Daily stats
Start: 7:00 AM- North of St. Simons Island, GA
Finish: 2:45 PM - Ossabaw Island, GA
Time: 7:45
Daily dist: 27 miles
Total dist: x miles
Companions: None
Weather: Clear skies, 80 degrees, west wind 10 mph
Notes: Another chance to run on the outside. I had to drag my boat over shallow water at the start but it was smooth going after that.
Start: 7:00 AM- North of St. Simons Island, GA
Finish: 2:45 PM - Ossabaw Island, GA
Time: 7:45
Daily dist: 27 miles
Total dist: x miles
Companions: None
Weather: Clear skies, 80 degrees, west wind 10 mph
Notes: Another chance to run on the outside. I had to drag my boat over shallow water at the start but it was smooth going after that.
Red sunrise
I don’t know if it is the volcano in Iceland pumping ash into the atmosphere or what but the sunset last night and sunrise this morning had some of the deepest red I’ve seen in a while. It was under that red sunrise this morning that I dragged my kayak laden with gear over a few hundred feet of ankle deep water. The tide was out and still dropping the only way around the drag would have been to wait six or seven hours for the water to return at the next high tide.
The wind was still relatively low and out of the west so I ran the outside coast once again today. Being what I expected to be a 26 mile day I expected to be in camp by 1:30. Somehow something slowed me down (perhaps an off shore current running south) but by 1:00 a check on the map showed that I was an hour behind my normal pace. I was no big deal it just meant a little more time on the water than I had planned. At this point anything eight hours or less is a normal day.
With plans to camp on St. Catherines island I changed my mind when I realized that I’d be in the lee of the island and therefore out of the wind. Normally that is exactly what you’d look for in a camp, however bugs and heat have had me looking for camp sites in the wind so I can get relief from both. The sun has been a significant force to be dealt with lately. With very little cloud cover over the last couple days I’ve started to feel a bit like a raisin on a drying rack. With salt water splashing on my arms the evaporating in the relentless sun the sleeves on my rash guard develop buildups of salt. At times so much salt builds up that my sleeves become somewhat stiff from the accumulated brine. Part of my routine at the end of the day is to rinse my paddling clothes and PFD in the comparatively less salty ocean to get rid of the buildup.
The wind was still relatively low and out of the west so I ran the outside coast once again today. Being what I expected to be a 26 mile day I expected to be in camp by 1:30. Somehow something slowed me down (perhaps an off shore current running south) but by 1:00 a check on the map showed that I was an hour behind my normal pace. I was no big deal it just meant a little more time on the water than I had planned. At this point anything eight hours or less is a normal day.
With plans to camp on St. Catherines island I changed my mind when I realized that I’d be in the lee of the island and therefore out of the wind. Normally that is exactly what you’d look for in a camp, however bugs and heat have had me looking for camp sites in the wind so I can get relief from both. The sun has been a significant force to be dealt with lately. With very little cloud cover over the last couple days I’ve started to feel a bit like a raisin on a drying rack. With salt water splashing on my arms the evaporating in the relentless sun the sleeves on my rash guard develop buildups of salt. At times so much salt builds up that my sleeves become somewhat stiff from the accumulated brine. Part of my routine at the end of the day is to rinse my paddling clothes and PFD in the comparatively less salty ocean to get rid of the buildup.
Salty arm
An interesting new article of clothing I’ve been trying out the last couple days was given to me at the Charleston kayak festival. It’s called the “Buff” head scarf, instead of being made of a material that would keep you warm like other scarves, this one is made of “coolmax” material that helps keep you cooler. I was skeptical at first but after two days of using it, I’m convinced. Admittedly you look a little bit like a stylish bank robber when you’re wearing it but the thing is great. Not only does it keep the sun off your face and neck it keep the wind off as well. It is way better than the constant application and reapplication of sunscreen I’ve been using so far.
Paddling bandit
One of the reasons I chose this camp site (besides escaping the bugs) was to make rendezvousing with a gentleman named Mark Gibbs easier in the morning. Mark e-mailed me way back in January saying that he’d like to meet up and paddle with me while I was in Georgia. He has organized a drop off at a marina about six miles up the Bear and Kilkenny rivers. His plan is to stay there tonight then ride the tide out to meet me tomorrow morning. With only 23 odd miles to go to Tybee island it’s going to be two rather short days to pull off an overnighter with Mark but it should be fun. It would be nice to camp on Wassaw island (pronounced just like my home town of Wausau, WI) but that island is heavily patrolled by a ranger and is off limits to camping. Therefore we’ll have to blaze all the way up to Little Tybee Island, camp there, and then cruise into Tybee Island early Saturday morning. Not anticipating the extra night on the water I am running a bit low on water which is causing me some concern but it should work out seems how it will be such a short day on Saturday.
Crab hole
Jellyfish
Pigs digging
Red coral
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