Mid Week Playtime

Summer time means late afternoon paddle fun so I headed off to Cadboro Bay with Gary and Jane Jacek on Tuesday evening for a little paddle around Cadboro Point. For Jane this was her first paddle in some time as she is a full time teacher and recently completed her graduate diploma. Now it's time for her to unwind a bit and get back on the water. Robyn and I will be joining Jane and Gary in a couple of weeks when we head to the Bunsby Islands for 11 days.

Gary assists Jane to get her foot pegs adjusted.

We headed to Cadboro Point and played in the currents as the ebb was just starting to pick up. I decided to leave some P&H (Lava) Delphin on some of the rocks when I managed to get hung upon one in the midst of a turn. That's what plastic kayaks are for anyway .... having fun rock gardening!

Gary photo bombs .... again LOL

Jane heading back through Cadboro Point. Two weeks ago Robyn and I couldn't paddle through here due to no water.

The great thing about living in Victoria is that we are only minutes away from the water in all directions so evening paddles are becoming more popular with us. Next up .... we are heading to Cowichan Bay on Sunday to paddle with Cowichan Bay Kayaks for a little refresher training.

2014 Paddle # 21 Cadboro Bay Playtime
Distance: 4.56 nm (8.44 km)
YTD: 109.83 nm (203.4 km)

Gearing Up With Ocean River Sports

You know that spring is just around the corner when Brian Henry's Ocean River Sports Gear Up Sale is on. For over 30 years this popular event has been a great opportunity for paddlers and outdoor enthusiasts to take advantage of discounted pricing on their equipment needs for the spring and summer.

One of our favorite places to visit while downtown. Great staff make it fun to just stop by and say Hi.

The rain as predicted started to fall just as I arrived to get in line with all of the other "keeners" looking to score a bargain. Did I need anything to add to our personal "Gearhead" inventory? Heck no, but ya just never know when one might need another kayak to add to the fleet at home. 

Normally the doors to the sale open up right at 10:00am but Brian, always thinking about the customer decided to open the doors early to get the shoppers out of the elements. When was the last time you experienced something like this? 

Like always, there was lots of regular staff in red t-shirts on hand to assist the shoppers as well as a number of volunteers helping out in non retail areas. There were some great deals on products from Kokatat, Icebreaker Merino, Werner Paddles, NRS, North Water and Astral to name a few.

Even ensuring that crossing a sometimes busy Store Street to the parking lot was looked after with a crossing guard. Every year the parking lot transforms into the showroom for kayaks, surf skis, stand up paddle-boards, canoes and any products that need larger display areas. 

Just about every human powered watercraft was on display just across the street.

This year some of the manufacturers represented were Stellar Kayaks, Kayak (Boréal Design) Distribution, Delta Kayaks, Sterling Kayaks, Necky Kayaks, Current Designs Hobie Kayaks and Starboard SUP's. Whether you are a seasoned paddler or just wanting to get into the pastime, there was a good assortment of fiberglass / Kevlar, thermoform and rotomold products to check out. 

Those who know me including Robyn who was out of town, probably want to know what I bought right? Well let me tell you this ...... I think it might be a first for me to have walked out of Ocean River Sports without buying anything. Oh yeah, I was tempted. Besides .... the sale continues tomorrow and Robyn might want to go back with me. ;-)