Tweet
I mentioned this in another post but yesterday, 8/30, I completed my leg of a 215 mile kayaking relay race called Bay Paddle 2021 and wanted to share some notes and photos from my experience. The relay started last Friday, 8/27 and goes until this upcoming Friday, 9/3. I was participating on a team with other members of the non-profit organizations Chesapeake Conservancy and Oyster Recovery Partnership. With the help of family and friends I was able to raise over $1000 for the race in support of these two organizations.
I pedaled my Hobie Outback from Taylor's Island campground all the way down to Bishops Head, a leg that was estimated to be 29-30 miles from my pre-trip scouting. This is the route I took:
This was by far the longest kayaking journey I've ever been on, and will probably remain that way for a long time. I had been very nervous, anxious, and excited all at the same time for days leading up to it. The day before the trip I was so anxious and in my own head I could barely hold a conversation... all of the excitement was gone and I was just nervous as hell. I had never gone this far before and wasn't sure if my body could hold up (I have recurring problems with herniated discs in my spine and poor tracking in my knees).
At the launch in the morning the event organizer saw my big heavy fishing kayak and immediately discounted me - he asked if I had a support boat on the water, if I had kayaked in open water before, how long I had kayaked, etc. etc. He said fishing kayaks aren't meant for open water (uhh... I beg to differ) and even suggested I shouldn't do the trip when I told him I did not have a support boat. After I assured him I am extremely comfortable with this kayak, confident in my abilities, and that I take it in the open bay 2 or 3 times a week he suggested maybe I should take out at the first exit point, a boat ramp after the 10 mile mark. Sorry pal, I've been mentally and physically preparing for this trip for months and I did not come all the way out here to paddle 10 miles... I did more than that on the Severn while fishing just 2 days prior. I could tell that the other paddlers in their 18 and 19 foot surf skis and outrigger canoes did not have much faith in me either. This only made me more motivated to complete the whole thing. To their credit, they were absolutely flying in those boats, all of the surf skis and OCs were completely out of sight after the first hour. Any many of the stand-up paddle boarders were a good ways ahead of me which I was impressed by, I didn't realize SUPs could go so fast. I was planning to maintain a speed of 3 miles per hour to make for a 10 hour trip. This had me nervous because I usually average about 2.4 to 2.7 mph on trolling trips, maintaining 3 mph would take some effort. I was actually able to maintain between 3.5 and 4 miles per hour for much of the trip which really surprised me - I think using the foot straps on my pedals (something I don't do while fishing) really helped. I was able to mostly keep pace with the other kayakers and they were in much sleeker sea/touring kayaks.
By mile 5 my legs were burning and remained so for the duration of the trip. Around this time the event organizer drove up in a jet ski and was checking on all the paddlers, I could tell he was genuinely impressed that I was keeping up as well as I was. Several other paddlers throughout the day told me I was doing much better than they thought I would. Around mile 10 I hit a huge patch of sea grass that just about stopped me in my tracks. I was worried the rest of the route might have thick sea grass which would ultimately force me to quit. Luckily that was the only grass I encountered all day and it only slowed me down for a few minutes. At mile 20 was the last exit point before the final finish line exit and I was feeling good at this point, I knew I could finish. I texted my wife and said I'm going all the way, pick me up at the end.
The last 10 or so miles were so hard. My leg and back muscles were on fire from pedaling as hard as I could for so long, I had to focus very hard on making smooth pedal strokes and not over exerting or jerking my legs around. Each of my knees felt like two rocks grinding against each other. I had to take breaks to stand up in my kayak and stretch frequently. At one point I radioed that I was pulling off to a beach to stand up and walk around for a minute and the event coordinator radioed back saying he was sending another team's support boat over to give me a tow because he didn't want us to get too far apart. When they arrived they asked me if I wanted a tow and I told them no I did not, I really had my heart set on doing the whole thing myself. But I happily climbed in their boat to stretch out and they gave me some snacks and we talked about fishing on Weems Creek - very cool guys.
Despite what a grind the last 10 miles were, knowing I had made it this far and at a much better pace than I planned kept me motivated to cross the finish line. At 5:30 pm - 8.5 hrours after launching - I pulled into the boat ramp at the end along with 2 other kayakers. Several other paddlers who finished earlier were waiting at the ramp and cheered us on. One paddler called me MVP over and over again which felt good to hear, he was genuinely happy for me. According to my fish finder's GPS I traveled 28.2 miles in total (I must have found some shortcuts/optimized routes compared to my pre-trip planning on Google Maps), pedaled as hard as I could go for 8 hours 31 minutes straight, averaged 3.3 miles per hour (my average speed was brought down by the frequent breaks where I was drifting at 1 mph or less), and my maximum speed was a swift 6.0 miles per hour.
All in all it was an incredibly rewarding and fulfilling experience. I felt like I really accomplished something. I was buzzing with adrenaline and excitement at the exit point and I am still psyched a full 24 hours later! That said, it was physically exhausting and not something I plan to do again any time soon! Below are some photos and captions from my trip, hope you enjoy and thanks for reading.
1. A nice shot of the light house in Cambridge I took the night before the paddle. I was very nervous all day on Saturday until we went for a walk around this marina after dinner, it really helped calm me down and get me psyched up.
2. At the launch were these very cute and friendly bunnies. At first it looked like there were 3 or 4 of them, but there turned out to be a dozen or more! They just kept coming out of the woodwork while we were setting up our gear. Free range pets at the RV park I suppose... They must have wanted to help.
3. A shot of the Cove Point gas docks (left), Calvert Cliffs (middle), and the nuclear power plant (right) as seen from the launch at Taylor's Island.
4. About to enter the Honga River under the bridge through Fishing Creek. This was roughly the 10 mile mark and still nearly 20 miles to go... I was already feeling very tired and this was probably the most daunting point of the trip.... I had just gotten through the patch of sea grass and was worried the whole shallow Honga River would be loaded with grass.
5. Some views within the Honga River. It was VERY vast and expansive...
6. A cool shot of some trees on a spit of land within the Honga, if you look closely there is a bald eagle on the tree in the middle. This was probably the most scenic stretch of the whole leg.
7. Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Karen Noonan Center on Bishops Head Point - this marked the official finish line of the day's leg, however, those of us without boat support to provide a water exit had to paddle an additional 3 miles around the point and back north to Crocheron Wharf for land-based takeout.
8. The home stretch back to the wharf with some storms on the distant horizon. 3 of us in kayaks finished at the same time, roughly 5:30pm after 8.5 hours of paddling.
9. My wife welcoming me back at the ramp and some stats on my fish finder. 28.2 miles traveled, 8 hours 31 minutes elapsed, 3.3 mph average speed, 6.0 mph maximum speed.
I pedaled my Hobie Outback from Taylor's Island campground all the way down to Bishops Head, a leg that was estimated to be 29-30 miles from my pre-trip scouting. This is the route I took:
This was by far the longest kayaking journey I've ever been on, and will probably remain that way for a long time. I had been very nervous, anxious, and excited all at the same time for days leading up to it. The day before the trip I was so anxious and in my own head I could barely hold a conversation... all of the excitement was gone and I was just nervous as hell. I had never gone this far before and wasn't sure if my body could hold up (I have recurring problems with herniated discs in my spine and poor tracking in my knees).
At the launch in the morning the event organizer saw my big heavy fishing kayak and immediately discounted me - he asked if I had a support boat on the water, if I had kayaked in open water before, how long I had kayaked, etc. etc. He said fishing kayaks aren't meant for open water (uhh... I beg to differ) and even suggested I shouldn't do the trip when I told him I did not have a support boat. After I assured him I am extremely comfortable with this kayak, confident in my abilities, and that I take it in the open bay 2 or 3 times a week he suggested maybe I should take out at the first exit point, a boat ramp after the 10 mile mark. Sorry pal, I've been mentally and physically preparing for this trip for months and I did not come all the way out here to paddle 10 miles... I did more than that on the Severn while fishing just 2 days prior. I could tell that the other paddlers in their 18 and 19 foot surf skis and outrigger canoes did not have much faith in me either. This only made me more motivated to complete the whole thing. To their credit, they were absolutely flying in those boats, all of the surf skis and OCs were completely out of sight after the first hour. Any many of the stand-up paddle boarders were a good ways ahead of me which I was impressed by, I didn't realize SUPs could go so fast. I was planning to maintain a speed of 3 miles per hour to make for a 10 hour trip. This had me nervous because I usually average about 2.4 to 2.7 mph on trolling trips, maintaining 3 mph would take some effort. I was actually able to maintain between 3.5 and 4 miles per hour for much of the trip which really surprised me - I think using the foot straps on my pedals (something I don't do while fishing) really helped. I was able to mostly keep pace with the other kayakers and they were in much sleeker sea/touring kayaks.
By mile 5 my legs were burning and remained so for the duration of the trip. Around this time the event organizer drove up in a jet ski and was checking on all the paddlers, I could tell he was genuinely impressed that I was keeping up as well as I was. Several other paddlers throughout the day told me I was doing much better than they thought I would. Around mile 10 I hit a huge patch of sea grass that just about stopped me in my tracks. I was worried the rest of the route might have thick sea grass which would ultimately force me to quit. Luckily that was the only grass I encountered all day and it only slowed me down for a few minutes. At mile 20 was the last exit point before the final finish line exit and I was feeling good at this point, I knew I could finish. I texted my wife and said I'm going all the way, pick me up at the end.
The last 10 or so miles were so hard. My leg and back muscles were on fire from pedaling as hard as I could for so long, I had to focus very hard on making smooth pedal strokes and not over exerting or jerking my legs around. Each of my knees felt like two rocks grinding against each other. I had to take breaks to stand up in my kayak and stretch frequently. At one point I radioed that I was pulling off to a beach to stand up and walk around for a minute and the event coordinator radioed back saying he was sending another team's support boat over to give me a tow because he didn't want us to get too far apart. When they arrived they asked me if I wanted a tow and I told them no I did not, I really had my heart set on doing the whole thing myself. But I happily climbed in their boat to stretch out and they gave me some snacks and we talked about fishing on Weems Creek - very cool guys.
Despite what a grind the last 10 miles were, knowing I had made it this far and at a much better pace than I planned kept me motivated to cross the finish line. At 5:30 pm - 8.5 hrours after launching - I pulled into the boat ramp at the end along with 2 other kayakers. Several other paddlers who finished earlier were waiting at the ramp and cheered us on. One paddler called me MVP over and over again which felt good to hear, he was genuinely happy for me. According to my fish finder's GPS I traveled 28.2 miles in total (I must have found some shortcuts/optimized routes compared to my pre-trip planning on Google Maps), pedaled as hard as I could go for 8 hours 31 minutes straight, averaged 3.3 miles per hour (my average speed was brought down by the frequent breaks where I was drifting at 1 mph or less), and my maximum speed was a swift 6.0 miles per hour.
All in all it was an incredibly rewarding and fulfilling experience. I felt like I really accomplished something. I was buzzing with adrenaline and excitement at the exit point and I am still psyched a full 24 hours later! That said, it was physically exhausting and not something I plan to do again any time soon! Below are some photos and captions from my trip, hope you enjoy and thanks for reading.
1. A nice shot of the light house in Cambridge I took the night before the paddle. I was very nervous all day on Saturday until we went for a walk around this marina after dinner, it really helped calm me down and get me psyched up.
2. At the launch were these very cute and friendly bunnies. At first it looked like there were 3 or 4 of them, but there turned out to be a dozen or more! They just kept coming out of the woodwork while we were setting up our gear. Free range pets at the RV park I suppose... They must have wanted to help.
3. A shot of the Cove Point gas docks (left), Calvert Cliffs (middle), and the nuclear power plant (right) as seen from the launch at Taylor's Island.
4. About to enter the Honga River under the bridge through Fishing Creek. This was roughly the 10 mile mark and still nearly 20 miles to go... I was already feeling very tired and this was probably the most daunting point of the trip.... I had just gotten through the patch of sea grass and was worried the whole shallow Honga River would be loaded with grass.
5. Some views within the Honga River. It was VERY vast and expansive...
6. A cool shot of some trees on a spit of land within the Honga, if you look closely there is a bald eagle on the tree in the middle. This was probably the most scenic stretch of the whole leg.
7. Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Karen Noonan Center on Bishops Head Point - this marked the official finish line of the day's leg, however, those of us without boat support to provide a water exit had to paddle an additional 3 miles around the point and back north to Crocheron Wharf for land-based takeout.
8. The home stretch back to the wharf with some storms on the distant horizon. 3 of us in kayaks finished at the same time, roughly 5:30pm after 8.5 hours of paddling.
9. My wife welcoming me back at the ramp and some stats on my fish finder. 28.2 miles traveled, 8 hours 31 minutes elapsed, 3.3 mph average speed, 6.0 mph maximum speed.
Comment