We are spending the BC Family Day long weekend at Pedder Bay Marina & RV Park and yesterday we headed out for a little paddle to try out a few things borrowed. I was using a borrowed PFD (thanks Gary J.) while I am waiting for my warranty replacement to arrive from Astral. Robyn borrowed Morley's Wilderness Systems 15.5 Zephyr while he is recovering from a skiing injury.
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| Somebody looks haaaappppy! |
Although Robyn likes her P&H 155 Delphin she doesn't love it. Her main issue is that when paddling in flat water conditions she finds it uncomfortable and I have to agree with her (just a little bit). I on the other hand love my Delphin in dynamic water so I can work around the the minor comfort issues.
Since the water was so calm it was a good test for Robyn to get the feel of the Zephyr and after working through some seat adjustments she reported that the kayak felt good. One thing that she did notice was that the Delphin does have a tighter turning radius but the Zephyr tracks better even without the skeg down. Is there a perfect kayak out there?? :-)
As usual our cameras were documenting our paddle and we were particularity interested in the birds we might see on this paddle. Following the shoreline out towards Bentinck Island we spotted more deer than we have ever seen in the area but that could also be because we haven't paddle this route in early February before.
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| Lots and lots and lots of deer watching us. |
Good conditions and forecast were in our favor so we circumnavigated Bentinck and had a little flood current to paddle through on the Race Island side. Another good test of how the Zephyr handled for Robyn in a little bit of dynamic water.
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| Race Rocks Lighthouse selfie |
Entering Eemdyk Passage we caught the flood going back towards Pedder Bay and we just let it carry us along while we watched the seals and many birds in the area. It was a good day of bird sightings with the following confirmed. Mature Bald Eagle, Juvenile Bald Eagle, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, Hooded Merganser, Harlequin Duck, Surf Scoter, Brandt's Cormorant, Mute Swan, Canada Goose and Turkey Vultures.
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| Robyn photographing more wildlife |
Pedder Bay in the past has been home to a pair of Mute Swans and rounding what we call Killer Whale Point (just past the 6 nm mark on our track) we came across a single swan. Both of us wondered where his or her mate was?? Maybe further out to sea feeding?? Who knows but we hope to see it again later in the summer.
It was a good day to test ride the Wilderness Systems 15.5 Zephyr and I think I know what Robyn has in mind. The question is .... what color??
2016 Paddle #4 - Pedder Bay
Distance: 7.12 nm (13.18 km)
YTD: 31.37 nm (58.09 km)
Well that colour looks gorgeous (but I think the Zephyr never has looked that good with me sitting in it!!). Nice green water to show it off! Funny, one of the things I didn't like about the Delphin when I tested it was that it seemed slow turning! It was a very short test in the Harbour though so we will need to trade again on a bouncier paddle! It is nice to see the boat getting some use!
ReplyDeleteI was in Lynn's zephyr at the pool last night - not only did it feel wonderful to simply paddle a boat again even in a pool, but it was surprisingly easy to control using just one leg. I could do reasonable high-edge-angle brace turns both sides, though one needed more lean as there was no knee lift going on. I can't risk re-injury though so must keep my desire for getting out there under wraps for a couple more months.