There had been some concern about the effect Hurricane Bill might have on our annual Day after the Broadkill Race paddle.  What hurricane?  We looked but couldn’t find it.

Jere, Karen, Betsy, Brent, Curt, and I set out pretty much on schedule around 10:30.  Jere had been photographing the Broadkill Race, and the rest of us had participated.  Patty (who weenied out on us) had told Karen about the paddle.  I think she’ll be going on the Delmarva message board soon, especially now she has an official sticker.  Earl was running late and joined us on the water.  We paddled out through the breakwater harbor.  It was as calm as glass.  We asked two kayakers who were coming in if they had seen dolphin and they said we had just missed a large pod of a couple of dozen heading out to the ocean.  Uh huh, ok.  So we continued out and around the point.  I had scouted the ocean surf from the lookout prior to launch and it looked fairly calm, and it was.  As we got around the point you could feel the strong current, and headway was slowed.  There was a strong current coming from the south but were really disappointed at the lack of swells to ride.  Where’s Bill?

We did finally see a small pod of dolphin.  The stayed elusively ahead of us, I tried to go out and wide to get ahead of them and see if I should get them to turn around.  I know better, I think all I did was chase them off.  We decided to paddle a bit further, but after a short while we became a tad concerned about some clouds that had begun forming.  Thunderstorms don’t usually pop up in the mid-day but if it should happen and the only escape would have been to surf land on the beach.  I'd rather be on the water than the beach, but neither is a good place.  So we turned around.  I have to give a shout out here to Jere.  She was in a Pongo and before we launched I was concerned that she might not keep up with the seakayaks.  No problem, she had to work hard, but she was right there with us the whole way.  She obviously knows her way around the area too with her work with MERR and other related agencies.

With the strong current it took no time at all to be back in the Bay.  We had just decided to paddle around the inner breakwater when we spotted Earl; he had a late start and was out playing in his surf ski.  He was also shadowing a large pod of dolphin.  At first they looked like they were going around the breakwater but switched direction and went out to the ocean, by way of under and around Curt.  It made the paddle to see them so close; I never tire of seeing them.

We continued on around the breakwater.  We saw the Kalmar Nyckel pulling out and the Cape May Lewes Ferry came past us.  A perfect time for the story of Ferry Bait Eline to be told.  I swear I didn’t embellish it.  How could you.

We finished the day uneventfully; I think we were all ready to get out of the sun and into cool air somewhere. 

Karen isn’t on the list yet so I placed some photos at http://www.delmarvakayak.net/cape_aug_23_09.htm

We made several new friends, caught up with old ones and had good weather to paddle.  How could it be anything but a good day?

Chris