November 7th - Discovery island (#85)

Dan and I went for a morning paddle out of Caddy bay. The winds were light when we started out but started to build from the NW. Fortunately, the currents were not too strong. We managed to avoid the strongest winds by paddling up the east side of west Chatham and then crossing Baynes at the top. Ironically, Baynes, known for its rough water, was the calmest place as it was in the lee of Ten mile and Cadboro Points. We saw a couple of male California sea lions who swam beside us for a bit and I saw more long-tailed ducks (in addition to all the usual suspects! 😃 ) 

You can see by the colour of the track what a difference wind and current make to my speed.

I also returned home to great news from the US!

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16 km, YTD 734 km

November 6th - Chatham Island (#84)

I paddled out to Cadboro Point to join a Victoria sea kayakers meetup with Paulo, Lesley, Julia and Ellen for a paddle around Chatham Island. What a beautiful evening! Clear skies and a beautiful evening light. On my way to Cadboro Point I saw my first hooded mergansers in some time and then as we neared Chatham I saw my first long-tailed ducks of the season. We were also treated to great views of Mt Baker and also Mt Rainier in the distance.

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13 km, YTD 718 km

November 6th - Trial Island (#83)

I went to McNeill Bay to paddle with Pete around Trial Island and over to Gonzales Point. It was a beautiful day with sunshine and weak currents. the tide was high so it allowed us to explore "new water".

Lots of marbled murrelets, pigeon gullemots, surf scoters, double-crested and pelagic cormorants, harlequin ducks and Canada geese!

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7 km, YTD 712 km

November 4th - Discovery and Chatham Islands (#82)

I paddled out to Cadboro Point to meet Dan and Paulo for a morning paddle around the islands. We decided to go around counter-clockwise for a change and explored some of the lagoons since it was high tide. We were also able to take advantage of a strong ebb as we paddled southwards in Baynes! A colourful track! We saw a good number of the usual birds: surf scoter, harlequin duck, glaucous-winged gull, double-crested and pelagic cormorants, pacific loon, belted kingfisher, black turnstone, bald eagle, great blue heron, a western(?) grebe, common mergansers and Canada geese. Due to the explorations, I managed a few more km than usual. In the lagoon at the NE of Chatham, we ran into the Wednesday group and chatted a bit. I was able to return a paddle I was trying out! It was good to see the prickly pear cacti (Opuntia fragilis) are still around on the little island in the lagoon! Recent rains have washed off most of the gull droppings at Sea Bird point!

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18 km, YTD 705 km

November 1st - Discovery Island (#81)

I paddled out to Cadboro Point where I met Dan and Paulo for a paddle around the islands. It was a beautiful sunny morning with a strong ebb running when we started. By the time we were finished, it had weakened a lot. Nice view of Mt. Baker but a big cloud bank to the south blocking Mt. Rainier. You can see from the track plot that our speed crossing Baynes channel was much higher on the outward journey than the return. I also tested out a couple of Gearlab paddles. One was a shoulderless 215 cm one and the other a shouldered 220 cm. The result of the test: I much prefer the shouldered 220cm one.

We saw 6 Steller seal lions on the rock by Sea Bird point as well as hundreds of gulls. Most were glaucous-winged, but there were a handful of Heerman's gulls in the group. We also saw surf scoter, black turnstone, pelagic and double-crested cormorants, harlequin duck and Canada goose.

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16 km, YTD 687 km

October 26th - Discovery island (#80)

 I went for a nice paddle with my friend and also retired colleague Pete around the Islands. Conditions were pretty much ideal! Virtually no wind or current and you can see from the track we kept up a good pace. It was great to catch up with each other and share our joy in retirement! Freedom to fish and paddle! 😀 We saw lots of birds today: marbled murrelet, surf scoter, pelagic cormorant, bald eagles, black turnstone, surfbird?/rock sandpiper?, harlequin duck, black oystercatcher, pigeon guillemot, great blue heron and more. We also may have seen either long-tailed ducks or northern pintails, but I did not get a good enough look.

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15 km, YTD 671 km

October 25th - Cadboro and Oak Bays (#79)

I spent a nice day instructing a group of five SISKA paddlers in the rest of a Paddle Canada level 1 course. Conditions were good. calm in the morning, a little afternoon head wind to test peoples' forward stroke! Everyone seemed to pick up extra skills and we had a great day on the water. There were some nice birds seen: a bald eagle eating while being pestered by crows, a grebe, a black oystercatcher, some killdeer, some black turnstones, pelagic and double-crested cormorants, harlequin duck, mew and glaucous-winged gulls.

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10 km, YTD 656 km

October 24th - Cadboro Bay (#78)

I taught part of the Paddle Canada Level 1 class this afternoon in the corner of the bay. It was a tad windy today and we were lucky to find a bit of a lee in the corner! We did some strokes (sweep and draw) as well  as stopping and assisted and self rescues. Everyone did well! It was pretty chilly! Winter is coming! :)

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3 km, YTD 646 km

October 21st - Cadboro Bay (#77)

 I took the surfski out for an afternoon paddle around the bay. Conditions were nice and there was a decent ebb building in Baynes combined with a northerly wind. I saw a few nice birds: pelagic cormorant, mew gull, glaucous-winged gull, great blue heron, harlequin duck and bald eagle to name the ones I noticed!

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8 km, YTD 643 km

October 19th - Oak bay (#76)

I led a SISKA relaxed paddle to Oak Bay. There were 13 of us including two assistants (Tony and Dorothea). Winds were gentle as we wended our way over to Oak Bay, around the marina and then to Willows Park for a lunch break. Some of us made use of the tea house for hot drinks! The visibility was not great in the drizzle but good enough to see Chatham and Discovery Islands and the Oak bay Beach Hotel. We saw a nice selection of birds including black oystercatcher. mew and glaucous-winged gull, harlequin duck, and black turnstone.

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10 km, YTD 635 km

October 17th - Cadboro bay (#75)

 Jennie and I led two two-hour clinics, organized by Debbie, on edging and bracing for SISKA. We had good conditions though not so warm as it used to be! All participants made great progress in both edging and bracing. I saw some killdeer on the beach as well as flying over. It was nice to have been out paddling four times in seven days!

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4 km, YTD 625 km

October 15th -Discovery Island (#74)

I paddled out to Chatham by my self to join the "Thursday Group" for a paddle around the islands. They set out from Oak Bay Marina. It was great to catch up with several friends and share updates. On my way out, I could just make out Mt. Rainier in the distant SE. It looks as if there is still a bit of smoky haze in the air down there. Later in the day, after lunch, it was barely visible. I saw Cheryl on one of the Islets between Chatham and Discovery and we had a nice lunch break at Rudlin Bay. This was my third trip around the islands in a week! So different from yesterday due to the lack of wind. You can see from the track that I got a good boost from the flood current on my way back into the bay. I parted ways with the group at the western tip of Discovery as they were headed back to OBM. There were a good number of birds around today: marbled murrelet, pigeon guillemot (both in winter plumage), black oystercatcher, harlequin duck, great blue heron, bald eagle Canada goose and I heard a common loon as I was paddling over, lost in my thoughts! Another great day on the water!

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17 km, YTD 621 km

October 14th - Discovery Island (#73)

 Dan and I went for a morning paddle around the islands. It seemed as if there was going to be a bit of an ebb to start followed by a flood to finish, but it seemed like it was flooding all the time! also the wind was supposed to lessen over the morning but it built. all in all hard work heading around the south and west sides! You can see my speed was low on the south side!

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15 km, YTD 604 km

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