Cronulla to Kiama

Over the weekend of 25-26 Oct, I paddled from Cronulla to Kiama with an overnight at Corrimal. After really bad weather mid-week that culminated with 4m swells and 40 knot winds from the south on Wednesday, it looked like the conditions weren't going to be suitable for a long paddle. Over Thursday and Friday, a high-pressure system moved in, allowing the swell to begin to drop, and Saturday morning dawned with a good forecast of 2m swell and variable winds of about 15 knots out of the north.



The goal of the first days paddle was Corrimal, with is one of the beach-side suburbs north of Wollongong. Corrimal has a really nice council-run caravan park at the back of the beach, and the plan was to leave early (up at 5:15, on the water at 5:40), and meet the family at Corrimal around 1pm. The conditions around the Jibbon Bumbora were quite rough, with steep swells coming from all over the place, but after passing the Bumbora and getting a kilometer or so off the coast, the swell became more consistent and less step, and the paddling was quite easy. There was a lot of foam in the water from the mid-week gale conditions, and it was quite strange paddling in the foam, which dampened all sound, creating a weird silence.



Once past the Royal National Park and along the beaches north of Wollongong, it was clear that a beach landing was going to be hard. There was 6ft dumping sets on most beaches, and a low tide also made conditions pretty bad. I had planned to land at Bellambi Pt if a beach landing look dicey, but get my Points mixed up, and ended up landing at Bulli Pt, which is about 3km north. I rang the family, and they where close by in the car, so I got them to pick me up and the kayak went on the roof for the final few kms to the camp ground.



By the Sunday, the swell had dropped, and taking off from the beach at Corrimal was easy. The Sunday trip had 3 distinct 12km sections - the first to Big Island off Port Kembla, then another 12km to Bass Point, then the final 12 or so kilometers into Easts Beach, just south of Kiama. The seas of Wollongong where fairly calm, and the first 12km went by fast.

Off Big Island, a seal was basking in the sun, but disappeared before I could get the camera out. There were heaps of gulls nesting on Islands, and it was a good spot for a break out of the swell between Big Island and the mainland.





After Big Island, it was getting hazy, and I initially aimed for Windang Island off Lake Illawarra rather than Bass Point. About 1km off Windang Island, I realised my mistake, and turned east to get to Bass Pt. I landed for a while on the Pt, and had some sandwiches for lunch. For the first two hours of each paddle, I had a Gu Gel at the hour mark, and then had a carb drink and sandwich at the 3 hr mark, and then repeated the cycle for the next 3 hours. Breaking the paddle into hour long sections (which was 8kms travelled) made it easy to focus on short-term marks, and the Gu's and drinks keep my energy pretty high.

The last 12kms into Kiama was with a strengthening NE and swells picking up to 1.5m which made for fast paddling.



I had hoped to continue the paddle into Jervis Bay on the Monday, but the weather deteriorate, with 30 knot N/NW winds forecast and a 3m swell. There is a 25km open crossing south of Kiama from Black Pt to Currarong (across the Shoalhaven Bight), and with the bad conditions, the paddle wasn't worth it. Instead I drove down to Jervis Bay with the family and relaxed at Honeymoon Bay out of the wind and swell. This is Jess at the Kiama campground.



The overall distance travelled was 45.1km on the first day, and 38.3km on the second day. The body pulled up well, with no real soreness in the shoulders or back, no sunburn and only very minor blisters on the hands. It was disappointing to not be able to get to Jervis Bay, but looking out at the sea conditions from Currarong on the Monday afternoon, it was apparent I'd made the right choice not to attempt the crossing. Black Pt wasn't visible across the Shoalhaven Bight, the wind was howling, and the temperature was up to the mid- to high-30s. Hopefully over the summer I'll launch from Kiama and finish the last leg of the paddle.