90.5 miles in 18 hours of paddling over 2.5 days.
We had the time of our lives this past Memorial Day weekend, with the weather and current goddesses aligning for once and giving us the absolute perfect travelling conditions to accomplish our latest (big ass;) paddling goal in the least amount of pain possible- circumnavigating Whidbey island in our tandem Necky Nootka sea kayak, the largest isle in the Puget Sound and one of the longest in America.
The night before embarking on this ultra marathon paddle journey, I overheard Jim answering a friends inquiry as to why we would want to take on this uber endurance challenge. I chuckled to myself as I heard him reply simply with the classic line made famous by early Everest mountaineer George Mallory, "Because it is there."
And so after months of training, the last few evenings of pre-departure gear pile-making and dry bag packing, we excitedly launched on Saturday morning a little later than planned at just after 8am from Cornet Bay, into flat water with a slight drizzle and gentle headwind breeze. Within a few miles we passed Ala Spit and began getting a good speed boost from favorable currents. We rode that for miles gratefully down into Saratoga Passage and kept going comfortably at a good pace until about 20 miles in, when we stopped for lunch next to Cama State Park.
Then as forecast we watched the seas start rippling and waves appearing (we didn't believe it could be happening since how often is our PNW marine forecast actually accurate?!;) We sat on the warm beach rocks savoring our PBJ sandwiches as we watched the winds change direction and increase in intensity, giggling at the afternoon possibilities...
So we pulled out the sail and suction cupped it on the deck before launching again, for what would turn into the kayak sailin' ride of our lives, a freaking awesome 20 mile downwind sail & surf run! We flew by Langely, Camano Head, Getney island & Clinton, laughing away as we were connecting set after set beautifully at speeds of 7~9 mph!
Tired as we were, we figured it was a no brainer that we weren't not going to use the perfect kayak-sailing conditions given to us, so we rode the winds all the way to the south end of the island for an incredible 43 mile first day!
We would have probably kept going another hour or two if we could have continued with the help of the sail, but rounding the south end of the island we were met with a wall of headwinds, so with our screaming muscles and roaring bellies we instead pulled out onto a ruggedly homeless beach and set up pirate camp for the night. Exhausted and giddy we enjoyed our instant jasmine rice and Indian curry while watching the most beautiful sunset over the Olympics and Mount Rainier.
Sunday morning we were woken early by barking sea lions near 5am, and jumped up to get water boiling and gear packed and on the water as quick as possible. Again currents were with us as soon as we launched, so the miles and hours flew by enjoyably...
Until we hit Admiralty Inlet just south of Fort Casey. The strong currents then changed and started kicking our tired tooshes. By the time we made it to the State Park we'd already planned at stopping at for lunch, we were at 25 miles for the day, 68 miles total, and both ready to be done.
So we grabbed the second to last available campsite amongst a city of RV's, and treated ourselves to a lunch of hot sandwiches and Mike's hard lemonades from the Keystone Cafe. Then spent the rest of the afternoon napping in the sun in the grass on top off the bluff at the old military fort as crowds of tourists frolicked around us.
Sunday morning we again rose at 5am and got on the water just after 6am. Launching off of the beach next to the Keystone ferry, we got sucked right into a raging rip and up to speeds over 10 mph for a few miles. Not yet fully caffeinated I wasn't quite awake yet or as ready for the sudden bucking bronco raging rip ride as Jim was, but who needs coffee after that wave-slapping, coooold watered good morning! We stayed offshore a half mile to a mile for a lot of the morning up the westside, as the military has restricted waters and we didn't feel like getting chased. The swells from the wide open fetch of Strait of Juan de Fuca were gentle and kind, and pushed up our speeds each wave as well, so we made it back to Deception Pass just after max flood and in time to get rocket-shot through the Pass at over 11mph to end our trip back at Cornet Bay by 11am on our third day!
We were so happy to get home early, get the salty gear rinsed and hung to dry. Barely back on land an hour Jim took off on a couple hour mountain bike ride. Already getting into the zone for next weekends race while we'd both alternate smiling at each other knowingly over the next few days, overflowing with endorphin-fueled inner rainbows from this mega mission accomplished trip. :)
