October 11th - Discovery island (#72)

 I paddled out to Cadboro Point where I met Dan and Paulo (with his new to him, Greenlander Pro!). The flood had started and was going to max around 0930 and the winds were predicted to rise by noon or so. We fortunately avoided having to paddle into much wind and current and got a pretty good assist on the way back. The track plot shows this pretty nicely. There was a nice big Steller sea lion on the rock by Seabird point. Definitely fall conditions and no longer summer! :(

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15 km, YTD 589 km

October 5th - Cadboro bay (#71)

 I went for a quick afternoon paddle to drop off some freezer burnt crab bait into the ocean! It was nice to see how quick it was to decide to go for a paddle on the board, go and come back! 

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1 km, YTD 574 km

September 30th - Discovery Island (#70)

 I joined the "Wednesday group" for their paddle out and around the islands. Conditions were great, we saw a nice number of local shore and sea birds. Thanks Lynn for organizing! A bit longer than my usual due to some nice meanderings! The chain Islets were a tad smelly due to the guano! It was great to get out for a longer paddle after several weeks away on debris cleanup.

19 km, YTD 573 km

September 18th - Kitasu Bay (#68&69)

 I was able to get out for a couple of paddles in Kitasu bay as we were waiting for the helicopter to start our lifting operations as part of the #BCCoastalCleanup. The first paddle was a series of errands, checking in with other boats in the fleet and sharing data. I also went out to the tugboat to share data with them. The second one was a pleasure paddle, which started off well since I saw a Mola Mola almost as soon as I started paddling!

My second, pleasure paddle (3 km)

The first "work" paddle (5 km)

8 km, YTD 554 KM

August 14th - Discovery island (#67)

Dan and I went for an early morning paddle around the islands. Conditions were superb with no wind and glassy seas. The currents were basically with us the whole time so we were able to maintian a good pace throughout the paddle. 2hrs 15mins only, beach to beach. We saw murrlets, oystercatchers, guillemots and auklets to name a few.

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15 km, YTD 546 km

August 11th - Oak Bay (#66)

 I led a SISKA "light" paddle from Caddy Bay to Oak bay and back. There were four of us which made for a nice tight group and we noodled our way along the shore. fog came down around Cattle Point and stayed with us until after lunch. We saw black oystercatchers, greater yelowlegs, black turnstones, glaucous gulls, mew gulls, rhinoceros auklets as well as several harbour seals and a river otter. After the group paddle I did a quick run over to RVYC to check on my dinghy. There is a Hallmark movie being filmed at the club today!

13 km, YTD 544 km

August 8th - SISKA paddle around Discovery (#65)

 Today I led a SISKA paddle out and around the Islands. There were 22 of us in four separate groups each with their own leader (thanks to Tony, Edgar and Roger). Conditions were fabulous for this paddle as there was virtually no wind. There was a bit of an ebb running but not so much as to make it difficult. We saw lots of seals (many making funny noises!) as well as quite a few bald eagles. We had a nice lunch in Rudlin Bay on Discovery Island and were all back by 2:15.

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16 km, YTD 531 km

August 3rd - Cadboro Bay (#64)

I went out for a quick spin around the bay before lunch. The surfski is definitely a fast kayak! Lots of people out on the water for this holiday Monday! Looking back from Cadboro Point it is nice to see Oak and Cadboro bays out in front of me all the way down to the Oak bay Beach Hotel and Gonzales Point.

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8 km, YTD 515 km

August 1st - Cadboro bay (#63)

I went for an after dinner SUP paddle along the south shore of Caddy bay. This was to avoid the SW wind. It was very peaceful with few other boaters out. I saw several great blue herons feeding, belted kingfishers, river otters, a ruddy turnstone, Canada geese, and some unidentified shorebirds... I also checked out a few boats at the yacht club!

my track 

4 km, YTD 507 km

July 27th - Cadboro Bay (#62)

I went for a nice short evening paddle. Sunny and calm with good views of Mt. Baker but not Mt. Rainier. A few other paddlers out - mostly SUPers. made it to 500 km! :)

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6 km, YTD 503 km

July 21st - Flower Island (#61)

I went for an evening paddle around the bay on the surfski. It was a bit windy and I wanted to check if the seal pup was around. I chatted with my friends who had seen it on their beach, but it was gone this morning... who knows where. You can see that the SW wind slowed me down a lot crossing the bay from Flower ti "Island 7". I saw a few pigeon guillemots feeding in the bay.

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6 km, YTD 497 km

July 20th - Cadboro Bay (#60)

I went for a mid-afternoon paddle since it was so warm in the house. It was noticeably cooler out on the water. I could see Mt. Rainier and Mt. Baker nicely and I also saw several great blue herons and a black oystercatcher. Stopped along the Ten Mile Point shoreline to chat with a few friends and encountered the cutest baby seal (still had its umbilical visible) - which may have lost it mother... :(

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8 km, YTD 491 km - should make 500 on the next paddle...

July 19th - Gordon river/Port Renfrew (#59)

I went for a morning paddle in the inflatable Scamper to check out the channel at low tide. There was less than six inches of water in the main channel, so no heading out at that time in the C-dory! Lots of bald eagles about as well as one turkey vulture. It was nice to be out in the quiet misty morning. I also paddled around the marina to check out all the other boats! My track is shown aout 20 ft to the east of where it should be on the image - I did not padle through docks!

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4 km, YTD 483 km

July 10th - Cadboro Bay SUP (#58)

I went out a second time today, this time for a lesson from Sam at Gyro Beach Board Shop on paddling a SUP. She gave me a bunch of good pointers and I was definitely paddling more efficiently and straighter by the end. SUPing is growing on me!

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5 km, YTD 470 km

July 10th - Cadboro Bay (#57)

I went for a nice morning paddle around the bay on the surfski. There was a bit of wind from the S but not too much - overcast sky. Tide was medium-high and not too much current. I saw several black oystercatchers calling and flying around between Cattle Point and Jemmy Jones.

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8km, YTD 474 km