Belated posting and pics

Just a couple of pictures from earlier this year when Paula and I went down the Sooke River--while there was still water in it.



Sooke River is very clear and pretty cold in the spring. And there are some very nasty bits on it. But this isn't one of those places. Paula took her Dragonfly while I paddled the Pamlico 100, figuring to use boats that were more or less expendable--or repairable.



We hadn't done any river kayaking before, so thought it a good idea to take it easy. We didn't run the length of the river, just a short section. And that we ran several times.



I think you can see why--man, this is fun! And yes, even Paula thought it was fun, not just me.



Definitely inside our comfort zone. This was high-speed rush fun, and definitely on our list of things to do again.

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Sunday Caddy

It's a long weekend, so guess what? Yes, that's right -- it's cloudy. The sun is nowhere to be seen. We're getting used to cloudy weekends, and dammit, we're going kayaking anyway.


It was Patricia, Paula, Louise and myself today.


We were without a Bernie, who has become suddenly elusive. He's disappeared from sight faster than Donald Rumsfeld, Alberto Gonzales, Tom Ridge, Scooter Libby, John Ashcroft, Colin Powell, John Bolton, Paul Wolfowitz and Karl Rove combined. And have you ever noticed that you never see Bernie and Dick Cheney together in the same undisclosed underground bunker? But I digress.
Paula was in her inflatable while she awaits the arrive of her new Eliza....


...while Louise and Patricia were in their usual rides, a Delta and a Current Design respectively.


We cruised up the south side of Ten Mile Point, where we saw this heron.


He took off after a few moments.


We went up past the point and towards to Telegraph Bay. We saw a large sea lion fishing off the shore. We weren't really close enough to get a picture, and we think it's the same sea lion we saw off of Telegraph Bay a couple of years ago. We think that this is his favourite feeding area.


The tide had just turned and we caught a nice mild current on the way back.


Paula was having too much fun in her inflatable -- she may never even bother getting into her new kayak!



On the way back, we paid the heron a return visit.


That's it for this week. And actually, Bernie had a valid excuse -- he's been working on his cloning technique.


My pictures are here.

Kayakers, Beware! Someone's Stealing Feet!

What could be more disturbing than a human right foot washing up on a deserted Gulf Island? How about a second human right foot washing up on a different Gulf Island barely a week later?
Needless to say, police are, ahem, stumped.
Clearly, something very strange is happening. So kayakers beware! Always count your feet when you have finished a paddle on the ocean and make sure that you have at least two! If you have only your left foot, contact the RCMP right away. They're looking after a couple of spares. Perhaps they could lend you one.

Moonlight paddle on Sooke Basin

Note to self: the time to work out the night settings on one's camera is before one is in the middle of the water, trying to take a photograph of kayaks in the moonlight. Which on a night like Tuesday night, was something to see, if not photograph.

Courtesy of Saanich Recreation and Rush Adventures, I achieved another ambition: paddling by the moonlight. I signed up for a 3 hour moonlight paddle out of Cooper's Cove on Sooke Basin, on a night that couldn't have been more perfect. There were 8 kayaks in total, seven doubles and one single; three guides and 12 guests. We assembled, gradually, for around about 8:30 pm, several of our number having first eaten lunch at the adjacent restaurant and emerged hilarious. By the last light of the sun and by the light of our guides' headlights, we kitted up, were assigned our boats, first by colour and then by number, trooped down to the dock, and one by one, launched. The night was dark and glassy-still, and as we paddled slowly out of Cooper's Cove we could dip fingers and paddles into the water and see a wake of ghostly bioluminescence caused by dinoflagellates in the water. A hand trailed in the water would brush the bodies and tendrils of multiple unseen moon jellyfish (non-stinging); a torch shone in the water showed their dim clustered bodies. When we paddled clear of Cooper's Cove it was into moonlight that was like a headlight, almost painful to look at with dark-adapted eyes, and bright enough for me to make out the other seven boats without effort. To the left were the lights of East Sooke, and all around the edge of the darkned cove, scattered lights. We paddled across the basin to the Goodrich Islands, a former Native Canadian burial ground. The entire vista was shades of black with a patina of silver on damp and pale surfaces, and the occasional sharp reflection of moonlight from a wet, turning paddle. Kayaks to the moonward side were dark shadows against moonlit water, and kayaks to the other side were picked out in light grey against the darker water, and fading to a mere suggestion in the distance. We then paddled towards Roche cove, more or less, looking for dark water and more bioluminescence, but the moon was well up, although a thin layer of cirrus cloud had come up over it, giving it a halo; our guide predicted a change in weather, both from that, and the distinct and persistent contrails still visible in the moonlight. We started some ducks or geese from night's peace, an indistinct, pale fluttering. And then back around the shore, into Cooper's cove, gliding past the moored yachts, come in one by one and climb out of the kayaks onto to the dock, return gear, gather up stuff, say thank you to Steve, Glen and Galia [sic], and climb in the car to drive back the winding Sooke road in the pale moonlight.

Before we started and before the light went, I had a crack at a pan shot around the basin. Fixing exposure so it doesn't change from frame to frame is something else I need to learn how to do, but here it is -

Feeling Inspired Yet...?

Louise was surfing and found one of those "Inspiration" posters with a kayaking theme. I surfed for a bit and found another one.
Personally, I think they are the most depressing things you can put in a working environment. But that's me.
Anyway, here they are, if for no other reason than the great kayak photography.

Brentwood Bay

We expected a sunny but windy day according to the weather forecasts, but we got neither. Instead we got a partly overcast but relatively calm day.
At lease it wasn't raining.
It was a big crowd today: Dennis, Alison, Paula, Patricia, Louise, Greg...


...and myself, of course.
Paula brought her little inflatable today -- she's hoping her new Eliza will be in next week.


We put in at The Usual Spot beside the Brentwood Bay Ferry terminal and headed out.


We decided on a nice quiet paddle into Tod Inlet. After the rough waters on our last couple of paddles, a calm paddle seemed like a nice change of pace.
We made our way across the Bay towards the Inlet and past this big boat.


We meandered down the Inlet...


...past some old pilings...


...past the moored yachts...



...to the end of the Inlet.


I found a heron enjoying a late brunch.


I took a bunch of pictures of this fella. I can't wait to take in the film from my film camera to see what developed. (See? I told you there would be more bad jokes.)


We crossed back to Brentwood Bay, and we caught a little wake from something. This was a few seconds of fun!



We didn't feel like quitting yet, so we went north of Brentwood Bay for a bit.


As we were paddling an otter popped up right in front of me. He was so intent on eating something that he didn't notice me at first. But he suddenly gave a start and slipped under the waves.


Dennis gets a piece of the rock.


I followed Dennis around the rocks and came across the biggest heron I've seen. This guy seemed like he was six feet tall (that's two metres if you're using that new-fangled metric system).
He didn't hang around long so I didn't get many pictures of him.


Dennis is much too relaxed.


Before we headed back, we heard drumming and singing. A local First Nations band seemed to be having some sort of ceremony. We couldn't see anything -- we weren't even sure if they were inside or outside. But the sounds were carrying across the water. The drumming built up very loudly at some points. It was pretty cool to listen to.
Louise cut me off as we headed back.


And another great paddle ends.


John's pictures are here.

Rolling Rolling Rolling....

Alison's two pics' worth

Now John has done all the hard work of writing the trip report, I can chip in with a couple of pictures.

Waiting for the green light ..

John and Paula - see, there really is a John on these trips. He is not a virtual avatar or a figment of our imaginations.

Ménage à Cinq

It was one of those kinds of paddles. Cloudy and a little windy. The water was choppy and thick like a thick soup. The currents weren't overly strong, but combined with the wind they made for an adventurous paddle.
Because it was a cloudy and gloomy day, my bow cameras took a lot of pictures that look like this:


We put in at Ardwell Road in Sidney. The tide was quite a way out, and Louise had a little trouble getting going.


The beach was quite "squooshy." Alison found a different approach to launching.


We weren't the only ones having trouble in the bay.



It was Tracy, Alison, Louise, Paula and myself today. (Bernie was off formulating his plans for world domination.) You can see that we were in chop and waves for most of the paddle.


We were going to go to The Sphinx...


...but when we got into open water the currents that way looked a little strong, so instead we crossed over to Coal Island....


...where we found a local group of seals. There were lots of baby seals around so we gave them a wide berth.


On the return crossing, we waited for this boat to pass. As Tracy noted, "The one with the money has the right-of-way."


It was another bumpy crossing.


We made it across safely. But once we returned to the calm waters in the bay where we had launched from, my fellow kayakers almost had a big pile-up! But what did you expect -- women drivers!


Well, that's all for this week! Hopefully, I'll be back next week with another exciting paddle report, assuming that I'm allowed out of the doghouse!

John's pictures are here.