NSSKA

Three paddlers launched for Otter Island at noon on what promised to be a dreary day, but the sun came out, there was no wind or current, and it was altogether a perfect November day for an outing in Ebey Slough.

Wow, what good time we all had at this year’s Tri Club Picnic!  We had a great turnout with several dozen club members and some industry reps including   Werner Paddles ,   Rack N Road   and   Sterling Kayaks .  Fun games, giveaways, a great paddle out to Biz Point and best of all, heaps of great food!

We had a great trip!  September 5-7, 2014.  Rode the Flood from Washington park, to Strawberry Island for lunch.  Crossed over to Peavine pass, and had ice cream at the Blakely island store.  Then on to the WWTA camp at Obstruction pass.  Saturday we paddled up to Clark Island passing thru some challenging tidal rips, and returned to O. pass on nearly flat water, visiting Doe island.  Sunday the ebb didn't give us the boost we expected, but we paddled down the east side of Blakely island to James island, where we waited out the flood, Then crossed back to Washington park.  We enjoyed fine September weather, nearly full moon, light winds.    We visited 4 WWTA sites and all were in good condition, and mostly vacant on this weekend after Labor day.  Lead by Karl Guntheroth, with Katie Level, Kathleen Grimly, and Mike Beeler.  We saw many of the usual wildlife plus porpoises, river otters, seals, phalaropes, herman's gull, sea lemon (chiton), urchins and sea cucumbers.  Most of th

Seven paddlers put in at La Conner on August 3 on a beautiful windless Sunday and paddled to Goat Island, where we inspected the remains of a Fort Wilson, dating back to pre-World War I, and returned through the fish hole in the jetty. A good time was had by all. Lots of   great pictures here   by Judy Titone, Michelle Beeler and Don Erickson

Six paddlers ventured out into the unpredictable waters surrounding that manmade strip of sand, rocks and driftwood known as Jetty Island.  As always, the Jetty didn’t disappoint and we had some interesting paddling along the west side. Good times were had by all. Pictures   by James Rose

Eight paddlers launched from Washington Park at 9:30 after admiring John's new ride. We paddled with a current to the Burrows Island light house, where we stopped briefly to assess a fog bank to the south. Forging bravely on, we rounded Allen Island, paddled north on a strong current, and stopped for lunch at the Water Trails campground on Burrows Island. We returned through choppy waters between Burrows Island and Fidalgo Head, arriving at the launch area around 2:00. A good time was had by all.

Six paddlers enjoyed a nice warm paddle around Lake Stevens.  We saw various wildlife including bald eagles, ducks, jetskiers and wakeboarders.  We negotiated both natural and man-made swells. Remarkably (or perhaps not...), the water was very clear and we could see the bottom in many areas.  We had views of Mt. Baker to the north and Mt. Pilchuck to the east. If you look closely at the picture below, you can see the sun reflecting off Mt. Pilchuck’s look-out. Photos   by James Rose.

Three paddlers set out from South Seattle on a beautiful summer day and paddled up the Duwamish Waterway, the heart of the shipping industry in the Port of Seattle's working waterfront. We paddled by huge cranes, massive barges, and gigantic tugs and enjoyed lunch at a small road-end park.  Pics by   Jim Haffner   and   Julie Titone

Six paddlers took advantage of a nice calm Tuesday evening by paddling around Jetty Island. We spotted Bonaparte's Gulls, Harbor Seals, Bald Eagles and Ospreys all along the route.   Pictures here!

Three of us started off from Port Gamble to paddle to Port Townsend, but we ended up at Oak Bay due to hard north winds and a sick member of the group. This is a beautiful stretch of water to paddle. There are lots of great views of Mt. Rainier, Three Fingers, the Olympics, and Mt. Baker along the way. We saw large pods of Harbor Porpoise feeding, Harbor Seal haul out at Colvos Rocks, Interesting Mats Mats Bay, many Cormorants at Klas Rock, and a large variety of interesting birds at Oak Bay County Park. The campsites at Wolfe Property and Oak Bay were great, and so was the company of our fellow NSSKA kayakers. Click here for pictures   by Bill Brackin and James Rose

Don Erickson: “Two paddlers launched from Shelton and paddled through Hammersley Flush on a 5 knot ebb current and down Pickering Channel to the Hope Island State Park, where we had a leisurely lunch and walk on the beach before returning to Shelton on the flood current. A stiff headwind in Hammersley Inlet made our return to Shelton challenging.” Mike Beeler: “What a great trip 18.33 miles or 16 knot miles. Lots of eddies and boils to play in. Had lunch at Hope Island and saw a lot of sea life at the beach. Had a good head wind on the way back that blew against the tide to give us a little more practice on bracing and paddle technique. Thanks again Don for that great trip.”

Seven NSSKA kayakers and one camper went to Salt Creek Recreation Area west of Port Angeles. We paddled the shoreline during a -1.1 foot tide, practiced launching, surfing, and landing in small surf, and explored the Elwha River from in Olympic National Park to the delta at its mouth. It was a wonderful weekend, and most of us feel more in control when launching and landing in the surf. Check out the pictures by   Bill Brackin here . More pics   here   and   here   by Carol Janssens

Ten NSSKA Paddlers ran the lower 17 miles of the Tapteal Water Trail on the Lower Yakima River. It moved right along for most of it's length, and had wild roses, Yellow Flag Irises, and Greek Olive in bloom all along the way. The air was vary fragrant with all of the flowers in bloom. Bird life was abundant and included Great Egret, Red-Winged Blackbirds, hawks, songbirds, and Double-Crested Cormorants. A very nice paddle. We need to go back and do the upper 13 miles of the Tapteal Water Trail. Here’s some   pictures taken by Bill Brackin .

Nine NSSKA Paddlers ran the 27.7 miles of Hanford Reach on the Columbia River from just above Vernita Bridge to the WSFW boat ramp eight miles upstream from the Ringold Springs Fish Hatchery. This route goes though the very interesting Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge and Hanford Reach National Monument. There were relics of the nuclear research center and lots of Mule Deer on the right, and spectacular white cliffs and erosion along with thousands of Cliff Swallows, White Pelicans, and Red-Winged Blackbirds on the left. The river was running high, so we averaged 6.8 miles per hour and hit a maximum speed of 11.5 miles per hour. There were lots of eddies, boils, and small whirlpools all along the way. The car shuttle was a little grueling, but we all want to do this one again. Some   great photos here   by Bill Brackin. More   great pics here   by Tim Hallmark.

Eight paddlers headed out on what was forecast to be a rainy Sunday to explore Chuckanut Bay south of Bellingham. To the delight of all, the forecast proved to be off a little, and the group meandered through gentle swells, admiring the geology and wildlife that is so striking in this area. A stop on Chuckanut Island for lunch, then north around the inner shore, exploring the coves and bays as they came up, it was a pokey, relaxed paddle that finished on placid waters, roofed with blue skies filled with bulging cumulus clouds, impotent but beautiful, with the San Juans beckoning to the west. A most excellent way to open a summer season of paddling on our Salish Sea, with many more opportunities to come! Pictures?  Oh yeah, we have   heaps of pictures here ! Thank you Harry marx and James Rose! Curious about the route we took?  Check out   Chuckanut Bay Paddle  route! (kmz file, requires Google Earth.)

Six paddlers took on Lake Roesiger for some easy paddling and beginner practice.  We had the opportunity for an assisted rescue and taught some basic paddle strokes.  Good times were had by all! See a   few pictures here .

We had a great turnout for Saturday’s Sea Kayaking Basics class.  There were plenty of boats for new paddlers to check out and test.  Thank you to all NSSKA members who showed up lending their equipment and time to make this a success! Check out these pics   by Harry Marx and Jim Haffner.

Six NSSKA Paddlers and one HITW Paddler went 10.7 miles and explored Drayton Harbor, Dakota Creek, and the mouth of California Creek. It was a beautiful day with interesting skies, lots of waterfowl, and a few seals. The Coastal Range to the north was spectacular. Awesome pics here!

Thank you Jim Haffner for the trip report! Nine paddlers departed Tulalip Marina on April 6, a mix of clouds and sun to begin, but by the end the sun was dominant. Very placid waters, nary a ripple. Nary a whale neither. We paddled to Langley, where they have a nice public beach tucked behind the marina, and a short walk into town for a nice tour of Langley. In fact, if this is a trip that is done again, or whenever Langley is a destination, I would recommend planning on lunch downtown, or at least an ice cream or truffles. Susan, Chris and Harry can attest to the truffles. Paddlers were Don Erickson, Chris Wood, Daryl Donatelli, Harry Marx, Susan Conrad, Werner, Kaz F., Bill Porter and myself. There was some whale watch activity from a few big boats, and they may have spotted a couple just off the beach at Langley, but I never obtained a reliable view of a whale. I think I did, but not enough to bet on. Personally, I like the launch at Tulalip Marina for the scope of day paddles it

We had yet another well attended successful pool session.  Rolls, braces, self and assisted rescues were practiced and practiced again.  The weather outside made us grateful that we had our kayaks with us as a back up transportation option! Pictures here   by Harry Marx.

Two paddlers braved the the light snow and calm waters to paddle some of the sloughs.  We were rewarded with multiple wildlife sightings, including several varieties of duck, canada geese, bald eagles, blue herons, otters, and even harbor seal. Click here   for some pictures of our adventure.

The lake Stevens pool training session was well attended. We had 9 kayaks and 10 participants practicing rolls, braces and self rescues for the 2 hours we had the pool. The guard was nice enough to let us take the boats in a little early. Thank goodness for the snow! The pool was otherwise unoccupied.  Everyone got in some valuable practice time and a few even learned some new skills! Overall we had a very productive session and we're hoping to add one or two more pool outings to our schedule. Possibly as early as the first weekend of march, so clear those calendars and head over to beautiful Lake Stevens High School! Pictures here   compliments of Harry Marx.

Dave Ellingson presented an excellent slideshow and talk about his adventures paddling the full length (2350 miles!) down the Mississippi River.  His stories of his adventure included wildlife sightings, white knuckle rough conditions paddling, and the kindness and generosity of the good folks he met on his journey.  If you would like to hear Dave’s presentation for yourself, you can   check out his website   for upcoming events. If you would like to purchase his book, The Paddle Pilgrim, you may do so through   Amazon , but I highly recommend buying in person if you can to get an autographed copy!

13 members of NSSKA and   HITW   joined together on a foggy day to paddle from Milltown, through the Stanwood Cut, and down to Cavalero Beach on Camano Island. We saw hundreds of waterfowl including numerous Trumpeter Swans. The fog lifted about mid day and we enjoyed a little filtered sunshine in the afternoon. More pictures , taken by Bill Brackin, can be viewed here.

Four intrepid paddlers got up early on new year's day and enjoyed a cool but sunny day paddling up the Sammamish river.  We found the put in to be closed for construction but quickly figured out there was a second entrance.  The newest club member was Joy, a yellow labrador retriever who did no chase any of the ducks, sticks, and balls floating by.  Good Dog!  We logged almost 10 miles in a leisurely 5 hours.