Matt rang at about 8am from the sea, off Visscher Island near Cape Frederick Hendrick, to say he would hope to be at the boat ramp at the S end of Pirates Bay at 10.45 for a bit of a break. As he was calling, a penguin about 20 metres away was squawking at him in the background.
Today he was up at 5am and started paddling at 6am to take advantage of the N winds that he hoped would last all day.
We decided to take our dog, Topsy, along for the ride and made the assumption that the boat ramp area was outside Tasman NP. Certainly not a pristine, wilderness experience but we take care.
Matt arrived at 11.15am (never been very punctual!!) in perfect, sunny conditions.
Matt had some lunch and unloaded some unwanted gear - bivvy bag, spare meal packs - and generally relaxed for a short time.
He wants to make as much progress as he can today, bearing in mind that tomorrow W winds are forecast, then SW at up to 30 knots in the far S.
So his plan for the remainder of today is to try to get around Cape Pillar and up into Safety Cove. The views will be spectacular and I hope he takes a lot of care. If he makes it the distance for today will have been 80-90 km ish.
Call from Matt at 6pm, camped at Safety Cove, happy with his day's work but very tired.
Tomorrow will be tough.
