Out Of The Darkness

I can see you!!

Friday paddles .... I'm starting to love them! Last week's paddle was a little different in terms of when we decided to launch. Simply put ... it was DARK!

Fellow SISKA paddler John Minkley put together a plan to head to Discovery Island from Gyro Park (Cadboro Bay) and watch the sun rise on the way there. So our little group of 7 paddlers arrived at the park in the dark, unloaded our gear in the dark and headed out on the water at 7:30am .... in the dark. Don't worry we all had headlamps or lights on our kayaks just in case the sun didn't come up today. :-)


The forecast for that day called for variable 5-15 SE (Haro) 10-20 SW (Juan de Fuca East) with a chance of showers. But Discovery Island is right at the intersection of Haro and Juan de Fuca Straights and depending how you interpreted the information it really could mean anything was coming. Oh yeah ... we were also coming up to a max ebb in Baynes Channel of around 3 kts from a NE direction just after launch. So with all of this information at hand we decided that we wouldn't make a direct SE route to Discovery Island but instead head SW to Cattle Point to see what the wind was doing out in open water. Maybe there would be an option to cross over to the Chain Islands first on our way to Discovery Island.

Somewhere out there is Discovery Island but it is still dark.

I think we were only about 1/4 mile from the beach when we felt the increasing SW wind and then the rain came. By the time we reached Cattle Point our faces were absorbing the stinging sensation one gets when the rain falls horizontally and you are paddling into it. Our group tucked in behind Cattle Point to get out of the wind and we made the decision to follow the shoreline along Willows Beach and through the Oak Bay Marina where we would assess the conditions again.

Thankfully by the time we reached the marina the rain had stopped and the skies started to lighten up a bit and before you knew it, there was the sun! Leaving the marina I looked back at the Chain Islands and could see nothing but pretty big white caps in Plumper Passage. Just over 2 miles away, Baynes Channel was showing the effects of wind against current and even from this distance I could see huge white caps. The weather and currents had helped us make our decision so we just kept on paddling towards Gonzales Point.

Plan "B" ... Paddling towards the Victoria Golf Club and Gonzales Point

By the time we reached Gonzales we were in full sunshine but once we rounded the point we were greeted by fairly strong SW winds. After a quick discussion we decided that we would start heading back towards the marina instead of slogging through the wind. Even though our original paddle plan didn't happen that day we still enjoyed the paddle as it was one of those that gave you a little bit of everything ... even a rainbow!

Heading back towards Cadboro Bay we even saw a rainbow over Oak Bay.

We landed back at Gyro Park Beach, packed up our gear, headed for coffee at Olive Olio's and were all done just after noon. Lots of time in the day to still do whatever we pleased so Kari and I met Robyn at home and we went geocaching along the Lochside Trail. Early morning paddles certainly do have their advantages .... even if they start in the dark!  LOL

2016 Paddle #2 - Cadboro Bay
Distance: 7.24 nm (13.40 km)
YTD: 16.25 nm (30.095 km)

Practice Time For Robyn

Ever since we got back from our Paddle Canada Level 3 / 2 course in the fall Robyn has been working very hard to get ready for her Level 3 Assessment in April. In fact her skills advancement has been amazing to watch in the pool over the winter and now it's time to transfer those skills to the ocean.

A couple weeks ago Robyn asked me what she should work on and I said "Let's work on paddle strokes". So off we went to Cadboro Bay just to work on edging and paddle strokes with a focus on core rotation. For this paddle I put the GoPro on her kayak so we could analyse the session later at home. This is just a sample of her paddling for the day. :-)

2015 Paddle # 6 - Cadboro Bay

Distance: 3.85 nm ( 7.13 km)

YTD: 40.87 nm (‪66.42 km)

That's Not Rain .... This is Rain!!

I love my girl Robyn! It rained pretty hard all day in Victoria on Tuesday, in fact it was a record setting rainfall for September 2nd. I hummed and hawed all day about going out to practice rolling but when the sun came out briefly Robyn said "Let's go". 

Arriving at Gyro Park in Cadboro Bay there was just us and a few other crazy kayakers heading out on the water to practice skills. Sure enough just as we were leaving the shore it started to sprinkle ... HA!

Robyn getting it done!

Our goal for today's practice session was fix some roll elements and the weather was just a minor distraction especially when the bolt of lightning and thunder got our attention fast! Thankfully it was the only "BOOM" we experienced and we went about our completing our goals. 

Someone's pretty happy about her rolling tonight! :-)

Robyn took the lead and completed 3 successful rolls on her own while I stood in the water next to her "hands off" as she put it all together. SWEEEET! 

I then practiced several non set up rolls on both sides and although I failed a few on the first attempt I reset up and completed the roll. Mission accomplished for both of us!

On the way back to the put in we practiced some towing skills to finish off our practice session. An awesome evening paddle in just a shower. :-)

Hummm .... never paddled in snow storm. Next weather bucket list item.

2014 Paddle # 39 Practice Time

Distance: Zippo! nm (Nada! km)

YTD: 235.02 nm (435.25 km)

Skills Development Day

With summer rain showers in the forecast for this weekend it was the perfect opportunity to head to the beach again. On Saturday morning we met up with Gary and Jane Jacek at Gyro Park (Cadboro Bay) for a day of skills refining. The rain? We planned on getting wet anyway.

While we paddled to Loon Bay to practice some rescues it was a great opportunity to work on blending strokes and edging our P&H Delphins. With lots of boats and anchor buoys on route to the Royal Victoria Yacht Club it was the perfect way to practice our sweep, bow, stern pry, low and high brace turns.

Arriving in Loon Bay Jane gets some last minute tips from Gary before starting her wet exit training.

At the practice area Robyn and I worked on her rolls which are starting to flow much better now that she is keeping her head and torso lower on the back deck to complete the sweep of her paddle. Lifting the head too soon just makes the roll much more physical than it should be.

We then worked on  rescues including the Eskimo or T-Rescue including some that we planned and one that I simply rolled in and waited (yes under water) for Robyn to come to my rescue. She did really a really good job responding to the slight curve ball that I threw her. I wanted to see how she would react and I was very pleased as I watched her bow arrive within hands reach for me to hip flick myself back upright.

Then we did a few wet exits working on refining our technique to reduce the time it takes for the person in the water to get back into the kayak and secured. Our goal is to complete this rescue in less than 1 minute from the time of first contact by the rescue kayaker.

Robyn takes full control of assisting me get back into my kayak. First .... get my kayak empty of water.

Next .... position the kayak for me to re-enter.

Legs in the cockpit and a quick twist to face Robyn

Spray skirt on and ready to paddle again .... Thanks Robyn!

After our 'wet' practice was completed we paddled to Willows Beach through the rocky islets along the coastline. This is where the paddle stokes and edging that we have been working on really proved their value. Rock gardening can be a very rewarding experience especially when maneuvering in very tight channels.

Jane playing in the rock gardens once she got her paddle back from Gary ;-)

On the way to the Willows Beach Tea Room which would be our rest stop we came by a wedding taking place on the beach. Thank goodness the rain had stopped for such a special day!

Our play kayaks at rest while we visited the tea room hot chocolate and snacks

Our track route shows the story of our practice day .... no straight lines just lots of maneuvering.

2014 Paddle # 23 Practice Time
Distance: 4.62 nm (8.55 km)
YTD: 123.13 nm (228.03 km)