Day 17, Bridport to Lulworth
As a result of our course in this region being altered due to unfavorable weather, we had the option of splitting our original day 17 schedule, so it was decided that instead of making for George Town, we would aim for a half way point at Lulworth (30kms instead of 60kms).
We commenced our paddle with a weather forecast the was not particularly good, as NE winds had been forecast to 'freshen' during the day. We certainly found out what a fresh wind in Bass Strait is like to paddle in. The sea was very rough and the wind made for hard going.
As we reached the half way mark of the paddle the conditions worsened to the point that we had to make a difficult choice ... is it practical to continue paddling today – our average speed had dropped to below 5kms per hour. As it was clear that the wind was only going to get stronger, the call was made to head to shore to come up with a plan. It was eventually decided that the only option was to head about half way back to Bridport to a beach that our support crew could access ... the trip back was no walk in the park, so we were glad to see the two vehicles waiting a little closer than we expected. The upside was we still managed to clock up 27kms for the day.
Our adventures for the day were not over just yet, as on getting close to the 4WD that is towing our trailer, we noticed that something didn't look quiet right ... it was bogged on the beach. After Ben borrowed a shovel from a helpful shack owner, and quiet a lot of digging, we all put our backs into it and unbogged the 4WD.
We headed into George Town for the night and found a very helpful and generous lady at the Low Head Caravan Park, who really went out of her way to get us all sorted for accommodation. She even gave us the heads up on a good place to go for pizza.
Setting off from Bridport.
Finishing a hard day at Sandy Beach road.
Teresa's car bogged on the beach.
