August 29th - Cadboro Bay (#64)

I went for a quick after lunch paddle to get a bit of exercise and took the surf ski - so light and fast!
I averaged 7.9 kph over exactly 1 hour of paddling!
I saw a few marbled murrelets and picked up a floating Clamato juice bottle. The ebb current definitely slowed me down on my way to Cadboro point, but also sped me up on my way to Flower Islet/Evans Rock! Nice to get out again!

click to enlarge

8 km, YTD 559 km

August 26th - oyama (#63)

I managed a couple of short paddles/rows while we stopped in Oyama on the way back from Calgary and Idaho (for the eclipse!). In the morning I took the sit on top for a short daybreak paddle. Beautiful light and calm quiet water - nothing but me and a few grebes!
In the afternoon I inflated the Baylee2 and took it for a row over to the bench. It handled a 5 km row quite nicely. It was a bit slower than the kayak, but rowed well. Lots of boats on the lake on a Saturday afternoon!

click to enlarge

8 km, YTD 551 km

August 16th - Discovery Island (#62)

George and I went for a morning paddle around my favourite local islands, and we were in for a treat. The weather and currents were good, though there was some lumpy water in Batnes Channel. As we approached the NE corner of Chatham Island I thought I could see several whale spouts - by their size, and since they were behind a rocky point, I thought they were humpbacks, but as I got closer it turned out they were a pod of orcas hunting along the shore. I am pretty sure that they were playing with a seal, but did not get a close/clear enough look! What a treat to see orcas - some came pretty close to us! We fought a bit of wind and current across Rudlin Bay, but otherwise had favourable currents.

click to enlarge

15 km, YTD 543 km

August 15th - Discovery Island (#61)

Dan and I went for a mid-day paddle around the islands. The weather was great, light winds and sunny and the currents were slack or weak.We stopped for a snack in the park. Nice to get a substantial paddle in! :)

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15 km, YTD 528 km

10 paddles in Alaska (#s 51-60)

I spent July 16 to August 12 aboard MV Swell in southeast Alaska working as a naturalist for Maple Leaf Adventures. During that time I was able to lead ten short paddles with guests. Not too much details about each paddle, but all were fun!

overview of paddle sites as red dots - click to enlarge

#1 - Windham Bay - July 18th - 2 km

Windham Bay click to enlarge

#2 Gambier Bay - July 21st - 5 km

Gambier Bay - click to enlarge

#3 Warm Springs Bay - July 22nd - 2 km

Warm Springs Bay - the tide was right for getting into the salt lagoon!

#4 Magoun Islands - July 24th - 4 km

Magound Islands - click to enlarge

#5 Magoun Islands - July 25th - 2 km

Magoun Islands - July 25th - click to enlarge

#6 Warm Springs Bay - July 28th - 6 km

Warm Springs Bay - click to enlarge

#7 Gambier Bay - July 29 - 6 km

Gambier Bay -click to enlarge

#8 Good Island, Gambier Bay - August 1st - 6 km

Good Island Gambier Bay - click to enlarge

#9 Gambier Bay - August 8th - 5 km

Gambier Bay - click to enlarge

#10 Stone Island, South Etolin - August 10 - 4 km

Stone Island - click to enlarge

42 km total for Alaska - YTD 513 km