First Paddle of 2019

[Grant Lamontagne]

I finally did it- the first paddle of 2019!

It should have happened long before now, with the weather going up and down there have been multiple opportunities, but I had left a very important piece of equipment in Ottawa- my PFD.   



This week my local Canadian Tire was liquidating PFD's to make room for new ones so I managed to grab one for $20.  It isn't very good, but it is cheap and makes me legal again to get on the water, and that's what matters. 



Once it was outside I emptied it so I could mount it to the cross bars properly.  This always takes a bit of fidgeting, as I always seem to secure the cross bars in places that aren't convenient for the box, and the bars have to be unbolted, moved and then bolted back in.  One of these days I'll get the order right and not have to redo things as I go!   



Naturally after doing all of that I was in no shape to go paddling, so I loaded up the boat too, and went anyway.  The boat came out the window the same as the box.  I didn't take any pictures of that, sorry.



I ended up going to the Deep Cut, which is one of my favorite places to paddle.  If you go back through all of my kayak threads you will see that the Shubendacadie Canal is where I go most often, and it seemed fitting to be the first place I paddled now that I am back in Halifax.  Even this time of year, before the leaves and flowers are out, this is still a beautiful area, and the Deep Cut is awesome when you realize that someone excavated this by hand, carving away rock and building their houses out of it.



My only complaint about this area is that the stretch is only a couple of hundred meters long, and so no sooner are you into it then you are out of it again.  The Deep Cut portion is a very short paddle, but with the trees and everything it is very quiet.



That is until some jackass with a super dramatic hybrid whitewater boat paddles it- this new kayak leaves a wake like a power boat behind it and splashes like a three year old in the bath!



I also noticed that they changed or fixed the sign in the time I have been gone.  Previously someone had removed all of the C's from everywhere the sign says "canal" which was always a source of amusement to my inner child.... which of course is a lot closer to the surface than it probably should be for a middle aged man.   



Once through the Deep Cut I decided to head out on Lake Charles for a bit.  I didn't expect to go too long, as I know what happens when you get a bit overzealous on your first paddle trip of the year!  Once out on Lake Charles I noticed another change in the time I'd been gone.  the new shopping district has expanded into the place I go to get away, and now a gaudy blue and yellow IKEA building looms over the lake.   

I try not to let these things get to me, but it's pretty obvious and somewhat overbearing.  But, I guess that's progress.

That's when I figured it was a good time to turn around a head back, and moments later I noticed something that hadn't changed in the time I'd been gone- the ospreys were back.  There's a big osprey nest on a power pole on the shore of Lake Charles, and I saw one of them flying around.  Again, I didn't get a photo, but here is a link to the Osprey Cam:

https://www.novascotiawebcams.com/en/webcams/ospreycam/

It was on this lake a few years ago that I almost died of shock thanks to one of these birds.  They are a bird of prey that likes fish, and they will circle a hundred or more feet in the air, then dive when they spot a fish, making a huge splash, then flying away with their catch.  It is super impressive to see.



Except this one time, the osprey was above me, and I didn't see him/her coming.  The water literally exploded maybe ten to twelve feet away from me, and my first thought was that I had hit a previously unexploded sea mine.  In an inland waterway.   

Scared the living crap out of me, and my brain was still trying to figure out if I was alive or dead as my eyes locked on to the osprey skimming the surface of the water with a fish in it's talons.

But, back to this trip- I paddled back to the Deep Cut to make my way back to the Jeep, and once again I picked some garbage out of the water.  This time though, it was kind of amusing garbage.



It was a purple foam rubber cross with John 3:16 written on it.  For those not familiar with the Bible:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

While I appreciate that, I still don't think it gives Him a free pass to litter in my canal! 

That's pretty much it- it was a very short trip, but well worth it!  Hopefully I will get out again soon to make up for lost time!

Def

[Aloha]

The first of many.  I think thats how it goes tho right?  You've just got to get out and do it.  Once done then you'll be eager to continue to do so. 

I can imagine being rather quiet in the boat you see and hear a lot going on.  The scenery is really nice.  No go pro this time? 

[Nix]

I'm more than eager to get the kayak out this year.

Still a bit chilly for me....or maybe I'm showing my age.... 

[Grant Lamontagne]

The first of many.  I think thats how it goes tho right?  You've just got to get out and do it.  Once done then you'll be eager to continue to do so. 

I can imagine being rather quiet in the boat you see and hear a lot going on.  The scenery is really nice.  No go pro this time?

This is not the boat for peace and quiet.... my father complained about the racket it was making last year, and he's deaf.   

I forgot the GoPro because I was too busy convincing myself not to go paddling while simultaneously loading the boat to go paddling... 

Next time!

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

I'm more than eager to get the kayak out this year.

Still a bit chilly for me....or maybe I'm showing my age.... 

I'm guessing the water is a lot warmed there than here, but that just provides incentive to not fall out of the boat!   

Def

[Aloha]

Oh man if dad thought the boat was loud  . 

[kottskrapa]

Cool place to paddle and I would have loved to see you get the things out of the window.. In my mind it was from the second floor but for your sake I hope it was the first..

Hopefully my first paddle will come tomorrow but it depends on the weather.. Sun and 10 degrees and the next it cools down and snowing and now the sun shines again

[It's not failure if you learn something from it]

[Gareth]

Looks like a very nice paddle indeed.  We've got some ospreys here as well and while I have seen them fish it's been nowhere near as close an encounter as yours.  Very cool. 

[AimlessWanderer]

Possibly you churning up the water brought the fish and the osprey to you. When I had the narrowboat, often the fishermen would shout across and ask me to stir things up a little (a quick blast in reverse, before continuing forwards), and a few times we were followed down the canal by a kingfisher or heron, picking out the fish in our wake. I learned to be very mindful of letting others drive my boat when . We were being acompanied like that. 15 tonnes of boat goes with quite a thud when they T bone the banking because they're looking backwards at the kingfisher dive, instead of ahead at where they're supposed to be aiming 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Cool place to paddle and I would have loved to see you get the things out of the window.. In my mind it was from the second floor but for your sake I hope it was the first..

Hopefully my first paddle will come tomorrow but it depends on the weather.. Sun and 10 degrees and the next it cools down and snowing and now the sun shines again

[It's not failure if you learn something from it]

Yes, it was the first floor and the window is almost even with the trailer, so it is about as perfect a height as you can get without building either to suit!

Def

[kottskrapa]

Doesn't get better than that

[It's not failure if you learn something from it]

[Grant Lamontagne]

The great thing about kayaks is that even the short ones are ten feet long and therefore easy enough to move in and out of a second story window!

Def