Apalachee River to Causeway 2005 LXXXVI
Friday, November 25, 2005 brint.adams@us.army.mil
Duck hunting season opened this morning with the sounds of many shotguns off to the north of the lower delta along the Causeway. I arrived at Riverdocs and put in at 7:00 AM just after sunrise on a crisp, clear morning with a northwesterly breeze accentuating the many nearby shotgun blasts. There were even four boat trailers at the lot, when usually none, as I put in during a falling neap tide. The water level was still low due to the north winds from the previous cold snap and again this morning. The temperature was a cool 48 degrees, perfect for a hard paddle workout.
I started out down Pass Picada at a 6.4 mph clip, reaching the Apalachee River in 7:06 and back past the lot in 15:05. The pass was protected and perfect for paddling. As such, I was able to gain almost 400 ft. on my virtual partner pace of 6.0 mph. But, once I hit the open water of the lower Chacaloochee Bay, the chop whipped up a little, which slowed me down just a little and I gave up most of my lead by the time I reached the Causeway. With the conditions a little brisk, there were even a few early morning fishermen along the Causeway as I passed through the confused waters around the drainage culverts. My slower pace continued all the way to the bridge turnaround, due to fighting the northwest wind, putting me about 300 ft. behind my pace.
With the wind partially to my back, I gradually lowered the deficit, even against the rising tide until I reached the last leg, just past the tide switch at the culverts. Once I had the falling tide and wind to my back, I started to really make up time and almost caught back up to my partner. But, alas, I fell just short, with a time of 50:06, with the quarter wind and resulting chop, my excuse. As I put my boat up, there were many more sharp reports from the hunters off in the distance. It was hard to tell who won, the hunters with full bags, or the ducks and coot escaping for another day.
Duck hunting season opened this morning with the sounds of many shotguns off to the north of the lower delta along the Causeway. I arrived at Riverdocs and put in at 7:00 AM just after sunrise on a crisp, clear morning with a northwesterly breeze accentuating the many nearby shotgun blasts. There were even four boat trailers at the lot, when usually none, as I put in during a falling neap tide. The water level was still low due to the north winds from the previous cold snap and again this morning. The temperature was a cool 48 degrees, perfect for a hard paddle workout.
I started out down Pass Picada at a 6.4 mph clip, reaching the Apalachee River in 7:06 and back past the lot in 15:05. The pass was protected and perfect for paddling. As such, I was able to gain almost 400 ft. on my virtual partner pace of 6.0 mph. But, once I hit the open water of the lower Chacaloochee Bay, the chop whipped up a little, which slowed me down just a little and I gave up most of my lead by the time I reached the Causeway. With the conditions a little brisk, there were even a few early morning fishermen along the Causeway as I passed through the confused waters around the drainage culverts. My slower pace continued all the way to the bridge turnaround, due to fighting the northwest wind, putting me about 300 ft. behind my pace.
With the wind partially to my back, I gradually lowered the deficit, even against the rising tide until I reached the last leg, just past the tide switch at the culverts. Once I had the falling tide and wind to my back, I started to really make up time and almost caught back up to my partner. But, alas, I fell just short, with a time of 50:06, with the quarter wind and resulting chop, my excuse. As I put my boat up, there were many more sharp reports from the hunters off in the distance. It was hard to tell who won, the hunters with full bags, or the ducks and coot escaping for another day.
posted by brint @ 10:53 AM
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