Colin’s another 58 km closer to the end, but it was a tough go today. He had headwinds against him the whole day and the seas were rough.

The region he travelled, from Nootka Island to Hesquiat Peninsula Provincial Park and then past Maquinna Marine Provincial Park, was exposed without any bays or inlets to seek shelter in.This meant he had no reprieve from the headwinds.It was impossible to stop ashore for a break and he couldn’t rest in the rowboat.As soon as he stopped rowing, he was at risk of being pushed into the rocky shore. And if the headwinds increased, he feared he wouldn’t be able to make any forward progress at all and instead would have to return to where he started in the morning, the last safe shelter he passed.

After rowing for 11 hours non-stop, Colin reached his destination, a small bay across from Hot Springs Cove, and he could finally pause.

“I’d row 50 feet and then I’d have to stop with the pain,” he said, describing the final half an hour he rowed around the bay to search out a camping spot.

Colin’s hands are blistered. He has tendonitis in his right arm and his bottom is sore, very sore. The tendonitis is too severe to continue feathering the oars, which makes rowing difficult. The oars are constantly battered by the waves, causing his hands to smash together. So now his knuckles are also bloody. No one ever said this would be easy, but I don’t know if he expected it to be this hard.

Now he’s a day away from reaching Tofino and seeing Leif and me! Tomorrow night we’ll be celebrating with Colin!