St Kitts Ironing at Black Rocks in January

Interesting ironing options presented themselves in all directions

But especially to the south, where the ironing potential seems unparalleled

This imposing spire rising from the sea was rapidly dubbed 'The Castle'. We just HAD to climb it and iron on top. But how to get there?

Swimming appeared the only option. And so I rigged my gear for a (small) ocean crossing

I come from Perth, Western Australia, and have been pampered by the best beaches in the world. But try as I might, I just couldn't seem to find a nice, gentle sandy entrance here...

Then things got a little fresh...

Lack of knowledge of the nature and location of the underwater hazards and fracture probabilities added a thrilling air of mystery...

not to mention a certain fear of death

I knew I had about 5 seconds to make it to the Castle before the next set of crushing waves rolled in. All good as I'm a strong swimmer - until I discovered I could barely swim with an ironing board on my back. Why didn't it say that on the label dammit?!?

By some miracle I made it to the castle still largely alive even if I felt somewhat otherwise

The next challenge was how to get to the top.

Climb 4

Climb 7

Of course there was an easier route, but it's called extreme ironing for a reason.

Ironing 3

Ironing 7

It was so good to finally attend to that shirt! And the view was phenomenal! Ironing can be so satisfying… it's an adrenaline sport mixed with moments of serenity - and you get your ironing done at the same time! I can't imagine why it's not more popular.

Ironing 9

I decided to head back across a reef. I thought there might be less risk of drowning, for one thing.

That is, until I discovered the 'suckhole'. The local kids, who were by now watching advidly from the shore, advised us afterwards that anything sucked into this hole reappeared about 60 m out to sea.

But hey, I was enjoying myself :)

Suckhole 11

Suckhole 13

Suckhole 12

Until I almost got sucked into the suckhole...

what a blast - that was seriously fun!!

I couldn't resist going back for a little more :)

Next it was Phil's turn. The maw of the suckhole can be a bit off-putting, to those with more functional cerebral cortices

Particularly when this happens...

And so Phil wisely sought another route

But up ahead it had become a knife-edged ridge

What to do?

Suckhole 7

There was only one choice. It was back into the maw of the beast...

Bravely he skirted the suckhole, hanging on for dear life...

Suckhole 10

At last, Phil made the Castle's heights, where his true ironing spirit tore free!

Or tried to tear free… distracted temporarily by that recurrent ironing problem; a nagging fear of death

Climb 2

Ironing 2

Ironing 4

Temporarily free of that fear of death, Phil could at last iron in piece :)

Momento mori sic carpe ferrum - remember you are mortal, so seize that iron - iron hard! :) Until the next time folks… :)