[Paddlewise] Winter blues and warm summer evenings

Well it seems that the winter grip is upon some so it must be up to us who
are basking in summer sunshine to keep the kayaks moving.
Last Wednesday evening myself and 2 others set out on the Tamar River just
near my home and had a quiet gentle sail for an hour and a half and then a
good paddle to return to our put in, getting back after dark.

There is something very calming about paddling just on dusk and then into
evening. I find it the nicest time of all to paddle, second only to
daybreak. Watching the world around me settle down for the evening or waking
up for the start of the day.

On Saturday I took a friend out paddling. It was only his second time in a
kayak and it took a while to get him organised (he is a rafter). I had to
remove the seat in the end to fit him in. But once he was organised he took
of like a rocket.

I just smiled and cruised along keeping an eye on him. The rocket soon ran
out of boost though and we then settled into a gentle cadence.
It was a coastal paddle from Penguin to Ulverstone of about 3 hours, passing
along long sandy beaches, rocky outcrops and small island bird rookeries.
Calm seas and a cooling breeze made for some very pleasant paddling.

An interesting thing with this part of the coast is how clean the water now
is. Not that many years ago there was a lot of industry in the area and the
coastline suffered badly. I doth top me hat to Mother Nature.

So no wild weather paddling, nothing making the adrenalin pump, just good
company and being on the water because I can. Must be something to do with
being a Piscean :-)

All the best for those wintering and keep the paddle stories coming those
that can.
Cheers
Wilky
(who can paddle all year round :-)
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