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Hello from Tassie!

 Tired but happy - arriving Bridport on Friday

I landed at Bridport on Friday after an 8 day Bass Strait crossing. It certainly feels good to be here.  Welcoming me to Bridport was a crowd of surfers, the Channel 9 cameras and, the previous day in Ringarooma bay, a pod of dolphins. More about that later.

I'm a big bag of aches and pains, but a soft bed last night, a series of solid meals and two days without paddling has me feeling better by the minute.  Now for the highlights of the Bass Strait crossing......

Simeon, you are in Chalky Island, aren't you?

Camping there just by yourself, right? I thought you must miss some civilization though.

Watching a thunder storm there? It must be so beautiful. Only you could go there, yeah, you deserved it. 

Enjoy wildness x Emi

Hi, Emi again.

He got Flinders Island yesterday!!

Great job. I was so relieved, He must be so too.

You too?

Hope hear from him soon.

X

Emi

Hi, This is Emi, Simeon's land crew.

Sim called me last night from 2nd island, he said he's been having great great time out there! So, no worries, he's fine.

He'll get Tasmania on Sunday or Monday, I assume. Can't wait!

Have a great day.

x

Emi

I spent today making preparations for the Bass Strait crossing, shopping for food, padding out the kayak for greater comfort (after1000k, I figured I deserved another layer of foam) and buying an upgraded EPIRB.  The EPIRB I had gives off a signal which allows emergency services to locate you within a 20km radius.  The new one allows location within 5km, and also sends exact GPS co-ordinates.  That way, if for any reason the signal fails,  they know where you were and what direction you were moving.  Now I've got two.  One for me and one for the kayak

ABC's "Drive" called today to try get some insight on Andrew McAuley, what may have gone wrong, and what inspires people to take on challenges like these.  As I was waiting I heard the interview with the search and rescue co-ordinator in NZ. He was saying that the light was fading, and that they were calling off the search.  It was so terribly sad, and I was really shaken speaking afterwards.

First of all,  thoughts and hopes for Andrew McAuley, his wife Vicki and son Finlay.  Andrew was attempting to kayak from Australia to New Zealand, an incredible 1600km  sea-voyage below the 40th parallel. A distress call went out last night. Rescuers have just found his kayak, but there is no sign yet of Andrew.  However, his lifejacket and immersion suit were not on the vessel, meaning that he has a chance of still being alive if he can be found.  He was only 60k off the coast of New Zealand when the distress call went out. 

As for me, it doesn't seem to matter much at a time like this.  I've had 4 long days coming down 90 mile beach, finally making it to Port Welshpool yesterday, and now at the Mornington Peninsula for some awareness raising in Melbourne.

A very short blog today, after paddling 55k, I'm ready for bed.   I didn't see that shark again either, just a murky sort of a morning punching into a headwind.  Fortunately the Pittarak is fantastic upwind.

As the weather improved, and I found that I had entered co-ordinates incorrectly and Seaspray was 7k closer than I thought, I was filled with gratitude.  So I'd like to mention Tracey Mair, publicity guru, who has been the backbone of this trip. 

A few people are asking after my health now that I've been going over a month.  I'm feeling really good, certainly like I'm hitting peak fitness at the right time, and though today's paddle was long and hard, I had plenty in reserve, and will be fine for tomorrow, another big day. My hands are a mess of blisters and callouses which hurt most of the time. espeacilly when I stop, and I'm suffering a bit from all the exposure, but besides a sore rear end, that's about it, so I'm really happy with how that's going so far. No Worries. 

We’re at Loch Sport – the quietest town I’ve ever been.  There are maybe a hundred houses here, and we’re on a little grassy block on the edge of the lake, the main road running behind us, and all afternoon the only things that have gone past have been one car, three kangaroos and a dozen black swans.  We think that the Loch Sport monster has swallowed all the locals. My imagination running wild for good reason. 

I left Lake’s Entrance early this morning. The tide turned at 6:15 and I didn’t want to have to paddle against it.

5th February 2007.

Its been almost a week since I wrote last.

My car was supposed to be fixed last Friday.   Ringing to check up on it just before I left on Thusday morning, the smash repairer told me that NRMA was going to write it off because his quote was so expensive.  Up the creek with a paddle but no vehicle!

The quote seemed way too high to me, but I would have just had to cop it if it wasn't for Tim Frazer, from the Mallacoota branch of the Surfrider Foundation, who was determined not to let me get ripped off.  So he and his dad John went up to Eden, got the "$500" radiator repair done in an hour for free, and is now working on the suspension. What a legend. 

Regular readers of the blog will have realised that this trip really isn't about me.  The most I can claim to have done is provide a focal point for people to express their desire for a more sustainable future. 

So I've decided to dedicate some blogs to people who are supporting this trip, financially and otherwise. 

Check out the video: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH5cZ180hcE