November 7, 1999

Wind AND Waves!

Trip #62

10.9 miles

MAP

Great. First I look at the marine forecast and find there is a small craft advisory out for the Chesapeake Bay. This will certainly curtail our trip out to Gibson Island. I'm almost to the beltway when Joan calls to tell me she is sick and won't be able to make it. Should I still go?

I decide to go give it a look. Predictions were for 2-3 foot waves, water temp was a cool 57 degrees with the wind blowing 15-25 MPH. If it looked beyond my abilities I'd drive back towards DC and paddle the Patuxent.

At Sandy Point I looked out to find the waves out of the NW and about a foot high. They would get bigger I was sure, but I decided to give it a go. I'd turn left from the hand launched boat ramp and travel along the shoreline. If I got blown over at least I'd wash ashore if I came loose from the kayak.

After dropping my kayak on the sand and storing all my gear, I waded out to see if my wetsuit would be enough protection or if I should wear my dry suit. I'm going to put off wearing the dry suit as long as possible. The wetsuit or I should say the Polartec farmer john and jacket, were plenty for me at this water temp. The Potomac, just one day earlier, felt a good 10 degrees colder. Not sure it was that much colder, but it felt that way.

I tethered my paddle to the kayak in anticipation of the winds and pulled the kayak out beyond the small breakers and climbed in. Not many small boats out but the shipping channel appeared pretty busy. Not a day to dodge the large ships. The shore on my left was mostly protected by stone sea walls. It wasn't long the wind picked up and the waves began to grow. At about 2 feet high my progress was really slowed as I would try to paddle faster in between the occasional gusts of wind that would nearly bring me to a halt. A few miles later the waves would occasionally grow to about 3 feet.

There is a big difference between two-foot waves, and those up at three feet. The three footers were more like ocean swells and easier to deal with than the 2 footers. The shorter waves often broke across my kayak while the larger ones passed underneath. I ran across several shallow areas about 300 yards off shore that caused a lot of breaking waves. My borrowed spray skirt was taking on a little water but rather than take the risk of dumping a wave in my kayak, I kept the skirt on and didn't pump out the boat. I missed my electric pump.

At about 4 miles out I found myself directly across from Gibson Island. I figured the lee of the island would provide some protection from the waves so I crossed the channel right at the red and green channel markers. I did have to wait a few minutes at the green marker for several boats to pass, but I then sprinted across in no time at all. I searched the immediate shoreline for a place to land, but it was populated by No Trespassing signs so in the lee of Mountain Point I popped off my skirt and pumped out my kayak. I also took out my GPS and found this measly 4.3 miles had taken me two hours! The wind was indeed slowing me down. As I was playing with the GPS I noticed what appeared to be a few sunken ships on the point sticking above the water.

I paddled North another mile and a half. In the protection of the island, this seemed to only take about 5 minutes, but it really was about 30. Just near Skippers Row I beached to take a look at the other side of the road. It would be possible to carry my yak across the road, but I was now tired and decided against a circumnavigation of the island.

After lunch I paddled out into the bay to catch some wind. It wasn't at all disappointing. The waves were about 2 1/2 feet with an occasional 3 footer. With the wind/waves at my back I slowly got a better feel for the boat. My Guillemot, with my 500 miles on her, was predictable to me. The Gulfstream handled much better, but my lack of experience in her had me more nervous. Eventually though I felt like an old pro and experimented with many different angles to the following seas.

Near the Baltimore Lighthouse I decided to try and catch a wave. I paddled faster and faster until I found myself scooting down a wave face for a short distance. I tried again and again until suddenly I was moving along and *staying* on the wave. I started to wonder how I was going to get off! I looked up to find a powerboat about to cut across my bow so I laid my paddle nearly flat on the water behind me to bleed off speed. The wave then passed under and I was again moving at my normal speed. That was GREAT! But try as I may, I was unable to catch another wave again like that one.

A family in a sailboat crossed my bow. As they approached the dad shouted "One! Two! Three!" at which point they all shouted and gave me the thumbs up. I waved back and focused in on the far shore. It wasn't long and I was pulling in past the fishermen standing on the rocks. I loaded up the boat after getting out just before the short surf line and pulling the boat ashore.

Not the biggest waves I had been in, but just the right height to get the feel of my new boat. I just wish my spray skirt would hurry and get here...