April 7th - Cadboro Bay (#21)

I went for a morning "run" around the bay on the surf ski. Conditions were perfect and I had some good views of long-tailed ducks, rhinoceros auklets, pelagic cormorants, pigeon guillemots, black oystercatchers and more.

click to enlarge

8 km, YTD 109 km

April 6th - Cadboro Bay (#20)

Monica and I went for an afternoon paddle. Monica was in the F1 and I was in the Trident. We paddled most of the way to Cadboro Point before turning back and checking and retrieving the  traps. We had 6 nice legal crab between us which was very nice! We saw oystercatchers, rhinoceros auklets, harlequin ducks and I was able to make out Mt Rainier in the distance - just! We also saw a moving buoy which turned out to be a diver positioning a mooring! You can see where the traps were by the slow sections on the track where I was drifting!

click to enlarge

5 km, YTD 101 km

April 5th - Evans Rock and Loon bay (#s18&19)

I went out in the afternoon to check the crab traps (enough for dinner!) and went around Evans rock. there were a few black turnstones on Evans Rock which is the first time I have seen them this year. After I got back I decide to head out again for a SUP paddle and went over to Loon Bay. Conditions were nice for both paddles with a light(10-15 kph) northerly wind.

click to enlarge

6 km, YTD 96 km

April 3rd - Jemmy Jones (#17)

Pete and I went out for a paddle around the bay. We were able to keep a good distance from each other but still have an opportunity to chat and catch up. There was a fairly stiff SW wind which gave us a nice push over to Jemmy Jones, but slowed us down somewhat on the way back into the bay! This is quite visible on the track. It was great to chat and I hope we can get out again.

click to enlarge

7 km, YTD 90 km

April 2nd - Crabbing (#16)

I went out to check the crab traps. Kept 3 nice male Dungeness. Saw rhinoceros auklets and surf scoters. Chatted with dean on Caddy Boy again.

click to enlarge

3 km, YTD 83 km

April 1st - Cadboro Point (#15)

This afternoon I went out for a nice paddle to Cadboro Point. The tide was pretty low but it was nice and sunny with a cool north wind. On my way out I chatted with Dean on CaddyBoy who was out crabbing. On my way back I chatted with Leah and Morgan who were heading out on their paddle-boards. The usual birds were seen as well as a belted kingfisher.

click to enlarge

7 km, YTD 80 km

March 31st - Evans Rock (#14)

I went for an afternoon paddle to check the crab traps. One legal male Dungeness, which will make a nice meal for 2! The winds were not as bad as I expected and I saw a few other boats out. I like the trident for crabbing as it is pretty stable and fairly tough for getting back over the steps to the street!
I am seeing plenty of rhinoceros auklets around which is a good sign of spring!

click to enlarge

4 km, YTD 73 km

March 29th - Cadboro Bay (#13)

I went out for a short morning paddle. It was a bit windy, so I kept to the lee (SW) shore of the bay for much of the trip. I was able to keep my 2m distance pretty easily! You can see the difference the wind made to my paddling speed as I crossed the bay each way.

click to enlarge

6 km, YTD 69 km

March 25th - Jemmy Jones (#12)

I went out to check the traps with the trident (forgot to post this entry on the day!)

click to enlarge

5 km, YTD 63 km

March 21 - Cadboro Bay (#11)

I went t out to check the crab traps, but there were no keeper Dungeness crabs. Two keeper red rock which I let go and a female Dungeness.

click to enlarge

3 km, YTD 58 km.

March 21st - Oak Bay Marina (#10)

I decided to paddle south today and went over to Oak Bay marina. Lots of people out, but no crowds.

click to enlarge

9 km, YTD 55 km

March 20th - Cadboro bay (#9

I took the hobie i12s to drop off a couple of crab traps...

click to enlarge

3 km, YTD 46 km

March 19th - Cadboro Bay (#8)

Monica and I went out for a tootle around the bay. Ran into and had a chat with the McGees. Monica was testing out the hobie with the mirage drive.

click to enlarge

3 km, YTD 43 km

March 18th - Telegraph Bay (#7)

I decided to paddle the coast to the north for a change and went all the way to Telegraph and back. It was interesting to have seen river otters on yesterdays and today's paddles... I can see that paddling the F1 is noticeably slower than the surf ski!

click to enlarge

10 km, YTD 40 km

March 16th - Cadboro Bay (#6)

One day after I made it home from Antarctica... made it out for a paddle. Happy to be back on home waters again. Nice to see all the usual bird species as well as a few spring arrivals like long-tailed ducks. I am in two weeks of isolation so solo paddles for now....

click to enlarge

7 km, YTD 30 km