The South Coast came and went, there had been some interesting
paddling, some pleasant and some less so. But when I thought about it all, I realised
I wasn’t too upset to be heading north.
Landmarks: Land’s End, Lizard and Beachy Head had gone by
relatively easily – less so for Portland Bill, Start Point and Dungeness. C’est
la vie.
Weather: The south coast was hoped to give an easy early-stage
lead-in with a hoped for combination of an easterly flood and westerly winds.
This had manifested as winds from pretty much everywhere – the relentless
easterlies of the south east corner were especially frustrating and unpleasant against
the flow. Swell free days were few.
Mileage Downer: A 25 mile overall (including weather days)
daily average would give a finish around the 75 day mark, 23 nm would give 80
days – the aim. By the time we reached North Foreland our average was a
low-point of 20 nm and the projected finish was 92 days. It was depressing.
Van: ‘Van-life’ was good;
though a little slow to get a routine going initially (‘Where the 8888 is my 88888888 cag then? - Why can’t I ever find anything? – Well who put it there
then?’) It was better than dragging a loaded boat around while looking for waterside
spots to pitch a tent along the built-up coastline.
Wildlife: In 2012 less
wildlife was seen here compared to the rest of the country. 2015 didn’t seem
any better, rather disappointing.
Coincidence: Weather bound in the same places and fighting the
same stretches of coastline as 3 years earlier going in the opposite direction
- coincidence or geography? A bit of both I guess, but even so it seemed slightly
weird at times.
Disneyland: From the water the scenery had some very
pleasant moments, but the Team Manager’s diary sometimes reflected a different
perspective - “Some parts are certainly beautiful, some towns are lovely and
some run-down. However nowhere is wild. Nature seems to be managed as a resource,
a facility to make money or to entertain, organised as somewhere for the
population to relax – nowhere is wild.”
