Tauranga kayaker Tim Taylor is spending a day ashore on Durville Island today, once again encountering weather issues.

He arrived in Nelson on Friday night, updated his trip report on Saturday and resumed paddling on Sunday.

Tim Taylor.

His camp is at Kupe Bay on the west coast of Durville Island, indicating a decision to kayak around the island instead of through French Pass – the passage between Durville Island and the mainland, renowned for eight knot tides, eddies and whirlpools.

'He never intended to duck through, he wanted to go right up round that Durville Island,” says his mum Lyn Taylor.

When the weather allows, Tim's plan is to round Cape Stephen at the northern end of Durville Island and make his way across the northern fringes of the Marlborough Sounds and re-cross Cook Strait from the exposed Cape Koamaru on the northern end of Arapawa Island.

Lyn says Tim is debating crossing straight across to the Makara coast, or going a little further up the coast to Plimmerton.

The marine forecast today for the sea area Abel is for northwest winds rising to 25 knots this morning, then easing to northwest 15 knots tonight, with seas becoming rough for a time. There is a northwest swell rising to one metre and poor visibility in rain developing this morning.

The outlook for Tuesday is for a 20 knot southwesterly to blow straight into Kupe Bay, easing Tuesday afternoon to variable 10 knots, rising Tuesday night southwest 20 knots north of Separation Point and late Wednesday 30 knots in north with rough sea, easing late Thursday variable 10 knots everywhere.

Tim is attempting to be the first person to circum kayak New Zealand in a single voyage. He departed Tauranga on November 27.