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| Went out on an awesome paddle Thursday evening with a new friend Craig that I met in Port Townsend at the wooden kayak festival. We launched from Mukilteo point just south of the ferry dock at 5:30 PM and headed north with the incoming tide, 65 degrees and clear blue sky, light wind blowing the swells at us so we got bounced around some but very friendly water. We continued north toward Hat Island, my 3rd time trying it as a destination. Its just under 4 miles from Mukilteo to the south tip of the island so depending on the direction of the tide it is at least an hour paddle in wide open water, if the tide is against you it could be up to 3 hrs so it pays to time it right. Along the way we saw quite a few salmon, some jumping clear out of the water, and a couple of harbor seals that poke their heads up and watch you go by. High tide was scheduled for 6:30 so we needed to get as far as possible before the current was working against us. We made landfall just after the tide change at 6:40 PM and watched the sun go down over Whidbey Island and the tip of the Olympic mountains while we grabbed a quick bite to eat and drink. The water was very clear and we could see the various sea creatures along the shoreline, didn't see any crab this trip, last saturday I counted 9 that were along the bottom in 10 ft deep water or so. I may need to rig a way to catch some on my next trip out. Only problem in a kayak is where to put them after you have them netted, live crab in the cockpit doesn't strike me as a great idea. After the sun set the wind calmed and the water turned glassy, the glow of the sunset lit up the Cascade mountain range and the stars came out while we made our way back toward the lights of the ferry terminal. It was so peaceful being out on the water in the dark. We both stopped paddling for a while and just listened to the sounds, the water slapping against the hull, seagulls, power boats in the distance, ferryboat horn, then the roar of a train going by, still loud at 2 miles away. Even though the moon had not yet risen we still had enough visibility to see the swells coming and adjust for them. The city lights were reflecting off the water in the distance. One of the dangers kayaking at night is that you are pretty much invisible to any other boats. I was glad there was very little traffic and all of it was in front of us, not sneaking up from behind. We had to stop and discuss strategy once when we noticed a tug pulling a large barge loaded with sawdust coming toward us but still 3 or 4 miles off. He was headed for Everett marina off to our left so we were tempted to veer right further out into the channel, problem was that this would also take us closer into the ferry lane and there was one pulling away from the Whidbey Island terminal and would be crossing our path in under 15 minutes. The tug quickly gained the 4 miles and veered off toward Everett, we stayed well away but still smelled the cedar sawdust he was carrying. It reminded both of us of building our cedar kayaks, it smelled just like my workshop when I'm carving a paddle.. When the ferryboat passed us there was a very different, not so pleasant odor, grease from the cafe. It smelled like 2 day old fish and chips. We made the beach at Mukilteo at just before 8:00, still a few people walking along the shoreline and a couple of fishermen trailering their boats made me feel better about getting our cars out of the parking lot, I remembered that the park closed at dusk, an hour and a half prior. It is my custom to roll the boat at the beginning and end of every trip and it's worth bonus points if its dark so even though it was pretty cold out now, I had to dump it over. As I was coming back up I heard Craig yell "look behind you, its a whale or something!" He could hear the spray as it blew air, it ended up being a Sea Lion about 30 feet behind my boat, not a whale but still very large and loud, kind of spooky being upside down at night anyway without large animals right behind you. As we were pulling the boats onto the shore I remembered about the Luminescence, a tiny sea animal that glows when disturbed, like fireflies. I was suprised we hadn't seen any while were paddling but now they were all over, dipping the paddle in the water set off a thousand little lights that drifted with the current and went as deep as I could reach with the paddle extended underwater. We played for a few minutes and then proceeded with loading the cars up and heading our separate ways back home. It was just a 2-1/2 hour paddle but one that I will remember for a long time. Ben Staley 10/5/01 |
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