Tuesday, March 22, 2016

March 22nd- Lake Mead - Battleship rock (#21)

In the middle of our 7000+ km road trip we decided to take a "day off" and we spent two nights in Callville Bay Campground. I went for an afternoon paddle out along the shore of Lake Mead (to avoid paddling withdrawal symptoms!). The wind was quite strong throughout the paddle, mostly around 10 knots, but at times probably 25 knots. It was neat to paddle a desert shoreline, and freshwater for a change. The lake level is over 100 feet lower than its max level in July 2000! It was impressive to see how much difference that would make to the shoreline.
I have a temporary link to the GPSVisualizer site that shows good detaiul of the shore: http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/display/20160403133453-32227-map.html
I had to work hard against the wind on the way out and then had the NW wind at my back for most of the trip back. At times I was almost surfing, but paddling back into Callville bay was hard work!
I would enjoy paddling Lake Mead again. I think there are lots of places that one could camp. St this time of year there are hardly any boaters around. I saw one other boat during my entire trip!
click to enlarge
13 km, YTD 235

Friday, March 11, 2016

March 11th - Jemmy Jones (#20)

I went for a quick solo paddle before work. It was a nice morning after a couple of blustery ones! The two SALTS boats were anchored in the bay and I paddled by them. It was their first trip of the year!
A sailboat, Odin, had come ashore in yesterday's blow and was high and dry on the beach. It will be difficult to get it off. There was some lumpy water out by Cadboro point, but it was just a little choppy where I was paddling. I also saw several Canada geese getting aggressive with others... I guess it is the breeding season!
6 km, YTD

click to enlarge.

Thursday, March 03, 2016

March 3rd - Staines Islet (#19)

I went for a quick after work pedal in the hobie i12s. Conditions were wonderful and I experimented with seat positions and pedal settings . It seemed to work pretty well by the end! I was able to maintain a 6 kph average over the trip.
click to enlarge
3 km, YTD 216 km

Wednesday, March 02, 2016

March 2nd - Discovery Island (#18)

Dan and I set out for an early morning paddle around the islands. We met up with Paulo at Cadboro point and had a nice paddle around the islands. The water was a bit lumpy in Baynes on both the outgoing and return trips, but fun all the same. We saw a Coastguard helicopter ferrying bags of stuff back from discovery light to the base downtown - not sure what they were moving... The wolf was just around the corner from Commodore point and it was nice to see him again. We also saw lots of bird species as well as a Steller Sealion and several harbour seals. It was nice to fit the paddle in before lunch!
click to enlarge
15 km, YTD 213 km