Weird Weather

An odd bubble of warmth crept over us today. Winds from almost every quarter at some point in the day.
Paddled out from Cadboro Bay for today's lesson. Went WAY overtime on today's session, but there were so many great opportunities to weather-watch, interpret, and play detective while we were out there.

Time on water - 3 1/2 hours
Time instructing - 4 hours

Calm Sunshine Amidst Storm Warnings

Every once and awhile - strike that. Often the weather forecasts fall far from reality. Today was one of those days.

It was a beautiful day to be on the water, sunny, warm, and a slight breeze to keep things fresh. I took my Tuesday paddle group to McNeil Bay in hopes of protection from the predicted winds, which never showed. We had a nice paddle across McNeil Bay for a view of Clover Point and Dallas Road. We came back across on the outside of the Bay's eddy, for an exploratory cruise up the lee of Trial Island. Things were calm and well within the group's abilities so the decision was made to poke around the corner and see what was up. Swells were a foot or so, and gentle.

A few rescue practices on the way towards Gonzales Point and back to McNeil Bay. Very pleasant day to be on the water in lovely Victoria.

Time on water - 3 hours
Time guiding - 3 hours
Time instructing - 1.5 hours

Sunrise at Becher Bay

Early AM paddle this morning. Couldn't sleep, lots on my mind. Got up at 3am and went out for a sunrise paddle at Becher Bay. Special moments free for the taking. Sorry, but THIS is what 'plucking the low-hanging fruit' is really about!

Time on water - 6 hours

Pool Session

Busy ORS pool session tonight. Lots of folks learning rescues and rolls.

Time on water - 3 hours

Lake Session

A great session on Beaver Lake with ~G. Weather provided the opportunity for some great what-if scenarios. An unassisted recovery from a complete capsize topped the day off. Nice work my friend!

Time on water - 3 hours
Time instructing - 3 hours

VCKC Rolling Clinic

The Victoria Canoe and Kayak Club (VCKC) asked me to instruct a roll clinic for them. I had a small group of mixed experience and feel that it went very well.

Time on water - 10 minutes
Time instructing - 2 hours

Playing in Baynes Channel

Got on the water in time to find some tide race action in the mouth of Baynes, off Ten Mile Point. Paddled out past the mouth of Cadboro Bay to watch the sailboats racing. Then hopped over to Cattle Point, Willows Beach and then off to Fiddle Reef to catch the wind waves and current back to Smuggler's Cove. Not sure why sailboats think it's okay to run across the bow of kayakers, second time this happened. He missed me by 20 feet, and I had to stop and back-paddle against the 2 knot current to keep from being swept under him. Grrrrr... as he passed he was close enough to hear me tell him to read his regulations.

There were some nice surfable standing waves in the mouth of the channel, and when a big cruiser came through at a slowish pace he put up a pretty nice wake to play on, and when it combined with the tide race the standing waves... stood! WooHoooooooooo!

Nice way to spend my Sunday. Tonight I have another Pool session. I'm teaching a rolling class for the local club.

Time on water - 4 hours

Pool Session

Chaperone at the pool tonight. Was a very quiet night so I had a chance to work on my rolls and strokes. My Butterfly roll is feeling fairly solid on both sides, not sure if it's 100% reliable yet but now that I'm dragging my melon out last things are MUCH easier. Thanks for the reminder Axel, head last! I should know better. Hand-roll is iffy at best.

Time on water - 3 hours

Friday night paddle

Dragged 'Tassie' down to one of my more 'discrete' launching points for a good long night paddle. Needed it!

Time on water - 6 hours

Instruction at Beaver Lake

A morning spent with ~G on Beaver Lake, fine tuning his braces and strokes. Working towards a solid capsize recovery. I'm sure ~G was happy that he pulled off two perfect self-rescues in the deep water. Congratulations!

Time on water - 3 hours
Time instructing - 3 hours

Lesson at Esquimalt Lagoon

Paddled out from the Fort Rodd Hill end of Esquimalt Lagoon and across the Harbour with ~G. Was an excellent lesson. Spent a lot of our time reinforcing the skills learned in our last session, plus introduced a few new variations on the theme. Practiced self-rescues. Breeze from the North-East, small wind waves.

Time on water - 3 hours
Time instructing - 3 hours

Instructional session at Cattle Point

Took ~G for a two hour, one-on-one session today at Cattle Point. A fun session, and judging by the smile on his face when he 'rolled' up from a capsize, a very productive one.

I live for days like this!

Time on water - 2 hours
Time instructing - 2 hours

Evening paddle at Esquimalt Lagoon

Peddle-Paddle out of View Royal - sprinted across Esquimalt Lagoon to the head, and back again. Muscles were burning after this one.

Time on water - 3 hours

Group Tour - Brentwood Bay

Took out a group of 12 in doubles with ~C and ~R co-leading. Paddled out to Senanus Island, then over to Willis Point, and a lunch stop in Tod Inlet. Another freelance gig for LongBoat ShortBoat!

Time on water - 3 hours
Time guiding - 3 hours

Waning Gibbous Moon Paddle ;O)

The night was too beautiful to sleep. Decided to drag 'Tassie' down to the water for another 'full' moon paddle.

Time on water - 3 hours

Full Moon Paddle

Full Moon Paddle on Portage Inlet - no rolling in the inlet this time of the year.

Time on water - 4 hours