Sunday, September 16, 2007

2007.23.87 - Thetis Lake Raw Bacon Spectacular

Well, where to start.
The idea was to have a practice session as Paula wanted to try getting in and out of her new boat, and I wanted more self-rescue practice to try a few new rescue techniques out, and to practice some new assisted rescues that Bernie had learned. We were also going to enjoy our new tradition of cooking breakfast on the beach before heading into the water.
As it turned out, it was just Louise, Paula and myself today. As for breakfast, Bernie decided to do an over-nighter on Portland Island. Why he felt he needed all three stoves for a two-day trip is something that is puzzling. One thing for sure - my breakfast of raw bacon was sure yummy.
Louise was suffering from contact lens trouble and had forgotten her paddle jacket, so she ended up not paddling.
But Paula and I were still keen to practice, so already wet from the rainy day, and hungry from no breakfast we set out.
IMGP1228

Paula steeled herself.....
IMGP1229

...and in she went!
IMGP1230

Oh, yeah. We're having fun now.
IMGP1231

We tried a couple of rescues. First, I helped Paula in an assisted rescue, then Paula did a solo paddle float rescue.
IMGP1234

She had a wee bit of trouble figuring out how to get in...
IMGP1235

...as her new kayak has a smaller cockpit than her old one.
IMGP1236

But she did it! Then I took a couple of turns getting dunked and did a couple of solo paddle float rescues.
IMGP1237

Enough playing in the water... time to get warm!
IMGP1232

My pictures are here.

Sunday, September 9, 2007

2007.22.86 - Egg Sac Hunt and Tillicum Road Portage

Last year at this time, we paddled into Portage Inlet and found these strange little sacs in the ground in the far arm of the Inlet.
More Strange Things 3

We were quite puzzled by them (some sort of egg sacs were our guess), and Paula and Louise did some investigating. Eventually they ended up in contact with Dr. Kelly Sendall of the Royal British Columbia Museum (free plug: go see their Titanic exhibit!)
Dr. Sendall expressed an interest in joining us for a paddle to look for more egg sacs and today he joined us far a paddle in the Inlet.
IMGP1164

It was, finally, a beautiful summer day. Too bad there's only 12 days left in this summer.
Launch on The Gorge

Paula is the proud parent of a new Eliza kayak. She likes it a lot. And I won't make any jokes about the colour.
None at all.
Nosiree.
It sure is pink, though.
IMGP1165

As we headed out, this seagull was munching on an early Sunday brunch.
IMGP1167

And away we go into Portage Inlet! It was Paula, Alison, Louise, Dennis and myself joining Kelly who was borrowing Bernie's boat as he skipped the science part of the paddle.
IMGP1166

Soon we were out at the first point where we found some of those sac thingies. They were few and far between compared to the prime spot last year which was at the far end on the inlet, and the floor was also very thick with algae or muck, so they were tough to see, much less photograph.
IMGP6618

I took about 100 pictures of people leaning over their kayaks looking down.
IMGP1171

We headed down to the far end of the Inlet but just as we were getting near to where we found fields of these egg sacs last year, we discovered that the tide was too far out. We all grounded and couldn't proceed any further. We might have gotten out and walked, except that the bottom was really squooshy and that probably wouldn't have worked. So if you've ever had a desire to see a panorama picture of five kayaks stuck in the mud, your wish has just come true.
Five Kayaks Stuck in the Mud

So with mission not quite accomplished, we headed back.
IMGP1180
IMGP1184

We bid goodbye to Kelly, and Bernie joined us to continue down The Gorge.
IMGP6769

The game of musical kayaks continued as Paula and Louise swapped boats, giving Louise a chance to try Paula's new ride. Louise likes it a lot, too. Will the fleet pick up another Eliza? Stay tuned next year!
IMGP1187
IMGP6789
IMGP1193

No paddle would be complete without a picture of a heron. Today's paddle was no exception.
IMGP1195crop
IMGP1194

We approached Tillicum Bridge. This would usually be the turn-around point, as most times going under the bridge is problematic due to fast currents and a large rock. You can get through easily during a slack high tide, but that's a rare moment in the tide cycle.
IMGP6849

Today it wasn't at it's worst, but we could see there was some whitewater, so we turned around. Well, some of us turned around. Bernie and Dennis decided to run the rapids.
No pictures exist of this event, but we watched as first Bernie then Dennis went under the bridge. We heard no Crazy Bernie Laughter™ or shouts for help, so we assumed they made it okay. But we weren't totally sure as the rapids washed them out of our sight.
Paula put her feet up and relaxed -- she's had years of experience dealing with Bernie.
IMGP1201
And they did turn up eventually. After they went through to the other side, Dennis and Bernie realized that the current was strong enough that they wouldn't be able to paddle back against it so they would have to put-in and portage back. The problem was that there isn't much in the way of pull-outs on either side. Both sides of the channel on either side of the bridge are rocky and steep. Eventually, they found a spot and then carried their boats back through a park, up the hill to the top of Tillicum Bridge, and across four lanes of traffic.
Then they realized that there was no place to put-in. They had to walk a long block to the Victoria Canoe and Kayak Club and there they re-entered the Gorge after completing our first official portage.
It was a great day for a fun, relaxing paddle. Even the seagulls were relaxing.
IMGP1205

My pictures are here.

Sunday, September 2, 2007

2007.21.85 - 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.
Cadboro Bay

It was Patricia, Paula, Louise and myself today.
IMGP1146

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....
IMGP6118

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

We cruised up the south side of Ten Mile Point, where we saw this heron.
IMGP1130crop

He took off after a few moments.
IMGP6145crop

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.
Cadboro Bay

The tide had just turned and we caught a nice mild current on the way back.
IMGP6258

Paula was having too much fun in her inflatable -- she may never even bother getting into her new kayak!
IMGP1136
IMGP1138

On the way back, we paid the heron a return visit.
IMGP1142crop

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

My pictures are here.