Apalachee River to Causeway 2005 III
Saturday, January 15, 2005 brint.adams@us.army.mil
With a coldfront coming through yesterday bringing a northerly wind, today was iffy for a paddle. At the temperature rose from the 30's to the upper 50's, it was time to give it a try anyway. At 2:30 PM, it was mostly sunny with a temperature of 60 degrees, a 10 mph northerly wind and a low, but rising tide.
As I arrived at the old Riverdoc's parking lot, there were several boat trailers there waiting for duck hunters to return. I started off heading east down Pass Picada against the rising tide and partially into the wind. The restaurants had no outdoor activity with only a couple of Cormorants and a Brown Pelican hanging around. I made it to Apalachee River in 8:50, turned and passed the parking lot in 15:45.
Once out in the open water of Chacaloochee Bay, the north wind kicked a pretty good chop hitting me directly on the side. It made paddling with a good rhythm difficult, as I passed the Causeway fishermen. At this point, the rising tide comes together from two directions at the culverts, making the water there "confused". I pressed on to the Interstate bridges and made the turnaround in 33:23.
The return was just as difficult to negotiate along the Causeway with the chop adding a few whitecaps. I pushed on hard to the finish in 52:55. There were two boats of hunters finishing their day as well. It was definately worth getting out of the house and giving the bay a try on this beatiful afternoon.
With a coldfront coming through yesterday bringing a northerly wind, today was iffy for a paddle. At the temperature rose from the 30's to the upper 50's, it was time to give it a try anyway. At 2:30 PM, it was mostly sunny with a temperature of 60 degrees, a 10 mph northerly wind and a low, but rising tide.
As I arrived at the old Riverdoc's parking lot, there were several boat trailers there waiting for duck hunters to return. I started off heading east down Pass Picada against the rising tide and partially into the wind. The restaurants had no outdoor activity with only a couple of Cormorants and a Brown Pelican hanging around. I made it to Apalachee River in 8:50, turned and passed the parking lot in 15:45.
Once out in the open water of Chacaloochee Bay, the north wind kicked a pretty good chop hitting me directly on the side. It made paddling with a good rhythm difficult, as I passed the Causeway fishermen. At this point, the rising tide comes together from two directions at the culverts, making the water there "confused". I pressed on to the Interstate bridges and made the turnaround in 33:23.
The return was just as difficult to negotiate along the Causeway with the chop adding a few whitecaps. I pushed on hard to the finish in 52:55. There were two boats of hunters finishing their day as well. It was definately worth getting out of the house and giving the bay a try on this beatiful afternoon.
posted by brint @ 4:23 PM
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