Friday, November 28, 2014

November 28th - Fulford Reef whale (#94)

Dan and I went for an afternoon paddle out to Chatham Island. When we were at the top of Strongtide island, I saw a whale spouting out past the Fulford Reef buoy, so we paused to watch. eventually we saw that it was quite near Fulford reef and paddled out towards it. As we got closer, it became apparent that it was a gray whale (which I thought migrated away from this area over the winter?). We got close enough that we could clearly see that it had no dorsal fin and a very blotchy gray body. There was a sea lion sleeping on the buoy, a California sea lion came close while we were north of Chatham Island and then we saw some Steller sea lions in Baynes as we went back across. As well as all the marine mammals, we saw several mergansers, murres, and murrelets. A wonderful way to spend Friday afternoon. No wind to speak of and no rain and no complaints!
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11 km, YTD 984 km

Saturday, November 22, 2014

November 22nd - cattle Point (#93)

I went for a short morning paddle before heading up to Campbell River this aft. I decided to give the new P&H Hammer a test drive/maiden voyage and had a nice cruise along the Cadboro bay shoreline. Nice views of otters, oystercatchers, beached sailboats!, and more.
I have not paddled as much as usual the last few weeks since I tweaked my left elbow a bit. Trying to give it a bit of rest...
The Hammer paddles nicely and tracks decently with the skeg down. Flatwater paddling are not supposed to be the boats forte!
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5 km, YTD 883 km

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

November 9&10 - Surge Narrows (#s 91& 92)

George and I went up to Campbell River on Saturday evening to visit Alan and then we went to Surge Narrows for two days in a row. The wave was very nice both days, but it was best (and least crowded!) on Monday. I borrowed Jeff's P&H Hammer which performed wonderfully on the wave... I may have to swap out my Delphin! I had one good swim on Sunday and found myself in a whirlpool which felt a bit weird! Fortunately JF pulled me out!
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11 km, YTD 878 km

Saturday, November 01, 2014

November 1st - Cadboro Bay (#90)

I went for a solo afternoon paddle around the bay as it was still sunny and fairly calm and I needed some fresh air! Lots of sailboats out and I saw a family of river otters out by Cadboro Point. It s still feasible to get around the RVYC docks, though I can see it will be tight at low tide!
click to enlarge
7 km, YTD 867 km