Windy on the Willows

Time to test some new gear. This is a Sticky Pod, a suction cup camera mount. It's meant for cars, but it'll work just as well on a kayak. The idea here was to set my camera to interval shooting, a picture every twenty seconds.


Here is the Sticky Pod in action. Louise, Paula and I headed out for a little paddle around Willows Beach. It started out nice, but turned windy and choppy. Louise had a sore arm (ha! finally some one else has a sore arm!), so we didn't stay out long.


Here's the picture it took.


It took about 160 pictures. Most of them looked like this.


... but I did get a few nice shots.



Mind you, because the weather turned rough, about 100 of the pictures have big water spots on them and look like this.


Then again, it's a pretty cool effect. (For some reason I suddenly have the urge to get mellow and listen to Dark Side of the Moon.)


But we still had a good paddle!


My pictures are here.

The Long Recovery Week 23

Okay, here we go - the first bike ride in 160 days!

I survived!

The Long Recovery Week 22

Today was another Doctor appointment. My surgeon wanted another look-see.
After I stretched and move my arm and shoulder around, he said he was very pleased with my recovery. So pleased in fact that he doesn't want to see me again.
He said that I will probably never get full range back, especially when reaching straight up over my head. But the mobility that I have now is more than adequate to be described as functional. And as long as I use it, it will keep getting better, so working and stretching are still the keys.
He said that I had sustained a lot of damage and scarring, but he was quite happy with my recovery.
And so am I, of course. I thanked him, and left the hospital. Five months ago, my arm and shoulder were shattered. Now my arm works. What more can I ask for?

Breakfast, Anyone?

Sunday's paddle was an example of great minds thinking alike. And yes, even though the minds in question were Bernie's and mine, it still all worked out okay in the end.
Bernie suggested a paddle at Thetis Lake and further suggested that we arrive an hour earlier than our usual meeting time of 9:00 am. His thought was that if we met at 8:00 am, we should get good parking spots and avoid all the early morning Sunday dog walkers.
I countered that we could meet at 8:00 am, but we didn't have to launch right away... we could have breakfast on the shore.
And thus was born The Breakfast Paddle.


Bernie make fire.... and food.


After a yummy breakfast of poached eggs, lamb sausage, and wraps, we napped for an hour. Well, no, not really. But we did get into a discussion of water bottles and we soon discovered that between the five of us, we had nine bottles. Clearly, we're a bunch of heavy drinkers. Nine water bottles? For Thetis Lake?? Louise and I only had one each, so between Paula, Bernie and Alison, they averaged two and a third bottles each. I know it pays to be prepared but this is ridiculous!


On the other hand, we are a bunch of gearheads.


And away we go.


Not much in the way of wildlife today...


...but it sure is pretty.


A nice day to just float and see where you end up.


Mind you, you have to give The Killer Goose plenty of room.


And then the rain came!


Time to head back -- quickly!


My pictures are here.

Cadboro Bay - The Eagles Have Landed

Another easy paddle was the order of the day, mainly because my recovering shoulder and arm are still not ready for a long paddle, and because The Usual Gang of Paddling Idiots was accompanied by a rookie paddler, Jenny.
Bernie gave her a quick on-shore lesson in his technique and expertise, but despite this, she was still keen to try.


So away we went for a short cruise around the home port, Cadboro Bay. It was Louise, Alison, Paula, Jenny and myself today, as Bernie begged off.
We tried to give Jenny all of our worldy kayaking knowledge. Here Paula demonstrates how to cause a traffic jam and almost fall in at the same time.


Louise has her I'm-not-doing-anything-when-John-is-pointing-the-camera-at-me-so-he-can't-make-up-a-goofy-caption-for-the-blog look down pat.


And away we go!


We watched a pair of eagles fly around for a while, until they landed.
The older one (the one with the white head) was eating a fish or something, while the other one (the younger, brownish speckled one) watched. But they got bored with us and flew away. They were big, though. The brown one circled over us later, down fairly low, and it seemed to have a huge wingspan.


We went as far as Flower Island. It was cloudy when we started, but the sun burned through and it turned into a pretty nice day. We had a slowly turning tide that gently pulled us out after we launched, then gently pushed us back as we returned.


Alison and Jenny are discussing why it is that only the cool paddlers have red boats.


A paddle wouldn't be a paddle without a heron.


As we headed back, the young eagle returned and parked itself in a tree.

It didn't seem to be paying me any attention. Which is fine. I can get more pictures that way.


After saying goodbye and thank-you to the eagle, this heron decided it wanted to pose for a while.



And pose he did.



You couldn't have a much better day on the water than today!

My pictures are here.

The Long Recovery Week 20 - Elk Lake

Despite my prediction in the last installment that it might be at least a month before I'd be back on the water or on my bike, a few days ago my physio-therapist gave me permission to kayak and ride again. So not being a person to let moss grow under my feet, mainly because then they smell icky and turn green, it was time to return to action with a short paddle at Elk Lake.
The Usual Gang showed up: Alison, Paula, Louise, Bernie, and myself. Even the elusive Dennis appeared.


My left arm is still weak, so getting in and out was a bit of a challenge. I tried a couple of times on land and it was doable. So I got into my kayak and Paula pushed me off.


And now, 161 days after my last paddle, I can only paraphrase Bill Murray from the film What About Bob?: I'm paddling! I'm paddling!


Louise soon hit the water, while Dennis decided to wave goodbye and go home. No, just kidding. It was good to have the gang out on the water again.


Bernie headed out.


Dennis decided that I was taking too many pictures of Bernie, so he made sure that Bernie's face was hidden in this picture.


It was busy out on the lake today... the rowing club was having a big celebration this weekend and was using much of the lake, but that was okay. We were just doing a small, short paddle today, because I didn't want to overdo it on my first paddle.


So we paddled gently and watched the races.


My shoulder survived reasonably well. It was sore and stiff, but not overly so. The hardest part was tying down the kayaks onto the van. Holding my arms up while tying off the straps took a lot of effort. But I did it! Or rather, we did it, as everyone was very keen to help. Afterward, The Gang presented me with a Challenge Trophy, for overcoming a challenge!


Ah, bliss!


My pictures are here.

Dear Kayak Yak - Transporting Your Kayak

Dear Kayak Yak,
I've seen lots of kayaks on vehicles, but with the rainy July we've had, I've been wondering if there is a way of transporting kayaks that prevents the seats from getting wet if it rains. I know you can get neoprene cockpit covers that are similar to hatch covers, but new kayaking gear can get pretty expensive. (I already had to sell my dog and one kidney to afford a new paddle!) Is there a cheaper alternative?
Yours,
Wet in Whistler

Dear Wet
Yes, new gear is very expensive, but recently Alison came up with a cheap transporting idea to save herself from a wet seat on a rainy day.

Dear Kayak Yak Yak
Normally, I only carry one kayak on my roof rack, but recently I also carried an additional kayak belonging to a friend. It was a tight fit and the two kayaks were rubbing together. Is there any way to help prevent the kayaks from being damaged further if I have to carry another kayak again?
Sincerely,
Hosed in Hope

Dear Hosed,
Socks.
Yes, socks. You may not believe it, but socks could be the most important thing you carry in your kayak. First, they keep your feet warm. They can also be used in a first aid situation as a towel or bandage. You can use them to check wind speed and direction. Finally, they can even be used as food during an emergency (mind you, they do require a lot of cooking).
But to answer your question, socks are also very important when loading your kayaks and can prevent them from rubbing together if you follow these simple directions.
First, you steal a sock from Bernie. Then, once you've loaded one kayak, you attach the sock as you can see in the photo below.


Thus when you load the second kayak, the sock prevents the two kayaks from rubbing together!

And there you have it! Two kayaks on a small car! One sock made all the difference!

Dear Kayak Yak Yak,
There's been a lot of lightning storms around this year. Is it safe to go kayaking during a thunderstorm?
Yours,
Vexed in Vanderhoof

Dear Vexed,
Lightning can be very dangerous and NOAA recommends that "if you are boating or swimming, get to land and find shelter immediately!"
Our own Bernie tried kayaking during a recent lightning storm. Fortunately the lightning did not strike him until he was on shore, otherwise a great paddle could have been ruined!