Tinkerblue

Kayaking in the Caribbean - Half Moon Cay

Sunday we spent the day at Half Moon Cay. It's an island that Carnival leases from the Bahamian government.

I wasn't starting work until 230pm in Sunday so I took the tender from the ship to the island. Went for a morning swim, read my book while sitting waist deep in the water and then rented a kayak for an hour.

It was so peaceful. The majority of the 4000 guests and crew were in the swimming area, so once I paddled away from there it was just me and the ocean and the fish.

The water was all shades of green and blue. If you look carefully at the third photo you can see where it changes from light to dark green. I paddled for a little over an hour, had another swim and then headed back to the ship for lunch and a shower before work.

I could have spent hours out there. We stop at Half Moon Cay every other week. There is also a lagoon on the Island. Maybe I'll rent a kayak on the lagoon next time. Although it'll be hard to stay away from the ocean.

Kayaking in the Caribbean - Isla Roatan, Honduras

I've been working on a ship in the Caribbean for a month now, and haven't got my ass out a kayak. What is wrong with me?  That finally changed yesterday. Woohoo!!!!!

We were docked at Isla Roatan. Roatan is an island off the coast of Honduras.  I rented a plastic sit upon kayak on the beach at West End.   I only the kayak for an hour, and didn't get to explore the bay as much as I would have liked to but it was so nice to be out paddling again.

 

The rental wasn't cheap, $20 for an hour. And they only had plastic double sit upons. But hey, it's better than nothing at all. The weather wasn't the best.  It had been raining, and the sky was all grey with a storm brewing.  That didn't matter, the water was choppy but clear, the sand was fine and white and it was warm.  

 

I went out at first on my own.  But then managed to talk Natalia and Mariana into taking turns to come out with me. Neither had been in a kayak before.

The beach was crowded, so I paddled away from the swimmers and snorkellers as quick as I could.   Once out away from the obstacles it was beautiful, so relaxing.  I saw eels, a stingray and lots and lots of fish.  

 

No photos of the kayaking because I left the waterproof bag for my iPhone packed in a rubbermaid tub along with all my other kayaking gear in my storage locker in Vancouver!  It never occured to me to bring it with me. What was I thinking?  I have ordered a waterproof case for my camera. Hopefully it will arrive next week.

The ship I'm on has two itineraries in the Caribbean and we visit 8 different ports. Cozumel, Belize City, Roatan, Grand Cayman, Half Moon Cay, St Thomas, San Juan and Grand Turk. My goal in the next 5 months is to kayak in every port at least once. (and to drink a local beer).

No Bake Chocolate Oat Bar

Last week a friend shared this recipe on Facebook from the Mouthful of Yum page. I book marked it and forgot about it.  I can't make chocolate bars like this when it's just me at home, other wise I eat the whole pan!

 

 

Melt butter, add brown sugar and vanilla, stir in quick cook oats

 

 

Last week was the first night of the 2013 Paddler's Challenge so I decided this would be a good treat to take to share.  It's no bake, so no turning on the oven and heating up the house.  Perfect. Although I was a little worried they'd melt in the kayak before they could be eaten. Yeah, shouldn't have worried about that.

 

 

Press half of oat mixture in to 9x9 pan

 

 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp of vanilla
• 3 cups quick cooking oats
• 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup peanut butter

 

Melt chocolate chips and peanut butter in small, heavy saucepan

 

What to do:

• Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat
• Add brown sugar and vanilla
• Mix in oats
• Press half of mixture into 9x9 greased pan (I used parchment paper - then I can just lift the finished product out)
• Melt chocolate chips and peanut butter in heavy saucepan over low heat
• Stir frequently until smooth
• Pour chocolate mixture over crust in pan
• Crumble remaining oat mixture over top of the chocolate layer, pressing in gently
• Cover and refridgerate for 2-3 hours

 

 

Pour chocolate over oat mixture

 

 

They were really good.  I like peanut butter and chocolate together (hello peanut butter cups) so there was no question that I would like these.  They were quick and simple to make, and I only had two saucepans to wash up.  

 

 

 

Paddler's Challenge 2013 Week 1 - Sechelt Inlet

My third paddle this week was for week 1 on of the Paddler's Challenge hosted by Halfmoon Sea Kayaks. This is the 5th year of the challenge and my second.  Last year we paddled to:

1. Thormanby Island
2. Trail Islands
3. Port Mellon
4. To Davis Bay for gelato
5. Full moon paddle to Smuggler's Cove
6. Pender Harbour
7. Weather thwarted our crossing to the Pasley Island Group
8. We finished with a poker run in Sechelt Inlet

 

Paddler's Challenge 2013 started we finished last year - in Sechelt Inlet.  We launched from Halfmoon Sea Kayaks rental location.  There was quite the turnout.  It was good to see everyone back again, (although there were quite a few missing) and welcome lots of new faces.  

 

 

Some of the group getting ready to launch

 

 

 

The rest of the group out on the water, ready to go

 

 

Earlier in the day Cam and Bev from Halfmoon Sea Kayaks had set some crab traps out at Poise Island. The plan was to paddle out and round the Island, pull up the traps, hopefully collect some crab and then head back.  

 

 

Poise Island - historical burial ground for the Sechelt First Nations Band

 

 

On the way to Poise Island we saw a dragon boat team in training and a crew in the First Nations Canoe. I was too far away to get a photo of either of them. As we paddled around Poise Island we we under Arbutus trees and stopped to watch the starfish and/or seastars (where's Nicola when I need her) that were sunning on rocks just below the shoreline. 

 

 

Arbutus Tree - Watch out for ticks. Apparently they like to hang out in the Arbutus.

 

 

Then it was time to pull the two traps. Yes, you can set and pull crab (and prawn) traps from a kayak. Crab traps are easier because you only need about 50' of line, as opposed to prawn traps where you need about 300' of line - that's a lot of hauling to pull the trap back up.  Bev's trap had 5 crab in it, but some of them had to be thrown back because they were undersize or female.  (Yes, you have to have a license to crab).

 

 

Checking to make sure the crab is male and of legal size

 

 

After we had checked both traps and reset them it was time to head back to shore.  It was time to cook up the crab, grab a cold drink and sit and enjoy the evening and the company.

 

 

Chips and dip while waiting for the crab.

 

 

 

Our view

 

 

 

all that remains

 

 

Awesome start to the Paddler's Challenge. The crab bake after was particularly fun.  It was nice to be able to sit and have a drink and socialise with everyone afterwards instead of just loading up our cars and driving away.  

On The Water - One Of My Favourite Places To Be

Summer has now officially began.  For many years the beginning of summer was marked by our first flying camping trip to Penticton or the San Juans or the Oregon Coast. Now?  For a second year in a row summer has been paddled in.

 

 

In the last week I've been out paddling three times.  Sunday I went with Virginia and Pat to Trail Islands, where Virigina and I went swimming in some chilly water. Refreshing, to say the least but it felt so good.

 

 

Monday Rose, Judith and I paddled to Frenchman's Cove and Smuggler's Cove. We all took a quick dip at Brooks Cove before we launched.  

 

 

It was so hot, almost too hot to put my legs in the kayak which had been sitting out in the sun all day. 

 

 

On our paddle from Brooks to Frenchman's Cove and then to Smuggler's Cove we saw Arbutus trees:

 

 

and eagles. Lots of Eagles.

 

 

Bird Poop

 

 

A poor dried up starfish:

 

 

We swam in Smuggler's Cove.  The water was nice and warm.  We swam for 15 minutes or so, and then lay out on the warm rocks to dry in the sun.

 

 

Then it was time to head home.  Rose and Judith tried to sail, but there was't really enough wind. Oh well it was fun to try.

 

 

Frenchman's Cove Kayak

This kayak trip feels like it was last year. I've had the photos ready to post for ages and just never got round to writing anything to go with them.

During the summer my days off were Tuesday and Wednesday and it was often (not always) difficult to find a fellow paddler to go with me, as most people work weekdays and have the weekend off.

Finally I found a friend and decided to launch from Brooks Cove. The water in the cove was mirror calm - you can see the change in the water below, it wasn't rough just not as calm as the bay. It looked like a good swimming day, but when I walked into the water with my kayak my feet burned from the cold.

 

 

This was a cove we paddled past that if it had been warmer would have made a great place  to stop for a swim and a snack.

 

It was fun to paddle through these islands and explore. I could see the sand on the bottom, and fish and starfish, and lots of birds and sea lions. 

The last time I was in this area was the night of our full moon paddle. That beach you see ahead of us? It was completely covered in water, and we were able to paddle right through.  On this day, not so much.  The tide was out. 

Instead of just portaging our boats across, we decided to land and enjoy the sun.  We layed out in the sun for a bit. Look how suntanned my legs are? Make the most of it, Autumn has set in now, and they are almost back to their lily white state.

We also took a walk to the top of island. It was covered in Arbutus trees and multi coloured soft moss. I just wanted to curl up and take a nap.

View from the top:

This is one of my favourite photos from the summer. It was hot and sunny, the water was calm, there was pretty much no one else out on the water except us. It was so quite I could hear the leaves falling from the trees and the bark peeling off the Arbutus. This is the screen saver on my laptop now.

Arbutus trees. I love the red bark, the squirly trunks, the smooth branches...

I love paddling to Frenchman's Cove.  I've been a couple of times now. It's close by. Not to far to paddle to, but far enough away that you're not surround by people and boaters. 

Paddler's Challenge 2012 Week 8 - Sechelt Inlet Poker Run

Oh, this is old now.  Week 8, the last week our summer Paddler's Challenge was 3 weeks ago now. September 6.  We finished with a poker run in Sechelt Inlet. What? A poker run.

We started out at Halfmoon Sea Kayaks on Sechelt Inlet (their second location).  We each picked one card before we launched.

Then we paddled out to Poise Island and pulled up a trap. In the trap was a deck of cards, and we each blind picked another card. 

From Poise Island we paddled to someone's house, I don't remember whose, to get our next card. Some poor chickie was standing on the shoreline waiting for us all to paddle by. We were kind of spread out, so I hope she didn't have to hang round too long.

Our next destination was  directly across the Inlet on the beach at the Provincial campground.  Two more friendly souls were patiently waiting for everyone.

It was't a race, the winner was the best hand not to the first to get back. The water was calm. We took our time paddling back. We had one more stop to make at the white boat.  Yeah, that's helpful. There's a whole bunch of white boats in the inlet.

Before we found the white boat, we found a smack of jellyfish.  Yep a group of jellyfish is called a smack. Did you know that? I didn't. Virginia did.  I learnt something new. The smack of jellyfish was pretty cool. There were so many of them. It was hard work pushing my paddle through them.

 

Virginia got a really awesome video of them. Check it out.

Finally found the white boat. In the end it was easy to find - Cam and Shannon from Halfmoon Sea Kayaks were standing at the stern, passing cards down to us. The card Cam gave me sucked, he wouldn't let me give it back.

Back at shore we loaded up our kayaks and then headed to the Lighthouse Pub to celebrate the end of the challenge.  I did not win. I had 3 of a kind, but lots of people had better hands. I did win a pack of playing cards - with kayaks on them.  

We also received our t-shirts. Must remember I do not need an XL in unisex tees. I can almost wear it as a dress. It's a tad long.

I am so glad I decided to join the Paddler's Challenge back in July. I got to paddle to some fantastic places that I wouldn't have gone on my own. I've also made some great new friends who I hope I keep in touch with no matter where I end up.

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Paddler's Challenge 2012 Week 7 - Pasley Island Group

This is going back almost two weeks now. The last Thursday in August.

 

A little further from home for this paddle. Launching from Gibson's Marina. The plan was to paddle out to the Pasley Island Group. A smaller group this week. Only 7 of us. Jen, Virginia, Pat, Bill, Naomi, Henny (?) and myself.

 

 

Heading out from the Marina the water was calm. Mirror like.  But it wasn't the same outside the marina.  On the drive down to Gibsons I could see whitecaps. Not huge, but still, there were whitecaps. Pretty much everyone else had noticed the same thing. So as we set out, our plans were not set.

 

 

We headed past this float full of old burnt out cars. Not sure why it was there. For a movie, perhaps? Some pretty spectacular houses built into the cliff face. With long, steep staircases down to the water. Then we head across to Salmon Rock and Home Island. No photos of the crossing because it was windy and we were traveling broadside to the waves, which meant I was not taking my hands off my paddle to find my iPhone and take a photo.

 

You can see the water around Home Island is a little choppy, it wasn't too bad. But the forecast was not great. We took shelter in a small cove to discuss our options.

 

 

We decided that we could probably make the journey across to the Pasley Island Group with no problems, but coming back might be an issue.  The forecast called for rain, wind, a possible thunderstorm and we were losing daylight fairly quickly. So the Pasley Island Group was out.

 

 

We were going to paddle along the shoreline of Keats Island and explore. Patrick opened up his umbrella and sailed along for a bit, while the rest of us looked on enviously and kept paddling. Someone looked behind us and saw....

 

A big wall of pretty unfriendly looking clouds. Time to turn back already. We might like our kayaking, and we might be fairly confident in our skill but no one had any desire to be caught out in a storm. So head for home it was.

 

 

Heading through pass was an obstacle course of rocks just below the surface.  We think at one point Bill was sitting atop one but he says no.  It was kind of fun, winding our way through. I followed Naomi, my thought being, if she didn't hit anything then neither would I. It worked.

 

 

We sheltered near Salmon Rock for about 5 mins and then paddled back over to the Marina.  

 

 Because our intended paddle had been cut short, we weren't really ready to stop. So we headed into the Marina and kayaked amongst the boats, house boats, piers and just generally played around. It was a lot of fun.

 

Loopy Lola's

 

 Yellow building is Molly's Reach (Beachcombers)

 

 

Three amigos with their matching cameras

 

Almost full moon. It was full moon the next night.

 

And then my battery died, but we were pretty much done anyway.  We loaded up our kayaks and stopped at Tim Hortons for a hot drink and a donut.




 

 

Paddler's Challenge 2012 Week 4 - Pender Harbour

 

Setting off from the boat launch

 

Our week 4 paddle was almost 3 weeks ago and that was the last time I went kayaking. I think I'm having withdrawal symptoms.

 

 

If you zoom in the sign on the boat dock says SPA. It doesn't look very enticing.

 

After a two week break this was a resumption of the "official" paddles on Thursday nights.  We launched from Madeira Park. I had to stop on the side of the highway because the bow of the kayak fell off the foam block. Don't worry it didn't fall off the car, but the kayak landed with a thud on the roof of the car.  I really need to get roof racks with a kayak cradle for my car. 

 

 

Slow down, you're going too fast.

 

 

It was an easy launch site, we were using the boat ramp. So much easier than having to carry the kayak over driftwood or rocks to the water, especially when the tide is out.

 

 

Dwarfed by the motor yacht.

 

 

Beautiful night for a paddle - sunny, warm, slight wind, no waves, good company and a new (to me) destination. We headed out past the Painted Boat Resort. Now there's a nice looking spa. I wouldn't mind spending the day there.

 

 

Patty (?) in front of the Painted Boat Lodge

 

 

Then it was single file, rudders up through the channel. Good thing the tide was coming in, I'm not a fan or portaging.

 

 

Under the bridge...

 

Out into Georgia Strait...

Quick stop for a swim...

 

Heads from left to right are Jen, Me, Naomi and Virginia

 

Then we headed for home, under the bridge, through the channel and back to the boat ramp at Madeira Park.

 

 

Week 5 - Halfmoon Bay to Frenchman's Cove.  I missed Week 5 because I had a sinus infection and I had to drive a friend to the ferry terminal.

Week 6 - Merry Island. Week 6 was cancelled due to high wind warning.

Hopefully I'll be able to make it out to Week 7.

1902 Canoes and Kayaks

Visions of Earth is a monthly feature by National Geographic Magazine that highlights amazing photographs. 

 

<a href="http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/visions-of-earth/visions-earth-2012#/0412-largest-raft-kayaks-adirondacks-714.jpg" _mce_href="http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/visions-of-earth/visions-earth-2012#/0412-largest-raft-kayaks-adirondacks-714.jpg" target="_blank">Image by Nancie Battaglia for National Geographic</a>

 

The image for April 2012 was taken by Nancie Battaglia at the One Square Mile of Hope event to raise money for breast cancer research. At the some time they broke the record for the largest rafting of canoes and kayaks.

 

 

<a href="http://www.onesquaremileofhope.org/" _mce_href="http://www.onesquaremileofhope.org/" target="_blank">Image by Nancie Battaglia for One Square Mile of Hope</a>

1/2 of me thinks it would be cool to be part of something like this. The other 1/2 of me thinks I'd be terrified that I'd flip my kayak, get stuck under all those boats and drown. Cheerful, huh?