Jim Moy

First paddle outing of the year to Boyd. Clear, 70 degrees, slight breeze. Water slightly chilly to the touch, for lack of a more objective measurement. Felt like it had been such a long time since I’d been in, but maybe that’s just missing it speaking.

Lots of nice trees taken out on the North/North-East end. Replaced with what appears to be the beginning of a white-sand bar for the new development. It looks “nice” from a real-estate brochure point of view. But it’s sad too, I’ve chased many fish and fowl through there on my little paddles to the North end and back.

Can feel the burn through the shoulders and abs. A nice, smooth ache though, just my speed.

First paddle this year was this past Tuesday. 70’s. Water temp 58F, which felt just fine, though I’ve been reading about cold shock recently and so have been a bit paranoid. Shoulders are sore, but boy was it nice. And today’s it feels like it’s going to snow (snif).

Was out paddling on Boyd Mon/Wed/Fri last week. Mon seemed like the ideal, glass-water day, but I actually liked Wed a bit better where there is enough of a breeze to keep some ripples flowing on the water. Seems like less scum is just floating around when it’s not like glass…

But then Fri demonstrated why I need to be looking into some sort of wet/dry suit. The water was nice and warm as it’s been all summer, but the combination of cool air and wind gusts made for goosebumps and a cold, wet trip. I’m not sure about the terminology and differences yet, I’ll have to start researching it.

I bought a couple of bars for the pylons on my Thule rack, but the gutter mounts don’t quite fit, there’s a nut sticking up about a millimeter too high for the door to pass as it’s shutting. I was proud of myself for keeping those pylons for so long after selling the old car, but it looks like I’ll be buying new ones for the Maxima.

Today and this past Monday, hardly anyone at Boyd Lake at lunch time! Clear blue skies, the closest clouds were over the mountains, a very slight breeze to put some ripples on the water, and mid-80’s temperature so I only the occasional splash kept me comfortably paddling.

I realized today that I can “steer” my kayak by very slightly leaning away from the direction I want to turn. It’s a bit tricky, keeping up a paddling rhythm while doing this, and not tipping so much as to pour water into the cockpit, but it’s very effective. The tilt apparently lifts on side of the boat’s “curve” out of the water so the other one is what is cutting through. Normally both sides offset each other, but with one slightly out of the water, the remaining one steers the boat. This is good because it lets me keep my speed up, as opposed to ruddering with the paddle which slows down.

This is for my last weeks worth of trips out to the lake. One common thing about them (including today) is the speed of the waves moving across the lake. They’ve been slow enough that on my way North I can actually “surf” them, and it seems to make for a quick trip to the North end. I haven’t actually timed it yet, and I’ll have to do it over a number of trips to really see if my impression is right.

If I match speed with the ripples, then slow down just slightly until I’m tipped slightly “forward,” I can then paddle somewhere between gently and moderately vigorously and ride the wave for five to ten seconds before it either moves sideways from under me or I get behind it. And then repeat! Not as impressive as kayking in the surf of the Atlantic, but hey, this is fresh water and local.

Was on the beach in Florida for a week. Got to kayak in the ocean! Riding the surf without getting creamed is fun. Seeing dolphins up close is cool, a few in the morning within 15-20 feet of where I was paddling.

This was my second time in the ocean paddling. I was able to try out a more expensive paddle than the $60 starter one I have, could definitely feel the difference in how much “pull” I was getting.

Decided to go paddling on a weekend, something the last time I tried to do I ended up just turning back because of weather. My thinking goes, “okay, it’s not such a nice time to be out in the crowd, but at least I get my workout and out on the water.”

And so it was crowded at the boat ramp, since Heron Cove is where the jetskiers go (and was actually funded partially by a local watersports business), I paddled out in-between them and continued on my usual path.

But surprise, once I got past the north-most no-wake buoys, there was nobody there! Well, a couple of fishing bloats floating around, but nobody moving around except me. And the farther in I got, the more secluded it seemed, with nobody else there. The North end of Boyd Lake is a calm, serene place to paddle. Even on weekends. I’m going to bring my lunch some weekend and just float around.

Time: 39:08

Took my Mom with me Kayaking a couple of times last week. She tried it out too, but didn’t get enough practice to really get into the rhythm of the paddling.

Yesterday there were waves! In the past, I haven’t been quite sure when to classify a ripple as a wave. Now I have a definition - if I’m just sitting there, not paddling or otherwise maneuvering around, and water sloshes up over the bow and into the cockpit, it’s a wave. In this case, the wind gusts were the primary cause, and I’d say peak to valley the waves were about a foot high at the most.

And it was fun. A face full of water as you’re paddling about is quite invogorating, and there wasn’t so much as to swamp me so I was happy. More waves!

Cooler today, but the sun was out. Water very calm, a few people out on the beach. One boat was toodling along, fishing, with a couple of people sunning. I paddled close enough to them to say hi.

I’m going to start doing some timing, from the first buoy closest to the Heron Cove boat ramp, out around the next two buoys, far enough North to sight down the side of the foundation of an unfinished building on the West shore, and back.

Today’s time: 42 min.

Friday’s paddle was cut short by thunder. I didn’t see any lightning, but hearing thunder is enough for me. I cut back to about a 30 min. paddle instead of my usual 40 min. Was out of the water while the sun was still shining, but clouds and rain took over very quickly after I drove out the parking lot.

Last Tuesday was as busy as I’ve seen it at the Heron Cove boat ramp, there were 8-10 jet-skis and a few boats. Everyone was courteous, going out of their way to not leave big wakes when I was nearby, I’ve been impressed by my fellow water-sporters at Boyd.

The water level’s been going up the last few times I’ve been out. There’s a pipe feeding Boyd from Horseshoe on the other side of the road, it’s been going every time I’ve driven in. One side effect is the sandbar sticking out right near the no-wake boundary on the North has been submerged, so there are no Herons sitting around. It makes it a bit easier for me to pass, but I miss the birds.

Friday was smooth as glass, very nice. Was just as calm as Tuesday, but not nearly the Walleye feeding activity, I wonder what triggers it?

Been thinking about when to do some re-entry practice. Thought I might do it at the Marina area where I could just tie on to the dock there if it’s not very busy. But it’s shallower and so I might get more gunk into the cockpit if I try to submerge the boat. Got my pump and paddle float, just need some rope.

Okay, there’s a sign near the entrance to Boyd Lake indicating the type of fish you’re likely to see. I’m pretty sure the ones I’ve been seeing on the North side are Walleye, by the tall dorsal fins they had. This past Tuesday things were very calm, and near the shoreline they were swimming so close to the edge that they’d appear to “beach” themselves, chasing after prey. It was quiet, so I could hear their attacks, and they were going at the rate of two or three per second, so I just sat and listened for a little while before making my way back.

Super clear day paddling on the 15th, this past Tue. Return to the weekday lunch time calm, nice. Seeing as my usual pre-kayak exercise was jogging around Donath Lake, watching for cars and trucks with wide mirrors while dancing on the edge of the non-shoulder on CR13, the past weekend paddling seemed pretty peaceful.

I’ve got a bilge pump and a paddle float now. Need to find some time to practice dumping out and re-entering. Then I’ll feel better about heading toward the middle of the lake. These both stash right behind my seat pretty nicely.

Entry for Sunday, 6/13: I went out the day after the lightening, which happened to take out my wireless connection and so it’s been up only sporadically since.

Lots of sailboats out on Boyd today, very colorful! Interesting that even though it was quite a bit more crowded (weekend), more of the motor boats and jetskis were not headed into the North area, maybe partly because there was a parks ranger cruising around.

Ooo, lightning. Time to paddle back. If I’d gotten out an hour earlier like I’d originally planned, I would’ve been fine and out of the water before the lightning started.

First try on a Saturday. More people, of course. Stopped at the Marina, got a parking spot pretty close to the ramp, and just walked past a half-dozen boats maneuvering their way in/out. The area is wakeless, so it’s not as bad getting out of there as I thought it might be, boaters were courteous and waved.

But then the storm moved in, so paddled like mad to get out. Try again another time.

Didn’t look this morning like I was going to be able to head out, but it cleared up pretty nicely. Moderately windy, the most I’ve seen so far, and plenty of little waves, so my paddling rhythm was a little uneven today. I wonder if days like this it would help to have one of those foot-controlled rudders.

Another fish story, a fourteen to sixteen inch fish (Walleye?) was puttering about on the surface near the North end of the lake, his fin sticking up a few inches out of the water. I could tell how big it was because I paddled right up beside it and it didn’t seem to care. Then I paddled past it, turned around, and quietly floated up beside it again, and just as I was coming past it dove. Maybe it didn’t care that I was just passing through, but was worried when I came for another pass. (It was thiiiiiis big!)

Record breaking highs yesterday, but today was just a nice, sunny outing. Was windy this morning so I suspected I’d see more chop on Boyd, but it died down by the time I got out there.

Put a little Vaseline on my thumb just behind the knuckle and to the side where it rubs against the paddle. This kept my thumb from getting raw there, but is also made the paddle pretty slick. Wasn’t much of a problem though so long as my paddling technique was steady.

Wind was more from the East today than usual. I thought my paddling was pretty even, but the boat kept turning into the wind. Maybe the waves or currents had something to do with it too.

This post is for last Thursday, 6/3. Another very smooth day. More jetskis this time, but I’m noticing they don’t actually affect me that much (except for the noise). The wake they generate is pretty shallow, compared to some of the larger, fast-moving boats. There was a fairly big party at the Heron Cove beach.

Water is shallower still, so the further North you get on Boyd, the less you see of motorboats. I suspect they don’t want to get stuff caught in their props, there are lots of reeds and things sticking up as soon as you get shallower than three feet or so.

Lots of fish leaping into the air today feeding on surface bugs, I presume. Herons circle up high, then swoop down to within a foot of the water and then stay that high as they cruise over the surface. I wonder if they’re “having fun” doing that.

Wife said the thermometer indicated 60’s, but the sun was quite high and it felt like 80 and the water still felt about the same when I waded in with my boat. Smooth as glass today on the North side, probably partly because the water level looks like it’s dropping somewhat.

When it’s this smooth, I can get a better look at the effects of my paddling technique. The boat kind of wiggles side to side like a fish swimming when I’m paddling hard.

First time I walked my kayak up and down the boat ramp weaving between people backing jetskis down or pulling out. I don’t think they minded too much, I stayed to the side.

Paddled yesterday, sunny, high 70’s. Windy in the Heron Cove parking lot, but calmer once I got down in the water. Upped my one-way time to 20 minutes, was about 75 yards short on the way back with the same time.

The wind is always from the South, which makes riding wakes on the way out (going North) fun, and I’m paddling against the wind coming back. But in that direction the ripple and wake peaks sparkle and I get the occasional splash over the bow, and I’m humming the Hawaii Five-o theme song…

Low 80’s today, sun was out when I put in but clouds came pretty soon afterwards. Was water was comfortable, wading in. Put in at Heron Cove since it wasn’t busy, and I could park close to the boat ramp.

Very smooth water, almost no wind. Got a nice rhythm to my paddling today. Tempted to go farther out into the middle of the lake, but will probably wait until I get my bailing pump and paddle float.

Went around 12:15, temperature in the mid-80’s. In-laws are visiting, so they helped me get the Dagger strapped on to my roof, probably saving me a couple of minutes running back and forth around my car to feed the straps. Need to get a real rack.

The boat ramp to the South of Mussel Beach was busy with jetskis, so I walked to the beach to put in. Beach looked like it had been tilled by some equipment for some reason. Very soft, but not too muddy. Slight breeze, made the return trip a little choppy, but not at all unpleasant.

Big fish were feeding on the surface, foot-long what looked like bass but happened so fast I couldn’t tell. Flipped over six to ten inches out of the water during their attacks. Cool! Only encountered the immediate wake of one motorized boat today.

Figured out that to get the two ends of my paddle separated it’s best when my hands are wet to lock one end between my feet, grab the other end near the base of the paddle, and turn while depressing the spring-locked pegs. Comes loose rather nicely. Otherwise I’m trying to twist with one slippery hand on the round shaft and pinch and twist with the other slippery hand.

I got a Kayak. Knees are bad so biking’s out and running’s not great, so this was a good excuse to find another form of enjoyable outdoor exercise. My usual paddling area will be Boyd Lake. Went twice last week, it’s really nice! Thought it would be too cold, but the water was great. Hardly anyone out there so far on weekdays during lunch, I’ll see how the season progresses. Big group of Pelicans and Herons (I think) near the shore as I paddled by. Paddling diary, a new purpose for my blog.