A man circumnavigating the South Island was forced into the safety of Oamaru Harbour yesterday as "confused seas'' created the worst conditions he had experienced in his journey back up the east coast to Nelson.
Dave Puklowski, of Nelson, was in day 12 of his solo journey to raise money for a friend, Russell Blowers, with hereditary hypophosphatemic rickets when for the second time rough conditions were too much for his custom built 3.9m Terminator inflatable.
Waves were predicted to be 2.4m, but some were over 3m he said, and the wind was blowing up to 20kmh after he pulled out of Moeraki yesterday morning.
"It's when those waves start breaking,'' Mr Puklowski said.
"If it's just a big swell, it's not such a big deal. I had a big swell coming through Foveaux [Strait].
But they might have been 4m, but 13 seconds apart. Whereas these ones here, are sort of around 3m, but they're only six to eight seconds apart.
"You don't get an opportunity to surf these ones.'
He pulled into Oamaru shortly after 10am and met his support team Dave Hockey and Victoria Peacock and planned to look around a town he had never been to before.
Mr Puklowski had been planning his "Challenge for a Mate'' for a year and was in the process of setting up a foundation so others could follow his lead "inspiring everyday people to take on challenges for friends in need''.
Yesterday's setback was the second time Mr Puklowski had pulled the pin due to rough seas.
On day 6, after leaving Dusky Sound for Bluff, he turned around. Day 8 was "a day of repairs''.
His longest day, after leaving Greymouth was 300km and 13hrs into a headwind. He pulled into Jacksons Bay in the dark after a day in rough seas.
Mr Puklowski's next stop was uncertain yesterday but he had planned to hit Timaru, Akaroa, Monks Bay, Kaikoura, Port Underwood, Picton and then home to Nelson.
