A Progress report

Feb 27 Belfair State Park – Menard’s Landing 12NM
Feb 28 Menard’s Landing – Dewatto Bay 6NM
March 18 Dewatto Bay – Dosewallips 16NM
March 19 Dosewallips – Toandos Peninsula 3NM
March 20 Toandos Peninsula – Shorewood 17.5NM
March 21 Shorewood – Kingston 16NM
March 22 Kingston – Suquamish 7NM
April 4 Suquamish – Manchester 15NM
April 5 Manchester – Point Defiance 18NM

I’ve had the opportunity to paddle in a range of conditions, from dead calm to gale force winds and I have learned a great deal. In terms of packing a SUP for an extended tour, there is still a lot of fine-tuning to be done. My equipment list has gone through several incarnations and it’s likely to go through a few more before I’m finished. I expect that, by the end of the PSC, I’ll be able to post a comprehensive list of what I needed and how I packed it (because I’ll probably forget a few things before the next big trip and I can always use a reminder.)

Looking ahead, I think I’ll do a day trip next week to get me through the Tacoma Narrows, then a 2-day sprint near the end of the month that should get me all the way to Allyn. I haven’t checked the currents yet – they’ll be more of a factor in the south Sound than they have been to this point – but I am fairly confident that I can have the route completed by the end of April. As of now, I’m guessing that the whole thing will end up taking me 12 days total.

As to the equipment I’ve used, I’ve got good and bad reviews to dispense. I plan to give details and name names when it’s all done in the hope that I can stimulate some discussion about SUP touring, which is, by any measure, in its infancy. Meanwhile, I still have much to learn.