Apalachee River to Tensaw River 2006 XX
Tuesday, March 14, 2006 brint.adams@us.army.mil
There was a wild north wind blowing 20 knots this afternoon, playing havoc with Chacaloochee Bay and driving the water out to a very low level. There was still enough water to get away from the boat launch area at the old Riverdocs lot, but not much to spare. It was partly cloudy and a warm 74 degrees, with the water level still dropping a little further.
Somehow, I left my wing paddle at home and in its place, used a Werner carbon blade, still lightweight, but not what I was used to using every day. I tucked in along the north shore of Pass Picada to get a little wind break, reaching the Apalachee turn in 7:30. As I passed Bluegill's, I heard the sounds of an amplified guitar warming up for the happy hour crowd. I think tonight was the first night of the free first Tuesday outdoor concerts, since the Bluegill recently opened, following the Hurricane Katrina blowout.
They were definately playing into their first set as I came by again and paddled out into the unprotected lower end of the bay. The chop really slammed me directly on the side, to the extent I wished I had gone to Bay Minette Creek instead. My splits down to the Tensaw were 10:10, 10:34 and 10:54. It wasn't much better on the return, as I was only able to negotiate a 9:42, 10:17 and a total finish time of 1:01:27. It is good practice to occasionally work out in difficult wind and chop conditions. There will always be races with adverse conditions, so I look at tonight as just needed preparation. Anyway, there is always tomorrow when the wind will eventually die down.
There was a wild north wind blowing 20 knots this afternoon, playing havoc with Chacaloochee Bay and driving the water out to a very low level. There was still enough water to get away from the boat launch area at the old Riverdocs lot, but not much to spare. It was partly cloudy and a warm 74 degrees, with the water level still dropping a little further.
Somehow, I left my wing paddle at home and in its place, used a Werner carbon blade, still lightweight, but not what I was used to using every day. I tucked in along the north shore of Pass Picada to get a little wind break, reaching the Apalachee turn in 7:30. As I passed Bluegill's, I heard the sounds of an amplified guitar warming up for the happy hour crowd. I think tonight was the first night of the free first Tuesday outdoor concerts, since the Bluegill recently opened, following the Hurricane Katrina blowout.
They were definately playing into their first set as I came by again and paddled out into the unprotected lower end of the bay. The chop really slammed me directly on the side, to the extent I wished I had gone to Bay Minette Creek instead. My splits down to the Tensaw were 10:10, 10:34 and 10:54. It wasn't much better on the return, as I was only able to negotiate a 9:42, 10:17 and a total finish time of 1:01:27. It is good practice to occasionally work out in difficult wind and chop conditions. There will always be races with adverse conditions, so I look at tonight as just needed preparation. Anyway, there is always tomorrow when the wind will eventually die down.
posted by brint @ 9:23 PM
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