Apalachee River to Causeway 2005 LXXXVII
Saturday, November 26, 2005 brint.adams@us.army.mil
New morning, more shotgun blasts! I arrived at Riverdocs at 7:00 AM again this morning during day two of the start of duck season. The sky was heavily overcast with a strong southeasterly breeze, 58 degrees and a medium pool level that was rising.
With the wind in my face and into a rising tide, I pushed off eastward down Pass Picada. There were a couple of brave pelicans and a few shorebirds who were oblivious to the constant gunfire along the pass. I had to really fight to try and minimize my lagging behind my virtual partner. I managed to reach the Apalachee in 8:16 and back much faster, passing the parking lot in 15:25. The chop wasn't overly bothersome, but it did have some effect on my paddle rhythm, as I caught up to and passed my partner. I will need to think of a name for him (maybe I will substitute Roland for now).
The temperature was a good ten degrees higher than yesterday morning due to the change in wind direction from north to south. I pushed on down the Causeway along the bottom of Chacaloochee Bay and cruised in to the bridge turnaround in 32:38, just ahead of pace. On the return, I knew the last leg home past the drainage culverts was going to be slower, so I tried to maintain a lead as I started back to try and maintain a little cushion. Well, it pretty well dried up by the time I got back by the culverts, so I knew it would be all but impossible to beat 50:00 without trying an all-out sprint. I hung on pretty well, finishing in 50:09, but still :09 over my fast little partner.
As I pulled into the launch area, there was another paddler just shoving off. I spoke to him briefly, never having seen him around before. He had an interesting wood kit kayak and paddle. Then, while I was loading up, one of the duck hunters came back with his daily bag limit of six, laying out neatly side by side in his boat. The hunters will be off now for one week, before they are allowed back to hide out again in the delta for the next two months.
New morning, more shotgun blasts! I arrived at Riverdocs at 7:00 AM again this morning during day two of the start of duck season. The sky was heavily overcast with a strong southeasterly breeze, 58 degrees and a medium pool level that was rising.
With the wind in my face and into a rising tide, I pushed off eastward down Pass Picada. There were a couple of brave pelicans and a few shorebirds who were oblivious to the constant gunfire along the pass. I had to really fight to try and minimize my lagging behind my virtual partner. I managed to reach the Apalachee in 8:16 and back much faster, passing the parking lot in 15:25. The chop wasn't overly bothersome, but it did have some effect on my paddle rhythm, as I caught up to and passed my partner. I will need to think of a name for him (maybe I will substitute Roland for now).
The temperature was a good ten degrees higher than yesterday morning due to the change in wind direction from north to south. I pushed on down the Causeway along the bottom of Chacaloochee Bay and cruised in to the bridge turnaround in 32:38, just ahead of pace. On the return, I knew the last leg home past the drainage culverts was going to be slower, so I tried to maintain a lead as I started back to try and maintain a little cushion. Well, it pretty well dried up by the time I got back by the culverts, so I knew it would be all but impossible to beat 50:00 without trying an all-out sprint. I hung on pretty well, finishing in 50:09, but still :09 over my fast little partner.
As I pulled into the launch area, there was another paddler just shoving off. I spoke to him briefly, never having seen him around before. He had an interesting wood kit kayak and paddle. Then, while I was loading up, one of the duck hunters came back with his daily bag limit of six, laying out neatly side by side in his boat. The hunters will be off now for one week, before they are allowed back to hide out again in the delta for the next two months.
posted by brint @ 5:25 PM
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