Day 9 - Mfatakatye Mouth

48.7 km done today!! That's over 300 km done already!!! About 1260 km to go...

Last night, just before midnight, my phone rang. To say that my heart skipped a beat is a euphemism... I thought straight away that something had  happenned to Robert. Fortunately it was only some idiot drunkard...

I missed tonight's call from Robert but he left a message saying he had arrived at "point 31" and that he had caught a huge shark... Cannot wait to hear the story!

                                                           

 Tomorrow we expect South winds... Not the best for Robert...

South Africa - Margate (GFS 02.12. 12 UTC, NWW3 02.12. 12 UTC)

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	Su 02.	Su 02.	Su 02.	Su 02.	Mo 03.	Mo 03.	Mo 03.	Mo 03.	Mo 03.	Mo 03.	Mo 03.	Mo 03.	Tu 04.	Tu 04.	Tu 04.	Tu 04.	Tu 04.	Tu 04.	Tu 04.	Tu 04.	We 05.	We 05.	We 05.	We 05.
	14h	17h	20h	23h	02h	05h	08h	11h	14h	17h	20h	23h	02h	05h	08h	11h	14h	17h	20h	23h	02h	05h	08h	11h
Wind speed (knots)	14	9	10	8	7	8	3	10	11	11	9	7	7	5	3	5	8	7	6	5	11	14	11	8
Wind gusts	18	14	15	12	8	9	4	10	12	14	12	9	8	6	4	5	9	9	8	7	16	20	15	10
Wind direction
Wave (ft)	8	8	8	8	8	7	7	7	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	5	6	6	6
Wave period (s)	6	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	8	8	8	8	8	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	8
Wave direction
Temperature (°C)	25	24	23	22	22	22	24	25	25	23	22	21	21	21	22	23	23	22	22	22	21	20	20	21

21:15, eventually Robert calls back!

Quite a paddle today! Robert first caught a big fish that escaped... AND THEN... He caught another huge fish in muddy water. That fish was fighting hard and Robert decided to check on what it was: a blacktip shark, at least 2 metres long, as he says "not the kind you want to have a bath with"... Robert had to cut the line, quite close to the shark, while the waves were hitting him... Quite a mission! He has managed to catch the shark on his Go-pro so hopefully we will get to see the video of it when Robert gets back!

Today Robert has also seen 4 dolphins, 1 humpback whale (from very close!!) and a huge turtle! How lucky is that! We could say the "Big Four of the ocean"...

Tonight Robert is staying in a mangrove. There are crabs everywhere and nice fish too... Robert will try and catch some fish using crabs as bait. For the first time he will sleep on grass rather than sand and he seems very happy about that! According to Robert, the place is absolutely beautiful, but he says I would not enjoy it as there are lots of spiders and he is so right!

Tomorrow will be a well-deserved rest day for Robert.

Comments

[Mom and Richard]

Wonderful paddling Robert! We are following Sylvie's excellent narration and it really is an adventure just to read. Hope you are actually enjoying your adventure whilst enduring what is obviously very tough going. Take care.

[Jason]

Hi Robert, seems as though things are movinf along pretty smoothly. You adventure sounds awesome so far. Keep us opdated and good luck.

[Mike Hewetson]

I am loving your adventure Rob! In contrast to your blue skies and warm ocean, I am freezing in -14 degree winter here in Helsinki, so soak up some sun for me and keep on paddling. I want a Couta in the pan next....



BTW, I have shared your link with the Finnish kayaking club and they have inlcuded your adventure in their monthly news letter. The english translation goes something like this...'If you want to track a high-class kayaking adventure, here is a hint from Michael Hewetson: His brother is making a 1600 km trip to Durban and Cape Town in South Africa, and this can be read in his blog'