What a great way to start the trip. Thanks to everyone who came down to Manly this morning to see me off and paddle with me out to the Heads. I’d like to thank the hundreds of people who are getting behind this trip, with special thanks to Guy Leech and Brad Pedersen, Deputy Mayor of Manly Council for coming out to support the Launch. Channel 9 and 10 News both featured stories, and my niece Orienne is very happy about being famous. If you’d like to sponsor the trip click here.
Today was a cracker of a day for paddling - a nice steady 15 knot North Easter pushing all the way, and just enough swell to make it interesting!. Capsized once going off the lip of a wave which was great for a bit of Eskimo roll practice and surfed waves all the way, completing the 30k leg to Bundeena In under 4 hours. On reaching the beach I met the loveliest couple, we started discussing Tassie forestry and the trip, and they’ve invited me to stay over at their beach shack. Now I'd say this was a co-incidence except I don’t believe in co-incidences, but this person "happens" to be a very highly regarded business leader with a previous involvement in forestry, and we’ve already had some very interesting discussions about business and sustainability. Like so many people, he completely agrees that we need to preserve the environment - its just finding the most effective way to do it that needs working out - I'm looking forward to more discussion over dinner.
You're probably wondering how I’m getting this info to the website, and its through Bigpond Wireless Broadband. They say it covers 98% of the Aussie population, and its FAST, so I should be able to keep you updated most of the way.
A flying fish leapt out of the water under my bow just past the heads – light flashing off its wings as it skipped across the surface, a good omen.