Some rough water and surf images.

Just so you don't think I have not been kayaking. It has been a busy year and I have not had much time to post. Theses are stills from my deck cams while I was surfing at Metompkin Inlet, Virginia, 37.676689, -75.589551

Local Knowledge is a Good Thing

This blog post was put on hold because of life and work. I just have not had time for blogging.

It is always good to know the area you are paddling. Over Thanksgiving 2015, my wife and I went to my sisters place near Cape Henlopen State Park.  We have only paddled there a couple times and the water has always been calm in side the breakwater area and we had never been past the point since my sister is not and adventurous paddler. We kner there was a mild tide race near the point and planned to play in it since all reports were there would be no surf to be found. 

Seriously all data said 1.5 meter swells out and nothing in toward shore. The tide was going out so the tide race would be all there was.

Max wave height nothing of note, 1.5 meters at sea and winds to the south on land and in the bay.

So we expected nothing of a challenge and maybe a little fun in the tide race at the point.

You can see from our track that we never went outside the entrance to the Harbor of Refuge. Heading out we met some swells. The beach had a shore break about waist high and nothing much else but out a little in the deeper water the swells were pushing in at closer to 2 meters. It made for some fun playing and the tide race around the point was confused water. Great place to practice boat control.

Had we been planning a longer trip or taking my sister out to the point we would have had to make a float plan correction. Nothing lead me to believe there would be that much happening in the area. This is when a little local knowledge would have been handy. Now after looking at the data and talking to some people that paddle the area these were the conditions they take L3 prospects out to train in.

Now we know and we found our new teaching an training ground within a few hours drive.

You should always do a roll or two ever time you go out. Right? Yes, my head is up early. The water was cold but I completed the roll.

A short video tour of the day. This is a calm day.

Chaptico Wharf to Newtowne Neck State Park

On Saturday September, 5 2015 the wife and I joined a group of CPA paddlers in a trip around Coltons Point, MD. This is part of a series of trips being lead by Ralph H. to help plan a water trail down the Potomac. He has been contacting both the Virginia and Maryland park services and working to get paddle up camp sites established. This was the 6th leg of the trip. My experience on this trip was very positive.

This is Ralph's original trip itinerary for the paddle series he has dubbed Potomac Passage Maker Tour. http://aceheimlich.com/CPA/Potomac%20Passage%20Maker%20Tour%20Preliminary%20Itinerary%202_4_2015.pdf

The weather report for the trip was good but the winds were predicted to be 10 to 15 with gust up to 20. We lucked out because the winds were not that strong on the water and at our lunch break I check the NOAA station and the winds were 7 to 9. That made it a pleasant and easy day on the water.

The only truly exciting part was the pair of large fish, possibly sharks, that we startled half way into Breton Bay. They bolted between my kayak and Tim's kayak. They were about 6 feet I would guess. A bull shark was just caught in that area on Thursday September 3rd. See the pictures here, http://wjla.com/news/local/photos-8-foot-bull-shark-caught-near-coltons-point-in-maryland 

After the paddle we went to Fitzie's for a nice seafood dinner then shuttling people and boats back to their cars. 

Now the track and some photos of the trip.

Getting ready to put in at Chaptico Wharf

The Lorax's Wife

Our host Ralph H.

Our fleet on the beach at St. Clements Island

Lunch by the lighthouse

The group as they leave me behind. Heading into Breton Bay.

Leesylvania to Mallows Bay

So, I am late posting about this trip. There is not much to say. It was an 10.7 mile round trip paddle to Mallows Bay and back form Leesylvania State Park, VA.

The Ghost Fleet of Mallows Bay

So, here is the track and some photos of the trip.

East Coast Paddle Festival (late recap post)

I posted about arriving at the East Coast Paddlesports & Outdoor Festival and then went silent. Even though we were in a site with power hookup so we could charge our radios and GPS and phones, the WIFI access was crap. We were suppose to have access throughout the area we were in but that was not the case. After we arrived at home things were busy.

So, about the festival:
We did not know we would be able to go until a couple weeks before the festival and all the masters classes were full with waiting lists. Not knowing if we would get in on classes we wanted we opted to take some classes offered by Sea Kayak Carolina. We did 2 days with Greg, Paula and Rick from Kayak Waveology and one day of surf with Dale Williams. Then we spent a couple afternoons checking out the festival and paddling in the pond. I also spent some time trying out NDK kayaks. My favorite was the new Latitude. It is a nice kayak and I like a smaller cockpit. I am to large for a Pilgrim but the Latitude was a good fit. The Explorer is also a nice fit but the cockpit is a little large and the HV was way to large. In the end though it looks like I will be getting a Romany Surf but that is somewhere in the future. Not sure why everyone is trying to get me out of my Point 65 boats.

Our first day with Kayak Waveology was more of an intro to rough water and coastal kayaking, a coastal tour so to speak. It was a nice overcast day and the conditions were good for a little rough water training. I was happy I had no trouble with the surf launch and I played a little in the surf when we landed at the end of the day. We also had a little fun in the tide race.

Here is a screen shot of our track. Created with Backcountry Navigator.

My wife took this very unflattering video of me playing in the surf at the end of our first Waveology class. Please remember this is the first time I have had my kayak in breaking surf.

Our class the next day was with Dale Williams. So, this was an actual how to surf a sea kayak class. Dale is a great guy and instructor. When I made a mistake he was able to instantly tell me what I was doing wrong. I really learned a lot in this class. My only regret is that we did not spend more time out in the larger outside break because a couple people in that class were not feeling up to it.

Here is what our track that day looked like.  Created with Backcountry Navigator.

Below is some video I shot during the class from the back deck of my kayak. I found that I need a better camera mount if I am going to shoot video while surfing.

 

The third day it was back out with Kayak Waveology. This time they broke the class into two groups. Paula and Rick stayed near the launch with 2 students that were not ready for the bigger water. Greg took me my wife and another student, who is also an instructor for whitewater, out into the larger breakers and over to the tide race. This class was more instruction than the first one we had with Kayak Waveology. We played in some fun conditions. I failed a roll in 3 to 4 foot swells and was towed out a little to do a rescue. I am blaming the helmet. I have never worn a helmet and rolled in a sea kayak. Then we were off to play in the tide race and I went over but this time I did not fail my roll (what a relief that was). We had on the water lectures and scenarios and I got to do a rough water contact tow across a channel with a 2 knot flow. That was fun. Even though you practice these things in calmer waters it is always good to practice in conditions. Then we went into a cove and landed and discussed our towing and rescue equipment we carry and went through some discussions on different towing techniques.  Lots of great information.

Sorry, no video from that class. But this is our track of the day.  Created with Backcountry Navigator.

After the class we went back to the festival and paddled in the pond. We also stopped off at the Masters Beach so I could meet Nigel Foster. We had a nice chat and he is a very nice and pleasant person. He offered me his paddle to try out. Not only does he design great boats but I was very pleased with the paddle design also. I put up a blog about planning to get one of his paddles. We are hoping to do take a class with Nigel at Sweetwater Kayaks. Or, maybe make a trip out to Washington to get a private lesson. When my wife met him a year ago she came home saying that he reminded her of me as far a personality, this is why I wanted to meet him while we were at the festival. 

As for the whole experience, it was great all in all.

We arrived on Wednesday and went to a get together at Sea Kayak Carolina. It rained. Thursday we volunteered to help with the setup of Sea Kayak Carolinas tent and display but there was little for us to do so, we relaxed at camp most of the day. It rained. Friday we had a class and visited the festival. It rained. Saturday we had a class then stayed in camp as it rained. Sunday we had a class then went to the Festival and met Nigel Foster. Then we went to dinner at The Triangle. It rained, sever thunder storms. Monday was a beautiful day. The air was fresh and the sun was out and we packed our camp and spent almost 7 hours in the car driving to Richmond.

When we got home I noticed some cracks in the gelcoat on the bottom of my kayak. Upon further inspection I found that I had stress fractured my hull at the front of my kayak. I can only imagine that it happened during the last class when I raced over an outside wave that appeared suddenly. It was about a 4 foot wave but the front of my kayak smacked the water hard as I came off the back of the wave. The repair is complete and will be posted in a later blog.

We survived and had a great time.

Cherry Blossoms on the Potomac

This weekend was the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC. A friend arranged a paddle on Saturday and my wife arranged one for Sunday morning.

The trip on Saturday was just 3 of us because, everyone else canceled because of the 15 MPH winds. It just made for a little more chop and exercise. It was a fun day of paddling.

The story in photos.

Then on sunday we had a nice breeze and several paddlers on our trip. It was a fun day on the water.

Sunday's story in photos.

Running paddles can be a challenge, especially this time of the year when the days are warming up and the water temps are on the rise. The waters had bee moving to the high 50s but dropped toward the weekend and ended up at around 51 degrees fahrenheit on Saturday and Sunday.

We required people going with our group to be in at least a 3 mil  wetsuit but drysuit prefered.

Saturday was no recreational kayaks, kayaks under 14 feet, because of the wind and chop. The last thing we want is a hypothermic paddler spoiling the trip for everyone. Safety first.

We were surprised when we saw that the Key Bridge Boathouse was renting kayaks and SUPs on Saturday and Sunday. People were paddling in tshirts and shorts. I wonder what their liability is if someone goes for a swim and hypothermic shock sets in. Well, it is not my problem.

So we had a great weekend.