KAYAKING - Vacation part II

Leigh taking in the sights and sounds

Our window to take the boat north to the Gulf Islands shrank to the point where a plan 'B' was needed.  Some chores beckoned on the island and we did always talk about taking a kayak trip... so let's do it. 

We headed north and discovered it wasn't a good week for the Washington State Ferry system -- which meant it wasn't a good week for passengers either.  No reservations were being taken, they were down one boat and our boat was misloaded by the crew.  Lovely.  After much more than a 3 hour tour, we arrived at the house just in time for cocktail hour followed by a steak dinner.  Worth it.

Wednesday was spent staging for the kayak trip, some exercise, planning for a planting project some other miscellaneous chores then dinner at the 'other' brewery that just opened.

We have a lot of camping stuff.  Some of it essential, some of it not so much.  Parsing through and deciding which was which took some time.

Figuring out stowage.  Balance, but heavier stuff towards the stern.

Thursday was the big day.   Leigh had never been on an overnight kayak trip.  Neither had I.  We both had our backpacking loading routine down, but that doesn't directly translate to loading gear in drybags.

We planned to head to Stuart Island right from the house.  With the ebb running strong, I figured we'd round Limestone point and start crossing Spieden Channel and the ebb would do quite a bit of work for us, sweeping us west as we crossed.  It worked perfect.  I really know these currents (that sentiment would fade considerably the following day with a large dose of humble pie,  but I'm getting ahead of myself).

There's something about kayaking that's special.  You're low, just a couple of feet above the water.  It's silent, so in addition to seeing things you can hear everything.  Once we crossed over to the Spieden side, wildlife was abundant and close.  Seals sunning themselves, casually but a little warily eyeing us as we glided by.  An adult bald eagle showing the offspring 'how it's done'.  Ravens trying to disrupt the lessons.  Subtle back eddies.  Jellyfish.  Aquatic birds diving.  Bait fish below shimmering in clear water.  Fantastic.

After cruising the islands and poking around on powerboats, sailboats and now kayaks, I'm coming the conclusion that powerboats are the worst way to experience the islands.   The only thing they excel at is comfort for those aboard (when everything is working).  They're noisy and  insulate the crew from most inputs from the natural world.  They throw out huge wakes.  Yes they have ice makers, but folks aboard miss much of what's going on around them.  They can 'see' the islands as they cruise along, but to truly 'feel' and have a more immersive experience, try kayaking.  It'll change your perception.

Approaching Spieden -- with all the necessary equipment on the deck.

Leigh paddling strong

Some of the exotic wildlife left over from the 'Safari Island' days on Spieden.  This was at considerable distance, but there's something, we think a bird, on the back of the closer animal.

Adolescence is awkward for many species.  Many lessons to learn. 

Perhaps this one was on posture?

We heard later that Ravens can take on young eagles with success

It took us under two hours to get to Stuart.  We hugged the Spieden shore, rounded the point and headed across to Reid Harbor.  Textbook.

Once we arrived we set up camp on the Prevost side and found a site balanced between privacy and view.  Once settled, we headed off to Turn Point -- the traditional trudge passed the obligatory (and for the moment shuttered) Stuart Island school.

The Turn Point Lighthouse is worthy of a separate blog post.  There's a non-profit that has done wonders with the museum which now has a much better setting.  The living quarters has been largely restored and it's well worth the visit.

The restored coast guard living quarters.  The docent  there didn't mention why only bachelors were lighthouse keepers on Smith Island.  Another scandalous story probably reserved for verbal telling!

Our picture

From long ago

More recent

The stairway inside the living quarters

After making our way back to the campsite we had a nice cocktail hour followed by dinner.  Leigh makes the most incredible dehydrated meals!  All home made and wonderful.

Sunset from our campsite.

In the morning I checked the weather.  Bad news.  A front was blowing in and the forecast wasn't specific as to when.  I think they hedged their bets.  It actually hit in the evening, but in the morning it sounded like an afternoon event.  Right when the current was in our favor.   Do we want to battle current or weather?  Take a risk or (we thought) play it safe with more work.  You can strategize around currents and play with them.  Weather too, but I wasn't looking forward to crossing Spieden channel with lumpy water.

Momentarily I pondered going down the north side of Spieden, but the rip at Green Point can be miserable and there's no real way to avoid it.  Better to re-trace our course and then if we get swept west by the ebb, duck into Roche as a last resort.  That was our plan.

We made our way against the building ebb to the western end of Spieden then crept up the Southern shore -- alternatively enjoying small back eddies then encountering ever stronger adverse currents.  We had made our way perhaps 2/3rds the way and I called it.  Let's cross.  It turned out to be a little too soon.  There was a nice tide rip over my right shoulder, but well behind us.  As we crossed we were slowed a bit by large powerboat wakes with the current taking us back towards the straits and the tide rips.  Before long we were in the rips accentuated by large wakes.  Confused breaking seas that washed over our skirts several times. 

Leigh felt that she was at risk of capsizing only once, but paddled on as we stayed fairly close.  It was an uncomfortable 15 to 20 minutes, but we emerged on the other side unscathed and relieved.

There was some small risk of capsizing, but with two boats we had a margin of safety.  Both of us had waterproof VHF radios and could have hailed for assistance even in the water.  There was plenty of (inconsiderate) powerboats that probably would have lent a hand if needed.  I'm sure not many of them know how truly miserable their wakes were.

In any case we hugged the Northern top of San Juan and played that big back eddy between Davidson Head and Limestone point for all it was worth.  At Limestone point we hugged the rock and went between the point and the reef like the mailboats of old (an old fellow, probably then in his 90's, told me of his mailboat days when I was in Junior High nearly a half century ago.  His description of running around Limestone point inside the reef rang true to me).

Right at the point, I told Leigh to paddle hard.  She did, but found it wasn't enough -- she said she had to dig deep and she slowly made her way around to a welcomed weaker current on the other side of the point.  We rounded two more reefs and home shore beckoned.  I beached first only to find my legs weren't working all that well. Leigh experience the same, rising out of her kayak only to fall back into it. 

We were home with a good adventure.