Started off with rain, ended with SUN. Love it when a route works out. Got a decent current push out and back.

Cruised to Watmough Bay, with a stop at Smith Island to look for Puffins. No Puffins, just lots of Rhinoceros Auklets and Porpoises.

Glad to be out after not paddling all week after I threw my back out skateboarding with the kids last weekend 😂. Stopped at Yellow Island briefly, peak wild flower season right now.

Less rowing and more sunbathing. Trying to take it easy today.

Thought about doing a land based activity for lunch today, but it’s just too nice out on the water. Slow route between Northern winds and Northbound current, but good training for sure with all the side chop and reverb.

Mixed bag of weather today, featuring headwinds from all sides of the compass, but they were very mellow, refreshing when the sun was out, chilly when the dark clouds rolled thru. Still had a lot of energy at the end of that paddle. Itching to do a 20-25 miler again soon.

“Turn it up high Reggie, I wanna burn” . No but seriously I think I did get a sunburn, but, worth it. Was slower and tougher than I thought in the return but overall, most enjoyable.

Excellent flood tide. North wind was lighter than last two days, which was nice for the upwind sections.

Nice long jaunt in the current, up the channel with the small flood. Not much wind, but plenty of dynamic small chop to keep the legs in check.

Great day to end my 30’s on 🙏

It’s April 1st but todays no joke. Beautiful weather, still a chill in the air though. Lots of Sealions out chilling today until I disturb their peace 💦

Messy and difficult getting upwind and then East just a bit so I could line up some downwind bits.

Slower than I thought, chaotic chop to start, got some fun downwind glides on the way back.

First 2/3rds of the paddle were smooth as glass. The crux was on the S end of Henry, where the Westerly breeze switched to a more stout Southerly. The cross chop was small but intense. I noticed the rain clouds over Victoria were no longer headed my way at least, and it was very enjoyable up Mosquito Passage with the wind at my back.

A taxing upwind with the ebb current. So much so that there is no point to paddle upwind like this, except to know that it can be done. Not exactly “fun”, but it’s beautiful out here, I get to chat with Eagle and Sea Lion, and it’s a killer workout ✌️

Lots of grinding upwind, with the current, enjoying the sun for a brief moment in the lee of the cape, then some fun glides before battling broadside to get thru boat pass at Turn Island. 2 swims today. Long overdue. Funny, was just talking with a friend yesterday about falling in more and “it’s just water” 😊💦

Messy but fun conditions. Caught a few sloppy glides and the up wind was a crawl but enjoyable.

Was going to go at lunch, but decided to wait a few hours for the small craft advisory to die down. Still had a headwind to contend with, but there was enough current left to still make good speed. Still haven’t perfected exiting the current at Turn Rock efficiently 🧮

Had a good ride from the N wind and current, and paid for it on the way back. It was planning to aim for the West side of Turn island, but got the trajectory wrong and was forced on the other side of from the very strong current there. I tried to claw my way around the South end, but it was no use, so caught the current around the North side of Turn where the current was still strong but manageable.

Just kinda fooling around in the rain, playing in the ripping riptide around Minnesota Reef, and circling a few boats at anchor while I wait for 12:10 ferry to leave.

Mostly mirror flat, though the boat wakes seem to last forever. Made good use of the current and back eddies. Feels like a long time since I’ve paddled at such a low tide. Good for viewing lots of star fish and crabs on the bottom.

Bought a new to me paddle from a friend yesterday. So nice, it’s a 74”, an inch longer than my usual ther paddle, and I think I’m gonna like it.

More sun, with the N breeze to cool it down.

Felt a bit off my game to start, but by the second half the sun had recharged me. First shirts off paddle of the year!

Mellow seas and current. The harbor is getting slightly more active but still pretty sleepy. Gotta get ready to dodge the seaplanes again soon.

We rocked and rolled in the Marina all night, but it’s calm now with North winds, though the water is still murky from last nights turbulence. Kinda slack tide right now, so no big pushes, but the dying N wind did make for a few fun slow motion surfs when I was Southbound. Always good to see the USCG out cruising the channel 🫡

Gusts in the 50’s are predicted for tonight, so conditions now seem tame but still gusty from the East kicking up some good waves. Rocky and slow. The downwind back from Turn Island was fun surfing, but slow against the ebb.

10 days since my last paddle and it feels like a different season already. Went for a longer paddle than planned due to the warm weather, nice to not worry about frozen toes.

The South wind was colder today, especially when the sun finally disappeared behind the clouds. This typically a very dry boat, but heading into the short chop with a current push got a bit splashy.

The SE breeze felt “warm”, almost spring like, at least compared to the last 4 days of arctic air we’ve been getting. So didn’t mind the headwind against current conditions to Turn Island which was bumpy and slow. Snuck up on a pack of 7 Otters. I’ve found if they spot you standing up, they’ll leave right away, but if get down and stop paddling and glide towards them, I can get pretty close before they spot me. Especially if it’s rough or very rainy because of all the noise.

Made a lot of excuses for not getting out on the water yesterday. Filtered sun was no help at all vs the cold NE breeze. The down wind was pleasant though, much better out in the middle away from the messy chop.

No more sun, but it was calm

Going downwind in the sunshine, feels like a life hack. No shirt, trying to get some vitamin D from that low in the sky fireball.

Quick row to catch some rays.

The high pressure brought out the sun and the cold wind. Really fun downwinder today. The first 1/3rd of the ebb stretched out the N chop just right for a while to get some fun, fast glides. Worth the crawl upwind and against current. First time busting out the baklava for the year. Wanted to keep going, but cut it short and headed for the harbor to make a work meeting 👎🏻

North wind created the usually sloppy choppy conditions near shore, but out in the channel it got much more organized. Took a wide route on the ebb current, ferrying across the current. Not an ideal course but it was good practice. Loving the winter ferry schedule, lots of time to cross the lanes.

The ebb current push was nice, but rough and cold against the SE head wind. Not big seas rough, but noisy micro chop rough, that never lets the board settle down. It was tiring to stay with my legs still sore from the gym, but the sunshine helped once it came out from behind the clouds and I finally got in a groove.