• We apologize for the somewhat convoluted sign-up process. Due to ever-more sophisticated attacks by chatbots, we had to increase our filtering in order to weed out AI while letting humans through. It's a nuisance, but a necessary one in order to keep the level of discourse on the forums authentic and useful. From the actual humans using WCP, thanks for your understanding!

WHERE DID YOU PADDLE? July 2009

Paddled from Southey Pt (Salt Spring) to Dionisio Pt (Galiano) and back.
Porlier Pass was flooding at 7.6 Knots at noon. Spent some time on the beach and then crossed over to Canoe Islets (Valdes) around 3PM and headed back. Tried uploading a few pics but alas it does not work.
 
I have not had much chance to get out for the past couple of weeks but I did get to Purden Lake <url> for a quick paddle on the weekend. The weather was threatening in town, which turned out to be a good thing as most of the water/jet skiers stayed home. The weather brightened up by the time I got there and it was fairly calm winds also.
969_P7180051_2_1.jpg



Thankfully the local bug population went way down in the past few weeks but I managed to get a couple of mozzies trapped under my sprayskirt- they had a feast at first but they expired eventually- possibly due to the ungodly humidity in there or perhaps from methane poisoning.

At the far end of the lake it is usually pretty quiet, only a few fishers head down this way. There was a pair of ospreys fishing in the lake as I went by.

969_P7180058_2_1.png


The east end of the lake has a marshy shore, and there were several duck families living down here as well.

969_P7180059_1.png

One reason I expect is that there is quite a tadpole/frog population down here. There were thousands of the little guys in the shallows here- able to hide by diving down into the loose muck.

969_P7180067_1.png


I got back to the put-in just as thunderheads started rolling in and the wind really picked up, creating a real chop on the water, and made my shore landing less than elegant. I was treated to a good lightning show on the drive back toward PG.
 
July 24th I went clockwise around SaltSpring Island. On the water at 8:30 AM (Southey Point) and off the water at 7:30 PM just before the rain and thunderstorm came through. Total distance on my GPS was 40 nautical miles (74 km). No long breaks but I did take about 6 stops to snack and hydrate. I was a little sore the next morning!
 
Wow. Nice trip rjoutnorth.

I was in the Broughton's for the past week with my wife and two daughters -- had a terrific time with decent weather and meals that will make your mouth water. Pictures are coming.

*****
 
I spent the weekend at Francois Lake. Nothing spectacular; it's pretty much your typical Northern Interior lake. But it was a nice way to beat the heat.

I did learn a valuable lesson however. If one is going to stand in three feet deep water holding onto a rope attached to a canoe so that one's kids can practice their paddling; one should ensure that there are no holes in one's swim trunks. Either that, or make sure there are no leeches in the water.

The obligatory snapshots:

14_francois_1.jpg



14_learning_to_paddle_1.jpg
 
Had a couple of great paddles last week with Mike Jackson who was visiting the Okanagan from Victoria! He was paddling his new Tahe Marine Greenland....wow, what a fun boat to paddle! That was the first time that I ever paddled a boat that was only 19" wide! Surprisingly stable feel though. Mike gave us some great rolling demos and then on Friday he had us doing the static brace and trying the butterfly roll! Enough of a feel that I know that I do want to learn to roll!! He also had us doing another new assisted rescue. Great to be in the water again and my bruises have just about resolved!

Great to paddle with you again Mike - looking forward to next time. Thanks again for the great fun!

73_P1040525_1.jpg



73_P1040513_1.jpg



73_P1040533_1.jpg



Great view of the cloud of smoke from the Fintry fire on Wed...looked rather like a nuclear blast had taken place!
73_P1040543_1.jpg
:oops:
 
My wife and I went up to Kootenay Lake, between Ainsworth Hot Springs and Kaslo, BC on the weekend of the 24th to get the Redfish King I just finished building wet for the very first time
The obligatory dowsing
464_P7240422_1.jpg


Wendi earned the right to the inaugural paddle, she has spent the last 7 months watching me disappear into the basement to work on the boat.
464_P1020118_1.jpg


We didn't get a lot of time on the water due to getting chased around by those pesky mountain thunderstorms, but still got in a nice morning paddle.
464_P7240437_1.jpg


It is a beautiful spot.
464_P1020124_1.jpg


Mark
 
Nice pictures, Mark. We were staying immediately across the lake from you in Riondel during that time period (came home Aug 1). 3 days of rain out of 3 weeks and temperatures between 24 and 30 every day with lakewater comfortable enough for swimming...tough to beat! (You should try the 'other side'... the view in the evening is spectacular).

Nice boat too.... anything about it that you might be thinking of tweaking after it's first wettage? (I've already started on my Coho in preparation for the Sept. 5 long weekend).
 
That was the second time that we had paddled up there with the hopes of getting to the 'other side' to go to Fry Creek. This time we got blown off the water and the other try we just ran out of time.

As far as tweaks go, not too much. But I never really got to paddle it much either. Most of what I need to do involves outfitting with thigh pads, etc. I wanted to paddle a bit before I start gluing pads in. Also, I didn't install foot pegs, just using the bulkhead with some foam and I may need to adjust the thickness of the foot rest a bit.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top