We’re running Wednesday on the Water a day early this week. Instead of the usual routine on Ruston Way, we’re launching 3 boats at Chambers Bay at 8:15am tomorrow, 9/15/09. If you are interested in taking the tide for a ride, park by the bridge and drop next to the chain link fence. Extremely low tide around 8am means you’ll get one heck of a free ride back to your car after riding the current out into the bay. Haven’t checked the weather – don’t care! I’m bringing a raincoat and a hat with me, but I hope to keep those tucked away in the dry bag.
There’s nothing like a steaming breakfast sandwich, a hot cup of coffee and morning mist on the sound in a kayak. Give it a try.
CAUTION: We have been experimenting with different drop times to see what we can learn about the tide flow in Steilacoom. There is a chance you will run aground in the mud for a few minutes due to the extremely low tide tomorrow. This is, of course, no big deal as worst case scenario means you will be back afloat within a few minutes. You could even get out and walk a bit if you’re impatient.
Just landed back on shore in Chambers Bay. Would go an hour later next time, or 1.5 hours after the chart shows low tide in Seattle. The slack lasted quite awhile.
Oh ya! Carrying the boats to the drop point can be exercise-heavy too if you want. The nice thing about paddling in Commencement Bay is that you can get as much or as little of a workout as you want by following the shoreline. Rather than crossing a channel or a bay, following the shore allows you to pull up on the beach whenever or wherever you want for bathroom breaks, rest, food, etc. Another thing many people don’t realize is that kayaks have pegs on the walls by your feet, so you are bracing yourself and driving your paddle with your legs quite a bit. Not JUST an upper-body workout.