September 30th - Sooke (#93)

I went for a short paddle during a break in our department head retreat at the Best western. It was great to get out for a quick breath of sea air! It was fun paddling around and under the docks!

click to enlarge

3 km, YTD 763 km

June 8th - Sooke Basin (#37)

Sheila, Neil and I went for a morning paddle around Sooke basin as part of the SISKA campout. There was a stiff westerly that slowed us down quite a bit on the way out, but on the way back I was able to sail at 4-5 knots for much of the way without paddling! In the afternoon I ran a sailing clinic, and we played around in the Sooke River as well as out in the basin. A nice day on the water finished with a great BBQ with club members at Sooke River Campground.

click to enlarge

17 km, YTD 402 km

May 8th - Sooke (#30)

Monica and I joined the SISKA relaxed paddle from Sooke River Campground (where we had held our second annual club campout). Conditions were nice and we were 17 paddlers. There was a bit of wind, but not enough to cause trouble.

11 km, YTD 359
I probably put a km or two in addition to the above while hunting ducks and running some paddling clinics at the campout...

photo by Liz Lilly (click to enlarge)

May 9 - SISKA Campout (#35 and 36)

Monica and I went to Sooke River Campground for the first annual (hopefully) SISKA campout. We camped at the edge of the river and spent Saturday and Sunday doing clinics and paddles and socializing. The weather was excellent and we had a great time. I also got to try stand up paddling! I also got to prcatice quite a few rolls!

 12 km, 6 NM, YTD 452

Jan 10th - Sooke Harbour and River (#5)

Monica and I went to Whiffen Spit where we joined Ken, David and Graham for a nice VSKN paddle through Sooke Harbour and then up the river a ways where we stopped for lunch at the second rapid. Conditions were decent with an ebbing tide all day so the ride back was fast! I was in the Tahe and Monica the F1 – light boats are great!

13 KM, 7 NM, YTD 65 km

Dec 17th - Cabin Point (#110)

Gordin, Dan, Dorothea and I set out from Gordin’s in-laws to paddle out and around the shores of East Sooke Park to Cabin Point and back. Conditions were good and I was glad I brought my sirocco and wooden GP as I was able to do a lot of playing in the rock gardens. We made good progress as winds and currents were light.

 wide view  closer view

16 km, 9 NM, YTD 1303 km

November 15th - SISKA paddle to Sooke Basin (#104)

I led a group of 11 paddlers on a paddle in Sooke Basin. Our original plan was to paddle outside to Cabin Point, but the winds were forecast to be in the 20 knot range, so I decided to paddle the basin. As it turned out the strong winds never materialized and we had a delightful paddle along the south shore of Sooke Basin from Whiffen Spit to Anderson Cove and back via the Goodridge Islets. There was a light drizzle, but not enough to dampen spirits. We also took a look at the burnt out hulk of the boat that has been in the basin for a couple of years now – what a mess of metal!

   The burnt out boat!

18.5 km, 10 NM, YTD 1225 km.

 BTW, on Saturday I went surfing at Jordan river and had a fun time in my surf boat… nice waves and no wind:

 this gives an idea of what it was like.