Sunday, December 31, 2017

December 31st - the paddling year in review

Well, I didn't make it out on the 31st - it was a tad cold and windy, but I did have a great year of paddling.
I didn't make either my distance or paddle number goals, but I had a lot of fun travelling instead.
The year total of 86 paddles and 728 km was an average number of paddles but the lowest distance of the 12 years of my blog. The km per paddle for the past three years has been pretty constant at 8.5


Year #Year# paddleskm totalkm per paddle
1200677127316.50
2200766109816.60
3200875108014.40
42009116138111.90
5201012412149.80
62011105121711.60
7201287100111.50
8201392106311.60
92014989119.30
10201512010258.50
11201612910768.30
122017867288.47
Totals117513067

Looking forward to another good year of paddling in 2018!

Monday, December 25, 2017

December 25th - Jemmy Jones (#86)

I went for a midday paddle around Cadboro Bay after a nice morning walk on the beach with the girls. Though the temperature was not warm 3C, there was no wind, so it seemed quite reasonable!
I met Jeff, another Greenland paddler out near Staines Islet and had a bit of a chat. By the time I got home, the snow was almost melted!
click to enlarge

ready to take the surf ski out - click to enlarge
6 km, YTD 728 km

(PS, it does not look as if I will make my 100 paddle, 1000 km goal this year! Too much time spent having fun doing other things!)

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

December 19th - Chatham Island (#85)

The day after my return heme from Ecuador, i went out for a morning paddle with Dan. It was pretty windy with a stiff northerly breeze and an ebbing current. You can see that we made good progress on the outward journey, but the return trip was a slog! Probably one of the hardest paddles I have done in a long time! The wind was pretty steady in the 20 knot range with gusts up to 30! Quite a few marbled murrelets around! You can see from the RVYC wind data that the wind was pretty strong while we were out (9 to 11:30)! Our return track was pretty slow - at times it seemed like we were barely making progress!
the route - click to enlarge
today's wind graph - click to enlarge

12 km, YTD 722 km

December 13th - Buccaneer Cove, Galapagos (#84)

I went for a kayak near Buccaneer Cove. It was quite choppy and windy but still fun! Good views of magnificent frigatebirds and Nazca Boobies.
the route

zoomed out to show James Bay
2km, YTD 710 km

December 12th - Tagus Cove, Galapagos (#83)

While on board the National Geographic Endeavour II, I managed to get out for a session on a paddle board in Tagus Cove. It was my first time SUPing in Galapagos and I enjoyed the perspective - I saw plenty of green sea turtles as well as a couple of flightlesss cormorants and Galapagos penguins!
zoomed out to see the crater

the track in Tagus Cove
2km, YTD 708 km

November 25th - Tortuga Bay, Galapagos (#82)

I hiked out to Tortuga Bay and rented one of the sit-on-top kayaks that they have there for $10. I had a fun time there seeing plenty of reef sharks, green sea turtles, mangroves, birds and more! Before the paddle I had the opportunity to go snorkeling as well. A magical spot to visit. I went there 13 time during my 3 weeks in Galapagos!
the route in the bay

The bay in relation to Puerto Ayora, showing the trail
3 km, YTD 706 km