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.

2008.24.117 - Marathon

A cloudy and breezey Sunday morning greeted us beside the ferry dock at Brentwood Bay. We arrived an hour earlier than usual hoping for a long paddle south down Finlayson Arm and we were hoping that the early start would diminish our exposure to the afternoon winds that often materialize in the area. But of course, our weatherman's name is Murphy. The winds had come up unexpectedly overnight and were forecast to increase further in the afternoon. Still, we were keen to give it a shot, so we decided to venture out carefully and play it by ear.


It was a small crew today. Louise headed out in her Delta....


...while Alison avoided the ferry in her Current Design boat.


I was in my Delta and using my brand new Pentax Optio W60. It takes pretty good pictures, wouldn't you say?


Brentwood Bay was fairly calm, but once we turned the point into Saanich Inlet, it got a little rougher. The winds were blowing from the south against the flooding tide creating some choppy waves. Plus, the wind was in our faces. Of course.


We perservered and paddled past McKenzie Bight, and into Squally Reach.


As we reached the entrance to Finalyson Arm, the wind seemed to die down. We weren't sure if the winds had actually died down or if we were being protected by the tall hills on the side of the inlet. We were hoping that the wind, if it was still blowing, would still be coming from the south and at our backs for the return trip. We passed a rock playing host to a flock of seals enjoying the day. One was splashing about in the water so we kept our distance.


Alison spotted this eagle.


A few minutes later, Alison also scared a seal who was sitting on a rock. He dove into the water with a loud splash. And a few minutes after that, Alison scared him again. After he dove into the water he began following us, but we stopped for moment as Alison tried to take some pictures for a panorama shot. The seal didn't realize this and he surfaced right beside Alison. He frantically splashed again as he dove under.
This rock found it all very amusing.


We turned around and headed back. We soon realized that the wind had indeed died off, so now we had no help paddling against the tide. But we still made better time on the return trip.


The water was reseaonably cooperative on the way back. It was quite a marathon paddle. Actually, we were out five hours...so that's two marathons!


It ended as it began -- trying to avoid the ferry!




Trip length: 19.2 km
More pictures are here.
Download the Google Earth.kmz here.

2008.12.105 - Breaking New Ground

We were dubious about a paddle as the morning broke. Depsite a total absence of rain in the forecast for today, we were encountering drizzle as we loaded up and headed out to Brentwood Bay. But the drizzle soon stopped, and it looked like we were going to have a great paddle day.
It was Louise, Richard, Paula, Alison and myself today. The plan was to cross Saanich Inlet and see how far down the Inlet we could get. About a decade ago, Louise took a kayaking course and they paddled down to a waterfall where they put in and had a break. Today we're going to seek out this mythical waterfall.


We headed out and crossed the Inlet without incident. Alison and Paula lead the way...


...but their path crossed mine, and I had them in my sights. In naval combat, this is called Crossing the T.
Ready...aim....


Actually, the crossing wasn't totally event-free. We found ourselves being tailed by over a dozen seals. This has happened before when we've crossed over south of Bamberton. I tried to get some pictures of them, but none turned out. But we did see this fellow sunning himself as we paddled down the shore.


An eagle relaxed in a tree.


While Alison and I were distracted by the eagle, the rest of the group drifted by the next point. As we paddled slowly to catch up, Richard looked like he was doing a "shush" motion and Paula was pointing at the far side of the point. We realized that something was there and as we drifted around, there were two baby seals on the rock.
We were probably closer than we should have been, but we just drifted slowly by and tried not to disturb them too much.


Then we came upon the ruins of Minus Tirith.
Okay, maybe not that exactly, but there was a stone staircase that went from the shoreline to nowhere.


We never made it into Finlayson Arm. We ended up just going down a part called Squally Reach. That's where we found Louise's waterfall.


There was a small beach there to put in, but we decided to keep on paddling. We crossed, then put in for a rest and a snack at McKenzie Bight.


Then we started the final leg back to Brentwood.


We had a great time and were out on the water for about four and a half hours. What a fun paddle!



Trip length: 15.6 km

My pictures are here.