Feb 19th - Discovery (#14)

Paulo, Dan and I set out from Killarney Kayak Base for a paddle around Discovery. There was a reasonably strong cold northerly wind (steady around 25 kph and gusting to around 40 kph). The sun was shining brightly and we headed fairly straight for Commodore point on Discovery. A bit of current help and a few surfing waves made for a good speedy trip. Seabird point back to Chatham for lunch was a bit of a slog against the wind but the beach was sheltered, sunny and beautiful. We made our way across Baynes with a moderate flood pushing us towards Cadboro Point and a few fun waves. We ran into Patti and Yves again in the bay as they were practicing towing

15 km, YTD 197 km

February 13 - Margaret Bay (#13)

Dan, Dennis, Gordin and I set off for a morning paddle along the coast. We met up with Dave S and the VSKN paddle in Arbutus cove and paddled with them to Margaret's Bay. I had to get back by 1 PM so we paddled back fairly quickly. Fortunately we had an ebb current to help us.

18 km, YTD 182 km

Feb 12th - Chatham (#12)

Dan twisted my rubber arm and I decided to go for a short morning paddle so as to clear my head for grading and report writing - it sort of worked! Paulo, Dan and I set out from Killarney and paddled out to Chatham. We poked around islets and went through many normally impassable passages since the tide was high. We also went into Cactus Islet Inlet and checked out the cacti that still seem to be alive after their inundation by a winter king tide. We stopped by 10 mile point so that Dan could check out the seal on his new Tuilik by Comfort Paddling.
On our way in we ran into Daniel, Patti, Yves, Michel, James and Mac who were heading out to play in Baynes.
This was also the first time I had taken out the "new" Cape Falcon F1 that I had traded with Gerhardt for the Disko Bay. It's a bit bigger than my other one, but paddles nicely.

14 km, YTD 164 km

feb 7th - Baynes (#11)

I paddled out to Cadboro Point to meet Yves in the hope of having some nice waves there. The current was building and there was a stiff SW wind, but not too much action at the point. However we could see a line of waves stretching from Jemmy Jones Island to Chatham Island so we paddled over to Strongtide and then played in some very big green waves. The Delphin performed well and I had some great surf runs. It was hard work staying with the waves as the current was fast but it was fun and I returned exhausted! It was great to get out 4 days in a row!

11 km, YTD 150 km

Feb 6th - Discovery (#10)

George, Dan, Gordin, Paulo, Gerhardt and I set out from Killarney to paddle around Discovery. It was a grey misty moisty day. Gerhardt wanted to try the Disko Bay and I decided to paddle the Tahe. When we got out to Cadboro Point, we metu up with Patti and Yves who had been having a blast playing in the waves. We joined them for a while (I wished I had the Delphin today!) and then made our way over to the "sluice" by Vantreight. Nice currents. We then continued on around Discovery, had a nice lunch and carried on around Discovery. the wind picked up a bit during the afternoon. We stopped between cadboro pt and flower islet to do some rolling - Dan had to try his new Comfort Paddling Tuilik!

17 km, YTD 139 km

Feb 5th - Chatham Island (#9)

I paddled out to Cadboro Point where I joined Yves, Patti, Christian, Michel, Thomas and James for a paddle in Baynes Channel and over to Chatham. We were hoping for some waves, but there was just a steady current with a few small waves in Baynes. We then made our way over to "the sluice" where George joined us and we had fun surfing the rock and eddying in and out of the current. After playing for a while, Christian, George, Thomas and I set off for a paddle around Chatham. We had our eyes out for birds and Thomas had a great set of binos with him so we put together a pretty nice list (pelagic, brandt's and double-crested cormorants, belted kingfisher, harlequin, black scoter, bufflehead, hooded merganser, common megranser, canada goose, white-winged teal, american wigeon, dunlin, black turnstone, oystercatcher, bald eagle, great blue heron - I am sure I missed a couple)

14 km, YTD 122 KM

Feb 4th - Cadboro Point (#8)

Dan and I went over to Loon bay to do some rolling and then went over to Cadboro Point. It was the maiden voyage for the P&H Delphin and I was able to get it to hand roll on both sides after a couple tries. I need to make sure my techniques is on to make these work! After some rolling we went out to Cadboro Point and had a pretty good slog against the wind on the way back. The Delphin is definitely harder work to paddle in a wind. Hoping to try some waves tomorrow... It was also my first rolling session since the shoulder injury - glad to see that things still work!

7 KM, 4 NM, YTD 108 km

Your Truly featured on SeaKayakPodcasts.com

Simon Willis of SeaKayakPodcasts.com has just posted an interview with me about paddling in the Vancouver Island area... WE chatted over Skype earlier this month and he has just finished the edits. 28 minutes...

Jan 29 and 30 - Discovery Island Camping (#6 & 7)

Dennis, Sue, John, Heike, Paulo Dan and I went over to Discovery for a weekend camp trip. George joined us for a day trip over to Rudlin Bay. Conditions were warm and calm on the way over. When we arrived there were mosquitoes about and biting! Victoria in winter!? I took the kayak kaboose over on its first real test voyage which allowed me to camp out of the Tahe Greenland! It performed well once I adjusted the weight distribution. With 70 lbs or so in it it was noticeable to pull, but not too bad - especially since my shoulder was not yet at 100%. After setting up camp, we went for a short paddle around Discovery. While over there we ran into Andrew and Jennifer. We had a bit of drizzle now and again during the day and it set in a bit more strongly during the evening. Overnight the wind picked up and things cooled down to around 2 deg C. I was sleeping in my Hennessey Hammock but was too lazy to put the undercover on before going to bed. I rectified that mistake in the middle of the cold night and then proceeded to have a good sleep! As you can see from my track, the batteries ran out on my GPS 1 km before finishing. Once again, my Comfort Paddling Tuilik worked very well and was practical on the water and on land.

click to enlarge

2011-01-30_discoverycamping 22 km, 12 NM, YTD 101 km

no paddling this w/e...

MJ wrenched his shoulder a bit last weekend and it is still pretty sore :(
... so no paddling this weekend. Hope it is better for camping next weekend!

Jan 16th - Trial Island (#5)

Craig and I escaped out for a second time this weekend. This time we followed the coast down to Trial Island and back - I had to be back early... We were graced by magnificent rainbows and many kinds of seabirds. Another nice day on the water!

15 km, 8 NM, YTD 79 km

Jan 15th - Oak Bay (#4)

Craig, George, Paulo, Dennis and I went for a 20 km paddle around Chatham and Discovery Islands and then over to Oak Bay. George had to split off at Griffin Islet to get home early and the rest of us went around Discovery. We decided to head through the Chain group and Oak Bay Marina and then over to Cattle Point. At Cattle Point we decided to see if we could turn the remaining 2 km into 4 km and proceeded to noodle our way back to Killarney, almost exactly doubling the distance.
Once again I was very comfortable paddling my Tahe Greenland with my Comfort Paddling Tuilik

today's track - click to enlarge

20 km, 11 NM, YTD 64 km

Jan 9th - Chatham Island (#3)

Dan, Dennis, George, Gordin, Paulo, Craig and I set out early from Killarney to go out around Chatham. It was fairly breezy (30 to 50 kph at ten mile point) and a strong ebb running. We made our way over to Chatham in bumpy water and then had to work hard to make our way up through the sluice. We went around to Puget Cove and into cactus islet inlet and stopped for a break. It was a bit of a slog coming back across Baynes Channel, but a good work out was had by all! It was good to see Craig out after over a year without paddling. Dan and I will be in the pool tonight to practice teaching Greenland rolling.

13 km, 7 NM, YTD 44 km.

Jan 2nd - Discovery Island (#2)

Dennis, Paulo and I set out on a frosty morning to paddle around Discovery. There was frost on the ground as we started (and still when we got back in shady spots!) and a brisk north wind (10-15 kts). My MEC Hot Mitts definitely work well and I was very comfy in my Kokatat bib pants and Comfort Paddling tuilik. There was very little swell and the south side of Discovery was very nice in the sun. We then made our way through the Chain Islets (looking unsuccessfully for the sunken sailboat) and then over to Cattle Point via the Lewis, Fiddle and Tod markers. We ran into Duncan and Jennie in the Naze and paused to chat with some sailboaters at RVYC.

click to enlarge

16 km, 8 NM, YTD 31 km.

Jan 1st 2011 - Chatham Island (#1)

John, Roy, Dorothea, George and I set out from Killarney for a New Year's Day paddle - what a wonderful day it was! It was sunny and calm and not as cold as I thought it would be! Just as we were leaving I saw John and Paula of KayakYak returning from their first paddle of the year - beat me to it! We made our way out to Cadboro Point and then over to Chatham island. The tide was high enough to get into the inlet by Puget Cove and check out the islet with the tiny prickly pear cacti (which looked as if they had recently been under water - hope they survive!). After that we went around to the south side of Chatham for lunch - it was a magnificent spot and time - sunny, no wind and a view of Mt Baker.
On our way back were able to poke our boats into many little nooks and crannies that are only accessible at high tide and then went over to Cattle Point and along the shore via the yacht club.

I think that today may be the day I have seen the most paddlers in Cadboro Bay - there were at least six different groups out there taking advantage of the holiday and magnificent conditions. What a great way to start the year's paddling!

today's track, click to enlarge

close up of the Chatham area - noodling along

15 km, 8 NM, YTD 15 km