Hopping Around Pedder Bay

Our exclusive decks at Pedder Bay RV Resort & Marina

We spent this extended Easter long weekend out at Pedder Bay RV Resort with our good friends Dave & Kelly Reaville. But this time we bought the "good seats" RV sites with the decks overlooking the marina out towards Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific. The weatherman also went all out to provide early summer like conditions of blue skies, no wind and temperatures reaching 20 C. Man it just couldn't have been better.

As the sun started to set the portable campfires came out along with a flat screen TV for the sports bar.

Dave & Kelly explore the rock gardens

On Friday morning we took Dave & Kelly out on a little paddle to see if we could catch a glimpse of the Race Rocks lighthouse but there was a pretty good fog bank blocking our view. The constant drone of the Trial Island and Race Rocks fog horns kept up for much of the day as the first day of the really warm weather started to take hold on the west coast. With the cool evening temperatures and the warming trend it was the perfect conditions for mid August fog conditions that is common here.

A good roll

After dropping our crab trap we stopped for a little lunch in one of our favorite bays and I worked on some rolling techniques in the Delphin. The gang thought it was really funny when I was half way through a double roll that my head hit bottom which in turn stopped me inverted in the water. Although it didn't hurt it surprised me that momentum of my first roll had pushed me closer to shore resulting in the unintended grounding. It even got better when I let go of my paddle and it came up on the other side of the kayak.

A grounding roll resulting in no paddle.

Then I had to complete an "other side" load and drive of the knees to complete my first hand roll. There was no way that I was going to pull the "holy s*@t" handle and bail out of the kayak to add to the ribbing I knew I was going to get anyway.  LOL

We headed back to base camp (the deck) and spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening basking in the sun. I think there were several naps during that time as we all started on our first sun burns of the year. LOL

Sightseeing Tour with Dave & Kelly Reaville

2013 Paddle # 14 Pedder Bay Sightseeing
Distance: 9.11 km  (4.91 nm)


Saturday was pretty much a repeat of Friday with Robyn and I completing a quick paddle to check out the crab trap (nothin .... again). We fitted Robyn in the Delphin to let her get used to it in more of an open water environment and she pretty much made it clear it was "her" kayak. I have to admit ... she does look good in it.

Enough said ... it's hers!

With the warmer weather there was an amazing amount of wildlife present in the bay. The resident swans would nest down in the early evening just below our decks and there were a good number of eagles around too. We saw a family of river otters on several occasions as well the resident marina seals looking for handouts from the fishermen.

Saturday afternoon was even more lazy time on the deck as we watched HNC and the Ford Men's World Curling Championships around the fire.

Saturday Crab trap check

2013 Paddle # 15 Pedder Bay Crabbing
Distance: 4.62 km  (2.5 nm)

Peak 6.42 knots of ebb running through Race Passage but man .... what a view!!!

On Sunday morning Robyn and I decided to take on a circumnavigation around Bentinck Island and get a view of Race Rocks while doing a little currents training. The predicted currents for the morning were for 6.42 knots of ebb at 09:56 and as we made our way to the south side of the island (right on time) it was running pretty good. With the calm sea state and no wind we could hear the rips roaring at Race Rocks as we rode the currents, tiny whirlpools and boils from Cudlip Point to George Point. Our track speed along this route came in at an estimated 12 km/h or 6.47 knots and it allowed us work on our bracing and rudder turns.

Resting in a back eddy getting ready to take on Eemdyck Passage

We paddled our way back into Eemdyck Passage and this is when the workout really began. Robyn had never been in these type of conditions where a burst of pure power was required as we paddled from one back eddy to another through the many islets. I only need to remind her a couple of times to "dig hard" when we got into the main current flow and man she did a fabulous job of taking control of the water. I only wish that I had mounted the GoPro as the footage would have been great to review after our training session.

I was really pleased with the Delphin's performance in the currents. As many of the reviews stated it transitioned from back eddy to the main current flow without any "grabbing" and seemed to just slide on top of the oncoming flow. From a stability standpoint it was rock solid and at no time did I feel that the water was taking control of me. In fact the fit of the Delphin made it feel like it was part of me and it reacted  just as I expected it to when I used my legs through the edging process. Yes .... it was one sweet ride in the conditions we were practicing in today.

We checked our crab trap again (nothin) and headed back to camp to spend more time on the deck and watched Canada whoop Scotland in curling at the worlds.

                                                                               

Bentinck Island Currents Training

2013 Paddle # 16 Bentinck Island
Distance: 13.74 km  (7.42 nm)


Monday we woke to our last glorious morning before we had to pack up and head home. One last trip out to the crab trap for Robyn and I before breakfast and once again ..... nothin. We are now convinced there really isn't any crab in Pedder Bay anymore. LOL

Monday morning crab trap haul out

2013 Paddle # 17 Pedder Bay Crab Haul (not)

Distance:  4.65 km  (2.51 nm)

YTD: 158.86 km (87.93 nm)