Louis Tapper

If you were getting bored with the daily updates of waiting for wind, eating good food and drinking beer on the beach, then today’s adventure, or misadventure might just peak your interest again.
The incident today was potentially the most dangerous situation in my 3.5 years of kitesurfing.
I don’t need a reminder that there is a fine line between adventure and misadventure and fortunately today I stayed on the right side of that line.

The day started fine, at around 8am I left Aracaju with a steady 15 knots of wind and a choppy start across the Rio Sergipe River. Three of the local kiters had decided to join me to the last town for over 90km, Pirambua, and I thought the company would be nice.

As I made progress, fishermen with drag line nets and shallow water posed a constant hazard running inside the break, but I wanted to be social and try to stick with the local kiters so I chose remain inside the break against my better judgment. I paid the price on at least 3 occasions by getting snagged on the chord that’s used to connect to the fishing lines, and this just added more stress to my trip.

As I passed the last town for over 90km, I tried to assess the situation, but the wind seemed to be consistent and I wanted to make more progress. After another 10km, I could see an approaching front which was causing the wind to change direction, I had to make a decision, and decided to be conservative and kite back 10km to the last town and assess the new wind direction.
I knew the upcoming coast had limited resources to draw on if things went wrong, and I didn’t want to be stuck out there, potentially for a few days if the wind was going to be unreliable.
Having had the problems with fishing lines previously, I decided to make my way back up the coast outside the surf break.
The downwind angle was very difficult with the new NW wind direction and I ended dropping the kite ocean. I tried and tried to get control back, but I just couldn’t re-launch the kite and after fighting with the kite for what seemed like an eternity, my kite ended up in the surf zone where all 4 lines broke or were cut by my board fins about 500-800m offshore.
I had no choice, I had to swim back to shore, but I was wrapped in my kite lines and the more I swam the more tangled I got.

I felt like a floundering fish in a fishing net and when I finally got back to dry land, I was lucky that a passing local fisherman was able to help me. It took 2 of us over 1.5 hours to detangle the lines from my ankles, and although in hindsight it would have been easier to cut the lines off me legs, I was hoping they would have been repairable.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and I think back to the decision I made not to carry a knife with me, as I assumed I would be able to cut lines with the sharp c3 Venom fins on my board.

I managed to pick up a new set of lines and bar thanks to Glauber and Junior, and although I am carrying a spare set of lines I wanted to keep them as spares rather than have to kite with no backup.

Thinking about the incident, I know that I didn’t bring my A game today.
Kiting with others turned out seemed like a fun thing to do, but ended up being a distracting experience.
I know that this trip requires my complete attention and focus every day and it was there for the first 3 days however, sandy beaches and kiting with others put me in a more relaxed frame of mind and perhaps gave me a little overconfidence.

I was lucky today and I hope that this experience will help keep me focused and make sure I bring my A game every day.

The days are starting to blur together and I am losing track of what day of the week it is, I seem to be spending my days either kiting, or studying the upcoming coastlines.
Right now I am lying on the beach under the shade of my kite waiting for some wind while tapping away on my Telecom Blackberry trying to get a forecast.

Waiting for the wind will be a common issue for this part of the trip as I am entering into what I call the wind dead zone. I have been studying the wind patterns in this area every day for the last 4 months so I would know what to expect and I know its not good.
There’s an area north of me that seems to miss consistently have low winds and if it does come in, the locals tell me its very random and not something I can make a plan around.
My gear consisting of the 2011 Crossbow race kite combined with my custom board is optimised for the upcoming light conditions and the kiters here are amazed that I can speed along when they are struggling to keep their kites in the air.
I can keep the kite flying at 8 knots, and make some progress at 10 to 12 knots, and at 15-20 knots I’m speeding along!
On the upside, all this waiting for wind does mean I can relax a bit, drink some beer, eat good food and learn to dance Brazilian style, all while looking like the white guy who got too much sun!

Thanks to all of you who have posted with well wishes. I do read these and appreciate them, but unfortunately can’t respond individually as any computer time I do have is spent studying the coastline and wind predictions. Looks like a pretty piece of coast coming up if I can manage get out of here.

The wind was too light to kite today, but that doesn’t mean it was a day of relaxation.
I found that my GPS had not been logging my distances to the memory card and thus was unreliable, so it was time to get a new one.
Glauber had managed to locate one for me, but I needed to get some money to be able to pay for it, so with some helpful directions from the crew I was pointed in the right direction.

This is a kitesurfing mission and I had stated at the beginning of this trip that there would be a self imposed rule of not using any other mode of transport other than walking or kiting.
With the hot sun blazing down, I walked to the nearest bank machine several kilometers away only to be rejected by the machine in the wall. I continued walking to another bank machine and again no money could be withdrawn. With my non-existent Portuguese, this trip was quite difficult at times, but I kept trying and eventually was able to take out the cash needed at the third bank stop.
As I walked the long trek back trying to keep cool in the intense heat I remembered a quote that a friend of mine had once said:

“It is the decisions that you make on a daily basis that define an adventure like this”.

And with that thought I took my new Garmin Etrex colour GPS and made the decision to practice safe navigation by encasing it in the only rubber waterproof pouch I had handy (I’m sure this will raise a few eyebrows)!

I had hoped that the wind would pick up in the afternoon so that I could test the new footpads and straps, but again the weather was in control and I remained on the beach.
The plan for tomorrow is to get on the water as early as the wind will allow and kite with the goal of making Marceo (200km) in a day or two depending on wind. I have to do battle with the Rio Sao Francisco but other than that it will hopefully be a nice day out on the water again.

It was fantastic day out on the water today and so relieving to make some good progress and finally be clear of Salvador.
The wind angle and strength of 15-20 knots were perfect for the board and kite combination that I had and my mental state was greatly improved when I saw how much distance I was covering.
There was a big 2m swell which came in cleanly at Siribinha and kept me alert as it really took some skill and good surf reading skills to stay in control of the board.
An international Capoeira competition on the beach kept me entertained as I ate my lunch, and the energy and vibe from it all inspired me to keep moving.
It took a few attempts to get off the beach again as the wind had dropped a bit and the surf was quite big and I started to wonder at 3:30pm if I should even attempt to keep going or just stay put.
I was feeling good and decided that I needed to try and push myself through to sunset, so made an attempt to get as far as I could in the remaining daylight.
The second leg of the trip was very tense and exciting as random exploding waves 2km offshore at the Mangue Seco river mouth made for a rocky ride. Eric Gramond has described these river crossings by kite like kiting in a minefield and I couldn’t agree with him better, I had to keep my wits about me as a navigated through the water, conscious of there only being 30 minutes of daylight left.
My legs fared much better than the GoPro camera mount which must have just got shaken so much that it eventually broke.
I finally landed at 5pm and the hunt was on for a place to stay and eat. Some friendly locals provided a shower, food and even accompanied me to the local Possada run by a Dutch guy mad keen on fishing (all thanks to google
translate!)
So now I am sitting here contemplating tomorrows plan as the weather is predicted to be more of the same. I’m pleased to be done with reefs for the moment, but the big river crossings tomorrow might be just as testing.

Summary:
From Garajuba to Praiado Saco
Distance-90 nautical miles in 8 hours
Mental- 9/l10- in the zone today!
Physical 8/10- some chafing around pack strap area
Broken gear- broken GoPro camera mount, broken glasses hinge. Lost nozzle
hose for drink system.
Sea state/wind -choppy and confused 15-20 knots

So the journey has started, its officially day one.
There was no fanfare, no big crowd to wave goodbye, just me sneaking out when the wind started to blow, not really knowing how much progress I could make, but trying anyway.
I have been trying to start for the past three days, and poor Adrianno who was hosting me, must have breathed a huge sigh of relief as I finally left so that he could get back to his normal schedule rather than keep watching me wait for the wind.
It took a lot of self restraint not to attempt to kite over the last few days, as there were some fantastic rain storms which brought in lots of strong winds, however as soon as the rain left so did the wind and that inconsistency would have left me struggling out in the ocean.
Today was different, the sky was clear and there was a consistent 12-15 knots which I could trust would be there for at least a few hours.
I ended up kiting upwind for 3 hours today which was both physically and mentally challenging as I had to be aware of the reefs the whole way and keep a vigilant watch on the wind. I had a close call when I was almost trapped inside a reef just as the wind dropped, but luckily I just managed to get myself out of trouble in the nick of time.
The wind dropped this afternoon, so I body dragged into the shore and ended up on this beautiful sandy beach where I have set up my hammock and am looking forward to a night of well deserved rest.
I was hoping to be able to share my GPS tracks with you however I found that my waterproof GPS was not as waterproof as I had hoped and somehow got waterlogged during my body drag in today. I’m going to keep my spare GPS inside my dry-bag tomorrow and hope that it will help to guide me on my journey over the next few weeks.
The ability to kite upwind today and make some real progress had made a huge different to my mental state and keeping positive on this trip. Spending the last few days staring out at the calm conditions made me wonder if I was ever going to be able to leave, so finally having the conditions to kite has helped to re-ignite my passion for this adventure and feel like I could finally make some progress.
I can plan every aspect of my trip, but I can not plan for the wind and this is the hardest thing for me. Each day I must sit and wait until the conditions are right, and if they are not, I have to sit some more. Patience is usually my strong point, but I will admit that this is starting to become a struggle for me as I wanted to have made more progress that this by now.
I am hoping that the wind will pick up tomorrow, and the forecasts look strong so I plan to kite a little further out and make some more progress with my distance goals.
However I have decided that if the conditions worsen and the wind is not strong enough, I may be forced to drive north and restart my trip further along the coast.
So I sit here on the beach, watching my hammock rocking slowly with a steady 16 knots of wind, lit by the almost full moon and I realise that this is pretty much paradise.
Tomorrow is another day, but with the strong winds that are forecast, its looking promising.

After a couple of days of getting all of my gear together, I’m all ready to start the mission again.  Unfortunately as each day passed the wind got lighter and lighter, which does not look promising for an early start tomorrow.

The strength of the wind is out of my control, so all I can do is sit tight and wait for it to pick up again, keeping a good sense of humour about it all while I wait. From day one of planning this trip I knew that the first 300 to 500km were going to be the hardest. Light, fickle winds plague this area and today was no exception. At this time of the year the wind is driven by rain fronts but as soon as those clear up the wind suddenly drops below 6 knots making the kite fall out of the sky.

My plan is to try and time the start of the trip with a south to southeast front. Waiting for these could end up being tedious but necessary as the coastline here is not forgiving.  My biggest concerns right now are reefs (mostly because of the big fins I have on my board) and finding safe landing spots.

So today was just spent hanging out, waiting for the wind and surrounding myself with the local kitesurfing community.  I actually met someone here on the beach that didn’t think I was crazy, it was so refreshing compared to the usual response I get when I talk about my plan of a set of raised eyebrows and look of disbelief.  I don’t think that I am crazy, well I didn’t until my Mum (who has always graciously accepted my adventures) mentioned to me that I might be crazy.  No, I still don’t think I’m crazy, well OK, I might be questioning my sanity right now. In case you missed it the TV3 news story is making out that I am crazy as well.
TV3 Interview

Although I am doing this trip solo, I have really good network of people here who have been supporting me which is really reassuring and its fantastic to have such a great local group with their friendly nature and local knowledge.

So I’m just going to sit tight for the moment, watching the ocean and waiting for wind.  I’m not making any predictions about when I will leave, I just know I’ll go when the conditions are good, and I don’t want to tempt fate by announcing a definite start date.

The locals reckon there is no wind until Thursday, but I’ll just have to wait and see.

So here you are, expecting to read about how great my first day went…right?

Well, yesterday was a challenge all unto itself and nothing felt right during the whole day.

One of my spot messengers stopped working, this is the safety device that will call for help when I really need it, and although I carry two with me, having the backup one fail on day one is not a good sign.

My board fell off, and I have already discussed my concerns about the fins on this board and how dangerous they can be. With a big pack on my back, trying to get my board back and on my feet is no trivial matter.

The kite was really unresponsive and didn’t fly like I was expecting it to, I felt like I was steering a lead weight and then to top it off one of the kite lines broke.

After being battered around in the surf, I sheepishly came back into land and headed to the winddance shop to assess my gear.

As I walked past the lifeguards on the beach, I imagined them saying “Who is this crazy Gringo?? He can’t even make it off the beach, let alone 2000km!!!”

But not all great expeditions go to plan on day one. I was reminded of Jessica Watson’s recent adventure when at just 16 she became the the youngest round the world solo sailor. But did you hear about her first attempt which ended just outside Sydney because she ran straight into a big freight container?  I guess the positive side is that I didn’t crash into anything today.

My thoughts played on the risks of attempting this trip without all of my safety gear working, and I couldn’t stop thinking about Andrew McAuley who set out to kayak 1600 km across the Tasman Sea, but never made it home to his family. I’ve watched this video hundreds of times to remind me that I need to make sure that everything I can control is under control.

Back on dry land I was able to reassess the situation and found that my kite lines had stretched which was causing my kite to be less responsive in the air. I needed to reduce the weight in my backpack, not just for my comfort, but to put less pressure on the kite, and so I had to be ruthless and take out anything which I did not need to survive or would stop me progressing due to gear damage.

I kept essential safety equipment like flare and strobe light but toiletries, food, first aid kit, local mobile, second GoPro camera and repair kit were all taken out.

My backpack, which I have spent weeks modifying and testing was modified once more and I changed the position of the back strap to a single central position to help with stability in the surf.

I hoped that replacing the batteries in the spot messenger GPS would fix the problem, but it failed to revive the device. I was not expecting this as I have been using spot messenger units for 2 years and never had one fail.

Further investigation showed the problem to be with the contacts inside the battery case and so I’m now scrambling around trying to locate another GPS device at short notice.

After several hours I returned to the sea and everything felt right again, but the weather was not going to cooperate and with only a light 12 knots in the air, I decided to call it a day and come back to shore.

So now I sit and wait for the wind, the forecast shows light wind conditions for the next few days so I think its going to be a slow first 300 km as I try to get out and upwind while navigating through the treacherous salvador reefs.

Day one complete, not quite what I was expecting, but an experience all the same.  I wonder what day two will bring?

So this is it, my final post before the biggest adventure I have ever undertaken.

I always advise people planning this type of expedition that getting to the start line with the right gear, planning and support is the hardest part. Adrianno from Wind Dance (http://winddance.com.br) has been fantastic with my final preparations and hosting me. Any piece of kiting kit I have needed he has been able to provide.
Adrianno will also act as my primary contact for the southern part of the trip.

I have packed, repacked and culled my gear over and over again in the past few days. I’ve questioned what to take and what to leave behind.

The decision is final on my kite, I’m taking the 2011 11m Cabrinha Crossbow, I need the power for the start and hopefully will be able to hold it down in the stronger winds.

The board choice still plays on my mind and is causing me some stress. I desperately want to ride a twin tip for many reasons, the most significant being comfort and safety. However, after many unsuccessful attempts to get upwind yesterday using the twin tip I begrudgingly accepted that this board was not going to work. Thus the course board is coming on the journey with me. I have serious concerns about the big fins getting caught on the underlying reefs and that my legs may get really tired with the lack of give in the board, but I also know that this adventure requires me to start with a strong upwind section and this is the only board that can get me there.

I really don’t know how much distance I can cover in one day, but I hope that tomorrow will give me a good indication of what’s to come.

I’m expecting it to be slow to start, but I’m feeling strong and confident about what lies ahead.

The plan is to start at 10am today from Pedaeta beach (see spot tracks from yesterday). It’s raining here so will need to assess that decision in 2 hours. Currently sitting in the famous Salvador traffic so the start time may be pushed out.