Daily stats
Start: 6:45 AM - Petit Bois Island
Finish: 1:30 PM - Little Dauphin Island (entrance to Mobile Bay)
Time: 6:45
Daily dist: 26 miles
Total dist: 1,302 miles
Companions: Rob from the Mobile kayaking club
Weather: Gentle breeze and warm
Notes: Took paddling jacket off for the first time in the trip.
Today was about as close to a text book perfect day as I could have imagined. The wind that was blowing so strong yesterday wore itself out over night leaving a dead calm morning with glassy smooth water in it’s place. As I slipped my boat into the water the sound of a pod of dolphins feeding in the channel to the west caught my attention and I paused for a moment to enjoy the sight of a half dozen of them working together to hunt for fish.
Start: 6:45 AM - Petit Bois Island
Finish: 1:30 PM - Little Dauphin Island (entrance to Mobile Bay)
Time: 6:45
Daily dist: 26 miles
Total dist: 1,302 miles
Companions: Rob from the Mobile kayaking club
Weather: Gentle breeze and warm
Notes: Took paddling jacket off for the first time in the trip.
Today was about as close to a text book perfect day as I could have imagined. The wind that was blowing so strong yesterday wore itself out over night leaving a dead calm morning with glassy smooth water in it’s place. As I slipped my boat into the water the sound of a pod of dolphins feeding in the channel to the west caught my attention and I paused for a moment to enjoy the sight of a half dozen of them working together to hunt for fish.
Morning calm
The goal for today was to reach Dauphin Island (named after the French prince) with enough time left in the day to set up camp and catch up with a few members of the local paddling club to say hi, swap a few stories, and share a bight to eat. As I approached the new pass (aptly named Katrina Pass as it was that hurricane that created it) that separates the west end of the island from the more substantial and populated east end I came upon a gentleman in a petal powered kayak. Rob was out on the water today to see if he could intersect me on my way in and paddle with me for a bit. His plan worked and we enjoyed a nice chat as we paddled the last two hours of the day together. As we neared a bridge that accesses the island we were waved to shore by another kayak club member, Maggie, who had also come to greet me. Once she found out our destination she too launched her kayak and shared some time on the water with us as well.
Rob paddled out to greet me today
This little stow away shared Maggie's cockpit
It was nice to have a little local knowledge on my side with Rob as he helped direct me into the perfect camp site. I’m set up on Little Dauphin island behind a large sand dune out of sight of the nearby homes on the main island but within a five minute paddle of the local boat ramp. It was at the boat ramp where I caught up with Maggie for a ride into town for dinner. The Ikkuma with all the signatures is beginning to attract a bit of attention from passers by, I ended up fielding a few questions from a few curious folks and even had a couple add their signatures to the boat too.
In town we caught up with Tracy who is the kayak club president that helped coordinate my meeting with everyone as well as Nick who I paddled with yesterday. Nick thought it’d be worth the not so long drive over from Ocean Springs to meet Tracy and some of the local paddlers right along with me. It was good to see a now familiar face again and I’m glad he made the drive. We had an excellent dinner and I had a chance to learn a bit more about the local paddling scene and get to know a sampling of the core of the paddling community.
In town we caught up with Tracy who is the kayak club president that helped coordinate my meeting with everyone as well as Nick who I paddled with yesterday. Nick thought it’d be worth the not so long drive over from Ocean Springs to meet Tracy and some of the local paddlers right along with me. It was good to see a now familiar face again and I’m glad he made the drive. We had an excellent dinner and I had a chance to learn a bit more about the local paddling scene and get to know a sampling of the core of the paddling community.
Rob, Maggie, Me, Tracy, Nick (photo by stranger in restaurant)
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