27.5 mile / 44km downwinder - Hong Kong

[Off-Shore]

Tomorrow it seems we may have good conditions for one of the longest island to island downwinders in Hong Kong from Po Toi Island to Tung Ping Chau. It's 27.5mile / 44km, so similar to M2M. I guess we could call it the P2T or the PT2TP.. We have not prepared at all, as we just decided today at 6pm to do this as tomorrow is a public holiday.. 3 of us: 2 SUPs and 1 Surfski and a safety boat.

The main issue we have is heat. Forecast is 29-33 deg C (84-91 deg F) and 65% to 90% humidity and 12-19 knots (22kph - 35kph or 14mph - 22mph) of wind. It could be a downbreezer but we should get some good swells

Unfortunately the earliest we can get the boat to the island start will be 10.30am in the morning so we're going to be paddling in the heat of the day.

Any last minute tips appreciated...

[SUPJorge]

Wish I could join you.

[Off-Shore]

Sadly the wind did not kick in or stay strong enough for us to make the full 44km and we had to cut short to 32km. It was a long slog with one break after 3.5km when we decided to stop and wait for the wind to kick in (at Waglan Island). It did for about 10mins and then was not even Downbreezer weather except for one other 25minute section of downwinding weather. Disappointing, but now we know the logistics and what conditions we need to wait for we know we can nail it next time. Here is the route we took and the wind conditions. It was extremely hot and humid but still we feel good that we managed to get from Po Toi Island to Tai Long Wan Main Beach. First time by SUP.

[stoneaxe]

Looks like a nice route...I googled images of the area...what a beautiful paddle along the coast.

I keep thinking about something I've wanted to do for a long time....do the original CCBC in reverse in a nor'easter. It would be about the same distance. Pretty sure it would be epic but it might also be beyond the limits of my crappy balance.

[blueplanetsurf]

Nice, looks like a beautiful area to paddle in with all the little islands. 

[Off-Shore]

It is not Maui, or Ohau, but comes pretty close. We are very lucky..

The first pic is close to the start showing the glassy conditions. The small island above my hand is Waglan Island and about 3.4km / 2miles away and where we stopped for an hour or so to wait for the wind to pick up.

The 2nd pic (with Surfski) is as we arrived at Waglan Island. In these conditions the Surfski was able to outrun us by a long margin (50%+ faster)

[Off-Shore]

Another image showing the original route and where we ended up (32kms / 20miles vs 44kms / 27.5miles)

[covesurfer]

Wow, very cool. Pretty darn rugged with high temps, humidity and not much wind. Kudos to you guys for doing it!

We did a 25+ miler today down the north shore of Maui, from Ke'anea to Kahului Harbor. We've had light winds for weeks. I was very much wanting/needing to do this for training before the Maui to Molokai race in a couple of weeks. But, I was so sure what a shlogg it would be that I barely slept last night. However, sometimes you get lucky. We had good winds the entire way. Windiest section was probably high 20's to almost 30. Begining and end were lighter but decent bumps pretty much the whole way.

https://connect.garmin.com/activity/822771371

[Off-Shore]

Cove. It was. I nearly gave up at the first island. But after something to eat I got my second wind. Down at our paddle club today it has generated a good amount of interest particularly those who live here and have done the M2O and M2M on Surfski and OCs. So I think next time we'll try and get 4 SUPs, 2 Surfski and 2 Outrigger and have 2 boats to set some times. Now we know what conditions we need.

Great to see you scored some fine conditions for your 25miler. Looking at your data those are some pretty impressive speeds. What were you paddling?

[covesurfer]

Thanks Offshore, we actually took it pretty easy too. But conditions were so fast. I just got a new to me, 3 year old, hollow, ultra light Bullet 17, V1. Today was my fourth run on the board - I've had it one week now. The length of the run and the conditions allowed me to get it figured out somewhat. I came off of an ultra light F16, 26" wide, hollow board. I sold the F16 on Monday, making the whole deal a lot more affordable for me.

Tough going doing long distance in light wind and heat. We did just under 22 miles on Tuesday in those kind of conditions. It's why I couldn't sleep last night thinking about what we might be in for on today's run. So happy it turned out windy!

Here's a pic of where we put in and a shot on the water of me on the new board.

[Off-Shore]

Cove, That board looks sweet. My buddy was on his Bullet 17 V1 which I am sure is not the ultralight version, and he still was way out in front of me. He's a fast paddler no matter what the board is. If I ever get another custom SIC it will be a ultralight Bullet 17..(without the polka dots though.

Your times / splits were awesome. We have blocked out two weekends in July for another go at this and have our fingers crossed that we get the conditions we need.

[Off-Shore]

Here is a short vid of the trip showing how it went from a promising downwinder to almost dead calm. The GP died before it got good again and so I used a Sony waterproof camera at the end. What we have now realised is that Po Toi Island is, or nearly is, Hong Kong's most southern island and Tung Ping Chau is its most northern island so this is effectively the longest south-north distance between two islands within the territory of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China. All the more reason to paddle this.

[covesurfer]

Been out in conditions like that - teasing you into paddling harder in order to get the few glides that you can. Looks like that's quite an undertaking. Is hiring the boat expensive? Also, it looks like once you go, you are completely committed. No where to bail.

The Bullet is a big step for me. I've had two F16's and just couldn't afford a Bullet. The F16 is a great board, no question. But the Bullet 17 4 is even better. The used ones that I'd found were too much money for beat up, older boards that weren't light. I ended up with exactly the board I would have gotten if I had unlimited funds, only it's just got a little patina of use and I saved thousands. I was reluctant to jump on it and buy it but surprisingly my wife and one of my regular paddling partners both convinced me that I had to get the Bullet. So, very happy on that front.

As far as performance, the big Bullet is what you want for these long, open ocean paddles. It glides longer and faster and is actually more inspiring to paddle. Surfing it from the tail works but it's a bit different than on the 16. The 16 can be a ridiculous amount of fun when the wind and waves get big. I'm still figuring out the Bullet but it's clear to me after yesterday that I will eventually get there on this board and be a happier and faster paddler on it too. I'm beyond stoked!

If you have a chance, paddle one. For the stuff you're doing, it's da kine!

[Off-Shore]

Cove, good to see you have also experienced those conditions. As you say it makes you work a lot harder, and in heat like we had, this is draining. Heart rate at 160-165bpm, so not something I can keep up for long.

On the Bullet 17-4, I have paddled my buddy's one here, which is the only one in Hong Kong at the moment, and I have to say I really like it, so when time and funds are available, that will be the next board for me. I can't see that being any time soon though..

Boat hire here is all about knowing the right people to rent from to ensure you are not overcharged, but it is not cheap mainly due to fuel costs. That is why we need to get a good group together to be able to share costs for a support boat to do the whole trip. Bailing would require some serious detours and a long hard paddle to make the shore or at least get to an island where we could call for a boat to come pick us up (conditions permitting). There is also the concern that if conditions got too big, the boat (particularly one like the one we used) would have to bail, or it would be impossible to board it at sea.

Since they banned all trawling in Hong Kong waters a few years ago, there is a move to try to get those who were employed in that industry to get involved in tourism. In the vid at 4:45 you will see a fishing boat crossing our path. That is in fact a converted commercial vessel taking individual people out on a fishing trip. Again a boat like this would manage bigger seas, but there would be no way to get back on it from the water without extreme difficulty.

The next time we do this in bigger conditions, we aim to have two boats, one to take us out and drop us off, and follow us, and then a second faster long speed boat (again converted fishing boat) to meet us 1/2 way. It may be costly, but safety comes first, and since we will only do this once or twice a year, it's not that hard to justify if we have the right number of people sharing the costs.

[covesurfer]

That sounds like our deal when we do the channel crossings. But there, you have race support as well. They typically provide some safety but we always opt to split an escort boat between a few of us. It can run $700 or $800 which, if split several ways, isn't terrible. As you mention, a rescue that would require getting gear on a boat in bigger conditions would be very difficult. Out in the middle of the channel, I am really, really glad to have a boat close by. It's wild out there!

The spooky thing about our Ka'enae run yesterday is that for the first 15 miles, it would be difficult or impossible to come in. About mile 5 or 6, I started realizing that an injury would be a very serious deal out there with no escort boat. At that point, I reigned myself in and avoided falling. Even a little nick that caused some bleeding would potentially bring unwanted problems.

The same cliffs that would make a shore landing almost impossible also generate reverb from breaking surf that comes shooting back out to sea. Even a mile and a half off-shore, the ocean was crazy with waves going every direction.

It's good that you guys use an escort boat. You are in a wild place once you're out there and our gear is our lifeline. Having an escort boat nearby takes some of that hairy aspect out of the picture and that's a good thing if a fun day turns ugly for any reason.