Moulton, first of all thank you so much for your detailed and thought provoking reply. Reading that definitely helps me re-assess my approach and preparation. Any time any of us can jolt the other back into a closer scope of reality and bring us down from the clouds that we sit on occasionally is extremely beneficial.

With that being said, I also feel I have lead you astray a bit... or misled you so to speak. In addition to being a rock climbing instructor, I am also a sea-kayak and white water instructor, having logged over 1,200 hours in open ocean conditions around the world. I have circumnavigated New Zealand's southern most island in a self-built kayak (which included a 12 hour passing of South Cape at 27degrees Fahrenheit), as well as a 14 day unassisted, 500km kayak from the Northern most point of New Zealand to Auckland in 3-6 metre breaking seas . Now, I only write that as I want to ensure you that I do have some degree of experience and I don't want you to think that I'm some arrogant kid that's throwing all caution into the wind. I understand rough seas, weather reading, kayak rolling and rescues etc and so forth - with THAT being said I am aware, and now even more so thanks to your reply, that this is not a journey to be taken lightly. Thank you once again for your reply. The leg is healing, and though I do walk with a limp, I am capable of movement if needed. Any further advice or suggestions are welcome, and it very humbling to know that someone whom I've never met would take the time to express that in a detailed blog post.

Sincerely,

Mat