First date with my girl.

Took Persephone out for a good long spin today at Esquimalt Lagoon and into Esquimalt Harbour.

Time on water - 6 hours

Christening of Persephone

Invited everyone out to partake in the christening and trial run of Persephone.

Time on water - 3 hours

New Year's Eve Paddle

Went for a late night New Year's Eve paddle from Brentwood to Senanus Island. Though it was a full moon it was so overcast that the sky was nothing but a dull orangey glow from the city lights.

Still a nice way to spend the wee hours.

Time on water - 4 hours

Deception Pass WA

Spent a great day playing in a 6-7 knot ebb current at Deception Pass with Setsuko Cox, Chuck Curry, Karen Scharer, and Ken Biddle. Had an absolute blast! Found out what it's like getting a whole body whirly in a 20' whirlpool. Was spinning around with my bow in the air in the center when I tripped. Upside down, round and round, five roll attempts and nothing. Had to do a wet exit to get my butt outta there :")

Time on water - 5 hours

Christmas Day Paddle at Bowman Bay WA

Took Mark's 16" wide 18' long SOF out on Bowman Bay for a quiet Christmas Day by myself.

Time on water - 4 hours

Pool Session

Sculling practice in 'Humble Pie', my Kirton K1.

Time on water - 3 1/2 hours

Saturday night at the Pool

Took 'Humble Pie', my Kirton K1, to the pool for three hours of sculling and balancing with my greenland paddle.

Time on water - 3 hours

Jordan River to Sheringham Point

Decided to go out and see what a 16 foot wave on a 16 second period looks like when it lands. Paddled out from Jordan River through some pretty hairy surf, but not as big as what is landing up at Tofino as the biggest waves were in the 7-8 foot range and most of waves were smaller at 4 feet. Paddled off-shore, and south to Sheringham Point  and back.

After loading up I decided to take a run up to Port Renfrew with stops at Sombrio, and a few other spots along the way to check things out.

Time on water - 6 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

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

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

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

Beaver Lake

Went for a nice, relaxing evening-paddle around Beaver Lake with ~N. Practiced rescues, rolls, ruddering, and had a good long stretch afterwards.

Time on water - 2 hours
Time guiding - 2 hours
Time instructing - 1 hour

Tahe Greenland Kayak

Went for a quick paddle out to the end of the Breakwater for some rolling practice and to try out the Tahe Greenland boat.

Time on water - 2 hours

Full-Moon from the beach

Decided that this time I'd watch the full-moon from a beach instead of heading out for a late night paddle. Things looked a bit ominous in the night sky with the moon slipping in and out of a ragged, thick, and dark cloud cover. Not quite as inspiring as being OTW but still a very nice way to spend a night.

Mayne Island

Went to Mayne Island for a paddle from Bennett Bay through Boat Passage and back - a circumnavigation of Samuel Island. The Belle Chain was not as exposed as I'd hoped due to a highish low tide but still lots to see and do. Seals, a big Stellar Sea-lion, Great Blue Herons, Oyster-catchers, and some very pretty little birds, that looked like Sand-pipers but plied the water like tiny little ducks. Some fun tide-races to play in, Boat Passage was a blast. Not much left of the Robertson II since my last visit to her in the spring...

Big thanks to my enthusiastic paddle-partners for the day, Kathy, Sandy, and Sarah. It was a lot of fun paddling with you all!

Time on water - 4 hours
Time guiding - 4 hours
Time instructing - 2 hours

Brentwood Bay

Paddled with Kathy and Sandy around Brentwood, McKenzie Bight and Senanus Island.

Time on water - 6 hours
Time guiding - 6 hours

A day in the Chathams

Went for a great paddle with ~T to the Chatham Islands. Had a very calm and relaxed day. Thanks ~T for a day of shooting the shiz - I needed it!

Time on water - 5 hours

Home again - home again - home again

Packing up for the trip home tomorrow. Was a great summer. Thanks to all who made it such a great experience!

~daniel~