July 24th - Russel Island (#66)

I joined 19 other paddlers for a SISKA paddle, led by Gary,  from Moses Point to Russel Island. Conditions were truly summery, warm and calm! We had a great paddle, keeping up a good pace and had a nice visit with Heike, Hans and John who met us at Russel Island. I also explored Russel Island and the homestead for the first time. We also met a foursome of other paddlers who were paddling a beautiful wooden double and a two hole baidarka.

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19 km, YTD 719 km

July 23rd - Haro Strait SAREX (#65)

Seven SISKA paddlers (Dennis, Alan, David, Jeff, Gerry, Sheila and me) went out into Haro Strait again to do a sea rescue exercise. Conditions were very benign - no wind and a little bit of an ebb current. Once again it was a great learning experience for SISKA members and OBSR crews. I was in the water for a little over 35 minutes and was actually quite comfortable in my drysuit. While waiting for rescue we drifted over 1 km this time.

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10 km, YTD: 700 km

July 22nd - Discovery (#64)

I paddled out to Cadboro Point where I met up with Dan and Paulo for a paddle around Discovery. I was using my new Northern Light "Aleut-inspired" paddle and am getting to like the extra power and am getting used to not wanting to hold the paddle on the shoulder! Conditions were nice and we had a 8-10 knot SW wind on our flank for much of the trip. All three of us were almost matching as we wore our Comfort Paddling tuiliks and inflatable PFDs.

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17 km, YTD: 690 km

July 21 - Chatham (#63)

George and I went out for a paddle around Chatham Island - It was the inaugural paddle for his newly refurbished Feathercraft Khatsalano. Another nice day on the water!

George's Khat

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10 km, YTD 673 km

July 20 - Discovery (#62)

Dan and I went for a morning paddle out to Discovery. Conditions were good and we kept up a good pace. As a bonus we saw Orcas  by Commodore Point on Discovery. I was using my Northern Light Aleut-inspired - it definitely allows me to keep up a good pace.

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18 km, YTD 663 km

July 17th - Telegraph Bay (#61)

Liz, Graham and I went for a nice Sunday morning paddle around Ten Mile Point. Conditions were nice and calm though overcast. The current was ebbing nicely as we went around Cadboro Point and had dropped by the time we returned. Graham was paddling my wisper and I was paddling an F1. There were lots of small bait fish around and we saw, eagles, otters, geese and a seal - as well as quite a few paddlers.

10 km, YTD: 645 km

July 9th - Haro Strait (#60)

I joined Jo, Sandy, Gary. Fraser, Michael, Dorothea, Dennis and Dan for a SISKA search and rescue exercise with Oak Bay Sea Rescue. We basically paddled out into Haro Strait and had OBSR try to find us and rescue four of us. It was a great learning opportunity for all of us. We drifted almost 4 km before being found. Getting us on board a rescue boat is also a challenge. All in all a very productive exercise.

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18 km, YTD 635 km

July 7th - Discovery (#59)

Dan and I went for a morning paddle around Discovery. The forecast was for strong SW winds so we decided to go counter clockwise. We made excellent time, averaging about 6.8 kph moving av. I stopped briefly at Commodore Point and we both had a good break on East Chatham. The wind did build up and the Tahe Greenlands performed well as usual. I was also using my Northern Light Aleut-inspired paddle which also worked very well. I definitely find it to be a powerful paddle design.

15 km, YTD 617 km

July 6th - Oak Bay (#58)

I joined Mody, Christian, James, Annette, Roy, Peter and Angela for an evening paddle and pub trip to Oak Bay Marina. Conditions were wonderful and we had a nice brisk paddle. Afterwards we repaired to the Smugglers Cove Pub to celebrate Mody's birthday! Happy birthday Mody!

9 km, YTD 602 km

July 6th - Cattle Point (#57)

I went for a nice paddle along the shore of Cadboro Bay with Jenny and Emily. We made it to Willows Beach and then turned around. Jenny and Emily were in my Wispers and I was in the F1. It's been good to paddle the other boats for a change! On the way back I stopped to visit with Bill and Dee aboard HelioMare - nice boat!
Mt Rainier was visible again - I just checked in Oziexplorer and Rainier is over 210 km away from Cadboro Bay!

6 km, YTD 593 km

July 5th - Oak Bay (#56)

Ed and I set out from Killarney for a paddle along the oak bay shores. Conditions were beautiful - another sunny summer (at last?) afternoon. We poked along the shore checking out Willows Beach, boats moored in the bay and others at the marina. We had some help from the flood current on the way back. I visited briefly with some people sailing a "nonsuch" - an unusual but effective boat rig. I also chatted with Bill from the Heliomar who may have encountered chain from Morgan's lost mooring buoy.

Me in Cadboro Bay with HelioMare

Mt Baker

Willows Beach

me in the F1

10 km, YTD 587

July 1 - 3 - Discovery Island (#s 53-55)

Monica and I joined Dennis and Sue for a camping trip to Discovery Island. We paddled the Feathercraft Wispers and I towed the Kaboose. We were thus able to camp comfortably out of two low volume boats. I have finally figured out a way to use my feathercraft skeg to prevent the kaboose from yawing too much. I now feel pretty comfortable taking it out on a trip with either the Wisper or the Tahe Greenland. I will post images of the skeg set up in a few days.

towing the kaboose with a wisper

We had great views of the Canada Day fireworks in the harbour on Friday night and then enjoyed a leisurely paddle around the Island on Saturday. We came back fairly early today as there were some strong winds in the forecast.

27 km, YTD 577 km