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Loch Awe

September 2016

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Heading into the mist

Heading into the mist

Yeeha!  3rd time lucky.  The boy did NOT get lost!
My 5th Loch Awe, and 3rd time solo, and this was my first solo without getting lost!
I started the paddle just before 9am, in a real “pea-souper”.  I could only just make out the shore of the loch, so long as I was close enough to touch it.  After 30 minutes, and probably only a couple of Ks, I decided to take a 30 minute break to see if the sun would burn the mist ff.  It didn’t.

I then did another 20 minute paddle, and still no change.  Just about ready to throw the towel in, at a little after 10:30 the sun broke through, and I was able to start my paddle proper.
Not much more to report, apart from the wind picked up an hour later and was all over the place.

Almost there

Almost there

When I reached the West Wing, there was very little to worry about compared to the 3 previous VERY lumpy crossings.
Including the very slow start of 3 or 4 km from a VERY slow paddle in the mist, the whole paddle took 5 hours and 43 minutes.
I think the sub-5-hour Loch Awe SUP is definitely possible!

SPONSORS

These sponsors have been a tremendous help in supplying kit and support for my challenges.