32 miles
To travel 32 nautical miles in a touring sea kayak is no great feat, especially when given the better part of three days to get it done. That’s the trip for this weekend around Vashon Island – about 7 miles this afternoon, 17 tomorrow and 8 on Sunday, back to where we started.
The weather is less than I might have hoped for, although there’s the outside chance of some sun on the last day but what do you expect? It’s March. Right now, there’s a strong wind coming out of the southwest and the rain has been fairly steady and hard most of the night; I expect it will be more of the same. Still, it’s not enough to slow us down too much.
I was sort of hoping for a little bit of everything this weekend, weather-wise. Just to serve as a microcosm of this summer’s trip, give us a taste of what filming and gathering data will be like in a variety of conditions. I suppose it’s like any other kayak adventure – we’ll take what we get.
There’s just two of us now for the Vashon trip – Kiwi had to bow out due to other obligations. No worries. I’m sure the learning that we get over the next three days will be easy enough to pass on to him once we get back. For me, it’s just enough to get back in a kayak again after what seems like a bit of a hiatus… I haven’t camped out of a kayak for months. It’s been too long anyway, living the life of a school teacher and a shop-keeper. I am looking forward to getting back on the water.
About Ken Campbell
New Release
A story of sea kayaking and science on the rugged coast of Alaska. Coming – Spring 2014.
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