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| If you want someone to blame for having to read another long trip report, its Troys fault!! He asked for one. On Saturday I joined a group of friends for the October paddle with the South Sound Wooden Kayak Club. It is a very loosely organized club, mostly they provide a place and time for anyone with a boat to show up and have fun. They even let non-wooden boats join on special occasions as long as they adhere to the very strict and rigid guidelines. Here is a sampling: 1. The non-wooden boat owner is expected to exclaim at least once an hour something along the lines of "That is the most beautiful kayak I have ever seen" or "How did you ever do that, you must be a very skilled craftsman". 2. The NWBO (non-wooden boat owner) must show an endless interest in the minute details of how your particular method of joining the coaming to the deck is different from everyone elses, and how you plan to change the way the hatches seal on the next boat and on and on and on and on. 3. If a member of the SSWK club allows you the high honor of trying their newly carved greenland paddle, The NWBO must gasp with amazement at how light and powerful it is compared with the $400 20 oz carbon fiber paddle they are currently using. There are many many more rules and regulations but this started out as a trip report and somehow digressed. We met at Owens Beach on the north eastern side of Point Defiance in Tacoma at 8:45 AM, it was a little windy and cold but no rain, and none in the forecast. High tide was scheduled for about 10 minutes after nine so we were a bit late for prime conditions. An hour earlier there would have been 4 to 5 knot currents for a free ride south, our intended course. Several of us had to drive a couple of hours so a really early start would have been unreasonable, besides, I much prefer the extra workout and moral benefits that come from paddling against a 2 knot current for 2 or 3 hours......ahhemmm. We held pretty close to the shoreline where the current was slower, I enjoyed watching the sealife around the rocks on the bottom and the occasional Blue Heron with their long legs and long neck. Several places along the way the water had carved back into the cliff and formed a little grotto where a small stream ended flowing over ferns and splashing into the saltwater. Big trees shelter the spot and make it into a small hidden secluded beach. These places of peace and beauty are what make working hard in uncomfortable clothing in the wet and cold seem like such a small price to pay. I feel like stopping and just soaking up the feeling so I will have some in reserve that I can pull out later when the stresses of life pile up and peace seems far away. We passed underneath the enormous bridge twice, once out in the main channel while going up to check out the eddy behind one of the huge bridge abutments, and another time while ferrying across the current back to the shoreline so we could continue south. At the bridge there was some confused water but nothing very threatening, the more experienced of the group were hoping for more I'm sure. I held back a little ways hoping to surf a few waves that formed at the eddy line, and not wanting to get too close to the bridge. In other words, I'ma chicken...squawk squawk. Finally we pulled into the bay where we would stop for a break and some lunch. I felt obligated to roll a few times since I was tired and like to practice at the worst times. I should rethink my approach though since this meant I was sitting out in the cold and wind with wet hair and wetsuit....stupid. On my list of things to do different next time are now a thermos of hot tea or soup, and a tupperware bowl that is just the right size to fit in the rear hatch that my lunch goes in. It would be nice to have some goodies to share around with the group also, and DON'T ROLL RIGHT BEFORE LUNCH YOU MORON!!!! Back into the boats after a short break and out into the main channel for the easy ride home. 3 to 4 knot current made for a quick ride back to the point where a nice tide rip and eddy formed for some swirling round and round fun. We really needed more wind opposing the current to stack the waves up better but it still beat most of the paddling days I get in the calm waters up in Everett. I mustered up a little courage and rolled right at the eddy line where the direction of your sweep stroke needs to be against the current not with it for you to roll back upright. The hard part is figuring out which direction that is while upside down and I blew the first roll but hit it on the other side easily. An eddy is a place where the current is flowing the opposite direction to the main channel, you can sit where your boat is right on the transition line and the current is flowing north on one side of your boat and south on the other. (You usually can't sit for long before it throws you upside down) I wish I was more comfortable in those places, you learn so much faster if you aren't nervous about dumping over. I really enjoyed playing around there for a while with the group and watching and learning from others. The short paddle around the point and back to the car was easy but I was worn out after 11 or 12 miles and 5 hours in the boat. Some thoughts after the trip: The narrows could easily be beyond my abilities given the right combination of current and wind and there aren't many back out options if things were to change dramatically during the trip since the roughest part is rounding the point early in the trip which must be crossed again to get back to the car. Its kind of like crossing a stream early in the morning on a hike only to find it a raging torrent in the afternoon when you are heading back in. It is a reasonable and beautiful place to paddle most days but you really have to watch the wind and tide charts. Secondly, I am DONE wearing a full wetsuit!!! I now have a drytop and will have to figure out another option for the bottom half until I can afford the dry bibs to match. I've got a large painful wetsuit rash under my arms from paddling so long with a wet (from sweat) wetsuit. Not to mention how cold the lunch break got when I was all wet from rolling. (my own stupid fault). Ben Staley 10/22/01 |
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