2009.27.158 - Saanich Inlet

The extreme temperatures of the last week or so have fallen to closer to normal, although it is still unseasonably warm in these parts. We decided to start a little earlier than usual today to avoid the mid-day sun. But none of this mattered at all to Alison; her visit here is nearing an end and she just wanted to put in at Brentwood Bay and go! And go she did -- she set a blistering early pace moving out of Brentwood Bay and into Saanich Inlet.


Louise, Paula and I eventually caught up to her and we continued at a more civilized pace. The water was flat and clear, making it easy to spot sea stars on the rocks during this low tide...

...as well as this jelly fish.


We paused for a quick stop at McKenzie Bight. Alison has been thinking of moving up from her Current Design Kestrel so Louise let her take her Delta Seventeen out for a spin.


We decided to press on. A slight breeze was making its presence felt but otherwise conditions were picture perfect.


Small little seal heads were popping up here and there. One popped up a short distance in front of me and we were so distracted by it that we all just about paddled right over another seal.

How could we not notice this guy? It's not like he's well camouflaged!


This eagle paid little attention as we all fussed over him with our various cameras.


This seagull looks like it was making a meal out of a small sea star, but it didn't seem to be enjoying it. The look on the seagull's face reminds me of the old joke about cooking seagulls and their apparent lack of taste:
How do you cook a seagull?
You put it in a pot of boiling water with a rock. When the rock gets soft, you throw away the seagull and eat the rock.
It looks to me as if the seagull was looking for his own rock right about then.


We paddled by more seals, a mother and her baby.


We crossed the Inlet and passed by more seals. At one point a small seal head popped up in front of me. He carefully watched me for a moment, then ducked under the water. As I passed the shallows where he was swimming, the sun turned the water almost totally clear and I could see this small baby seal playfully swimming just below the surface. He was rolled over a few times, then swam in circles chasing its tail. I was too mesmerized to even think of trying to get a camera out. I regret not getting a shot of that amazing moment, but then again there are so many amazing moments when you are kayaking.


Soon the paddle ended and it was time to say au revoir to Alison, although I think she'll return to visit her kayak soon.




Trip length: 14.95 km
YTD: 216.68
More pictures are here.
The Google Earth kmz is here.