Last week, there was skim ice on Harness Creek. Today, it will get close to 60 degrees. There have been warm days since Thanksgiving, but not many that weren't windy like today. So I went for it to get at least one more day in for 2024, and set the stage for 2025's Century Club.
The trees are leafless, and the skies are grey. As it should be in December. Stayed mostly in Crab Creek, but ventured out as far as the 6 knot piling.
I had all the best intentions of kayaking when in Eleuthera. But unless my floatie toys count as vessels, I didn't manage a single day eligible for Century Club.
But back home again and the November weather is unusually kind, so I'm back in the water. Crab Creek and South River this afternoon.
They're not all that. We haven't had rain in ages, and the trees need that to give us their best.
Beautiful morning; Little Aberdeen Creek.
Yesterday was too windy to sail, and there was too much going on today for a leisurely trip. So, we took Heron for a spin to the West River to enjoy raw local oysters and fat autumn crabs at Stan & Joe's. Washed them down with Annapolis IPA. I tried out a new way (for me) to pick them, and the results were great -- a lot better access to paydirt backfin crab. October is pretty awesome here!
The paradise that October 2024 is turning out to be. Though we could sure use the rain.
Church Creek was today's destination.
And I was thirsty....
As low as I've seen it in Crab Creek. The ramp to the floating dock felt more like a ladder today. But otherwise, the day was sublime. Got further into Little Aberdeen Creek as I ever have. Afternoons are gorgeous where there are no wakes.
In what has become our default plan this season, we motored to the Rohode River for a clear and calm night on the water. It got pretty cold, but most of October is behind us now. Hanging out with the Whispers is always a good time. Seas still as a millpond on Sunday morning for the motor back.
It's a quiet day on the South River, with a bit of breeze. Few boats out there -- lots of sea room. Most importantly, it's pretty cool -- in the 40s. So why does the D-Bag driver of a center console feel the need to get within yards of me and give me a 2 foot wake in his urgency to come to nearly a dead halt once past me to go fishing? I had time to turn into it and avoid the worst of the splashing, but it would have been miserable if I hadn't. Ugh. Some people. (Every power boater needs to spend some time in a vessel vulnerable to wakes to gain a little empathy.)
I asked myself that a dozen times as I walked down to the community dock. The wind was definitely "sporty" today, but I ultimately decided to drop the kayak in. It was work, and the wind had pushed a lot of water out, so I couldn't go nearly as far into the branches of the creek as I normally do. But as always, having gone out, there was the pleasure of a beautiful day and the sense of checking off another day on the water.
Small craft advisory starting this afternoon, so I got my strokes in earlier this morning. Breezy and cool. Church Creek made the most sense, as it was with the wind on the way back (but against the tide).