Day 168 - An "off day" for Jake 05/22/2010
Daily stats Start: 6:30 AM- Oyster, VA Finish: 4:00 PM - South end of Cedar Island Time: 9:30 hours Daily dist: 30 miles Total dist: 3000+ miles Companions: Vic paddled with me for the first hour Weather: Mostly cloudy and warm w/ ESE wind at 5-10mph Notes: An off day for me for some reason Everyone is entitled to have an off day now and then and for me today was one of those days. The day started out great with an on time launch at the Oyster boat ramp accompanied by Vic who paddled with me for the first hour toward the open coast. After we parted ways things seemed to go downhill for me and the day turned out to be more of a struggle than it needed to be.  Vic says farewell one last time The weather was nice for running up the outside (open ocean) of the barrier islands. After a day of winding through the grass flats on the inside bays yesterday I was happy to be on the outside for a change. The 1-2’ wind waves that were out there shouldn’t have been a problem but for the first time in this trip my lower back was a bit sore and stiff. The constant side to side rock of the boat seemed to make my back stiffen up even more to the point where it became enough of a distraction that for the first time in weeks I didn’t notice how sore my rear end was. With a sore back and waves constantly slopping over my boat I took advantage of a quick route back inside and ran the back side of the islands for the second half of the day. I had hoped to find my way along a secondary (unmarked) channel that would have cut a corner and shortened my inside route. Unfortunately, the featureless grass flats hid the route and I ended up running a couple miles west to get back onto the marked channel. My back felt some relief from being out of the constant motion of the bouncy ocean and I made good time heading north until I was slowed by the incoming tide. By the time I made it to the first unrestricted spot on the south end of Cedar Island I was very ready to pull in and set up camp. However, the beach there was crawling with people. I didn’t know if they had boated over and were going to leave or if they were staying in the nearby stilt houses on the remote island just that there was at least a dozen people hanging out on the beach.  sit right back and you'll hear a tale... Not wanting to rub elbows with herds of people I paddled back onto the open ocean (which was now mysteriously calm) and headed up the coast another mile and a half. There I found an empty beach, (empty but for the stranded trawler and dilapidated stilt houses that were there anyway) and finally called it a day.  Knowing Jake he got his tools out and fixed this place up!
Of course the work was not done yet, as I pulled by boat up and started to empty it out I discovered that with all the sloppy waves that washed over my deck in the morning a cup or so of water had managed to find it’s way into my front hatch. So once again I spread all my gear out to dry and dug the sealant out of my repair kit to try to seal up every possible port of entry I could find in the front half of my boat. With luck this time I got the leak fixed and it won’t be a problem again. There is rain in the forecast tomorrow but the winds are predicted to be calm so I’m hoping to make good time toward Assateague Island. CommentsThom 05/22/2010 9:09pm
Nice to see you are back on the water Jake and hope your back improves. Andy 05/23/2010 10:24am
Keep going Jake, you're almost north of St. Louis! You are making great progress. Larry 05/23/2010 4:49pm
Hang in there Jake. The fact you have so few of these off days is a real testament to your conditioning and spirit. Get some rest and perhaps take some extra time to stretch out before getting in the boat. Also, drink lots of water to flush out lactic acid that builds up in the muscles. We're still hoping to catch you on the Erie Canal, so we're following your schedule closely. Victor Sorensen 05/23/2010 6:53pm
It was great being able share a tiny fraction of this journey with you this week. I hope the back feels better and you you can get into your groove soon. After we split the waves seemed to pick up a bit which were nice for me surfing against the tide but I had a feeling would be much rougher for you on the outside. Hope the hatch repair holds. I'm looking forward to paddling with you again soon, hopefully on the erie canal in central NY next month, then one of the trips we have on our "lists"!! Take care, paddle safe and enjoy the journey, it'll be over before you know it! Portage Dug 05/25/2010 8:45pm
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