Fairhope to Dog River Single Crossing
Sunday, September 12, 2004 brint.adams@us.army.mil
I arrived at the Fairhope Yacht Club beach hoping for a calm water double crossing. The temperature cooperated with 76 degrees, the sky was clear all the way across the bay, but there was a pretty good breeze coming out of the east or northeast. As I took off at 6:20 AM, the wind felt good pushing at my back as I started to make good time. But, after about a half hour, it was apparent the wind was steady and continually creating 2' seas. I was not able to get into any kind of stroke rhythm, as I had to totally focus on staying upright and trying to maintain course. It was fun for the first hour, surfing from one set of three waves to the next.
Eventually, I lost concentration momentarily and rolled over and out. Fortunately, I had my paddle float and proceeded to get back in on the first try, in spite of the waves beating me up. I pumped out most of the water before getting in, so I was able to just start paddling again and maintain course and balance. The experience shook me up a little as I continued on towards the Dog River Bridge, still about an hour away. The rest of the paddle across was a matter of just trying to stay upright, as I had no desire to roll over again. I finally limped in to the Beachcomber below the Dog River bridge, taking 2:17 to make the crossing. At that point, I had no desire to turn around and paddle back to FYC, so I called home for a ride. I didn't get quite the workout I was looking for, but learned another good lesson in kayaking on the open Bay.
I arrived at the Fairhope Yacht Club beach hoping for a calm water double crossing. The temperature cooperated with 76 degrees, the sky was clear all the way across the bay, but there was a pretty good breeze coming out of the east or northeast. As I took off at 6:20 AM, the wind felt good pushing at my back as I started to make good time. But, after about a half hour, it was apparent the wind was steady and continually creating 2' seas. I was not able to get into any kind of stroke rhythm, as I had to totally focus on staying upright and trying to maintain course. It was fun for the first hour, surfing from one set of three waves to the next.
Eventually, I lost concentration momentarily and rolled over and out. Fortunately, I had my paddle float and proceeded to get back in on the first try, in spite of the waves beating me up. I pumped out most of the water before getting in, so I was able to just start paddling again and maintain course and balance. The experience shook me up a little as I continued on towards the Dog River Bridge, still about an hour away. The rest of the paddle across was a matter of just trying to stay upright, as I had no desire to roll over again. I finally limped in to the Beachcomber below the Dog River bridge, taking 2:17 to make the crossing. At that point, I had no desire to turn around and paddle back to FYC, so I called home for a ride. I didn't get quite the workout I was looking for, but learned another good lesson in kayaking on the open Bay.
posted by brint @ 3:38 PM
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