We had planned for a relatively short and simple plan of just kayaking around Cadboro Bay with our cameras and taking pictures. But as noted over at frogma last week, plans can change because it's a "pretty nice day out there, y'know?"
The picture-taking paddle plan didn't start off so well, as somehow I'd left my main camera at home. That would be my waterproof Pentax Optio W60 that I keep in my PFD pocket. Fortunately I often take three cameras with me, the number two camera being a bigger but non-waterproof Sony DSC-H9 that I keep in a dry bag under my skirt. (Camera number three is an Optio W10 that I usually mount somewhere on the kayak and set for interval shooting.) But things turned out okay; the water was so flat and calm today that I was able to get my Sony out with little concern about it getting wet.
We started our paddle as we often do by paying our respects to the Buddha. Someone has placed a happy Buddha on the rocky shore smiling out over the bay, and we often stop and greet it as we head out from the beach.
And here's a picture taken by me of Louise taking a picture of me taking a picture of me taking a picture of the Buddha. (And you think you're confused....)
We spent the first part of the paddle meandering through the rocks along Ten Mile Point.
Gosh, that's a fine looking Delta 17 Sport. (Now can we get some Delta hats, Mark?)
It wasn't long until we spotted a literal gaggle of geese. If these were the same babies we spotted a couple of weeks ago, they sure have grown quickly.
I counted eight adults, so I presume that this is four different families of goslings having a vegetarian breakfast. There were many geese families around today. After we watched this group, the next little cove revealed another group of three families swimming together.
We reached the end of Ten Mile Point which was going to be our limit today, but it was just too nice out there to stop. So we pressed on past Flower and Jemmy Jones Islands, and crossed over to Chatham Island. As we paddled across, others were enjoying the great conditions, too.
The crossing to Chatham was about the easiest we've ever made. There was no current to speak of and despite all the sailboats that were out, there was hardly any wind. It really was just perfect.
At Chatham we found, yes, more geese. But interestingly, no goslings. We found a small piece of shore where a lot of these baby-less geese were hanging out. I started to wonder if this spot was like a "geese singles's bar" and these were the last stragglers who, just before closing time were commiserating with each other that they didn't get lucky. Or maybe not.
I don't think this oystercatcher was buying into my idea about the geese at all.
It was so nice that we didn't want to head back, so we opted for The Grand Tour and so we left Chatham....
...and crossed over to the Chain Islands.
Normally this little archipelago is covered in seals but not today, although there were a few scattered throughout the rocks. These seals were totally mesmerized by this seagull's moves. It's not everyday you get to watch a seagull play charades. (The answer is "The Karate Kid".)
However we did see a lot of -- you guessed it -- baby geese.
As we headed back, we could see that the bay was filled with boats of all kinds. Ocean River Sports had a group of Kayakers out at Sheep Cove, and another big group was launching from the beach. And the bay was filled with sailboats.
And we followed the geese home. Just another magical day on the water!
Trip length: 11.84
YTD: 107.96
More pictures are here.
The Google Earth kmz is here.
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