Witty's Lagoon

A few times this summer I've mentioned how we've got "beautiful weather" or it's a "gorgeous day for paddling" yadda yadda yadda. But today really was. The sun was shining, the water calm and flat. We put in at Albert Head Park. We were going to paddle around Albert Head and into Witty's Lagoon.


With a 21 honk salute, we were off.


Ahead is Albert Head.


Paula and Alan take the lead...

...then Alison rounds the point...

...while Louise has caught up to Paula.


That's an encouraging sign.


Around the point we got into some open water with some small but gentle swells.


We arrive at Witty's Lagoon.

Unfortunately the tide is heading out and we couldn't go very far up the river...

...so we put ashore...

...and had some food.


There were a few herons today, but they were a little camera-shy.



After lunch, we headed back, but we went through the rocks along the shore. There were seals everywhere.





But alas, soon it was time to move on.


Mt. Baker rises behind Victoria.


We head back around Albert Head.


We were only out for three hours (including lunch!), but it felt like all day. We all felt that this had been one of our best paddles ever. We explored a great new area, and had an amazing time! We will come back here!


My pictures are here.

Alternate view of our local paddle spots

I've had occasion to take the float-plane from Victoria to Vancouver a couple of times in the last month, which carried me very low, by air, over some of our frequent paddle spots: the Victoria Harbor and lower and upper Gorge, Willows Beach, Cadboro Bay, Telegraph Bay, James Bay, and just off Sydney, and Elk-Beaver Lakes. So I present an alternate view. But since I've had it with the utter lack of control over Blogger's layout, and the hauling, reefing and hacking I have to do to get photos where I want them, I've put it all on a separate page.

Cadboro Bay (2)

So a Sunday evening and bored friends---what to do, what to do? Wait! There's three people and three kayaks! So Marlene, Pebbles and I went out for an evening paddle. Both Pebbles and Marlene are newbies, so we didn't go far or do anything really exciting, but we did meet the woman who tends the Buddha's garden. She was pleased to know that he is visited each time we paddle the bay.
Also got a chance to try towing the skeddadle inflatable with a person in it; not something I'd recommend as a regular thing, but not too bad. A central towing point in line with the centre of the boat would have helped though.
And we got back to shore just as the sun sank behind the hills and the shadows stretched out over the water. A beautiful evening and a lot of fun.

Cadboro Bay 2

Besides John's usual beautiful photos of our paddle below....we ended the day cleaning the boats and equipment as we usually do.
John drove me back to my place and on the way we saw a Yard Sale sign.
And my now honed kayak eyesight spotted....dry bags!!....we bagged two for $12.00.
Nice end to a extra long weekend...
Oh, and go to the Urban Dictionary and search for "kayak yak."

Caddy Bay Paddle

As our main plan fizzled for various reasons, we found ourselves at Plan B: Cadboro Bay. Louise heads out...

... followed by Paula...

...and Bernie.


I, of course, was the most photogenic.


Here are some Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) and a Canadian Bernie (Canuckus bernibus).



We didn't stay out long today, but while we headed back...

...I found a heron who insisted on posing for me.






My photo's are here.

Mid-Week Paddle

Last night Louise and I were joined for a mid-week paddle at Elk Lake by her brother Garnon...

...and sister-in-law Isabelle.


You can see how small their inflatable Skedaddles are compared to Louise's Delta. Mind you, they turn on a dime and give six cents change.


They live on Coles Bay and wanted something to paddle in the bay. They ended up buying a pair of Skedaddles just like Paula's (see here).


So we headed down the lake looking for nature and found some. I think this is the same heron we saw here last month. It's in exactly the same spot.


Time to head back. Garnon spent the return trip talking to himself, something about trying to figure whether they would do a lot of paddling if they got better kayaks. Have two more come over to the Dark Side? Only time will tell!



Paddling into the sunset.


My photos are here.

Look -- It's Me! In a Kayak!

There aren't many pictures of me in kayak, since I'm the one with a camera. But this picture was taken by a work buddy who also happened to be on the water watching the Snowbirds a couple of weeks ago.

Willows Beach Seal Hunt

Another gorgeous day here on the We(s)t Coast. We're here again at Willows Beach. It's a far cry from the 30,000 people that were here last weekend to see the Snowbirds, but it was just perfect for a paddle.


A small crew today, just Bernie, Louise and myself. Paula had put in at Cadboro Bay and was rounding Cattle Point to meet us...

...and there she is!


We were going to paddle out through the Chain Islands and maybe head south a bit but there was a strong southerly current so we didn't go out as far as some of us would have liked. But we did see some seals!


There were lots of boats out on the water today.


Ah, I see Guido is putting the finishing touches on my small guest house.


Paula gets a piece of the rock.


Look -- more seals! Louise floats by...

...and so does Bernie.


There were lots of seals sharing this rock.


Time to head back.




Mmmm... sustenance.


My pictures are here.