October 30th - Cadboro Bay (#104)

I went for a short afternoon paddle. I met George on the beach who was heading out on his paddle board. We paddled out to "islet 7" together having a good chat and then I split off for a quick run across the bay. The wind was making waves that were almost surfable!

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6 km, YTD 859 km

October 28th - Turkey head (#103)

Pete and I led another session with students. This time we launched from turkey head and paddled around the head and through the marina over to GNS. We saw the Wednesday group coming back. We managed to have great conditions again! Celebrated the end of the series of afternoons with a delicious hot chocolate with whipped cream!

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3 km, YTD 853 km

October 26th - Flower Islet (#102)

Pete and I led a group of 6 students on a short paddle out to Flower Islet and back. Conditions were very fine - no wind/waves and overcast. As you can see the pace was quite relaxed - I should have brought a coffee to drink!

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4 km, YTD 850 km

October 25th - Discovery (#101)

Dan and I went for a morning paddle around the islands. We definitely had the wind and some current at our back o the way out and the opposite on the way back - hard work! You can really see the difference in track speed on the plot. We averaged 6.2 kph. We went round the north end of Chatham, leaving the VK buoy on our left. It was definitely fall weather again. I brought gloves but did not use them. I suspect it won't be long before gloves or mits are "normal" for paddling! It was nice with this weather  to come home to hot soup, toast and a delicious espresso coffee!

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15 km, YTD 846 km

October 24th - "VK" Fulford reef (#100)

I went for a late morning paddle to make my 100th paddle of the year! I paddled out to the VK marker by Fulford Reef. All the buoys around this area are labeled V-something. for example the one by Mouat reef is VE, and the one near the border by Race Rocks is VF. They are often referred to by their radiotelphony alphabet names like Victor-Foxtrot for VF and Victor-Kilo for VK etc. When I was volunteering for sea rescue, this is how we referred to the markers over the radio. This was the first paddle of the year that really seemed like fall. Many of the trees have turned along the shores of Cadboro Bay and it was fairly cool (10C with a 15 kph north wind). I saw surf scoters, seals, cormorants (pelagic and double-crested), harlequin ducks, Canada geese and a couple of great blue herons. I came home and had a nice bowl of soup to warm up followed by a delicious espresso coffee with milk!

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10 km, YTD 831 km

October 22 - Cadboro Bay (#99)

Pete and I ran a class for 6 grade 10 students learning the basics of paddling. We covered forward and reverse strokes as well as sweeps and draws. Conditions were perfect for beginners - sunny and calm. The students made good progress and seemed much more comfortable in their boats at the end.

I forgot the GPS, but estimate 1 km of paddling! :)

1 km, YTD 821 km

October 14th - Cadboro Point (#98)

I snuck out for a quick afternoon solo paddle out to Cadboro Pint on the surfski. It is so nice being able to decide on the spur of the moment and walk down to the beach with an  under 30 lb kayak. I saw a sea lion eating a salmon out in Baynes Channel and another swimming off Jemmy Jones.

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6 km, YTD 820 km.

October 11th - Jemmy Jones (#97)

I went for a quick afternoon paddle on the surfski. conditions were very calm and grey and the tide was high. Looks like I should have no trouble making 100 paddles this year and should be able to make 1000 km as well!

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6 km, YTD 814 km

October 10th - Discovery (#96)

Dan, Paulo and I went for a morning paddle around the islands. We wanted to get out before the forecasted strong winds. Fortunately the winds did not turn up. This was my 3rd time in a week around Discovery. Felt good. We checked on the seal carcass, but the tide was too low for us to get a good look. Turkey vultures were enjoying it though!

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15 km, YTD 808 km

October 6th - discovery (#95)

Dan and I went for a morning paddle around the usual islands! Nice calm conditions and mostly favourable currents. It was interesting to see how we slowed down suddenly on the north side of Chatham.. We saw a couple of paddler campers in Rudlin Bay having breakfast on the beach. I picked up a large chunk of foam and brought it home to dispose of.

15 km, YTD 793 km.

October 4th - Discovery (#94)

Dan, Olivier and I went for a nice Sunday morning paddle around Discovery. There was a stiff NE wind building so that the paddle was harder than the paddle out! We saw a seal carcass on the NW corner of west Chatham Island. We also ran into a few other paddlers with the same idea!

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15 km. YTD 778 km