Sunday, June 18, 2017 - Pungo Ferry Road - North Landing River
Today we launched from the Pungo Ferry launch, and we got to wish Peach Daddy and Brother John a Happy Father's Day before we went out.
Kate's life-long friend Nate was in town visiting, so we took him along with us.. Nate lives in Colorado is totally an "outdoors" guy but had never been kayaking before. Suffice it to say that he was totally hooked!!
We decided to go north from the launch into the oxbow and into the smaller creeks. The water level was a bit high but not as high as I was when we paddled here in April. (You can see that water level graph at the bottom of the page.) You may remember the the water levels on the North Landing River as heavily influenced by wind. With the wind blowing hard from the south, the water level is driven up.
It was a bit windy when we got to the launch, but we figured that would be okay with the heat and humidity forecast for the day. Once we got out there, the wind picked up even more, but at that point we were committed (or perhaps should have been committed). There were parts where paddling into the wind was rough. The drawback of having a short, wide boat is that its performance into the wind is not its strong suit. Check in with me tomorrow to see how my shoulders are feeling.
We saw a cool biplane flying over. I'm thinking that is was Snoopy preparing for battle with the Red Baron.
This was a great paddle despite the wind. Nate thoroughly enjoyed himself as you can see in the pictures. When we got home, he jumped right on his phone and started researching kayaks and canoes. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.
Because the wind was strong, Kate got to use the WindPaddle kayak sail. We call it "The Whomper". If you have ever watched the movie "Wind" (which is about sailing and the Americas Cup", you will recognize the reference. She was hauling butt with that thing!
One of the drawbacks of the new boat launch at Pungo Ferry is the increase in the number of power boats and PWCs on the river. We even encountered them traveling at high rates of speed back in the smaller creeks. If anyone ever wonder why I paddle with brightly colored flags on my kayak, this is one reason. Some of these guys didn't even slow down when passing us. Normally in the past, the power boats would always slow down when they pass.
On the way back when we reached the main river, we saw a cool parasail type kite in the air. And then we realized that it was being controlled by a guy on a standup paddleboard. Today was definitely the day for that activity!
It certainly was hot and humid today. The wind helped and the water has not warmed up to "bathtub" temperature, so it felt good. But it whipped us. We were all tired by the end. But it was a great paddle. And as I said, Nate is hooked!!!!
2 hours and 34 minutes on the water and 2.5 miles on the GPS. Scroll below the pictures to see the track map.
Here's the GoPro video.
And here's video of Kate sailing with the Whomper!
