Saturday, December 19, 2009

Tidal Race or Greedy Monster?


In the early morning me, Giuseppe and Gianfranco drived to the north-east tip of Sicily: Capo Peloro.
This is a place well known from the first sailors of our land for its strong currents that create whirlpools and eddies. The ancient sailors called these phenomena as two monsters, Scylla on the Calabria coast and Charybdis in Capo Peloro.

Our aim was not to deal with the greedy Charybdis but just test the prototype Sea Kayak Design 536 that we will use for Cyprus circumnavigation. There was a wind from WNW at 22 knots and a moderate current going north in the middle of the Messina Strait when we arrived. On the beach there was a strong dumping and was not easy launch or land, so we tested temperature of water that was around 16°C, about 5° warmer than air...
Coast Guard, continuosly sailing across the Strait, was interested in our operations but fortunately did not interfere.

After having paddled in every condition, loaded the kayak, used the skeg, changed the paddler, etc., we called it a day. But like any decent day, a surprise was waiting for us: a flat air wheel on the car!

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