Well, I knew the weather was supposed to be bad today, but figured I’d see what I could do anyway. At least it wasn’t blowing quite as hard as yesterday. After carrying everything across the road from my in-laws’ house, I headed out across the Bathurst Harbour. Since the tide was going out, I had a fun wild ride against the wind and waves past Youghall Point into the Bay of Chaleurs. I managed to keep making progress with help from what was left of the current. Although the wind was blowing around 20 kt or so, I figured I was managing OK and making some progress. As I went out to go around Belloni Point to Salmon Beach though, things went downhill. Thanks to the wind and waves, I found that I was struggling to make even 1 kt. As some of the waves built to 3 or 4 feet, one breaking over my head got salt spray in my right eye. I thought it would wash out quickly, but the eye progressively got more troublesome. Once I finally felt I could reach the range light on the other side of the point, I decided I needed to try to make it into shore to evaluate my situation. By this time I was having to paddle with one eye open most of the time, which made things much harder. After a slightly sloppy landing, I decided that there was no point in going on. If I couldn’t go faster, then I wouldn’t even be able to make it to Stonehaven. Not to mention that it wasn’t very practical to try to pray for the communities while I was giving my all just to fight off the waves. The final straw though was really my eye, which obviously needed some time away from salt water.
So I called my wife to see if she could come get me any time soon. Because of other things going on, it wasn't exactly all that “soon”, but she did bring a donut and cappuccino to soothe my exhausted and rain-socked body. Although it was disappointing not to get to paddle the rest of the way from Salmon Beach to Grande-Anse, it actually worked out good in some ways. In particular, I had some time to do some things online and to buy some waterproofing sealant for the tent. And I was still able to meet up with some believers in Grande-Anse for prayer. I was also offered a place to stay for the night.
Partner churches: Assemblee Evangelique Baptiste Nepisiguit, Eglise Chretienne Evangelique Baptiste de Tracadie
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