BAREFOOT BEACHCOMBING

Saturday, June 1, 2013 - Bob's Fishing Hole - Northwest River

Happy Birthday, Peace Daddy!!

We decided to launch from Bob's Fishing Hole. Bob's is right on South Battlefield Boulevard just south of the Chesapeake Expressway. It's only $2 for a cartop launch from Bob's and it gives good access to the western part of the Northwest River.

I decided to take the new Dagger Axis since I haven't taken it out yet on a long trip. And I didn't go out solo this time. :) The temperatures forecasted for today were in the upper 80's and for once, the weather guessers got it right. It was 89 (even out on the water) and it was a scorcher!

We went under the railroad bridge (You might remember that it is over 100 years old and is still in active use.) and under Battlefield Blvd to explore the creeks along the western part of the river. One of the advantages to this part of the river is that because the railroad bridge is so low, larger powerboats can't get through.

There was a fair amount of duckweed (Lemna minor) on the surface of the water. (It seems a bit early for it to be out.) It doesn't impede paddling (like the vegetation I paddled through last week), but it makes the surface look "scummy". I believe that duckweed is actually a beneficial plant in that it not only provides a source of food for the aquatic animals, but also removes nutrients from the water. But it looks gross. I took some pictures above my head looking behind my kayak and you can see the path I cut through the duckweed.

There was no "wild kingdom" this week, but we did see a bunch of hawks, a nice soaring Osprey, a huge Great Blue Heron, a smattering of turtles, and a couple of "submerged" (unseen) animals that might (or might not) have scared the heck out of us! We found a couple of geocaches along the way. We left a couple of our pathtags in the second one since it was a good sized container.

There was not much wind (which can be both good and bad when kayaking), but Kate was able to test out the new kayaking sail. It's a simple "pop up" style. (www.windpaddle.com) We call it "the Whomper". If you have seen the movie "Wind", you might recognize that reference. (If you haven't seen that movie and if you like sailing, find it and watch it!) The sail attaches to loops on the kayak deck and folds down under the deck rigging when not in use. We can't wait to use it in more windy conditions.

My new kayak paddled and handled great. It was very smooth, very responsive, and very comfortable. And despite my worries that it might be "hot" in warmer weather, it wasn't that at all. I do, however, need to get out in the Ride, though, in order to get some sun on my lower legs. :)

We all got sun on our arms, and Kate got a fair amount on her lower legs since her cockpit it more open.

I'm experimenting with the mounts for the GoPro video camera on the new kayak, so there may or may not be video to follow depending upon how it turned out.

Edit: Here's the video. Kayaking 06-01-13 video

Three hours and 9 minutes on the water. 6.2 miles on the GPS. Great day!!

And we all got to wish Peace Daddy a HAPPY BIRTHDAY before we went out!