4hrs in a sinking boat

With the weather being so wonderfull this past week, I decided to pump up the old inflatable... Kayak and go for a paddle.
I had been discussing the possibilities of paddeling from Wong Shek Pier in the Sai Kung Country park around to Tai Lo Wan in the same area with some friends.
So thats what I did, just 2 liters of pocari and 3 power bars and me.
It was a very enjoyable day only with a slight head wind to contend with and a small chop at times.
When I was at what I thought was the half way point (about 3 hours in) I rounded a point and realised I was there, only 3.5 hours. The Dai Po Dong resteraunt was humming with activity and the Beer was very cold.
As I was in an inflatable I deflated it, rolled it up put it in my backpack and hiked over the hill to the public ferry back to Wong Shek Peir, Which I had just missed.
1 hour to the next one... Not for me. Out came the kayak and after a few pumps (at the awe of the onlookers) I was on my way home and was sitting waiting for the bus as the ferry came in.
It was a wonderfull trip, next time I will take a tent and stay the night then continue on to saikung the next day.

Hope you had some a lot of sunblock too, with the heat that we have been experiencing. Was 2 hours of pocari really sufficient for 3 hours out on the water?

Hi heather.
The pocari was enough, topped it up with the beers when I got to Tai Lo Wan Dai Po Dong resteraunt.
Sun Block was an issue.
I lathered up in a so called waterresistant block and re applid to my upper body once. I was traveling shirtless towards the sun. so my back recieved very little damage.
BUT I recieved Severe sun damage to my Legs(swolen up to 30% normal size and severly blistered) Belly was BBQ'D like a pig also blistered as were my arms.
I have been in severe pain all week and am still suffering discomfort. I have lost at least one layer of skin from my whole body and am left with many raw areas onto which I am applying antibiotic burn cream. My legs are just starting to return to normal size and the blisters are all burst (the entire surface of my legs arms and chest/belly were basicly 1 big blister)
I thought of stopping and covering up while kayaking but I had trouble finding somewhere to stop in order to open my dry bag and get dressed.

I have suffered terribly this last week all because i took my sunblock for granted. A word of advice is to get a good UV blocking shirt and pants, reapply sunblock as ofter as you can and try not to be on the water in the middle of the day when the sun is at its highest.

It was a wonderfull day but when the sun went down it was time to pay. I just hope there is no permanent damage.

Sun block is useful but long sleeve will save your life. Don't just try to catch the sun and look cool with your bare chest out there. Think of the potential danger you might encounter. May be it's not a good idea to paddle all this way in an inflatable kayak at all. Anyway, enjoy the outdoor but be smart and responsible to yourself too.

sounds like a good topic for action asia magazine. there used to be pages in the mag about prevention of accidents and people telling personal stories .... things that went wrong (sometimes total horror). pretty useful for all readers. just to ensure that we all enjoy adventure travel but do not die from it ;-)

In the same vein, it was not a sinking boat but we forgot to put the anchor right the last time we chartered a boat .... and the boat just went away on the high seas during the night.

we could easily have got hit by some container ships or just end up on the rocky shore. Not a happy ending!

just careful when anchoring your boat, ensure it is OK for low as well as high tides.

Cheers, Rosemary.


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