May 2, 1999

Windy Weekend

Trip #17 and #18

May 1 - 2, 1999

May 1 Map

Saturday

Katie is hard to get up and moving in the morning, so even though we woke up at 6:00 am, we didn't get to the Patuxent river at Route 4 until 8:00. I was a little concerned about the wind. Katie doesn't like paddling in it the least little bit.

This morning I would end up towing her through several windy stretches. In fairness to her 8-year-old body, I will say the Gannet has a pretty high bow that is pushed around quite easily on her. I don't mind towing her as I can use the exercise, but today my shoulder is popping and cracking and aching a little more than usual. Still a little sore from last weekend's crossing to Mallows Bay.

The first bit of wildlife we came across was a beaver, which just thrilled her to no end. After slapping the water with it's tail and disappearing under the surface, Katie kept looking for it over the next mile.

We also passed a yellow "Duck Crossing" sign, faithfully reproduced by Katie right here.

On the way out we passed a small johnboat heading towards the launch site. One of the guys yelled "Hey! I haven't seen you since last year!". This I thought strange since this is my first year of kayaking. I waved back and paddled on.

I missed the point where the back channel splits off to the left, but at the point where it comes back in to the Patuxent, there were 4-5 tents pitched along the bank. A canoe and several johnboats were parked on the bank and several people were kicked back in lounge chairs just taking it easy. We exchanged waves and paddled on up another mile and a half or so.

Katie was getting hungry so we pulled up to a muddy bank and got out. While taking a restroom break I found the remains of a remote controlled airplane wing. I don't know where the rest of the plane could have been, and it wasn't until I sat down to write this that I thought that maybe I should have looked up in the trees.

Back on the water heading south towards the launch, I was thankful the wind at our backs would mean no more towing. My brother having had his shoulder operated on two weeks ago for a bone spur has got me wondering if I may have a similar problem. It usually hurts for the first few miles before I begin to forget about it, or it gets better, not sure which.

Back at the campsite the same fella that said he hadn't seen me since last year has joined up with everyone and told Katie and I that two women were on their way from the launch site. This would be Joan and Mardi. A little further down we see their kayaks and after a quick chat Katie and I continue on our way while Joan and Mardi head up to the campsite.

Just as we were about back to the launch, I spotted a deer and called Katie back to see. She was absolutely thrilled to see the deer although it didn't stay around long. She had been looking for the beaver all the way back and this was the first thing to take her mind off of it.

After loading the boats on the truck, we walked out to the dock and saw Joan and Mardi so we decided to wait. After chatting with them for a few minutes we took off for home, a bit sore, but about 7 miles round trip.

Sunday

May 2 Map

Joan invited me down to Aquia Creek to paddle with some CPA members on Sunday around 9:00am. After getting down there I met the "boat ramp guard" and he dutifully charged me $8 to launch my kayak. I balked a little since Joan had told me it would be $5 and he pleasantly thanked me for my business. The wind was blowing pretty hard, and I thought about just leaving, but I didn't think it was right since I did say I would be here.

I had just taken the kayak out away from shore when Bill Dodge pulled up. I scooted back in and in short order Bill had the launch fee problem straightened out and I got $3 back from the ramp patrol.

Not that he was a bad guy, just the opposite. The ramp guard was a pleasant old fellow and we chatted quite a bit while waiting for everyone to show up. The guy and his wife had no permanent address, and they just traveled all over the US taking on an odd job here and there to help with expenses.

Having 6 kayaks on the beach was quite a sight for me. Other than the kayak demo a few weeks earlier, this was the most kayaks I had ever seen in a single group. Joan loaned me her camera so I could snap a picture.

When everyone was ready to go, Bill huddled us all together for a little trip brief. The plan was to head across the creek to the lee side and if conditions were not too bad we would head towards the Potomac.

After crossing under the Railroad Bridge we started paddling across the first of three bays. The first bay, about 6/10 of a mile across led us to Bennetts Point. The second bay, 8/10 of a mile across, led to Shakley Bay, and finally the last 1-mile stretch took us to Simmons Point.

At Simmons Point we kind of just hung out. I'm not sure if we were wondering who would venture out into the rough surf of the Potomac first, or if we were wondering if it was time to head back. Bill eventually took lead and headed up towards Brent Point. Most of us kids blindly followed playing like kids with a new toy. A few of the saner folks lingered back.

The week before I had seen bigger waves. These were about 12 - 18 inches and were just right to play in. I got to play with the rudder up and down in various attitudes to the wind and waves.

I find the Guillemot runs best into the wind with the rudder up. It is easy to turn and on the crest of a wave I can spin her 180 degrees with two strokes of the paddle. With the rudder down, she takes forever to turn.

Running from the wind I found the rudder to be a must. Without the aid of the rudder the boat wanted to turn hard into a broach condition. I also found it reassuring to just sit parallel to the waves to get used to how the kayak handles in these conditions. The oval cross sectional shape of the Guillemot just made this seem like I was riding on a bubble as it easily slid up the sides of the waves.

A few minutes of paddling parallel to the wind/waves and I was comfortable. I'd like to try another kayak in those conditions some day to see how it compares.

Lunch between Simmons and Brent Point. Joan was the first back in the boats to play again in the waves, and I was shortly behind. Most everyone soon followed until we either got tired, or felt a little guilty about continuing to play.

As we headed back, some took pretty much the same coarse that we took on the way out (me, for one, as you can tell by the GPS track log). Others took a wind-sheltered path near the shore, and 2 more traveled right down the middle of the creek. The two who took the middle creek route were way out front. They were making much better time than I was. The two who took the long way around on the inside of the bays made about the same time as I did straight across and looked a bit less winded for their efforts as well.

Which, by the way, has me thinking again. This whole trip I pretty much trailed the pack. I wasn't paddling hard, but this wasn't a Sunday walk in the park either. When paddling with people in the past, it has always been leisurely. The pace today was how I paddle when alone, but I often stop to see the sights. This trip I generally stayed too far from shore to enjoy much of the scenery, so I was a little disappointed. The return trip was certainly my fault for not taking advantage of tagging along with the folks who hugged the shore. Not a gripe, just an observation that this was certainly a different type of trip than I expected.

While heading back we had a head wind blowing in our face for the most part. Combined with the waves coming in from the side from the powerboats the water was quite confused. I actually found this much more of a challenge than the 1 1/2-foot waves out on the Potomac!

Back on shore I loaded up my kayak and helped load up a few others. I said farewell to everyone and headed off while rubbing my right shoulder a bit.

On Monday morning my shoulder still hurt. When I first started kayaking it would ache for the first 30-45 minutes but it would eventually work itself out. The last couple of weeks the pain not only wouldn't work out, it stayed around during the week as well. So I headed off to the local Military Family Clinic where my shoulder was x-rayed and I was given a prescription for inflammation. After taking next weekend off from paddling I'll give it a go again to see how well it behaves. Because of all the popping and snapping in my shoulder as I paddle, I suspect that this isn't the last time this will be a problem...