Yesterday afternoon we arrived at the Pedder Bay RV Resort with our good friends Dave and Kelly Reaville ready for a fun and relaxing weekend. This was a great opportunity to check out the kayak / racks with the RV in tow to make sure we have a enough pivot clearance from the rudders and the front of the RV.
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| Does it get any better than this??? LOL |
After a night of rain showers we woke up to clearing skies and the winds were calm so Robyn and I decided it was a good opportunity to try our borrowed Current Designs Solstice yaks. We suited up in our new Farmer John wet suits and booties and headed over to see what Dave and Kelly's plans were for the day. Dave and Kelly were all over the idea of trying out a couple of kayaks so while Robyn and I set up our kayaks they got their rental gear sorted out. After an orientation of the safety gear they were on the water paddling out in the harbor. Robyn and I used our newly learned entry skills and headed out to see where the "newbies" were and it wasn't long before we found them exploring the mud flats while getting used to the kayaks.
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| Dave captain's his kayak |
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| Kelly is all smiles as she catches up with the group! |
Right away I noticed that Dave and Kelly were having a great time and in particular Kelly felt totally in control of this new experience. We headed up the east side of the bay and I passed on a few paddling techniques that would assist them maneuvering their kayaks and it wasn't long before they could easily turn, stop and back up as required. The first navigation test that I suggested to the group was to raft together for our first group photo opportunity.
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| (L to R) Robyn , Dave and Kelly form a raft |
We then headed into a small sheltered cove as I needed to adjust my seat back and rudder peddles a bit more to get a better feel for my kayak. Robyn took the opportunity to get my picture after my first successful beach landing with out ending up in the water. Once again.... skills learned last week sure helped!
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| My first beach exit without ending up in the water! LOL |
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| Kelly focusing on the rock gardens and keeping paddling form. |
It was time to head across the bay so we made the transit as a group in no time at all and started to explore further south towards the DND jetty. We came across numerous seals, the odd sea otter and schools of fish which the seals were feeding on. Heading back towards the marina we navigated our way through the rock gardens and kelp beds absorbing the warm sun and calm winds. It was a great day to expose Dave and Kelly to the joy of kayaking.
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| A bunch of happy kayakers celebrate our first paddle together! |
It's amazing how fast the time flows by when you are out on the water. It felt like we were only out for a short amount of time but in fact our little Pedder Paddle was 2 hours long and it was time to head back to base camp and enjoy lunch in the warm sunshine and relax the rest of the afternoon away.
I turned to see where Robyn was and she had her camera out busily snapping pictures of me while I approached her. Nice picture honey!!
NEXT UP: Exploring the Sooke Basin
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