August 29, Day 77. Woke up feeling like I had been hit by a bus which is kindof typical for when I have a long day and then sleep in a warm bed, I'm just totally out and it’s hard to feel motivated to get up and out. Made a lunch and packed my things, got the boat from its grass spot and took everything to the beach, sometimes it's a bit of a carry but that's okay, it's been worth it to have a break from camping. Not too bad with conditions but there must be some osmosis happening with my drysuit because I've been getting quite a bit of saltwater I think in the arms and armpit area which means my armpits are chafing quite a bit. So that's been a bit painful. Tried to go at a good pace, was feeling tired and just couldnt make myself go faster, and trying to feed myself. My pace is a slow and steady these days, emphasis on the slow bit.
As I was approaching Belfast lough, there were quite a few large shipping container vessels and Stena Line ferry boats that come from Scotland and they are huge. Quite a few of them crossing which was a bit of a stress and that got in my head, I would really hate to feel like I'm paddling for my life to dodge one. I found a lovely pink scallop shell right though and that reminded me of leading a one month kayak course last year in the San Juan Islands, we had found a massive urchin and it sat on my boat the whole time. Finally set off after a call to Steve to bounce my thoughts off of and by the time I had gotten to the end of the crossing the tide had turned and I was against wind and tide. Luckily there were no close calls with shipping containers. Once I finally rounded the corner, there was a bit of a noticeable difference into the green hills and cliffs and trees of the north which I enjoyed. I was meant to get all the way past the peninsula but I just couldn’t manage. I was collected and given out to in a friendly way about getting on the water as late as I did and going against the tide. Sometimes people don’t realize that doing this everyday for months you just can’t always be exactly on the tide or wind or whatever because you can barely make it into the boat. It can be a lot to push myself to do it all everyday. Gimme a break. On the other hand they’re very supportive so I appreciate that.
So one minute I’m out there feeling like I’m fending for myself and just trying to make it and the next I’m in an ASDA supermarket being blinded by the fluorescent lights. Stayed on a massive boat for the night which was something different, and got to be proper fed which has been a problem for me. I naturally don’t feel hungry on the water so I have to shove food down so it was nice to have a big dinner. A cool place to be for the eve, and I slept so well.
