June 29th - Cattle Point (#54)

I took advantage of nice afternoon conditions for a leisurely paddleboard over to Cattle Point by way of RVYC. It was nice to go slow and watch wildlife - including eagles at the nest and kelp crabs on kelp!You can see from the track that the wind and current were from the S & SE, though the wind was not that strong.

click to enlarge

5 km, YTD 443 km

June 27th - Gordon head (#53)

I paddled around Ten Mile Point to Telegraph Cove where I helped co-lead a SISKA paddle with Alan and Jim to Gordon Head. It was a bit windy in Cadboro Bay with a stiff westerly, but as soon as I went around Cadboro Point it was basically flat calm! Conditions were perfect for a relaxed paddle out to Gordon head and we had lunch in Margaret Bay. After leaving the group in Telegraph Cove I paddled back around to Cadboro Bay. It was a tad windy as you can see from my track (50-60 kph at Trial Island - the graph from the RVYC site is not available today, but it recorded 25 knots at 1 PM when I was coming round the point...
Saw several bald eagles, belted kingfishers,  great blue herons, black oystercatchers, glaucous-winged gulls and a few seals and a harbour porpoise.

click to enlarge

20 km, YTD 438 km

June 22nd - Cadboro Bay (#52)

I paddled over to RVYC to join Greg, peter, and Tony for a surf ski paddling session. I was using a Greenland paddle as I had lent my wing paddle to Tony, but it worked well. Amazingly clear views of Mt. Baker and Mt. Rainier as well as some distant mirages. Good to get out!

click to enlarge

8 km, YTD 418 km

June 20th - Gonzales Bay (#51)

I paddled over to Turkey head by Oak bay Marina, just below the Oak Bay Beach Hotel, and helped lead a SISKA paddle from Oak bay to Gonzales Bay. The currents at the start were either ebbing or weak and we passed by some nice glacial features (roches moutonees and erratics). I think I managed to put in about twice as much distance as the group did! You can also see that my to and fro from Caddy bay was a tad faster than the relaxed club paddle! A lovely day out on the water.

Gonzales Bay is named after Gonzalo Lopez de Haro who was mate aboard the Princesa Real, the first European vessel to explore Juan de Fuca Strait in 1790. Gonzales bay used to be called Foul Bay (same as the road forming the boundary between Oak Bay and Victoria!) after the poor anchorage qualities of the bay, until  misguided local residents wanted the bay's name changed. Eventually, in 1934, the Geographic Board of Canada caved into the complaints and renamed the bay after Gonzalo Lopez de Haro.

click to enlarge

18 km, YTD 410 km

June 18th - Cadboro Bay (#50)

I took the surfski out for an afternoon  jaunt around the bay. Conditions were very nice with a slight Southerly breeze and not much current. I saw Tim out rowing and we had a chat by Staines islet. Visibility was good as I could see both Mt. Baker and Mt. Rainier. I also had a good view of Oak Bay Marina and the Oak Bay Beach Hotel as I went from Cadboro to Cattle point. This was paddle #50 of the year! My original goal, assuming lots of ship-based trips was 50 paddles and 500 km, but I suspect I will be close to this by the end of June!

click to enlarge

8 km, YTD 392 km

June 13th - Telegraph cove (#49)

I helped to co-lead (with Vic and Sandy) a SISKA relaxed paddle from Cadboro bay to Telegraph Cove and back. We ended up running this as three separate groups of 6 or less to comply with COVID regulations. My group included Allison, Alison, David, Craig and Lynn. We had good conditions for the outbound journey and then a bit of wind for the return. We saw a mink as well as many Canada geese and a good number of black oystercatchers.

click to enlarge

13 km, YTD 383 km

June 10th - Discovery island (#48)

I went for another early morning paddle in ideal conditions. Leaving Killarney at 0700 to meet up with Dan and Paulo at Cadboro Point and then a circumnavigation of the Islands. The ebb had just started, but was not too strong. Paulo was also paddling a Tahe Greenland! The sea was glassy with no wind so one could see every current ripple and schools of bait at the surface. We also saw a group of six otters at Cadboro Point when we left.

click to enlarge

16 km, YTD 373 km

June 5th - Discovery Island (#47)

I decided to start my birthday off with a nice paddle. I set off from the end of Killarney and met Dan at Cadboro Point. The current was ebbing strongly throughout the paddle (we were paddling pretty close to max ebb) which helped us on the way down (especially from Alpha Islet to Seabird Point) but made crossing Baynes Channel on the way back a bit of a challenge! You can see how the current took me almost 90 degrees from my heading!
I saw my first common loon of the season as I was coming back into Cadboro Bay- and it was calling too! :)

click to enlarge

16 km, YTD 357 km

June 3rd - Ten Mile and Cattle Points (#46)

I went for an afternoon jaunt out to get some exercise in the surf ski. I had a short chat with Sam, who was running a SUP class and then made my way out to the point. There was a solid flood building and 5 to 10 knots from the south. It was cloudy all around and I thought that there could be rain over Saanich, but the clouds dissipated. No sign of Mt. Baker or Mt. Rainier!

click to enlarge

9 km, YTD 341 km