Pool Session, Sunset

Last Saturday we did another pool session in Bar Harbor with Carpe Diem Sea Kayaking. That's Mel Rice coaching me. Another exhausting session.



On Tuesday, I took a sunset paddle around Crotch, Sand and John Islands. Air temperature was around twenty, not much wind at first, but it picked up on the west side of the islands.



It takes a little more effort to get out in the Winter than other times. You have to choose your days, waiting for warmer temps, the absence of too much wind, or a docile sea. It seldom all happens at once, and there's always some obstacle. I just make up my mind that I'm going to go, and I go. It would be nice to always have someone to paddle with, but few friends invest in winter gear, and waiting for all these variables to line up is like waiting for the planets to align.



The reward is great, though. And there are moments, paddling alone, when you quit thinking about things on land, and you give yourself over to the undulations of the waves. I found myself drifting beneath some house-sized boulders, taking photos, but also just spacing-out, feeling the waves beneath me, watching them hit the rocks. I was dilly-dallying, waiting for the sun to set, and when it finally did, I headed in grudgingly, savoring every moment on the water.