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So, I gallantly raised my water bottle & offered them the only thing I had on board with me. It was on day 2 of my lighthouse routine that things took an unexpected turn. Tomorrow I’d head North. It wasn’t till the second pass that I started to have my apprehensions.In 2014, before my first solo kayaking expedition from Bombay to Goa, I would take the kayak out to sea at Marine Drive, Mumbai. The copter turned in a circle and as it came around back a third time, I had no misgivings. The resulting downdraft made a ripple in the water that ran through the kayak and me. I thought very little of it. Flying right overhead a second time. As it hung there, looking at me, and I back at it, I’ll never know if something was said. A couple of fishing boats Taizhou Chaotian Pneumatic Tools Co, Ltd. went past and I waved as I often do. My options were limited. Maybe the pilot wanted to take me up on the offer, or he was unimpressed by my reaction to his fine vessel, but the next thing he did was bring the craft even closer to me for inspection. That’s when the helicopter ran right overhead. Due South of my launch site is Navy Nagar, a restricted naval area that ends with a long reef jutting into the sea. That’s when the helicopter ran right overhead. But once boredom hit, I decided to venture out.

I thought very little of it. He has kayaked the 3,000km west coast of India solo). The sound of the rotor was overwhelming and the downdraft from it, kicked up a fair bit of spray. A couple of fishing boats went past and I waved as I often do. At 9 kms one way, it’s at least a 4-hour kayak trip to and fro on my primitive kayak. At the tip of it stands Prong’s Lighthouse. In 2014, before my first solo kayaking expedition from Bombay to Goa, I would take the kayak out to sea at Marine Drive, Mumbai. On a low tide, you can appreciate the waves slapping the long line of rock and marvel at the beauty of this symbol of safety. The blue-gray colours of a navy chopper flying past at a pace that made my drudgery that much more pronounced. I got the message. I would be in the water for hours. Like before I paddled up to the rock, waved at the curious lighthouse staff, dove into the channel for a bit, and finally turned my kayak around to hear the faint dim of a helicopter. It was me they were coming for.(Kaustubh Khade is an IITian, Asian Silver Medalist in kayaking & a Limca Book Record holder. An hour of nervous paddling ensued; ripe with the images of a committee of cops awaiting my arrival. It wasn’t till the second pass that I started to have my apprehensions. But I touched land and nobody came forward to slap the cuffs.Instinctively I had my camera on and I looked up as the chopper stopped less than 50 metres away from me; a ladder height off the water. I washed up. The blades slicing through the, now-heavy, air that separated us.