Thursday's Paddle

Heading west to where the river opens wide.

For weeks I've been anticipating a paddle with a group of local paddlers. Their standing date of Thursday afternoons has been rained out three weeks running. I was excited to be joining them yesterday. We paddled west out of the city, further than I'd ever been. In an hour, we'd paddled a distance that equals a ten-minute drive. The river opens up at this point. Much wider than I'm used to seeing.

A quiet bay begins with this great lighthouse.

Just when you think you're going to have to deal with open water - chop, wind and fast boat traffic, there's a little bay on the north shore that shelters a tiny group of islands. As you get into the shallows, you find yourself directly over a shipwreck. The skeleton of the boat is covered in seaweed. It was much larger than I thought it would have been for something sunk in such a shallow spot.

Molly's Gut Shipwreck

When you're out on the river in the afternoons, there's a good amount of traffic. When you pair the first sunny afternoon with a month of rain and wind, there's a lot of traffic. Some you might not expect. A small plane did a fly-over directly over top of our group of 5 paddlers. It flew around the island we were approaching and then looped around. We soon discovered it was preparing to land directly ahead of us. It passed overhead once more - this time much lower than before - at treetop level.

The plane takes off overhead as we had back to town.

It's times like this that I realize the importance of travelling in a group of paddlers. We're much more visible when we're in a group. As a rookie paddler, I really appreciated the more experienced paddlers. It's fine to skirt the islands or the shoreline and putter about, but there are the world's largest fresh-water shipping channel, tour boat routes, the yacht club's sailing races, the wake boarding club boats to negotiate as well as numerous personal watercraft, fishing boats and motor boat traffic to watch for. The channel and the islands make for some interesting current patterns as well. Calm looking water is not always as it seems.

I believe the paddle was about 6.5km (4 miles) in total. A really good, long, interesting time. I met some new people, learned lots and got to know my boat a little better. Hopefully next week is as enjoyable.

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Last Week's Paddle

Last week I ventured out on my own, but with a mission.

You see, the week before last, I had ventured out on a beautiful, sunny afternoon. It was quiet on the river and I puttered around a few of the more immediate islands, just checking things out. I was treated to seeing a North American River Otter pop up out of the water with his dinner - a wee flapping fish - which he proceeded to eat.

As I was heading back to shore, I met up with a group of kayakers just heading out on their paddle. I was invited along and quickly introduced to their group - a casual bunch of people with a standing date for an afternoon leisure paddle. Perhaps I could join them next week?

So, last week's mission was to meet up with these people to enjoy a paddle with them.

I parked in my usual spot - not the group's meeting spot - and put in on my own. Since I nearly grew a hernia last week, trying to look all capable and kayak-ish while carrying my kayak and gear 50m ot the dock, I thought this might be the week to try out my wheels. They work really well.

I caught up with the tail end of the kayak group and had a chat with 'Ron'. Being from a small town, conversation concentrated on placing ourselves. Soon we found our six degrees of separation: Ron's wife had been going to my dad's now-closed shop for car maintenance for years. I had married my husband, who, with his brother, had belonged to Ron's scout troupe for a number of years. We small town people are so much more comfortable once we understand our respective places in the community. <insert eyeroll here>

I was looking for a bit of exercise on this particular paddle, so I spent the next half hour catching up with the leaders of the group. I spent a quarter of an hour with them before turning back. It was a vigorous paddle back. Thank goodness for my little kayak wheels because there was no way my rubbery arms were going to carry anything back to the car.

I'm so impressed that I can load and unload onto the car on my own. I'm still a little nervous about tying down properly so I'm a bit of a cautious driver with the kayak on the car top. I have Mr. B check my tie-downs before leaving home. It's quite easy to tip the nose of the kayak onto the top of the car, grab the stern handle and slide it up onto the foam blocks on the roof rack.

This week I'm getting ready for a more leisurely paddle. It's drizzling and overcast, but I won't melt. I hope to have my dad join me. He and 'Ron' will get on very well, me thinks.

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Pulling The Plug

Today I wimped out.

Today I got up looking forward to a nice, relaxing kayak with my Dad. Envision this: a quiet paddle in a local conservation area among the cattails and shallow water, watching out for geese and goslings and perhaps an osprey.

Today I went to the garage to pack up my boating things and discovered how cold it was. Long sleeves, a heavy hoodie and a windbreaker later, I was the picture of Canadian layering. I loaded the car.

We arrived at the muddy little parking lot and checked out the muddy little path that was the boat launch. More noticeable than the mud was the wind. The baby geese were paddling in to the West wind for all they were worth and they were doing a poor job of holding their positions. Even the waves weren't waves - more like the top 6 inches of water were just skidding East. Quickly. Forcefully.

That was when I wimped out. Dad and I drove back home and I made waffles. In my defence, I did leave the boat on the car (tie-downs loose and locked to the roof rack) in case the wind quit. But the wind never quit. So I didn't go out.

I had really wanted to go kayaking. But I pulled the plug on our adventure. I should have been happy with my decision. But it bothered me all day.

This evening, my Dad called. It seems he had returned home after waffles this morning and put his boat away. And there, sitting there waiting for him, were the plugs he had removed from his kayak the last time he unloaded. Had he put his kayak in the water this morning, he would have been very wet and mostly submerged very shortly after putting in.

Sometimes it's funny the way things just work out for the best.

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First Paddle

After puttering about the waterfront yesterday, I was all jazzed up to get out to enjoy a real paddle in my new 'yak.

Yes, I took the camera. I even stowed it in the handy-dandy day hatch - that little round hole in the deck that I can reach if I bend around backward in the seat. As it turns out, there wasn't really a great time to pull it out.

Home of the new kayak. Decorating rights and floor space not included.

My sister and I headed down to the river after dinner, about 6:30ish. Sister had been down to check out the water earlier in the day and she assured me it was 'calm'. I should have guessed otherwise when I saw the giant trio of kites in the distance as we drove. The clincher was all the sailboats out practicing their manoeuvers.

We put in anyway and fought the wind and waves upriver for a good half hour. I am happy to report that the few adjustments I had made to the seat and foot pedals made all the difference in the world. I was able to focus on getting a good paddle stroke - very important in making progress against the chop and wind.

Soon enough the wind died down. The sailboats went in to their docks and we had an easier time of making our way upriver. I figure we went about 3.5km before turning around. The paddle back was interesting. With the river that much calmer, Sister is able to go that much faster in her boat. So although there was less wind and wave resistance, I was forced to paddle at a very steady pace to keep up.

I decided to put the rudder down to see how it worked. Ok, really, I needed a bit of a break and was being lazy. But I was tired and I'm out of shape. I thought it would be tougher to keep a good position in the boat what with my feet using my foot pedals to steer. Not so. These designers really know what they're doing. So if you think it's weird that the pedals you use to keep yourself propped up in the seat are the very same ones that are used to direct your course, don't knock it until you try it. I played with the rudder all the way back to our starting point.

Checking the fit. There's a weather-safe hatch for little things and a cup holder in the seat. Sweet.

All in all, a good paddle. I was very happy. Happy about the boat; happy about being comfortable; happy to be on the river; happy that we braved the weather; happy that I could keep up with my sister (she gets to paddle with two long oars); happy that the kayak didn't fly off the car into traffic the first time I loaded it without Mr. B to help.

We loaded both boats back onto our respective vehicles without incident. We were fairly impressed that from dock to departure it only took us 10 minutes. Impressive for a pair of rookies without our men-folk to help.

I probably won't get out in the kayak again until the weekend. I will scope out a new spot - a giant pond - for my next outing. Instead of an invigorating paddle, it will be more along the lines of a 'nature hike' with plenty of opportunity for pictures.

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Maiden Voyage

My long-awaited acquisition: Pelican Elite Strait 140 XE

Well, won't this be a whole new adventure?! Outfitted in a great boat - very nearly new - with a literal boatload of new gear, I put in for the first time. I had a little help from The Boy and The Girl, while The Husband manned the camera.

I really hope the skirt doesn't fly off while I fiddle with this stuff.

Besides the fact that I'm a complete rookie and could very easily get myself in over my head (literally), there are a great many new things to get used to: the new seat (very comfortable), the rudder/foot pedal system (needs adjusting), the splash skirt (takes two hands, two elbows, luck, planetary alignment and some teeth-gritting to get on), the PFD (not designed for kayaking and therefore a tad cumbersome and uncomfortable) and a gorgeous paddle (safely leashed to the deck rigging).

I have no clue what I"m doing, but it sure feels good!

Nothing adventurous for my maiden voyage. I knew the new kayak would be a bit 'tippier' than the shorter, recreational kayak I'd been paddling in recently. I hadn't counted on how smooth and easy it would paddle. There is very little resistance. I could very easily get used to this boat.

How cool is it that it's mine?!

Off I went along the shoreline while my entourage eventually headed off to the playground. The river was busy with late afternoon traffic. The rowers were out in their shells; crash boats alongside. Lots of people enjoying the waterfront. I think I like less of an audience. However, if I had watched myself getting in to the kayak, I would have been watching myself to see when I was going to flip it. Small Town entertainment at it's best.

Have I mentioned how much I love this river?!

After an hour, I decided I could really enjoy getting to know this boat. Some adjustments are needed, some technique is needed, but overall, I'm so happy I waited for this boat to come along. It's funny how you're often sent just the thing you need.

One successful maiden voyage down, a summer full of voyages ahead. Not unlike the new blog. First blog down, many more to go. I'm excited to see what directions this new blog will take. As the days pass, I'm sure the story of the new blog will be revealed. I'm looking forward to exploring new parts of the blogging world - hopefully with a few old friends.

Please let me know you've stopped in. My email's up there on the left.

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