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Sea Kayak Trips Bulletin Board
Re: Staying out of the wind
Posted By: Don Beale In Response To: Staying out of the wind (Robert Woodard)
Date: Sunday, 28 March 1999, at 11:41 a.m.
Thats the kind of paddling I love most; poking around looking at the critters. Dont feel bad about not going out due to conditions; we like your posts and wouldn't want the next one to be an obit...
> Trip011
> 27 Mar 1999
> The plan changed from going to Black Swamp Creek on the Patuxent River to
> North Beach on the western shore of the Chesapeake at the last minute. I
> wanted to go explore Calvert Cliffs and thought today may be a good day.
> After a late start and an hour and a half on the road, I arrived at the
> North Beach pier. I parked along the street and walked across a small sand
> lot to look at the water.> The waves are not too big but the water is very choppy. Worse, the wind is
> out of the north and blowing very hard. To get to Calvert Cliffs I would
> need to paddle south, with the wind. This means a very long and hard
> paddle back and one I'm not looking forward to. I decide that today's
> conditions are beyond my abilities and grudgingly make my way back to the
> truck.> I'm bummed. Tomorrow I've promised the kids to do something with them so
> there will be no paddle this weekend. On the way back, I remember I'm
> pretty close to where I wanted to go on the Patuxent. I head off in search
> for a place to launch near Black Swamp Creek. The first road I try,
> Milltown Landing, ends in someone's yard. One road further up is Magruders
> Ferry Road, and this place has a small boat ramp sponsored by the Patuxent
> River Park. As soon as I enter, I realize I'm about to learn more than I
> want about special use permits. There are a few signs saying they are
> required, so I ask a couple of fishermen where I can get a permit. They
> give me directions and tell me the permit is $5 and lasts all year.> Back in the truck for a 9 mile journey the way I came in. The Patuxent
> River Park main building is in Upper Marlboro and when I finally get
> there, the door is locked. I notice a note that says "Back in 5
> minutes" so I decide to wait. A couple of minutes later an elderly
> man in a uniform comes back. I ask for a permit and he says
> "Sure!", followed by a whole lot of nice comments about my
> kayak. On the way in the guy looks at my license plate and tells me he
> can't sell me a permit because I don't live in Maryland. Blast! I ask
> about a permit for out of state folks and the only thing they have is a $7
> one day permit. Having driven this far I wasn't about to leave now, so I
> asked him to sell me one while we continued to talk about the building of
> my kayak. After a minute or so he asks if this is my first time here, and
> I tell him it is. "This one is on me then" and he hands me the
> permit free of charge. I thank him many times, buy a river map and pick up
> a tide table from him and I'm on my way for the 9 mile trip back to
> Magruders.> Back at the ramp the wind is now blowing hard. The first fishermen I met
> here are gone and have been replaced by a few more. I unload the boat and
> head off down river with the wind.> The wind through here is strange. Because of the trees, the wind first
> seems to be out of the North. The waves come in sets of small, then large,
> then small again. The first large set caught me by surprise and tried to
> turn the boat, but I was able to quickly get the kayak turned back in line
> to travel with the wind. I decide not to go too far because the wind is
> really blowing hard and I want to be sure I can get back. A few minutes
> later and now the wind and waves are coming out of the east.> I find a little inlet leading back into the swamp. I've never been here
> before but I was expecting something a little bigger. I pull the rudder up
> to allow me to maneuver better but the further I went in, the more narrow
> it got. The "channel" was only about a foot deep and at times no
> wider than my boat. As I twisted and turned through the marsh I realized
> that places to turn around was getting scarce and I didn't want to have to
> back out. I was also getting worried that the further I went in, the
> harder it would be to find my way back. Without my GPS (I sent it in for
> an upgrade) I had no track log I could use to help me figure out all these
> twisty side trails. So turn around I did and after a few minutes I was
> back out at the Patuxent.> I decided to head further on down and it wasn't long before I found the
> "real" entrance to Black Swamp Creek. This was much wider and
> deeper with plenty of room to turn. With my rudder back down I found I
> could move along at a pretty good clip when the wind was at my back with
> little or no paddling.> This area is populated by duck blinds, and with good reason. There were
> all types of ducks and water fowl back in this creek. The further I went
> back, the more birds I saw, including a pair of Bald Eagles. A couple of
> geese and many bends in the river later, I decided I better head back
> since the wind is not letting up and is becoming more steady.> The creek runs through a tall grass marsh. In Florida, this would be prime
> gator country, and I would have my eyes peeled looking for the sleeping
> beasts. Naturally, as soon as that thought finishes running through my
> head there is a HUGE splash not 3 feet from me in the grass! I don't know
> what it was, maybe a beaver, but it sure got my heart racing for a moment.> The paddle back is mostly against the howling wind. Luckily, a kayak is
> very close to the water and it doesn't take much of an obstruction to
> create a lee near the bank. The tall swamp grass is all I need to find a
> nice place out of the wind just a foot or two from it. Making it back to
> the river I decided to finally to get some exercise and take off full bore
> into the wind.> The wind and waves are from the east and I need to apply left rudder to
> hold a course to the north and keep my kayak from turning into the wind. I
> sprint for a while until the wind and waves suddenly change out of the
> north. This is quite different than the waves I've encountered before.
> Although I've been in bigger waves, the frequency is much closer together.
> The waves are still in sets and after a good workout I head across the
> river to take advantage of the small lee against the river grass.> It is an easy paddle against the grass though I can see the tops of the
> waves turning white on the other side of the river. After getting close to
> the launch site I cut back across the river and make a prefect landing
> (meaning I didn't fall in trying to get out). No one is around as I load
> the boat and fix a little lunch before getting on the road. I think I
> might like to come back on a calmer day...even if it does cost me $7.
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