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.

Design, Set, Match

Kayak design has always been about small changes to traditional designs. But Alison spotted this article about Warren Light Craft and the introduction of racing hull design elements. Business Week magazine gave the design an IDEA (industrial design excellence award), but honestly? it might just be design wanking....

Cadboro Bay to Willows Beach

With our ducks all in a row, we head out.


Soon after launch, we are overflown by some geese. We expect that later we will be overflown by some snowbirds.


The plan is to put in at Cadboro Bay (A). From there we'll head out out along the south side of 10 Mile Point to Flower Island (B). Here we'll check the currents and see what's what. Eventually, we'll head south towards Willows Beach.


We start out with a large group: Alan, Louise, Bernie...
...Lenora, Paula and Dennis. And that's me taking the picture.


Ahead is Flower Island...

...where we stopped to check the lay of the land. Or the wave of the water, I guess.


We decided to head out to Jemmy Jones Island.

From Jemmy Jones Island (C), Bernie was hoping to continue straight out to the Chain Islands but the currents were fast and unpredictable today and many of us felt like we were getting in a little over our heads. And if you're getting in over your head in a kayak, that probably means that you're underwater. Never a good thing in a kayak.


So we regrouped....

...and headed back to shore to head south to Willows Beach.


Beautiful weather, not a cloud in the sky. Perfect bird-watching weather. I'm sure we'll see some.



We followed the shore around Cattle Point and put in at Willows Beach (D).


We didn't see any cows at Cattle Point, but we did see a couple of otters. They "otter" have named it Otter Point.


We put in on the beach. Dennis and Lenora returned to Cadboro Bay, and Alan had a brief stop on the beach, then he too returned to Cadboro Bay.


Mmmmm... food!


The beach is totally packed. Thousands of people. You'd think that there's gonna be some sort of airshow by the world-famous Snowbirds precision aerobatic team or something.


Bernie's figured out a perfect way to watch the Snowbirds.

No, wait. He's looking at this cool boat with "pedal-paddles."


Behind the tree on the right is Mary Tod Island. That's were we plan to put in and watch the show.


I've never seen Willows Beach this crowded... officials estimated that 30,000 people were on the shore. It's funny how police and officials always over-estimate crowds at conventional events like this, but usually under-estimate crowds at anti-war rallies and anti-globization marches. But I digress.


Here the Victoria Police chopper tries to get some boats out of the safety zone. Victoria has a police chopper? Who knew?

Here the Victoria Police Boat patrols the safety zone. Victoria has a police boat? Who knew?


We paddled out to Mary Tod Island (E). The red line turned out to be the Snowbirds' two solo pilots' flight path. They were flying right over our heads.


Here they come...








Back in the water for the paddle back to Cadboro Bay.


We're starting to understand all these nautical symbols. These one means "Warning: Red Triangles Ahead."


There were plenty of people enjoying a great day on the water, and in the sky. Another fun paddle is done.


My pictures are here.