Paddle from Hout Bay to Three Anchor Bay.

Mike's invite to join him on this paddle was pretty last minute, which happens when the weather dictates. Fortunately Simon's Town paddlers are mostly adaptable, so there were plenty of takers.
Margaret, Derek, Mark, Basil, Barbara, Hendrik, William and myself set out on a perfect morning into a dreamy sea without any misgivings.

The trip to Seal Island was effortless and wonderfully scenic. As we approached the perfoming seals, the tour boat Calypso breezed passed, laden with smiling oriental faces. Cameras clicked furiously and suddenly we were big in Japan, although those awesome cliffs and the rising swell soon started to make us feel small and helpless.

Barbara soon took her first of many dunkings as the sea turned into a washing mashine. In the shadow of the cliffs the water looked dark cold and menacing and the mist started to roll in. Barbara's legs soon turned numb with cold which didn't help to improve her balance on her unstable surfski. We were very relieved to be in the comfort of our relatively stable kayaks.

As three of the kayaks started to disapear into the mist ahead of us and couldnt hear our shouts. William realised to his delight that he could legitimately use his whistle, (My ears are still ringing, but it did the trick) and Mike turned back to reasure us that calmer conditions were just around the corner at Sandy Bay and the mist would soon fade.

The eerie fog horn continued to boom out of the white fog ahead and we chose to not turn back but to trust Mike's experience. Barbara battled on gamely but wisely decided to bail out at Llandudno where we stopped for breakfast.
Mike was spot on with his predictions and the rest of the trip was pure pleasure.

Some of the highlights for me was the sight of the wreck of the Boss 400 looming surrealistically out of the mist and the hang gliders drifting off Lions Head. We truly live in an amazing part of the world and although False Bay with its Whales and Dolphins will always be the best place to paddle, there are definitely adventures to be had on the Atlantic side too.

Margot King