The weather service issued a heat advisory for Hampton Roads on the morning of 12 July. That caused a few of the Tuesday Groupers--those few who have common sense--to revise their plans and stick to the great indoors. The crazy hard-core decided to snub the weatherman again and seize the day. This set of hard-core paddlers included Steve R, Marsha M, Jean B, Sandy B, and Brian.
We met at the public boat ramp on Dandy Point, a nice breeze keeping us in good spirits. We set off into the Back River and were met with rather large waves and a pretty strong side wind--yes the waves were coming from the side also which makes for interesting paddling. We had some concern with this ominous start to the day. We started out with plan A which was to paddle down Long Creek, use the Salt Pond cut thru to the Chesapeake Bay and paddle up the Bay along Grandview until we reached the mouth of the Back River. Plan B would be to retrace our path from the Salt Pond if the Bay was too rough or the weather was too threatening. But then the indomitable Jean B "Marina Momma" came up with a Plan C--paddle directly out Back River to the Bay and let both the tidal water and the wind push us along at our backs. We agreed and the plan was a gem--we made the Bay paddle in record time with minimal effort from the mouth of the Back River to the beachfront just before the Salt Pond cut-thru. Along the way Jean gave us instruction in the Zen of Tidal Waters--most of us think in terms of compressed and fast tidal waters in creeks and small rivers where we paddle most. "Marina Momma" and her husband are BIG WATER folks. We were thinking tidal ups and downs don't matter much in the bay, but Jean gave us the lowdown on how lucky we were, and we moved like Kayakers with NASCAR credentials. But, our smug good feeling didn't linger much past the lunch stop.
After lunch, we turned into the Salt Pond Cut-thru. The turn to the right which we normally use was blocked by a sandbar--The Curse of Low Tide was upon us. So we turned toward the big Marinas looking for another path. As we paddled by the Yachts, genuine Yachts, our inferiority complexes soared, except for Marina Momma who felt right at home. We had to paddle quite a distance to find the cut-thru and as we paddled a few got stuck. A few paddles stuck in the mud, a few near misses on tip overs, and a few tows, and we finally made it to 6 inches of water! And then the water level grew, And then we realized the weatherman may have had a point. But by then we were back at Dandy Point. All still had sweat on their brow so no hypothermia candidates among us.
Then the discussion quickly turned to Ice Cream. We all remembered this as a trip led by Chris W who lives nearby. That is where we went for ice cream in the past when she led this trip. The best we could think of for an alternative was McDonalds soft serve--but no takers. So for the second week in a row, the "hard-core" had no chocolate nor ice cream. That is the new definition of "hard-core". We then scattered in our air conditioned cars and once again felt as if we had won the weather battle. So far this month, Tuesday Group: 3, weather man: 0.
Brian