In 2005, my neighbor Paul Edmondson called saying he was on Blake Island and out of beer. I poked out the window to make sure he wasn't outside my house as usual. Two hours later I launched at Constellation Park near Alki Beach for my first solo crossing of Puget Sound.
It was late summer, a hot day, and the water was flat calm. Mid way a freighter checked in on the VHF reporting seeing a hundred indian canoes in Admiralty Inlet. I remember thinking how cool! The canoes were from the annual Tribal Journeys trip probably headed to a nearby landing. I made the 4 mile crossing in about 2 hours landing on Blake with fresh beer for Paul (and myself).
I had since made that trip several times, including doing it twice from Ballard to Blake to cut out the Alki commute from our neighborhood of Ballard.
Today neighbor Todd Switzer called "Wanna do a quick trip to Bainbridge?" A frequent kayak fisherman, he's been longing for a longer trip and more exercise. 45 minutes later, we launched from the Elks Beach in Ballard.
We stopped at West Point to add on a few layers as the wind was picking up. We crossed to Skiff Point on Bainbridge within an hour, took a few pics, then headed back. Aided by current and a S wind both directions, we made the entire trip in 2.5hrs.
In all my paddling on Shilshole Bay, I hadn't crossed directly to Bainbridge. It was easier than I thought and will be doing it again soon, hoping to explore the shoreline more once on the other side.
It was late summer, a hot day, and the water was flat calm. Mid way a freighter checked in on the VHF reporting seeing a hundred indian canoes in Admiralty Inlet. I remember thinking how cool! The canoes were from the annual Tribal Journeys trip probably headed to a nearby landing. I made the 4 mile crossing in about 2 hours landing on Blake with fresh beer for Paul (and myself).
I had since made that trip several times, including doing it twice from Ballard to Blake to cut out the Alki commute from our neighborhood of Ballard.
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| 1 mile to Bainbridge. |
We stopped at West Point to add on a few layers as the wind was picking up. We crossed to Skiff Point on Bainbridge within an hour, took a few pics, then headed back. Aided by current and a S wind both directions, we made the entire trip in 2.5hrs.
In all my paddling on Shilshole Bay, I hadn't crossed directly to Bainbridge. It was easier than I thought and will be doing it again soon, hoping to explore the shoreline more once on the other side.
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| Nearing shore. |
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| Skiff Point. Looks like a great point break for waves. |
Rob Casey is author of Kayaking Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands, 60 Trips and Stand Up Paddling Flat Water to Surf and Rivers, both by Mountaineers Books. He owns Salmon Bay Paddle a SUP school in Seattle.
Support the Washington Water Trails Association and the Cascadia Marine Trail. The wwta works to create and protect access for paddlers on Puget Sound as well as provide an extensive network of over 60 paddle-in camping sites - www.wwta.org
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