Day 37

After the dissapointment of not making it home yesterday the form was at a pretty low ebb. Fortunately all of our families came down to boatstrand to see us so it was great to pass away a few hours with them and see them after such a long time. Out of the blue Mick O'Meara (www.seapaddling.com) came to see us also and again ofered us a place to stay for the night - this is hospitality above and beyond the call of duty! Mick ferried the boats back to his place and looked after us for the night (chips in Tramore and a few scoops in Eddie Rocketts). Up this morning @ 7 and Mick confirmed that the forecast should be good enough to get us to home today. We launched from Boatstrand @ 9 and headed for home - as per Micks' forecast the weather was reasonable and as we passed Bonmahon and Stradbally the realisation that we were 'comin home' was finally setting in. Once we got to Ballyvoyle there was a bit of a squall with high winds and heavy rain for about 20 mins - once this passed the paddle to the Gold Coast was pretty easy.
We landed at the Gold Coast about 14:00 and the plan was to get something to eat and a quick swim/shower/sauna and then be in the quay for 18:00. After all of the interest that had been generated in the town while we were away we wanted to give people the opportunity to see us make the final leg home.
We left the Gold Coast at 17:30 and paddled the final couple of miles home - Clare Morrissey and a couple of the guys from DHSC came out to see us and escort us home. Then we were joined by the kite surfers Laurence, Ed, Toby and Craig - to see what these guys can do with the kites was amazing. Then we saw the crowd waiting for us - this was just fantastic - we were completely overwhelmed - with a lump in our throat we paddled the final few yards and we were HOME. To see all of the faces, all of the well wishers, the applause and the champagne - had it really been five weeks away? We were totally blown away by the reception and town mayor Damien Geoghegan gave a wonderful speech and presented us with the Dungarvan crest - an honour for each of us. Derek (never one to shy away from a microphone!) said a few words on our behalf and we spent the next while chatting to everyone still not believing we were actually home. A sincere thank you to each and everyone who took the time out to come down and see us home - it was by far and away the highlight of the trip.
Home for a quick shower, empty the boats and get all of the smelly gear into the wash and then it was over to Dereks house for a few drinks and a catch up with family and friends - a great night and thanks to all of the Flynns and Lyons' for putting on such a great evening. Home now and looking forward to bed - the first time in five weeks - hopefully I won't miss Tony and Derek snoring too much !!
Next date for the diary is Thursday Night (5th July) in Minnies anytime after 21:00 - this is an opportunity for us to say thank you to you for supporting us for the last five weeks. There will be music and finger food so please come along and enjoy - it will be our pleasure to have you there. Keep and eye on the blog over the next few days as we plan to publish photos and do a full summary and wrap up of the trip - as always comments are more than welcome.