Kayaking Deception Pass

And finally, my day came...kayaking Deception Pass, a comfortable 6-odd knots on the ebb, a beautiful sunny day. Meg and I arrived at Deception Pass State Park a little early. As we pulled up, we found a dozen other kayakers gathered around...including one who looked vaguely familiar. "Kinda looks like Nigel Foster..." I remarked. After talking to some of the paddlers at the beach, it turns out that it was Nigel Foster; getting ready to teach a directional control class to the local kayaking club. As we walked down to the beach with our kayaks, I realized that one of the boats on the beach looked like the latest Nigel Foster-designed boat from Point 65N Kayaks. Seeing the opportunity...I walked up, introduced myself, and asked about the boat. Sure enough, Nigel Foster is as pleasant a paddler as you will meet, and the boat was the new Whiskey 16. Mr. Foster kindly offered to let us try the boat out during their lunch break, or in the afternoon after the class. We said we'd love to take him up on the offer and then parted ways so he could teach his class.

John, Dan, and Andrew showed up several minutes later, and after a quick duct-tape repair of John's drysuit, we paddled out from the park towards the pass. We made it to Canoe Pass to find a 4 -knot (-ish) ebb flowing out. Perfect for my first peel-out in the Pacific Northwest. I boldly paddled up the eddy, pushed my bow out into the current, waiting for the right moment to lean downstream on my trusty paddle and spin out towards the sea.

The right moment passes by without remark...I'm still upright, water is piling up on my left side, pulling me down...high brace! Ineffective!! Again!!! Failure!!!! I'm over! IN DECEPTION PASS! Quickly, I position for a sweep roll, and I'm up. Laughter from the crowd.

After that, things settled downed and we peeled out, ferried across, and eddied out for several hours. Taking advantage of the relatively calm conditions, I hauled out on the rocks to take pictures and videos. John executed a nice peel-out and roll...Dan exhibited some hot-dog surfing... Meg and Andrew peeled out calmly into the current. Then, in the distance, I see Meg swimming. I see the others heading for her. Realizing that they have the situation under control, I continue filming...for educational purposes...really. You can see the video on the associated Picasa album.

Once Meg has safely recovered, we paddled to the other side of Deception Pass to play in the larger pass. There were several other paddlers out, including a greenland-style paddler pulling off some spectacularly graceful rolls in the whirpools. Truly impressive to watch. After lunch, we paddled aroundCanoe Island and the island outside the pass before returning to Deception Pass State Park.

After loading the boats back onto the car, we stuck around to paddle the new Whisky 16. Evidently, there was Whiskey in the "whisky hatch," but we only got to try the boat...in the calm conditions of the park, I can say that the boat was extremely comfortable and handled very nicely. Once edged into a turn, it cranked around nicely and was easily rolled.

At the time of paddling, this was the only Whisky 16 in the United States...added a little to the experience, we're a part of kayaking history now, I suppose. Nigel Foster shared his thoughts on the design elements of the boat with us, and we parted ways after a great day on the water.

click here for Pictures and Video from Deception Pass and Whisky 16 test-paddle

The Drive Across...

Well, our weeklong trip across the country was pleasant and uneventful...and yes, we survived a week cooped up in the Z without any problems. The highlights of the trip started after we made it through Texas. We spent a great night in Chandler, AZ with Laura...not long enough, but a good chance to catch up and drink some local brews. We left Chandler and made it to Joshua Tree National Park in time to hike out to the Lost Palms Oasis, about 8 miles round-trip from the campsite. We made it back in time to watch the sun set around the hills and cook up a nice dinner.

The following morning we drove into San Francisco's Mission District to meet with Kyle and Sara...then downtown the following morning to see Steve and Andrea for breakfast. That night, we made it to Ashland just in time to catch Coriolanus at the Ashland Shakespeare Festival.

The next day, we pushed north to Seattle, with a brief stop for lunch in Portland with Heather.

Pictures here.

Boiling Creek

My last southern paddle! Meg and I met Fritz and Harriet, David and Tracy, and Jerry for a final paddle of Boiling Creek for me...a first for Jerry and Meg. The weather was beautiful, boats were swapped around...we alternately passed around, over, or under the bridge, and pulled out at the usual charming, fuel-soaked, garbage-littered boat ramp.

Pictures (of the beautiful, kayak/canoe accesible portion of the trip) can be found here.