Went for a boat ride yesterday near Silva Bay. We had an audience.
Showing posts with label seals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label seals. Show all posts
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Sunbathing Seals
Nice note from friend Claire Eamer on Gabriola Island, who intends to go paddling with us the next time we get into her home waters. She says:
Went for a boat ride yesterday near Silva Bay. We had an audience.
Went for a boat ride yesterday near Silva Bay. We had an audience.
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Hutchison Cove
Had a good time on the water on Saturday. Bernie and I launched at Cooper's Cove and headed into Hutchison Cove. Both coves are part of Sooke Basin, where we've paddled before several times!
We ate a ripe blackberry each as we walked from the van to shore with our boats. No lingering to harvest blackberries! Today was just a short day. If I'd thought about driving to water, I'd have taken my 13-foot Expedition inflatable kayak, but the little 8'6" Lagoon is still so new that I'm practically carrying it to the grocery store and everywhere. I was in the Lagoon and Bernie in the red Pamlico when we set off. By the time I hit the water -- a bare six minutes after leaving the van, I might add, which is a terrific inflation/set-up time for any folding kayak!-- Bernie was drifting back from the middle of the cove with a smug smile.
"I've already caught a crab," he said. "And a fish. Well, the fish struck at the blackberry seed I spit out of my teeth. And I've seen a turkey vulture soaring overhead. My day is complete." Congratulations were in order, even when he admitted that the crab had been thumb-sized, floating, and already released, and the fish was a tiny fingerling.
Most of the sea life we noted after that was a series of jellyfish. Moon jellies were floating all around. We paddled past the bluffs and into the mouth of Hutchison Cove, where we drifted for a while and contemplated an immensely large house visible on the shore. Here's a SPOT signal showing our location on our way back.
We followed along the Goodridge Peninsula on the outside of Cooper Cove and then on the inside, contemplating the geology and the wear-and-tear on this little peninsula. It formed after the end of the last Ice Age, and most of the sediments we can see above the waterline piled up in the last 10,000 years. There are clamshells and black earth here, which apparently means the ashes and shells from First Nations middens. It would have been a nice place for clams and ducks. A hundred years ago it was a site for construction of concrete tunnel sections to convey water from Sooke Lake reservoir to Victoria, so the site saw some pretty rough use. Now it's recovering and looks like a park. Part of the Cove is a sanctuary for migrating birds.
A seal or two popped up behind our boats and watched us before dipping down again. We weren't on the water long, but it always feels like the right place to be.
We ate a ripe blackberry each as we walked from the van to shore with our boats. No lingering to harvest blackberries! Today was just a short day. If I'd thought about driving to water, I'd have taken my 13-foot Expedition inflatable kayak, but the little 8'6" Lagoon is still so new that I'm practically carrying it to the grocery store and everywhere. I was in the Lagoon and Bernie in the red Pamlico when we set off. By the time I hit the water -- a bare six minutes after leaving the van, I might add, which is a terrific inflation/set-up time for any folding kayak!-- Bernie was drifting back from the middle of the cove with a smug smile.
"I've already caught a crab," he said. "And a fish. Well, the fish struck at the blackberry seed I spit out of my teeth. And I've seen a turkey vulture soaring overhead. My day is complete." Congratulations were in order, even when he admitted that the crab had been thumb-sized, floating, and already released, and the fish was a tiny fingerling.
Most of the sea life we noted after that was a series of jellyfish. Moon jellies were floating all around. We paddled past the bluffs and into the mouth of Hutchison Cove, where we drifted for a while and contemplated an immensely large house visible on the shore. Here's a SPOT signal showing our location on our way back.
We followed along the Goodridge Peninsula on the outside of Cooper Cove and then on the inside, contemplating the geology and the wear-and-tear on this little peninsula. It formed after the end of the last Ice Age, and most of the sediments we can see above the waterline piled up in the last 10,000 years. There are clamshells and black earth here, which apparently means the ashes and shells from First Nations middens. It would have been a nice place for clams and ducks. A hundred years ago it was a site for construction of concrete tunnel sections to convey water from Sooke Lake reservoir to Victoria, so the site saw some pretty rough use. Now it's recovering and looks like a park. Part of the Cove is a sanctuary for migrating birds.
A seal or two popped up behind our boats and watched us before dipping down again. We weren't on the water long, but it always feels like the right place to be.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Inner Harbour
The forecast was for fog, not cloud. Fog burns off, cloud not so much sometimes. But not this morning. Cool and cloudy. Despite that, Louise and I headed down to the harbour to kayak from downtown up The Gorge.
Louise looks thrilled, don't she?
As we were readying to launch, the nearby Johnson Street Bridge went up.
Venerable old "Big Blue" is being replaced late next year and part of the rail portion of the bridge has already been removed (as we reported here.)
Here on the southern side, construction is not obvious....
...but once we go under the bridge and look at the north side...
...construction is well under way.
Not being a bridge construction engineer, I'm not sure what we're looking out, but I'm guessing this is a temporary construction platform that's being used to sink the pilings.
The Inner Harbour is a working harbour. As we paddled past a tied-up fishing boat...
...a pair of eyes studied us carefully.
As we paddled by the Point Hope Shipyard....
....we saw the remains of the Undersea Gardens.
The Undersea Gardens was a long-time tourist attraction in the harbour. It's a 150-foot purpose built vessel where, according to Wikipedia, visitors "....descended 15 feet (4.6 m) beneath the ocean surface to look through the many viewing windows of the aquariums that surrounded the vessel and see the various marine life of coastal British Columbia, in their natural and protected environment." It was originally opened at the Oak Bay Marina in 1964, then it was towed to the Inner Harbour in 1969.
My dad took the picture below in 1971, showing the Undersea Gardens in its prime. I love that sign!
The Gardens closed late last year and was towed here where it waits to be scrapped or sold.
Under the Bay Street Bridge...
...then under the Selkirk Bridge...
...and we were paddling up The Gorge.
Suddenly to the left, a splash!
The culprit? An otter, that sought cover under a dock after being surprised by a pair of kayakers on his morning swim.
We spotted something in the water ahead of us.
Anybody want a slightly used Zodiac?
I did my best to push onto the shore. Hopefully someone will come and collect it.
After that, it was time to head back.
The cormorant pointed the way.
Trip length: 6.66 km
YTD: 12.71 km
More pictures are here.
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Seals!
It's always a special thing to see seals when I'm out in a kayak. So many sea animals are small, like the crabs and mussels and sea stars that are pretty common around here. One day we even saw a sea cucumber in the Chain Islands. The bigger animals can be problematic -- a whale up close needs plenty of room, and a sea lion is not to be approached! But harbour seals are different.
For one thing, harbour seals are about the size of a nice big dog... well, the females are. The males can get up to the size of a human. For another thing, harbour seals come up near our kayaks and look around to see what's happening. John has dozens of photos of seals checking us out. And for a third thing, harbour seals are pretty calm about the whole "humans nearby in a boat" thing.
Unless it's June when the mother seals are protecting their pups, a harbour seal will look over from a rock where it is basking in the sun and you can just see that it's thinking: "Human. In a kayak. Wannabe. You just wanna be like me, goofing around in the water and rocks. Hah. Poor things with those wiggly arms and all. No wonder you made nice sleek boats so you can glide around like me. Hah."
For one thing, harbour seals are about the size of a nice big dog... well, the females are. The males can get up to the size of a human. For another thing, harbour seals come up near our kayaks and look around to see what's happening. John has dozens of photos of seals checking us out. And for a third thing, harbour seals are pretty calm about the whole "humans nearby in a boat" thing.
 |
| Seal image from http://i.imgur.com/8rDeuAI.jpg I like how it's smiling! |
Unless it's June when the mother seals are protecting their pups, a harbour seal will look over from a rock where it is basking in the sun and you can just see that it's thinking: "Human. In a kayak. Wannabe. You just wanna be like me, goofing around in the water and rocks. Hah. Poor things with those wiggly arms and all. No wonder you made nice sleek boats so you can glide around like me. Hah."
Tuesday, August 06, 2013
A Family Affair
A sunny Tuesday. Well, it's supposed to be. But there's some fog at our launch point at Cadboro Bay.
We've got a big group on the water today. Louise and I were joined by my sister Brenda who is hosting my great-nephew Michael who is honeymooning here with his new bride Gwylan. Michael is the grandson of my sister Ann who lived back east but passed away last winter, and he and I have never met. We had a great dinner at Brenda's last night trading stories about Ann, although it was kind of weird hearing one of my sisters referred to as "Grandma."
Thanks to Paula, who also joined us on the water today, we were able to get ourselves as well as Brenda, Michael and Gwylan on the water for a nice gentle paddle from Cadboro Bay to Cattle Point. Paula used her Eliza, and lent us her Pamlico and two inflatables, setting a personal record for having four of her kayaks on the water at once.
I showed off the amazingly scenic Juan de Fuca Strait!
Okay, you'll have to trust me on that.
The fog came and went and came and went, but eventually went. The geese didn't care one way or the other.
Apart from the geese, we didn't see much in the way of wildlife at first, something we've noticed on other foggy days. Sometimes I think all the animals just sleep in on foggy days. Can't say I blame them.
Eventually we did see a few seals tanning on a rock...
...and after a quick crossing to Flower Island...
...we saw a few more.
Awesome day on the water with awesome people -- that's how you spend a Tuesday!
Trip length: 6.20 km
YTD: 41.66 km
More pictures are here.
We've got a big group on the water today. Louise and I were joined by my sister Brenda who is hosting my great-nephew Michael who is honeymooning here with his new bride Gwylan. Michael is the grandson of my sister Ann who lived back east but passed away last winter, and he and I have never met. We had a great dinner at Brenda's last night trading stories about Ann, although it was kind of weird hearing one of my sisters referred to as "Grandma."
Thanks to Paula, who also joined us on the water today, we were able to get ourselves as well as Brenda, Michael and Gwylan on the water for a nice gentle paddle from Cadboro Bay to Cattle Point. Paula used her Eliza, and lent us her Pamlico and two inflatables, setting a personal record for having four of her kayaks on the water at once.
I showed off the amazingly scenic Juan de Fuca Strait!
Okay, you'll have to trust me on that.
The fog came and went and came and went, but eventually went. The geese didn't care one way or the other.
Apart from the geese, we didn't see much in the way of wildlife at first, something we've noticed on other foggy days. Sometimes I think all the animals just sleep in on foggy days. Can't say I blame them.
Eventually we did see a few seals tanning on a rock...
...and after a quick crossing to Flower Island...
...we saw a few more.
Awesome day on the water with awesome people -- that's how you spend a Tuesday!
Trip length: 6.20 km
YTD: 41.66 km
More pictures are here.
Sunday, August 04, 2013
Seal of Disapproval
There's no question that our kayaking mojo has been absent this year. We've just gone through the driest and most sunshiniest month ever recorded in these parts and we only kayaked twice. Part of the problem is we spent the earlier part of the year nursing minor aches and pains, and dealt with some energy-sapping family matters. But those are winding down now, and we're feeling relatively healthy, so we're trying to get back in to the paddling swing again. And although it was overcast when we arrived at Cadboro Bay beach, the weatherman promised that it would burnoff and the sun would out soon.
And the weatherman always keeps his promises, right?
Paula joined Louise and myself and we headed out hoping that the weatherman would indeed keep his promises. And it looked like he just might. As we paddled along the north side of the by, the thin cloud layer began to abate.
This heron was enjoying the morning almost as much as we were.
We reached Flower Island and paddled around the far side of the island where a pair of eagles were resting.
One flew off to sit in a tree....
...while one seemed quite content to sit in the sun.
While I drifted away checking out the eagles, Louise was having a close encounter of her own.
A seal had taken an interest in her and was following close behind her, diving and swimming under her boat.
Louise reported that it was swimming up to her, diving, turning upside down and looking up here. She spent a few minutes mesmerized as it swan and performed in the underwater sunlit rays.
From Flower, we crossed to Jemmy Jones Island with the intention of paddling around it, but as we closed in, we could hear seals barking and we could see young seals at both ends of the island. We decided to forgo paddling around and leave the young ones in peace.
Instead, we paddled towards the end of Ten Mile Point and played around in a cove that only exists at low tide. Normally, this would be a series of small to medium-sized channels, but not today. We spent a few minutes floating around checking out the sponges and seaweed.
After a while, a mother seal and her baby entered the channel.
They seemed calm at first, but clearly baby seal was interested in us and kept trying to get closer. Mother seal kept swimming in front of the baby and nudging it away from us.
Finally, she popped up right in front of me, and with an exasperated splash let us know that we were no longer welcome.
Even though we were in the cove first, we weren't going to argue the point and quickly moved away.
Afterwards, we discussed whether the seal was being overtly aggressive or not. We concluded that the seals must have been somewhat curious as they had clearly approached us -- made a straight line for me at one point -- but mom had obviously determined that we had overstayed in their area and gave a polite but firm warning.
So we took the hint and headed back, past Flower Island, where the eagle was still in the tree.
Trip length: 6.43 km
YTD: 35.46 km
More pictures are here.
And the weatherman always keeps his promises, right?
Paula joined Louise and myself and we headed out hoping that the weatherman would indeed keep his promises. And it looked like he just might. As we paddled along the north side of the by, the thin cloud layer began to abate.
This heron was enjoying the morning almost as much as we were.
We reached Flower Island and paddled around the far side of the island where a pair of eagles were resting.
One flew off to sit in a tree....
...while one seemed quite content to sit in the sun.
While I drifted away checking out the eagles, Louise was having a close encounter of her own.
A seal had taken an interest in her and was following close behind her, diving and swimming under her boat.
Louise reported that it was swimming up to her, diving, turning upside down and looking up here. She spent a few minutes mesmerized as it swan and performed in the underwater sunlit rays.
From Flower, we crossed to Jemmy Jones Island with the intention of paddling around it, but as we closed in, we could hear seals barking and we could see young seals at both ends of the island. We decided to forgo paddling around and leave the young ones in peace.
Instead, we paddled towards the end of Ten Mile Point and played around in a cove that only exists at low tide. Normally, this would be a series of small to medium-sized channels, but not today. We spent a few minutes floating around checking out the sponges and seaweed.
After a while, a mother seal and her baby entered the channel.
They seemed calm at first, but clearly baby seal was interested in us and kept trying to get closer. Mother seal kept swimming in front of the baby and nudging it away from us.
Finally, she popped up right in front of me, and with an exasperated splash let us know that we were no longer welcome.
Even though we were in the cove first, we weren't going to argue the point and quickly moved away.
Afterwards, we discussed whether the seal was being overtly aggressive or not. We concluded that the seals must have been somewhat curious as they had clearly approached us -- made a straight line for me at one point -- but mom had obviously determined that we had overstayed in their area and gave a polite but firm warning.
So we took the hint and headed back, past Flower Island, where the eagle was still in the tree.
Trip length: 6.43 km
YTD: 35.46 km
More pictures are here.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Line 'Em Up!
Got out on the water with my friend Nicole the other day. This wasn't her first time in a kayak, if you count paddling round a quiet lake (and yup, I count it!) at her family cabin. But it was her first time on salt water, and she hadn't been in a canoe or kayak for a long while, so we took out my double kayak.
Okay, it's a sit-on-top, not a sea kayak, but it's still a nice ride when I'm not sure how hard the bow paddler wants to work after the first half hour. The StraitEdge2 is a good, stable ride on flat water... and one day our paddle group will have to take it out on a day that's bumpy. Or maybe we'll take it down a Class 1 river.
This day was a nice quiet day on Cadboro Bay, with barely any breeze or ripples on the water. Nicole and I carried the boat to shore, followed the beach along to the cliffs on the east shore, and began seeing a marvelous line-up of wildlife.
First were the sea anemones. There are a lot more of the white and brown sea anemones living along this rocky shore now than there were five years ago. Since the tide was out, there were several places where anemones were only five or six feet down. It was easy to find them! Nicole was charmed to get a good look at the cauliflower-shaped anemones, and even more when we found sea stars clinging to some rocks. These were ochre stars, in their purple colour phase.
As we went along the shore, past Stein Island and around Flower Island, we saw more sea stars than I've seen before along this shore. That was pretty neat for Nicole's first time kayaking in the bay. Even better was when she turned round and spotted the head of a little harbour seal bobbing behind us. Could this be Mama Seal who comes out often when I'm paddling here? I think so: slim, grey, and spotted.
With almost no breeze, it was a good day to go round Flower Island. Though we didn't spot any otters today, their little trails were visible in the brush under the trees. It was while drifting along here that we saw the biggest animal in the day's wildlife line-up. A splash just offshore in the current told us that a big seal was fishing. It came up, and looped back down again, showing an impressive length of brown flank. A sea-lion! We don't see those every day, but it was far too large to be a harbour seal. It could even have been a young elephant seal, but that was less likely than a sea-lion.
Coming back, I sent a SPOT message so that it could be forwarded to Nicole later. Herons flew past as we returned to the beach, and the day looked a little brighter than it had when we set out. All in all, good time on the water and good hot chocolate at Olive Olio's afterward.
Okay, it's a sit-on-top, not a sea kayak, but it's still a nice ride when I'm not sure how hard the bow paddler wants to work after the first half hour. The StraitEdge2 is a good, stable ride on flat water... and one day our paddle group will have to take it out on a day that's bumpy. Or maybe we'll take it down a Class 1 river.
 |
| This tough inflatable is holding up well, even though it is no longer new. |
First were the sea anemones. There are a lot more of the white and brown sea anemones living along this rocky shore now than there were five years ago. Since the tide was out, there were several places where anemones were only five or six feet down. It was easy to find them! Nicole was charmed to get a good look at the cauliflower-shaped anemones, and even more when we found sea stars clinging to some rocks. These were ochre stars, in their purple colour phase.
As we went along the shore, past Stein Island and around Flower Island, we saw more sea stars than I've seen before along this shore. That was pretty neat for Nicole's first time kayaking in the bay. Even better was when she turned round and spotted the head of a little harbour seal bobbing behind us. Could this be Mama Seal who comes out often when I'm paddling here? I think so: slim, grey, and spotted.
With almost no breeze, it was a good day to go round Flower Island. Though we didn't spot any otters today, their little trails were visible in the brush under the trees. It was while drifting along here that we saw the biggest animal in the day's wildlife line-up. A splash just offshore in the current told us that a big seal was fishing. It came up, and looped back down again, showing an impressive length of brown flank. A sea-lion! We don't see those every day, but it was far too large to be a harbour seal. It could even have been a young elephant seal, but that was less likely than a sea-lion.
Coming back, I sent a SPOT message so that it could be forwarded to Nicole later. Herons flew past as we returned to the beach, and the day looked a little brighter than it had when we set out. All in all, good time on the water and good hot chocolate at Olive Olio's afterward.
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