That Mad Belgian

[bernieq]

I'm wondering why he didn't go west at Erskine Pt, through Junction Narrows, across to and through Twevletrees Narrows then down the west side of the Twelvetrees Range ? Obviously harder paddling heading west, given the wind, but it's at least with the flow.

Then it would have been a short distance (mostly road/track) through Strathgordon to Lake Pedder and then he'd have the wind (partly) behind him for a long paddle to Scott's Peak.

[doogs]

@bernieq he wouldn't have been able to paddle in that direction against the wind in a packraft. On a flat calm day I'd estimate a packraft can only travel at 3km/hr tops and today he travelled close to 10km/hr with the wind so I'd guess = no chance of progress through the narrows.

[Overlandman]

Links
http://www.louis-philippe-loncke.com

https://eur-share.inreach.garmin.com/louphi

[jmac]

inReach message from Lou-Phi 6:42PM: I wont mov tonight. Repaired 2nd leak mattrass. Hopefully i can reach shore tomorrow & paddle closetoit

I've replied: Forecast winds same tmrw, don't paddle if not totally safe, sleep as much as possible. Winds decrease Fri 15-25 kts, Sat 15-20kts. Everyone wishes U safe, well

Cheers, J.

[GPSGuided]

A very lucky bloke to be so well supported by jmac and others on his quest.

[Overlandman]

Day 40
12 Sept. Heavy rain & wind all night, could use wind blowing South but at inlet it changed to heavy SW with 1m+ waves, rain, hail & often gust. Wanted to SOS but pushed to island

[farefam]

Although they're fairly stable in the water, packrafts seem to catch the wind quite well, so you don't want to try paddling into a stiff breeze. I agree with Doogs that on calm , flat water you can only manage about walking pace (3-5 kph). And his current direction looks the shortest, easiest way to me.

[stepbystep]

The Twelvetree Narrows are extremely steep sided= no escape point and funnel the wind. It was hard work in an expedition kayak... Pity he didn’t get a friendlier wind direction. Up and over Cullen may be his easiest option from here. Go Louis!

[north-north-west]

The Twelvetree Narrows are extremely steep sided= no escape point and funnel the wind. It was hard work in an expedition kayak...

Only on the way out, because of the wind. Awesome place, but. Presumably the eastern narrows are similar. Must get Fred down there this summer and have a good look around.

[NickMonk]

Some pretty nasty conditions coming up on the weekend, with snow to 200m and thunderstorms. Surely given his current rations, position and weather he'll have to pull the pin?

[wildwanderer]

Is wind calmer at/before dawn on tassie lakes?
I have experienced this in other places

If so perhaps paddling early and then talking shelter maybe an option for progress?

Edit. Looking at Scotts Peak OBS I'm guessing not

[gayet]

inReach message from Lou-Phi 6:42PM: I wont mov tonight. Repaired 2nd leak mattrass. Hopefully i can reach shore tomorrow & paddle closetoit

I've replied: Forecast winds same tmrw, don't paddle if not totally safe, sleep as much as possible. Winds decrease Fri 15-25 kts, Sat 15-20kts. Everyone wishes U safe, well

Cheers, J.

Looks like he has taken your good advice. No movement yet.

[Wherever I may roam]

Do we know if he plans to abandon equipment not required (pack raft, broken poles, other?) to be collected and reduce his carry weight when he reaches the public road around Scotts Peak Dam? Assuming he lands in that area. Or would this break one of his rules?

[NickMonk]

Does anyone have any experience with this track? Best bet to get to the road? Seems to still exist to some degree on aerial photos.

[wildwanderer]

Looks like he is on the move again. Stay safe buddy!

[north-north-west]

Does anyone have any experience with this track? Best bet to get to the road? Seems to still exist to some degree on aerial photos.

It's not obvious from the canal.

[tastrax]

Bit of a tail wind for him today.....how well do packrafts surf?

http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/meteye/

[gayet]

Was just over 5km/hr last time I looked.

[north-north-west]

Bit of a tail wind for him today.....how well do packrafts surf?

According to them in the know, they like a tailwind and can move pretty fast when being blown along. Just hard to steer.

[tastrax]

Does anyone have any experience with this track? Best bet to get to the road? Seems to still exist to some degree on aerial photos.

The imagery on LIST is quite old (2007-2010) and the track looks quite feint

https://maps.thelist.tas.gov.au/listmap ... kId=312151

[wildwanderer]

Bit of a tail wind for him today.....how well do packrafts surf?

http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/meteye/

Apparently quite well in certain hands.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_3xRFOGg74

[tastrax]

Was just over 5km/hr last time I looked.

Wow, he is powering along!

Blowing quite a bit at Scotts Peak!

http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDT60801 ... 5958.shtml

[mikeb]

[quote="tastrax"]Bit of a tail wind for him today.....how well do packrafts surf?

Think he has one of these smaller ones that weigh 3kg? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEA3Yk2ycDU

[wildwanderer]

hmm.. reverse course.. Looks like he doesnt like what is in the inlet.. must be fairly rough.

reverse course.JPG (83.47 KiB) Viewed 11680 times

[rangersac]

Back on track and powering along!

[NickMonk]

Nope, he's right in the inlet now if you look.

[Warin]

hmm.. reverse course.. Looks like he doesnt like what is in the inlet.. must be fairly rough.

Just glitch. Best to wait until the day finishes (that can be quite late) before any analysis.

He may well cross or reach the road tonight.

[GPSGuided]

Gosh, he is getting really close to the canal! Go Mr!

Has he reached a dry canal entrance?

[mikeb]

The man is a machine! He'll reach or cross the road tonight if he wants to.

He's probably stopped paddling now and will need to either walk up the river (subject to water level/flow rate) or follow the river to the canal.

[Guido]

I took this pic last february. Paddling the canal would not be possible I guess?
Looks like crossing over to the south side and walk the road is the better/quicker option.