Eden to Mallacoota

It was around 8.00 am and the trees were no longer thrashing around on the ridges above our tranquil campsite on the Merica River. We could hear the surf on the beach but we knew the deep channel against the rocks would make for an easy breakout. With a minimum of fuss we were soon clear of the beach and running parallel to the vivid red Nadgee Cliffs. The morning lull was over and the wind lifted rapidly as forecast, so we made a decision to put up sails and head for Gabo Island just under 40kms to our south. The air was really hot but the wind driven waves were cold and surfing us back to the coast. We were reaching across the breeze to avoid being blown onto the shoals breaking heavily off Cape Howe in the distance, edging hard to windward but we were still surfing fast with the oversize sails on this heading. As the wind built we found ourselves on that fine line where the waves were often surfing us rather than us surfing the waves. Just after we launched I had suggested half jokingly, that this might be one of the all time great sailing days for us in our sea kayaks. About an hour later as the speeds increased and the waves steepened I was starting to ponder the famous saying "be careful what you wish for...." It was a fast run in real numbers but even faster in terms of how the time disappeared as we dealt with one steep wave at a time.

Gazza and Todd showed great skills and balance and this made it easier to relax and enjoy the adventure with no one struggling and everyone looking out for one another. As we rounded Cape Howe realised I had been so busy with the buzz of this non-stop wave train that I had forgotten to take any pics for a couple of hours. So with a straighter line downwind and much easier conditions in the shelter of Cape Howe I started low bracing along at around 10 kilometres per hour snapping shots of our approach to Gabo and looking down at the GPS in amazement. Thank you to Rob for these images ofthe trip.