June 22nd - Discovery island (#52)

Dennis and I went out for a quick 2 hr 10 minute paddle around Discovery this morning. Conditions were excellent and we were able to make good use of the currents in our favour for most of the trip - moving average was 66.9 kph (3.7 kt). Looks like the Surf SUP event in the bay is gearing up to go this afternoon...

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15 km, YTD 469 km

June 21st - Musgrave Point BCMTNA event (#51)

I celebrated the solstice by joining 5 other SISKA paddlers (Jo, Liliana, Nancy, John and Gary) to paddle from Moses Point to the Musgrave Point BC Marine Trails event, celebrating the first sign raising and outhouse for an official Marine Trails site. The event was ably emceed by Stephanie Meinke and attracted over 80 paddlers. After a nice lunch and a clebratory piece of cake, we paddled back against a light headwind. The morning conditions were glassy and sunny - a great day on the water.

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15 km, YTD 454 km
Some photos from the event: (click to enlarge them)

the group on the beach 1

Stephanie addressing the group

the group on the beach 2

Alan and Paul raising the sign

the sign

June 19th - Cadboro Bay (#50)

I took Zyoji's starboard 12 ft 6 in touring SUP out for a morning row and an evening paddle and was very impressed. It is very stable and tracks nicely. With the oarboard rig, it rows very nicely and I was able to maintain a nice pace. I think this is the best board I have used with the oardboard. In the evening I went for a nice paddle and it also paddles well, tracking much better than the other boards I have tried.
You can definitely see a dramatic difference in the pace I maintain using the oarboard rig vs the paddle!

morning outing with oarboard - click to enlarge

evening paddle - SUP - click to enlarge

5 km, YTD 439 km

June 17th - Griffin and Alpha Islets (#49)

Dan and I went for a morning paddle out to the Chatham/Discovery group and made our destination to circle around Griffin and Alpha Islands. Nice conditions - warm enough for a short sleeved top and a rashguard! Dan told me his story of meeting the wolf on Chatham last weekend - very cool!

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13 km, YTD 434 km

June 15th - Cadboro Bay (#48)

Monica and I went out for an afternoon paddle to practice strokes and edging in a bit of wind. Conditions were good with enough wind to me it interesting but not so much as to make it hard!

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5 km, YTD: 421 km

June 14th - Willows Beach (#47)

I did a fast paddle to Willows Tea House to meet up and help lead a SISKA intertidal paddle. I was working with Dave G and Vic T. The forecast was a bit windy, but the winds held off in the bay and the morning mist and cloud eventually burned off! Though the surface was quite rippled, we saw several lined chitons, and some neat stalked Jelliyfish (Stauromedusae)

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9 km, YTD 416 km.

June 12 - Cadboro Bay (#46)

Joan and I went out for a nice afternoon paddle around Cadboro Bay - it was great to show her my "back yard". I had met Joan at SSTIKS and she was visiting Victoria with her Tahe OC on the roof! Nice conditions with a little bit of wind and waves. Always good to have an excuse to get out!

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7 km, YTD 407 km

June 10 - Chatham Island (#45)

Dan and I went for a morning paddle out to Chatham. We had not been out together for a while due to my travels and Dan's neck, so it was great to catch up on each others' news.
Good conditions and a nice paddle!

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10 km, YTD 400 km

June 7-8 - SSTIKS (#43,44)

Bill and I drove down to SSTIKS at Twanoh State Park at the south end of Hood Canal for a weekend of traditional paddling events. There were around 120 participants and some great instructors as last time. On Saturday I worked on my rolls and participated in a rolling "competition" in which I came third after Dubside. On Saturday I helped a few others work on their rolls and organised a team to participate in the "wedding of palo" race in which we came second (next time we need a small kid along to be the bride!). Bill did the race on Saturday and came fifth in spite of breaking his aleut paddle on the first stroke. He actually had the fastest time for the race by a minute since he started more than 2 minutes later! It was a great event and nbice to meet several old friends and make some new ones.
No track map since my GPS batteries were dead...

Twanoh state park beach

2 km (est), YTD 390 km

May 28-June 2 - Broughton Archipelago (#37-42)

I helped lead a group of SMUS grade 10 students for a week's experiential education  adventure in the Broughton Archipelago. I was leading with Beth Anne and Meredith and had a great group of six students along. While on the trip, we had great sightings of black bears (one mother with two cubs feeding on a carcass on the beach and another swimming across the bay at our Compton Island Camp), a humpback whale in Blackfish Sound, a nice visit to the Earth Embassy on Hanson Island, an outstanding morning of intertidal exploration and a visit to the abandoned village of Malalilicula. This trip was the only one I can remember with no rain!

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64 km, YTD 388 km