Learning Curve

I took the Alpacka Raft out on the Big Lake for the first time a couple a weeks ago.
This was the first of three attempts to paddle a five mile distance along the shoreline. My destination being a beach were I was going to camp, and then pedal the 10 miles to work the next day.
I used my modified Surly 1x1 for the trip this first time. I've found that singlespeeds and packrafts go hand in hand. The more gear I am hauling around with me the simpler the bike setup needs to be. That's a wetsuit hanging from the seat...

I reached the lake and I should have known better already. My direction of travel once on the water was to be East out of Chequamegon Bay and once around the corner of Houghton Point I would be traveling Northeast.
The NOAA called for northeast winds. The lake was already a bit choppy. I thought if I stayed near the shore, I could paddle with less effort by using the land as a wind block. This worked until I rounded Houghton Point. The waves then increased to about 2-3 feet and I was a human bobber in a little blue raft... with a bike.
Here you see Houghton Point. Once around here it was fighting gusts of wind on open water. The raft doesn't sit low in the water, the wind likes to push it around. Every 10 feet of travel a gust would blow strong and I was pushed back 5 feet or so.

This continued for another twenty minutes. I passed an on looker standing on a dock. They seemed a bit concerned, yet totally amused. I waved to say "I'm fine".
Now I was feeling the earliest stages of fatigue and knew that must turn around and head back. The rising moon re-charged my spirit and I cruised with a tail wind back around Houghton point and to the beach were I had started. I packed up and rode on home, contemplating my next move, taking mental notes on packing, mistakes made, and paddling techniques used.