Saturday, May 30, 2020

May 30th - Discovery Island (#45)

I set out early (&AM!) to paddle out to cadboro Point where I met up with Dan for a paddle around the islands. Conditions were excellent with no significant current in Baynes either way and no wind north of a line from the top of Discovery Island. I found a large inflatable pink flamingo on the beach at heritage point and met Alan who was leading a club paddle to oak bay from Cadboro bay as I was getting back. This was one of the few times I did not experience any current so I checked the current at Race Passage and saw that we had timed it perfectly!.
click to enlarge - note the essentially slack tide between 7:30 and 10

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15 km, YTD 332 km

Thursday, May 28, 2020

May 28th - Cadboro Bay (#44)

I took the paddleboard out to check the crab traps and came home with a nice limit of dungeness crab! The board is big enough and stable enough that I was able to bring up and bring in the traps. The weather was beautiful and the sky clear enough that I could see all the way to Mt. Rainier.
click to enlarge
2 km, YTD 317 km

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

May 27th - Cadboro Bay (#43)

I went for a short afternoon paddle with Tony who as also trying out a Think Big Eze (Greg's). Conditions were spectacular with clear skies and a good view of Mt. Rainier.
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4 km, YTD 315 km

Sunday, May 24, 2020

May 24th - Discovery Island (#42)

I had an early start and paddled out to Cadboro Point to meet Dan and Paulo for a paddle around the islands. I could see the silhouette of Mt. Rainier as I paddled out from the beach but it was hidden later. I saw both California seal lions (near Cadboro Point) and a Steller sea lion (near Seabird Point). The current was ebbing strongly and I had to set a 45+degree ferry angle for the crossing back across Baynes. You can also see that we got a pretty good assist from the current going down the east side of the islands.
click to enlarge
17 km, YTD 311 km

Saturday, May 23, 2020

May 23rd - Cadboro Bay (#41)

I went for a morning paddle, hoping to get a paddle in before the wind picked up. I was mostly successful and got a bit of a wind boost heading from Cattle Point to Flower Island. I had a nice view of a California sea lion near Evans Rock. :)
click to enlarge
6 km, YTD 294 km

Monday, May 18, 2020

May 18th - Cadboro bay (#40)

I went for an afternoon paddle around the bay. It was very nice and sunny and there were lots of people on the beach. Also many watercraft out: paddleboards, kayaks, rowboats, yachts, sailing dinghies and powerboats! I did a little loop near Cadboro Point as I saw some friends paddling across Baynes channel and went out to chat with them.
click to enlarge
9 km, YTD 288 km

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

May 12th - Discovery island (#39)

I paddled out to Cadboro Point to join up with Paulo and Dan for an early morning (started at 0715)  trip around Chatham and Discovery. On my way out I met Greg who was out getting some early morning exercise on his surf ski and we paddled together for a while. We had a nice paddle and chat in very calm conditions. By the time we were crossing back across Baynes, the current had picked up and I had to work to ferry my way over to Jemmy Jones. Before I made it to Jemmy Jones, I heard a blow behind me and saw a small humpback whale making its way up against the current. I decided to paddle parallel to it for a while as you can see by the dog-leg in my track. I ended up at Cadboro Point after seeing half a dozen blows from this young whale. Now I can say that, over the years, I have seen sea otters, killer whales, gray whales and humpback whales in my kayaking "back yard"! I also got to chat with John, a past parent of three students I taught, who was out gardening.
click to enlarge
17 km, YTD 279 km

Monday, May 11, 2020

may 11th - Cadboro Bay (#38)

I went out for a quick paddle around the inner bay on the Starboard SUP. I am definitely not as fast on a SUP, though I do enjoy the higher perspective for viewing into the water.
click to enlarge
3 km, YTD 262 km

Sunday, May 10, 2020

May 10th - Cadboro bay (#37)

Jeff and I went out for a nice Sunday morning paddle. There was a north wind blowing at around 10 kt throughout, but the bay is pretty well sheltered. We ran into Jennie and Debbie who were doing a very similar route to us but from Cattle Point. There was a strong ebb happening which gave us a bit of a push to Jemmy Jones.
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7 km, YTD 259 km

Friday, May 08, 2020

May 8th - Cadboro Bay (#36)

I went for a sunny afternoon paddle around the bay. The air was crystal clear and I could easily see Mt. Baker and Mt. Rainier. There also was no visible smog towards Seattle or Vancouver...
I managed to catch a boat wake for a quick ride between Jemmy Jones and Cattle Point, and you can see how the flooding current slowed me down after Cadboro Point!
click to enlarge
8km, YTD 252 km

Tuesday, May 05, 2020

May 5th - Discovery Island (#35)

Dan and I went for a fairly early paddle (OTW@0745) out to the islands. Though light winds were forecast, it was closer to a steady 10 kt from the north by the time we were heading back. You can see from the track (grey section means >10kph) that we got a good push on the way down towards Heritage Point on west Chatham Island. There were the usual Steller sea lions on the rock off Seabird Point. I also had some good views of surf scoters and pigeon guillemots.
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16 km, YTD 244 km

Sunday, May 03, 2020

May 3rd - Finnerty Cove (#34)

I paddled over to Staines Islet to meet Fraser for a Sunday afternoon paddle. Since there was a stiff southerly breeze (the sailboats were enjoying it!) we decided to paddle the shoreline and went all the way to Finnerty Cove before turning around. There were a few other paddlers out as well as some scoters, harlequins and geese.
click to enlarge
13 km, YTD 228 km

Friday, May 01, 2020

May 1st - Discovery Island (#33)

Dan and I went for a morning paddle around Chatham and Discovery Islands. I met Dan out at Cadboro Point light. It was good to catch up as we have not paddled together since December! Conditions were nice with a gentle ebb throughout. A bit of wind to start, but it dropped off by the end. It was pretty cloudy to the south so rainier was not visible, but Mt. Baker was mostly clear. We could also hear a few of the growlers taking off or landing at Whidbey Island... I also saw the site of the recent fire on the SW corner of Discovery. Fortunately the fire was put out before it had spread past some logs.
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15 km, YTD 215 km