Monday, January 3, 2011

2011.02.200 - A Quickie to Chatham

Caddy Bay Pano
This morning it was -2 degrees, a bit of a step up from Saturday's -4. But while Saturday's weather was sunny and clear, today was unexpectedly cloudy which resulted in a wonderful sunrise as we prepped for launch. We also had a bit of a breeze, not enough to be a worry while paddling, but enough of one to add an extra chill to the morning. The sun was trying to burn through the clouds but didn't look like it was going to accomplish much in that regard.

Louise, Paula and I got ourselves ready to put in at Cadboro Bay. Paula always likes to do a little air guitar before kayaking.
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Richard joined us a few minutes later. He hasn't been in his kayak since September and couldn't understand why it was so heavy as he carried it down to the beach. Then he realized that since he keeps his kayak outside and he has a small hole in his rear hatch, rain water had spent the last three months dripping into his kayak, and that rainwater had frozen solid over the last few days.
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Paula had a good laugh until she remembered that she keeps her kayak outside as well, and she hadn't checked her hatches either. She put ashore to double check.
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A few minutes later we were underway...
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...but some of us found the conditions just too chilly and couldn't get thoughts of chai tea lattés out of their heads. So we quickly did a crossing to Chatham....
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...then headed back.
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As we passed Flower Island, I peeled off to see if the otters I saw on Saturday were still around. They weren't, but two oystercatchers and a merganser were enjoying the cloudy day.
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And as we neared the beach, as per Murphy the sun came out.
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Trip Length: 7.57 km
YTD: 12.32 km
More pictures are here.
2011-01-03 Chatham

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