Its only halfway through Jan. and already I am a month behind my schedule to paddle 3000 Nm this year. (Why do I even bother with New Year's resolutions?). A bad cold and a couple of very strong cold fronts have limited my paddling. However, the main problem has been my reversion to the old "computer programmer schedule". That's the one where you stay up till 2 am, wake up to the alarm at 7 am, throw the alarm clock across the room, and then go back to sleep until noon. By the time you are awake and get organized it just seems too late to get on the water. Yesterday started out that way, but the weather was just too nice to stay inside. It was about 65 degF, overcast, and almost no breeze. I managed to make it to the downtown marina by 2:00 PM and headed out for a 10Nm paddle down the south shoreline of Corpus Christi Bay (Corpus Christi, Tx). This paddle gives you great views of the downtown skyline, of the high bridge over the entrance to the port, of a couple of the city's waterfront parks, and of lots of nice waterfront homes. I paddled out the breakwater entrance, turned south, and paddled along the breakwater rocks. The bay was glassy. It was not quite flat, but even the few tiny wavelets had that glassy look you normally associate with dead calm conditions. I enjoy paddling right along the rocks and looking at all the interesting patterns in the granite blocks. Its not a fun place to be when the water is rough, so I was grateful for this chance to paddle in close. After a half mile, I turned away from the breakwater and headed for the fishing pier at Cole Park a mile away. About half way there I noticed splashing just passed the pier. At first I thought it was brown pelicans diving for fish, but as I got closer I saw the fins. DOLPHINS and they were really active. Suddenly one dolphin went airborne and almost immediately a second one followed. They must have been 7-10 ft up in the air. I quickened my pace to get closer in case there was more action. By the time I got to the pier, they were moving away along the shoreline headed east. I caught an occasional glimpse of fins, but I was not gaining any ground on them. This area is relatively shallow (3-5 ft) and this was the first time I had ever seen dolphins there. It was quite a surprise. I headed east along the shoreline wishing I could have seen more when suddenly I heard the "woosh" behind and to my left. I turned to see a small dolphin swimming alongside only 5 yards away. He swam by in that elevated posture where they never let their eyes go below the water. You just know they are checking you out the same way you are doing with them. I guess I was not that interesting, because after just a minute or so he went back to a more normal swimming mode (surface, submerge, surface) and then he dived and disappeared. I continued along the shoreline hoping he would come alongside again, but after a several minutes I decided I would just have to be content with this short encounter. Just when you least expect it you get surprised again. I noticed that the two dolphins I had originally tried to follow had made a circle out into the deeper water in the bay and were now heading back towards me. Suddenly just to my right the smaller dolphin popped back up and then disappeared. The other two came around and began following me about 10 to 15 yards behind and to the left. They seemed to like to stay behind me so for a while a turned and paddled backwards so I could watch them more easily. Then the third smaller dolphin joined the other two. They were swimming side by side and just deep enough that I could not really see their fins. The water was so shallow that they created this wide "bow wave" as they swam toward me. It was like a scene from one of those horror movies where you don't see the sea monster, you just see the disturbance in the water. We played follow the leader for 10-15 minutes. They would head out toward the bay and I would turn to go parallel to them. They would turn toward me and I would turn back and let them chase me for a while. Occasionally one would move in close to me and then move back to join the others. Finally they picked up their pace and headed toward the middle of the bay. I decided to let them go and continue with my shoreline paddle. I paddled past the houses at Oleander Point, past Doddridge Park, by the piers of the condos at Shoreline Dr. and Airline and finally reached Swantner Park after about 1hr 45 min of paddling. The wind had picked up a little and there were a few small waves to negotiate. I turned around and headed back the way I came. The entire paddle was nice, but the rest of it did not compare with those 20-30 minutes with the dolphins. I never get tired of these encounters. Sometimes it just amazing how a last minute, exercise paddle can turn into something really special. --- Mark Arnold--- mjamja_at_earthlink.net--- EarthLink: The #1 provider of the Real Internet. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> Its only halfway through Jan. and already I am a month behind > my schedule > to paddle 3000 Nm this year. Mark, nice dolphin encounter. Be glad you kept to the shoreline, though. Those little buggers are smarter than you think. Just when it seems like it's all fun and games, they lull you into a sense of complacency, lure you out into the open water, and WHAM!!! Next thing you know, they've got your head stuffed and mounted on some coral reef somewhere. My problem isn't with dolphins, though. It's with ducks on the water and cows on land. Old stories. :-) Mainly, I want to comment on your new year's resolution to paddle 3000 nm this year. What's the plan? Daily goals, weekly goals, a few extended mileage heavy trips, or what? Why 3000? Did you come close last year and want to break through the 3000 barrier? Aside from the pleasure factor, what is a "regular" paddle like for you, in terms of miles? I'm asking these questions out of envy. I'll be happy to log 300 miles this year, but a lot of time that I could be paddling, I'll be floating and watching wildlife, or just floating around enjoying the summer sun. Rick - Poquoson, VA *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Mark, Great report!!!! I gotta get down and visit you sometime. sounds like you are having a BLAST with the swimming mammals! Hope all is well! Steve Scherrer *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Unexpected encounders with wonderful creatures. This is why we paddle in the first place. Thanks Bob *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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