The year in review

I had another great year of paddling though I did not make either of my "goals" (100 paddles and/or 1000 km) due to some tendinitis in my elbow during the last month or so. That said, I was able to paddle in Galapagos, Ireland, Scotland, Washington State and Iceland as well as the west coast of BC. Looking forward to the 10th year of my paddling blog. I made it over 10,000 km since I started blogging - a quarter of the way around the world!
Thanks to all my paddling partners for making it a fun year of paddling!

Year/Paddles/Distance (km)
2014 98   911
2013 92 1063
2012 87 1001
2011 105 1217
2010 124 1214
2009 116 1381
2008 75 1080
2007 66 1098
2006 77 1273
Total 840 10238

December 28th - Cadboro Bay (#98)

I decided to go for a short afternoon paddle to see how the elbow tendinitis was faring with paddling. The upshot is that I can still feel it but it isn't getting any worse (or better?). Conditions were good. I discovered that the back way through RVYC is now closed off at lower tides ( less than 7 ft?)

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5 km, YTD 911 km

December 17th - Buccaneer Cove, Santiago Island (#97)

I managed to get out for another paddle at Buccaneer Cove, Santiago (James) Island. Again, exploring the shoreline by kayak was fun, though the distance covered was not great. We were able to explore the inside of a neat cave as well. I wish I could paddle around an entire island or two in the archipelago!

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3 km, YTD 906 km

December 16th - Tagus Cove, Galapagos (#96)

I went for a paddle along the shore of Tagus Cove, Isabela Island. Kayaking along the shores of these islands gives a great perspective on intertidal life, as well as Galapagos penguins and flightless cormorants. We followed this with a snorkel and then a hike up to the top of Tagus cone.

close up of route - click to enlarge

Zoomed out to see Tagus and beagle craters - click to enlarge

3 km, YTD 903 km

December 6th - Cattle Point (#95)

I joined 16 other SISKA paddlers for a short morning paddle out to Cattle Point before the Christmas party at the Royal Victoria Yacht Club. Though it was raining a bit when we started, this dried up and we had a great little paddle in nice calm conditions. The party afterwards was also great! The tide was quite high allowing us to sneak around various rocks and islets, making for an interesting paddle.

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6 km, YTD 900 km

I have been having some tendinitis in my left elbow and have not been paddling as far or as often in the past few weeks. Though I will likely make 100 paddles in the year, I am not sure about making it to 1000 km this year! :(

November 28th - Fulford Reef whale (#94)

Dan and I went for an afternoon paddle out to Chatham Island. When we were at the top of Strongtide island, I saw a whale spouting out past the Fulford Reef buoy, so we paused to watch. eventually we saw that it was quite near Fulford reef and paddled out towards it. As we got closer, it became apparent that it was a gray whale (which I thought migrated away from this area over the winter?). We got close enough that we could clearly see that it had no dorsal fin and a very blotchy gray body. There was a sea lion sleeping on the buoy, a California sea lion came close while we were north of Chatham Island and then we saw some Steller sea lions in Baynes as we went back across. As well as all the marine mammals, we saw several mergansers, murres, and murrelets. A wonderful way to spend Friday afternoon. No wind to speak of and no rain and no complaints!

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11 km, YTD 984 km

November 22nd - cattle Point (#93)

I went for a short morning paddle before heading up to Campbell River this aft. I decided to give the new P&H Hammer a test drive/maiden voyage and had a nice cruise along the Cadboro bay shoreline. Nice views of otters, oystercatchers, beached sailboats!, and more.
I have not paddled as much as usual the last few weeks since I tweaked my left elbow a bit. Trying to give it a bit of rest...
The Hammer paddles nicely and tracks decently with the skeg down. Flatwater paddling are not supposed to be the boats forte!

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5 km, YTD 883 km

November 9&10 - Surge Narrows (#s 91& 92)

George and I went up to Campbell River on Saturday evening to visit Alan and then we went to Surge Narrows for two days in a row. The wave was very nice both days, but it was best (and least crowded!) on Monday. I borrowed Jeff's P&H Hammer which performed wonderfully on the wave... I may have to swap out my Delphin! I had one good swim on Sunday and found myself in a whirlpool which felt a bit weird! Fortunately JF pulled me out!

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11 km, YTD 878 km

November 1st - Cadboro Bay (#90)

I went for a solo afternoon paddle around the bay as it was still sunny and fairly calm and I needed some fresh air! Lots of sailboats out and I saw a family of river otters out by Cadboro Point. It s still feasible to get around the RVYC docks, though I can see it will be tight at low tide!

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7 km, YTD 867 km

October 26th - Jemmy Jones Island (#89)

After the sun came out, I went for an afternoon row with the Oarboard and the Starboard touring SUP. It was a gorgeous afternoon on flat water. I saw a few kayakers out as well as a few SUPers. I also ran into Dylan who was trying to make his 49er move in minimal wind!

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6 km, YTD 860 km

October 25th - Chemainus River (#88)

I joined a SMUS river paddling day and paddled the Chemainus river down to the highway bridge. It has been a while since I have paddled rivers, so it was good to get back in the river boat (Necky Jive). Once capsize and roll and no swims! I need to reseal the fin slots as I was taking on some water...

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6 km, YTD 854

October 16th - Discovery Island (#87)

Dan and I went for a quick morning paddle around Discovery since I had a free morning. We were able to set and maintain a good pace of 7 kph (3.8 kt) throughout the 14.3 km trip. The weather was calm and clear but fall has definitely come and I was wearing fleece under my tuilik! I was also surprised at how straight our track back was, suggesting that the current had dropped by the time we started to cross Baynes.

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14 km, YTD 848 km

October 9th - Discovery Island (#86)

Dan and I went for an afternoon paddle around Discovery. Conditions were sunny and calm but the fog came in soon after we reached Jemmy Jones and then again on the south side of Discovery until we reached home! Happy to have the GPS with me! I was wearing a Reed  tuilik for the paddle and finished the afternoon with a few rolls in the fog! A small amount leakage around the face and wrists I think, but pretty comfortable to paddle in.

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15 km, YTD 834 km

October 2nd- Caddy Bay (#85)

Jenny and I went for a late afternoon paddle on the boards out to the yacht club and then over and around Flower Island and back. We went at a very leisurely pace and enjoyed a peaceful paddle with seals and birds all around.  No track image as I did not bring the GPS!
3 km, YTD 819 km

September 27th - Discovery Island (#84)

Dan, Paulo and I went out for a morning paddle around Discovery. There was a good ebb building and we looked for the sea otter at Cadboro Point. On our way back, the fog came down so we navigated across Baynes with a strong ebb current using GPS. Seemed to work quite well.

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16 km, YTD 816 km