephan’s tutelage I also got some of the best connecting runs of my life.
Oh, and apparently my Epic V8 is still taking on a lot of water through the front handle … just ask Stephan who will soon have to buy a new vehicle due to some emerging rust problem … glad it’s not my car.
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| Oops … a little bit of salt water may be leaking out of my ski. |
Unfortunately, just as I am starting to get the excitement of paddling back into my veins, it’s time to hang the ski back up, dust off the bike and head across the Tasman to go play …
Next post should be from the other side of the ditch …