Update - mostly good news

The adventure continues...

“So many things I would have done,
But clouds got in my way…”

- Joni Mitchell, “Both Sides Now”

If it hadn’t been the injury, it would have been the weather. The “return of the westerlies” on day 5 of my attempt brought an uninterrupted procession of low-pressure systems that continues into October.

In other words, summer was canceled.

The only person I know of who started and finished a Lap around Ireland this summer was Mike Conroy, whose story you can hear on the Paddling the Blue podcast.

Mikey was a constant source of motivation and wisdom over texts and calls in the two weeks when our trips overlapped, and it was a pleasure to watch his patient progress on social media while I was recovering from the injury that took me off the water. Thank you, Mikey!

First, the good news…

It’s been two months since I got patched up with a double hernia repair, and I’m finally training again.

The challenge is to go light and ease back into it, following a recovery plan to avoid re-injury and work up to the volume I was doing before.

My first few paddling sessions have been encouraging.

While I’ve definitely lost strength and aerobic capacity (as you do after two months on the couch), there’s a toughness and “bite” to my paddling that wasn’t there before the trip.

It’ll be interesting to see how that develops as I get my strength back.

“Think it, don’t jinx it…”

There was a Guinness ad running during Ireland’s recent Rugby World Cup bid 💔 urging fans to “think it, don’t jinx it” and keep any winning talk to themselves.

That’s going to be my policy looking to my next attempt.

I’m training to be ready to go when it’s go time. But I want to stay away from blogging about start dates and weather windows.

Looking back at my posts leading up to the first attempt, the ones where I’m just logging my training and sharing the journey have aged better than the ones where I’m talking with certainty about something I haven’t done yet. I don’t think it takes anything away from this newsletter moving forward to avoid that kind of talk.

I won’t have the all-clear from the doc for summer ’24 until March. So, I won’t know for sure that I’m going a few weeks before D-Day.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from the past two months, it’s the need to focus on what I can control and let go of what I can’t.

I can’t control the winds in the North Atlantic next June. All I can do is get ready to go when the winds allow me to.

Stand by for gratitude

I started to write a gratitude post thanking everyone who helped make this trip possible. There were too many people to thank in one post. So, stand by for a series of gratitude posts.

I’m also working on trip reports for my sponsors, which I’ll be linking to when they’re up.

I’ll be keeping this newsletter going to log my trips and training, share lessons learned from this attempt, and document what sea kayaking continues to teach me about life.

The adventure continues!

Thank you, Team Fox donors! 🦊

Thank you donors to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research

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P.S. When I’m not having adventures, I’m helping other people write about theirs. If you or someone in your circle has an amazing story to tell, I'd love to hear it. I have some availability for new ghostwriting and editing projects.

— 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.

Tent and cooking gas provided by Paddle & Pitch. Trolley by KCS.

REAL Field Meals at a discount from Adventure.ie.