Breeze on

It all got a bit breezy for day 3. The group put in a tough shift - skills only just learned were tested hard, heads dropped and tempers flared. I pressed pause. Made some breathing space. 
Did the 3r's. Refuel, Review, Re-plan. An essential expedition skill. 
Armed with a new plan they launched determined into the wind and waves and battled on. And they battled hard. (so did I, almost the limit of what I can make progress into when paddling solo!) 
After taking over an hour to move 1km they told me that if this was "qualifying" they would stop for the day and camp. 
So they stopped 4km from the finish. A hard but good choice. 

Letting them make thier own choices and deal with the consequences made my life harder. Managing thier safety, trying to hitch soaking wet, bus faff, being late, grumblings from supervisors. But that's how I always want to do things. The learning and sense of achievement they got was far far greater than if I'd steered them to any other option.