The Serenity of an Abandoned Trip - Kōkatat Blog
An abandoned trip is a lesson in acceptance of the many things you can’t control.
“Life is too short to waste time on second-class ambitions. Go for the big ones, even if that means a high failure rate.”
— Ranulph Fiennes, Climb your Mountain
The following is an excerpt from my trip report for Kōkatat. You can read the full article on their blog.
On Day-17, just short of one-third of the way around Ireland, I pulled into my last harbor and called for a ride home. Quitting was something I told myself I would never do. But a stupid injury—that happened on shore—had taken the choice out of my hands.
An abandoned trip is a lesson in acceptance of the many things you can’t control. A few more knots of wind can mean the difference between getting back on the water and another day in the tent. Vagaries of the jet stream can cancel summer altogether. A little tear in soft tissue can put the dream on hold…
After a week of mixed, frontal weather, conditions calmed down…enough. On June 18th, it was go time.
My buddy David Walsh, from Waterford, would be joining me for the southwest corner of the island, one of the last stretches of Irish coast he hadn’t paddled and one that I would have been very nervous to do alone.
From my back yard put-in on Bantry Bay, we would head up the Atlantic coast, cutting headland to headland across the bays of West Cork and Kerry. These crossings were some of the most exposed and committing sections of the entire route.
Day-one was a “welcome to the North Atlantic” kind of day…
Watching a sea-going trawler bounce around Deadliest Catch style confirmed the swells were as big as they seemed.
I was wondering, “can I even do this?” as I was doing it.
Having no exits for miles simplified things.
There was nothing to do but find my rhythm and keep going. For the first time in months, I wasn’t thinking about paddling around Ireland because I was on my way…
Thanks for reading,
-Charlie
Kokatat is the official gear sponsor of The Lap.
The lap will be fueled by Resilient Nutrition’s Long Range Fuel and bars.
Expedition coffee by 3fe.
CH Marine will be providing a VHF radio and other safety equipment.
Camp kit and cooking gas provided by Paddle & Pitch. Trolley by KCS.
REAL Field Meals at a discount from Adventure.ie.