I’m trying to play catch-up with the blog. We’ve been on the road and just got back this past weekend. Things didn’t slow down even then. It was either too windy or too stormy to paddle much of the time that we were in Florida last week. Even so, I was able to get in two trips that pushed my year-to-date mileage to over 90 miles.
My trips were somewhat limited. In addition to weather concerns we were dealing with issues related to Laura’s mother’s care. I didn’t have the luxury of an all-day escape. On top of that I wasn’t sleeping well, so I missed out on my usual sunrise paddles. Without that early start I just couldn’t get in the same number of miles.
The first morning out followed my usual route. I paddled out to the spoil islands and around. I started with my GoPro mounted to the side of the kayak, but the new gooseneck holder for it seemed to be quite loose. It kept slipping.
The tide was extremely low, but the water was clear. I brought along a new monopod/selfie stick that I’d picked up for my GoPro and thought I try to get some underwater shots. First I had to get to a good spot. I paddled back into the mangroves in the Old Inlet area, and quickly ran out of water. I barely had enough clearance for the kayak.
Using the selfie stick I tried to get some underwater shots. Nothing interesting swam by, though. Since this was a selfie stick, I figured I HAD to use it as such, at least once.
Even as low as the water was, the current was ripping through here. I floated along for a bit, trying to stick to the deeper areas. And by deeper, I mean at least six inches. I ran aground a couple of times but was able to pull myself through with my paddle. I did have to get out and pull boat over a sandy spot once, the first time I’ve ever had to do that while out here.
I did make it back to deeper water and continued to float out toward the main channel. Floating along let me get a bit closer to some wildlife.
Boat traffic was getting crazy for some reason, so I decided to head on back to the house. With the shallow water the boat wakes were breaking over one of the sandbars almost like waves at the beach. Navigating the kayak through them was a bit of a challenge.
The next day the weather was amenable for another trip, so I headed out. The tide was still fairly low, and the wind was stronger this morning. I didn’t bother to mount the GoPro on the boat, but left it on the selfie stick. I decided to see what I could find in the old abandoned canal across from Amy’s house. It would also be sheltered from the wind.
The mangroves had just about completely reclaimed the channel. I paddled on back in with no problem, though.
Yep, there were obligatory selfies.
I had seen mullet and other things swimming by, so I really hoped to catch something on camera. Alas, nothing swam by the camera. I guess they were shy.
I paddled back out of the canal and into the Indian River, turning south against the wind. I decided to stick to this side of the river, rather than cross over to the spoil islands. Laura and I used to enjoy just floating in the grass beds on this side of the river looking at whatever might swim by. My plan was to paddle down the river, then float back with the wind, using the selfie stick and GoPro under water.
The water was choppy, but I didn’t mind. As long as I’m not struggling to get somewhere, then the bouncy water can be kind of fun. Once I made it downriver a couple of miles I pulled out the GoPro and got…still nothing.
I guess it’s the same thing as when you’re fishing. Sometimes they bite, and sometimes they don’t. In a sense I had been fishing, just with different gear and different intent.
I gave up my underwater quest for this trip and headed back. Between both trips I’d paddled a little over 7 miles, which put me just fraction over the 90 mile mark. One more good trip will put me over 100 miles, much earlier than I reached that goal last year.
