2009.11.142 - Secrets Revealed

On this second day of the long Victoria Day weekend, Louise, Paula and I made our way to our put in at Esquimalt Lagoon. From there, we were going to paddle into Esquimalt Harbour. Louise and I were in our Deltas, while Paula was going commando in her Advanced Elements Expedition. Actually, we don't know for sure that Paula was going commando -- the subject of underwear (or lack thereof) never came up.


What did come up were a lot of two-foot swells as we made our way around the point and into the harbour. It was a gloriously sunny day with little wind, but an ebbing tide, and the swells made for a fun start to the paddle.


As we made our way into the harbour, the swells flattened out. (Please ignore the super-secret navy stuff in the background. We didn't see it and neither do you.)


Unfortunately, the swells caused some upset stomachs, so we pulled in a small cove for a few minutes in the hopes that the settled water would settle stomachs.



We didn't see much in the way of wildlife today. We once saw a large deer swimming here, but today only a pair of seals were in the water.


We noodled around the rocks for a little while...

...then headed back and hit the swells again. This time, they were a little flatter and not as enthusiastic. (Again, please ignore all the secret stuff in the background.)


We paddled past the Fisgard Lighthouse at Fort Rodd Hill.



After having a little more fun in the swells, we put in, and hauled our gear back to the van. But as I opened the back door, a surprise awaited me -- a PFD was still in the van. My jaw dropped, and I said to Louise, "Who's PFD is that?"
"It's mine," she answered. "I was about to put it on when we were getting ready, but Paula needed some help for a moment and I forgot about it. I didn't even realize that I had forgotten it until we were heading back. Something felt wrong the whole trip, and it was just a few minutes ago that I finally realized what it was."
I was surprised that I hadn't noticed. We briefed Paula as she came up, and then she said, "Let me tell you a secret. You know the time we were here and saw the swimming deer? Check the pictures. I forgot my PFD that day, too."
Maybe this will get us a little more serious about checklists. Louise is always mentioning that she's forgotten something, although never anything vital until today.

Thankfully, all's well that ends well.

My pictures are here.
Trip length: 6.49 km
YTD: 74.00 km