next

I had expected the Hood Canal leg to be a 'backwater' and probably fairly mundane. I had even considered hitching a ride and missing Hood Canal altogether for the lure of the open water at the head of Puget Sound. But it seemed appropriate to have my adventure flow on from the end of SSTIKS05. On reflection, Hood Canal, delightfully, provided the most wildlife action and most definately was one of the highlights of my expedition.

Thar be Killer Whales

There was much talk of a pod of killer whales having been seen in Hood Canal in the weeks before SSTIKS05. Much was being made of them eating at least one harbour seal a day. This was unusual and some people wondered if this development was a consequence of dwindling salmon stocks. [I wondered just how long it would be before harbour seal stocks were to dwindle].

The Killer Whales had been recently reported to be in the area of Annas Bay, the elbow of the big bend in Hood Canal. The book "Kayaking Puget Sound, the San Juans, and Gulf Islands" [by Ranel Washburne 2nd edition edited by R.Carey Gersten] lists Annas Bay as having "the largest river estuary, ... this maze of channels and grassy banks abounds in bird life and seals".

That sounded attractive and worth a look, but in a burst of just starting out on a new adventure enthusiasm I wanted to clock up some miles and press on towards Scenic Beach State Park and keep well out of the way of pods of marauding seal eating Killer whales.

As it happened the pod of Killer whales passed close by me as I was rounding Ayres Point (directly opposite Annas Bay). The Pod of Killer whales was spectacular performing many leaps clear of the water in the sunshine and tail slapping. They were being followed by marine biologists in a boat? Eager to keep well out of their (Killer Whales and Marine Biologists) way, I headed into the shallows and was soon distracted by a flock of unusual bird-like looking objects moving ahead of me.

Eventually I realised that it was about a months worth of harbour seals slinking around in the 1ft deep shallows making like 'flatfish' and being very, very quiet so as not to attract any attention.

Unfortunately in my own attempts to keep clear of the killer whales, I was inadvertently herding the harbour seals out into open water ... and the seals were not at all happy about it. Once I realised what was happening, I did a right angle turn away from the muflats and seals to pass them without compromising their temporary shallow water sanctuary.

The (welcome) campsite at Scenic Beach state park after a marathon first day

Not having a chart; nor having the time to join up with the Washington Water Trail before the start of my cruise; and having forgotten to bring my hand held GPS became a recipe for an epic first day. While I was keen to make a good start to my adventure and clock up some miles, I was also keen to consider breaking the journey at the new Washington Water Trail site about half way to Scenic Beach State Park. I cruised the shores as I made my way North looking for the elusive campsite. Every likely place seemed to have those hostile 'Private property - keep out - beach patrolled' signs which weren't very inviting and I somehow missed the site. Finding that Washington water trails site would have broken up what was something of a marathon 10 hour first day and could have eased me into my 9 day cruise.

As the day drew longer and then towards evening, I came upon a place that might have been the site or maybe just somebodies private barbeque pit? Then soon after I came upon a small settlement. Initially I thought that I might have overshot Scenic Beach State Park and come across the township of Seabeck. I paddled over to a man who was tidying up his foreshore yard and startled him when I hailed him from my kayak. [Although I was sitting in a kayak clear for all to see, my approach had been silent and my 'ahoy' would have shattered what would otherwise have been a tranquil and solitary evening].

I asked "Where the hell am I?" to which the gentleman replied "Holly" [about 3/4 the way from Twanoh State Park - Scenic Beach State Park]. Hmmm, I had hoped to make Scenic Beach State Park "How far away was that?". He replied, "Come in and have a look at my chart and you can get some water while you were at it". I gratefully took up the offer to get out of the kayak and stretch my legs. A quick look at the chart and I was able to calculate that my intended destination: Scenic Beach State Park was still 2 hours paddling away. But with an ETA of 9 pm and some daylight left to make camp, I could make it, especially if I didn't tarry. So I loaded up my hydration pack with fresh water and was on my way. Thanks to the stranger.

Just past 9pm I found Scenic Beach State Park and a ranger doing an evening check. The camp sites were some distance from the shore and too far for me to carry my kayak and gear. With night falling, the rangers helped me by toting the kayak and gear up to the campsites on the back of the Park Truck. Thanks guys. I set up camp pictured above and cooked up a hard earned evening meal and settled in for the night. Phew, that was one big day.

The weather forecast for the next day was not great and I was a bit tired from my 10 hour 'first day paddle' . So I was happy to stay put for day two. An early morning check of conditions indicated that the day wouldn't be too bad and a paddle over to Pleasant Harbour and visit to Seabeck was on the cards ... so I went ahead and did all of the above.

The day started with a first thing in the morning inspection of sea conditions. I met up with the ranger at the same time and asked "if this funny little stripey squirrel, over here,with a bottle brush tail was a baby or a different species to those other squirrels?". There was another of those pregnant pauses and then the ranger patiently replied "we call them ....CHIPMUNKS". Oh kay .... I knew that .... well not really, sure there is Chip and Dale from Disneyland, but I had mistakenly figured that they were squirrels since they were preoccupied with caching nuts and until then had never clicked that they were indeed namebrand Chipmunks, so there you go, you learn something every day.

Walking back to the campsite to collect the kayak for the days paddle, I came across a deer walking across the road. Man this place is good for wildlife ... and I hadn't had breakfast yet! And that wasn't counting the report of a mountain lion killing a local dog only a fortnight before I turned up.

The paddle to Seabeck was straight forward apart from being hailed by a man on shore to tell me that there was a pod of killer whales just a short distance away. He suggested that I paddle over and have a look, but because he had said that there were babies in the pod, I wasn't prepared to disturb them and paddled directly onto Seabeck.

Seabeck wharf with a condemned marina

Seabeck was my first chance to go shopping! I bought a couple slices of pizza and a coffee for lunch, a few groceries for my 'Supplies' and some regular strike matches to resolve my ongoing battle with the 'strike anywhere' variety which were still causing me trouble and angst, everytime I wanted to light up my gas stove.

Shawns guillemot L beached at Seabeck

When you are cruising, parking your kayak while you are out shopping poses a bit of a dilema. You can't secure it and pretty much have to abandon it, hoping that nobody will run off with it. Wood strip kayaks like Shawns guillemot L sort of blend into the beach scape (like a log), but by the same token they attract attention from admirers too. Many people asked if I had built the kayak. My reply that "no I had borrowed it from a friend, but had built one very similar myself back in New Zealand", somehow didn't seem to be convincing. I had no security problems during my adventure .... but then I guess it was off season.

Harbour seal cruising Pleasant Harbour

I paddled across Hood Sound to Pleasant Harbour. Pleasant harbour was riddled with "private property, keep off" signs and may or may not have had a shop. I cruised the harbour looking at the boats (as you do) and watched as a harbour seal cruised past. This was the closest I ever got to these very shy seals. I passed several bald eagles in trees and on the foreshore as I made way into the harbour entrance.

Pacific Oysters - a principle reason for all those 'Private Property keep out signs'???

Pacific oysters are quite a deal in Puget Sound. We have them in New Zealand, but our pacific oysters don't taste quite as good as the cool water Puget Sound versions. Pacific oyster shells are rather sharp and cuts from the sharp shells arguably posed the greatest health hazard of all the animals encountered during my adventure. Fortunately I had a pair of neoprene soled boat shoes which protected my feet from razor sharp oyster shells when I was getting in and out of the kayak.

Heading to the head of Hood Canal

Day three was time to move on. I got my kayak and equipment down to the water from my campsite with the assistance of the extremely helpful ranger staff of Scenic Beach State Park by the respectful hour of 0900. Yet another time when that little kayak trolley would have been useful.

Finally I was in-sync with the unusual tidal rythms of Puget Sound. In New Zealand and most of the world? we have your regular tidal cycle = tide comes in, tide goes out twice a day. High tide creeps forward roughly about 1/2 an hour each cycle and there are neaps (moderate tides) and spring tides (high tidal variation) sort of in-cycle with full and new moons ... but with a bit of a lag. But all very symmetrical.

For a better picture of what is going on in Puget Sound, check out: Seattle/Puget Sound tide chart

Tides in Puget Sound are bi-modal. That is, in a daily cycle there is one large tide (sort of like a spring tide) followed by a small tide (sort of like a neap). Now is that weird or what??.

I left Scenic Beach State Park just after 9 am on the back of the outgoing large tide. Apparently the water in Hood Sound takes several years to cycle over and I thought that meant that there would be no currents. There is not much tide flow to speak of, but by going with what little tide that was running was worth about 1 knot to me and since I was paddling at about 3 knots with my fully loaded kayak, that meant the difference between 4 knots ground speed with the tide behind me vs 2 knots ground speed with the tide against me.

So I was on my way on an overcast and next to calm day. As I passed Dabob Bay to the left of me it looked like a very interesting place to explore. But I had heard tales of the military live torpedo testing and convoys of patrol boats and "KEEP OUT KAYAKER" flashing warning lights which were enough to keep my head down and on my way directly towards Hood Bridge hugging the Western side of the sound.

Just after I rounded the point pictured above, a slight head wind picked up and soon after, I chanced upon a coyote doing beach patrol. I was paddling behind him and into the wind and he never knew I was there. So I got to follow him for about 1/2 an hour as he he did a 'Discovery Channel' real life search for something to eat on the foreshore as he snooped in and amongst any piles of debris where an edible critter might be hiding. The Coyote wasn't finding much and was pretty skinny, so life in the wild can't be all that much fun. Following the coyote in my kayak made for a mesmerising morning and continued the 'Discovery Channel' theme precedent that I had come to expect of my Puget Sound adventure.

NO Sasquatch here Sasquatch (the mysterious hairy man-like beasts of myth?) are known to be in the vicinity of Puget Sound/Mt Olympus area [ I was passing through Jefferson and Kitsap counties] Sasquatch sightings in Washington State.

Being a 'fence sitter', I am not going to be the one to 'confirm or deny' whether Sasquatch exist or not. But I will say that until my attempts at photographing that coyote, I was always sceptical that nobody could ever get a good photo of Sasquatch. I had to roll on the ground laughing at the result of my attempts to photograph that coyote. With my little digital camera on full zoom, held by an exited kayaker wobbling in the small shore wavelets ... my coyote photos are ... well...near Sasquatch photo perfect - you can almost make out a brown blurry blob in the photo (if you use your imagination). And you only need very little artistic lisence to suggest that it was a photo of ... well ... almost anything.

So maybe Sasquatch do and maybe Sasquatch don't live in the area, but from my own experience Puget Sound can play heck on any photography when you try to prove or disprove anything that might be there. All quite eerie and mysterious.

Beached opposite Kitsap Memorial Park

After coming across a second coyote on the tide flats, I crossed Hood Canal over to the East side just past where a fleet of Geoduck clam boats seemed to be working and landed on the shore adjacent Kitsap Memorial Park. I was hoping to stay the night there and a man on the beach said that I could buy food from a service station just across from the park. But the park is on top of a steep scarp and without a serious cross country kayak trolley it would be an extreme mission to get my kayak and gear up to the camp spots. On top of that it was still raining and wet and I figured the weather might improve later in the day.

So, I opted to paddle on to the Washington Water Trail site at Salisbury Point County Park. But not before I got the gentleman to take the above photo of the great adventurer?.

I think I cut an unusual figure in my home made, high viz, trilaminate breathable Tuilik Masik Winter 2005 article [this link may take a while to download - the article is on page 3] and white cap - hopefully demonstrating from my garb that I was more ecclectic tourist than covert terrorist. The munitions bag (ex navy surplus bag) on the back deck carried some snorkelling dive gear and my camp billy which didn't seem to be easy to stow in the kayak hull. I never did get a chance to use the snorkell gear even though I was hoping to get a chance to see Giant Octopus and Wolf eels that are known to be in the area. But the Puget Sound waters that I was paddling seemed either too dark or uninviting to me. Later at Deception Pass, when I was most tempted to go for a dive, an overnight 'blow' stirred up the last of the good visibility and I never used the gear. In short I was toting too much gear and would cut back some of the non-essentials next time.

Camp site at Washington Water Trail Salisbury Point County Park site

The paddle onto Salisbury Point was quite scenic and interesting particularly when I came across a small orange rescue type boat patrolling the Hood Bridge.

FEAR AND LOATHING IN HOOD CANAL: I imagined that the boat might be part of the ever present Home Security protecting the bridge from potential kayak threats. I fully expected to have to rely on my Kiwi accent to help smooth the way to get permission to pass under the bridge (gee it was all begining to be a bit like the 3 billy goats gruff and the troll with the bridge - I was wondering what I might say? Maybe - "you can let me get past, but that next kayaker ... I wouldn't trust him as far as I could kick a grand piano"). Since I imagined that the boat was the "authorities" an attempt to sneak on by and pleading ignorance was probably not the best strategy. So I boldy paddled up to them. The boat turned out to be a research boat taking light measurements at various depths to monitor construction alterations that were being carried out on the bridge.

Ironically, back home in New Zealand I work for NIWA (our National Institute for Water and Atmospheric research) and that is the sort of work that we sometimes do. Having a kayak sitting along side while they were attempting to make their measurements wasn't going to be helping so I pushed on to the boat ramp at Salisbury Park. The Research boat arrived at the ramp at about the same time as I did and one of the researchers gave me a hand to carry my kayak out of the water.

I bet he regretted it, because since I was totting too way too much gear the kayak weighed about a tonne. This was yet another of those times that I really needed a kayak trolley.

Finding the Washington Water Trail site took a while. I was put off when I phoned the County office number on a sign post to enquire about where the water trail site was for camping and was assured that "No, sir, there is definately no camping there". A bit of 'righteous indignation' ( .... but the book said) fossicking, located the site along the shore to the west of the launching ramp. Soon after, a county vehicle (bit like a county sherrifs) turned up to the park. I went over and asked about camping there and the gentleman was very helpful saying I could camp anywhere and pointed out the shower facilities. He said the township of Port Gamble was only about 1/2 a mile walking distance away.

Reassured, I set up camp and having enough paddling for the day, set out on foot for the township of Port Gamble to 'buy supplies' and do the touristy thing. It was a bit unnerving walking to Port Gamble. Firstly it was a generous half mile. Then figuring which side of the road to walk on was a 'mind trip' since we drive on 'the otherside of the road' here in New Zealand. Having gotten used to driving 'on the otherside of the road' for almost half a century made it very unnerving for me to see it being done "just all wrong". Additionally, I don't think too many people walk the roads around those parts and I am pretty sure many motorists were startled to see a large foreigner 'walking' along the side of the road clad in a red riding hood-like tuilik.

The walk was interesting though because a fire engine pulled off down and dissappeared into somebodies property when I was half way to Port Gamble. I couldn't see any smoke or hear any sirens, so I guessed the fire engine wasn't on a desperately important mission. I also came across a North American possum road kill. Man those beasts are much larger than the Australian possum that was introduced to New Zealand and is presently eating out our native forests. You wouldn't want to run over a North American possom in a small car and not expect to pretend that you hadn't.

This guy could be an honary real KIWI bloke.

Walking into Port Gamble, I came across a name brand water tower made of wood ... just like in the old TV programme "Petty Coat Junction". I think these water towers are common in USA, but we have nothing like them in New Zealand.

The sign pictured above piqued my interest. it says "1873 CAPT WM GOVE HOUSE - Leading log hauler, watchdog over wrecks, saver of lives ..... The legendary master of the Goliath, Favorite, Yakima, Cyrus, Walker, Tyee and Wanderer quided the lumber fleet for 48 accident free years. He also found time to build this house" - what a guy! and he would definately qualify as a real kiwi bloke if he were a New Zealander.

I went into a store to buy some supplies (bread, canned fruit, bacon, newspaper etc). The proprietors greeted me with "Good afternoon sir". I responded with my automatic "Gidday, how's it going" ... there was yet another of those startled pregnant pauses and I began to wonder if I had started some sort of international incident with my flippant response. I got "Well, we weren't expecting that ... you are not from round here are you". When I said that I was from New Zealand I was surprised when the proprietors said that they knew of the All Blacks and that I was Pakeha - Kia Ora: they had clearly been to New Zealand and seemd to know more about New Zealand culture than many New Zealanders.

The walk back to my campsite at the Washington Water Trail camp site at Salisbury Point County Park was interrupted with a pause for a fine cup of 'coffee to go' from a coffee cart and a shower of rain that compromised my brown paper bag of supplies which got soggy and threatened to drop its entire contents onto the ground at any moment. But I arrived safely and cooked up an evening meal under a picnic shelter with one of those stripey little squirrel guys (chipmunk) for company. The chipmunk fussed around the table undisturbed by my presence and I could have got the best photo ever of the critter ... if only I had my camera with me at the time. I had a good nights sleep apart from being woken up in the middle of the night by the LOUDEST jet plane EVER flying overhead ... I sure hope that wasn't the best that Boeing can do (Boeing has a fairly majour operation based in Seattle and I met quite a few people that had worked for Boeing in my travels).

Yesterdays drizzle was replaced with the perfect day for the paddle from Salisbury Point to Fort Flagler

The early morning was a 'cracker' and getting the kayak loaded and ready for sea was becoming an efficient routine. The above picture is looking towards the Hood Canal Bridge with Hood Canal to the left. I headed off to the right (where the kayak is pointing) around the point heading out towards Fort Flager just south of Port Townsend near the head of Puget Sound. So without any further ado, I took the photo, hopped in the kayak and paddled off into the morning. I rounded the point marking the end of Hood Canal and pushed into the more open sound and could see the open sea, way in the distance ahead. It felt like I was really making some progress.

As I paddled past the point, I was aware of some large drift logs on the shore and made a mental note that despite paddling on a glass calm morning sea, the area must get rough at times. And Puget Sound does, especially in winter.

I didn't give the logs another thought because I was distracted when I found myself sharing the water with a small pod of maybe 5 or so harbour porpoises. I tapped the hull of my kayak which back in New Zealand would have attracted dolphins to the kayak like a magnet (if they are in a playful mood). Banging on the side of the kayak hull didn't impress these little dolphins who obviously had business to attend to. With seal eating Killer whales somewhere in the area, they probably couldn't afford to be too distracted and they soon passed on their way. Wow, yet another Discovery Channel moment.

The paddle north to Fort Flagler was pretty straight forward. I had the tide with me, the weather was gorgeous and the sea mostly glass calm. So I plodded on entertaining myself with following the shoreline. I saw harbour seals, bald eagles, tried to take a photo of guillemots, saw fish and weed in shallow waters, found a floating baseball and watched a man mow the lawns of his mansion that terminated in a sheer cliff. It looked so dangerous that I feared for his safety and imagined that the mansion was surely a place where a swarm of 'accidental' murder mysteries must have happened over the years.

Capping off yet another day of 'Discovery Channel' nature watching, a herd of black tail deer?

Paddling along the shore, I came across a whole herd of deer, possibly black tail deer on the beach. Again I was paddling into the lightest of head winds. While they weren't happy about the weird 'log' on the beach near them, they didn't recognise me as a threat and I managed to beach the kayak fairly close by and take the above photo while still sitting in my kayak. Again I was amazed that there was a stairway just behind them and houses very near by.

The Fort Flagler Washington Water Trails Site was fairly obvious

As I paddled around the point at the North Eastern corner of Fort Flagler I was preoccupied with looking into the dark sea trying to decide if it would be worth trying snorkelling there. I was startled by a ginormous splash almost right beside me. An onlooker from the shore said that it was a sea otter. But I was not so sure. I don't think that there are too many sea otters left in these parts and it was more likely to be a startled harbour seal or even one of those legendary halibut that sometimes bask on the surface.

Paddling further on I was able to easily locate the Washington Water Trail camp site above which was nicely marked and clearly visible from the sea. I landed and carried my gear and kayak to the site which took quite a while. Yet another opportunity for that kayak trolley that I didn't have to save a lot of back-breaking work.

The view of Port Townsend across the sound from WWT site at Fort Flagler

The view across the sound from my new campsite was very pleasant and I could see myself happily spending a couple of days here. The Kayak puget sound book suggested that there was a store and fresh water otters might be seen in Kilisut Harbour lying between Indian and Marrowstone Islands, just around the corner from my camp site. With Port Townsend just across the Sound, there would be plenty for me to see, explore and do over there too. Especially when I learned that Pygmy Kayaks (who sell kayak plans and kits) were based there.

Sitting on the logs and having a cup of tea or eating breakfast with such a great view was very pleasant to say the least.

WWT Fort Flagler Campsite

Setting up camp at the WWT Fort Flagler Campsite was interesting. An inspection of the area identified a good number of bumblebee like small black critters whizzing around in the long grass to the left of where Shawns boat lies in the above photo. I never did see exactly what they were and could only guess that they might be some sort of voles (because of their size maybe M.oregoni). They never bothered me or my supplies carefully kept inside my tent for protection which is EXACTLY the WRONG thing to be doing when you are in Bear country. There were also some cat scats (poos) or owl pellets in the area, so the campsite was Discovery Channel interesting to say the very least. Maybe my presence would give the little voles a respite from their mysterious predator for a while? I was hoping that the predator might be something smaller than a mountain lion.

On the next morning, I woke up and crawled out of my tent, stood up, stretched, yawned and when I finally opened up my eyes wide enough there, right before me was a deer looking back at me from the other side of the branch where I have my gearing hanging up. Now, you don't get that sort of experience if you stay in a motel!! This kayaking camping adventure in Puget Sound was just Sensational!

The WWT site shares toilet and shower facilities with Fort Flagler State park which were a moderate distance away from the WWT campsite. The distance makes for an interesting walk in the dark if you have to make an emergency midnight trip to the 'facilities' - you will certainly be wanting your torch.

I had a bit of trouble locating the little "pay box" for paying campsite fees. I eventually tracked it down (if you are ever looking for it, it was more or less in a direct line between the camp site and the nearest toilet facilities, but there are a number of tracks between the camp site and the toilet facilities and they aren't direct. You may not find the "pay box" on your first try) and duly paid my camp fees. Hopefully the little 'pay box' got cleared otherwise there will be some real old soggy US dollars sitting there.

Fish and Spirits for really tough guys

Day 5 dawned fine and I had somehow survived the night without being mobbed by a ravenous hoard of those mysterious vole critters or whatever spends its time hunting them. I did wake up to the haunting sound of the dawn chorus featuring an unfamiliar bird species (probably just a name brand North American Robin). One particular bird was staking his territory directly above my tent with a mesmerising lead-break complete with echo-type song that would have done the rock? band: Pink Floyd, proud.

Then when I finally got up, there was that deer standing pretty much outside my tent. When I kneeled down to pick up my camera to take a photo, it walked off before I could prove it = yet another missed 'Sasquatch' -type moment - so you will just have to believe me on that one. Sitting on the log looking across the Sound to Port Townsend and eating my breakfast topped off a pretty good start to the day. One couldn't help but think that this solo kayak touring lark wasn't half bad - I guess I just needed lashings of ginger ale and a bit of company to make it a truely fabulous 'Famous five go mad on mesculin' adventure.

Plans for the day were to paddle over to Port Townsend and get a fishing permit and buy some more supplies. So I grabbed the kayak and simply paddled across the sound. I think it only took about 15-20 minutes. I landed on the beach, abandoned the kayak and set off doing the touristy thing. The first thing I did was to take a photo of a sign saying: "Pete's Fish and Spirits". As I was taking the photo a gentleman said "why are you taking a photo of that sign". I answered "My name is Pete ... and back home where I come from we have 'Fish and Chips'. You Port Townsend folk must be really tough Dudes to be having whiskey with your fish" ...... there was yet another of those pregnant pauses ..... "Ah it is a lisenced Restaurant".

Oh kay, that sort of made sense.

Just around the corner was a pizza place that sold pizza by the slice. The pizza was good and I think I eventually made 3 trips in a row to that shop to get yet another slice of that tasty pizza. I guess that is a solo kayakers way of carbohydrate loading in a strange and foreign land?

Then I got my fishing lisence from a big Store not very far from the ferry terminal. Getting my lisence wasn't easy because I was a foreigner and their electronic system wasn't really set up for 'way-out of towners'. While I was there, a chap turned up to get a bear hunting lisence. I looked at him and wondered about what sort of person would ever want to hunt bears and what would you do with one when you got it???

However, my butt was probably saved because it was bear hunting season in West Washington State at the time. My New Zealand habit of keeping food inside the tent to help keep marauding australian possums and rodents from spoiling your food could be deadly if a bear was in the area. DON'T TRY THAT AT HOME FOLKS. As it was I never got close to seeing a bear. All bears were keeping a very low profile on account of it being Bear Hunting season in West Washington State. [But the camp gardian at Scenic state Park did say that a sow bear had walked park my campsite the day before I had turned up there]. Otherwise I might have got into some serious critter trouble and living the Discovery Channel could easily have become one of those How I survived .... stories.

You insult my country

Wandering through Port Townsend with my new fishing lisence, I thought I would snoop in some shops and see if I could find a kayak trolley. An outdoor shop with some kayaks outside looked like they might have some.

But at the front door of the shop was quite the ugliest kayak I had ever seen. It was called a 'KIWI AURORA". I couldn't believe how wide it was and imagined paddling it would be a fairly pedestrian affair. So I stopped and took a photo.

A salesperson came over sensing a possible sale said "can I help you sir?". I jokingly said "What is this, you insult my country" and intended to confess that I was a "KIWI" and suggest that we don't have kayaks like that back home. Least of all because I was convinced it would be blown 'off shore' too easily. And since 'off shore' in New Zealand meant next stop would be South America, surely this kayak couldn't possibly be made in New Zealand or have anything to do with New Zealand? Then I was going to ask if they had any kayak trolleys?

But the salesperson just backed quietly away avoiding any possible conflict from the 'crazy' kayak tourer dressed in shorts and clutching a tuilik in his arms. A quiet retreat is probably the best strategy when dealing with a possible mad man, but hey, I am not a mad man (honest).

I guess I have become something of a kayak snob, having hand crafted a Nick Schade Expedition Single kayak out of western red cedar strips for myself. Spending the last 5 days paddling Shawns superb strip plank Nick Schade Guillemot L would have spoilt me even more. Also experiencing a flock of gorgeous homebuilt skin on frame, Inuit inspired kayaks at SSTIKS would have soured my eye for just any old kayak. But this sure was one ugly kayak.

At the end of the day, this boat was at a price that wouldn't break the bank, could take a tonne of gear and would be stable as 'anything'. It could easily have done the trip that I had made so far [but in far less style] so who am I to run it down?

All the while - Tom Sharp and I had been playing 'kayak tag'

I paddled back across the sound to my campsite at Port Flagler and found a note in my tent . I was impressed since my campsite was out of the way and would have taken some finding. Tom Sharp had been at SSTIKS05 taking video footage of the event and subsequently hadn't been able to get much paddling in. He had said that he was interested in meeting up if I got somewhere near Port Townsend and would take me on to Deception Pass if I could teach him to roll. Sure I said, I have been able to teach some people to roll in 10 minutes (usually it takes a bit longer) and with a bit of one on one time, surely I could help.

Tom had driven over to Fort Flagler State park in the morning. Finding out that I had gone over to Port Townsend Tom had driven back to Port Townsend to find me. Tom was looking for me at one of the local bars convinced that 'the KIWI' would surely go straight to the nearest bar [but I was never going to contemplate paddling on the cold waters of Puget Sound on my own after having been drinking, so unfortunately for Tom, looking for this KIWI in the bars was the last place to be looking]. Tom must have missed me while I was eating pizza or terrorising kayak salespersons.

Not knowing that Tom was looking for me in Port Townsend, I had hopped back into my kayak and paddled back across the Sound to my campsite at Fort Flagler. That would give me enough time to have lunch and catch the tide to go freshwater otter watching in Kilisut Harbour . On the way back across the Sound, I saw what looked like a flock of birds with a fishing boat trolling among them. Fancying that it was a 'work up' and that there were fish to be caught I headed over that way deploying my fishing gear for the first time (now that I had my fishing permit). But the flock of birds were white buoys and the boat was presumably a Dungness crab boat working them.

Back at Fort Flagler after finding the note in my tent, I waited for Tom to come back (not really believing that he would actually come back, considering the relatively long distance by land, from Fort Flagler to Port Townsend) while I talked to a group of kayakers that had come to Fort Flagler for the weekend. Tom eventually turned up and said, break camp and we can go up to Deception Pass. I was happy to hitch a ride because a kayak trip to Deception Pass while possible, was just on the limit of what I could achieve in the time remaining before I had to return to Seattle and catch a plane for home. I could make it, but any sort of bad weather would certainly make things tight. So I broke camp and loaded Shawns Kayak onto Toms Car and we headed off to the Ferry at Port Townsend.

The Righteous brothers are rewarded with the perfect evening paddle at Deception Pass

.....after only just avoiding the lure of the Whidbey Island Sirens

The ferry trip across the Sound from Port Townsend to Fort Casey is probably the only way to go (especially if you had a kayak trolley .. did I mention that already). Sitting on the logs watching the world go by at the WWT campsite at Fort Flagler it was hard not to notice quite alot of shipping coming and going out of Puget Sound and into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Some of the shipping included tugs with as many as 3 barges in tow. Paddling across the Sound running the gauntlet of possibly getting tangled up in a tug with 3 barges in tow wouldn't be worth the worry or the cost of the very reasonable ferry fare.

Tom mentioned that there was a pair of heron chicks in a nest on top of one of the wharfpiles, adjacent to where the ferry berthed at Fort Casey. The cunning plan was for me to linger behind on the top deck and shoot some video footage of the rare sight - herons are pretty people shy and to have a nest right next to where people on a ferry turned up several times a day was out of character for herons. As the ferry berthed, sure enough there was a pair of heron chicks nesting on top of a wharf pile not more than 10 feet away from where I was filming. The nest was rather reminiscent of a classic European stork nest on a chimney. The birds cowered a bit while the ferry berthed, but settled down after the bumping stopped.

Thinking about it, the ferry was only at the berth for a short time and most of the day and night, the herons' nest would be a tranquil haven. Quite extraordinary and definately something to see.

Filming over, I raced off down to the vehicle deck. I often get disorientated in ships and true to form, I managed to find the staircase that lead to the stern of the boat. Unfortunately, all the vehicles, including Toms' Car with Shawns' kayak was already rolling off the ferry at the other end after all but 1 (me) of the foot passengers had left.

A group of grogeous lycra clad racing cycling babes reassured me that they had to wait for the cars to get off too and I could walk off with them. They could tell from my accent that I "wasn't from around here are you?". When I said I was from New Zealand one of the babes said that she was from New Zealand too. It transpired that we knew mutual friends on Waiheke Island (man what are the chances of that and who doesn't say it is a smal world). They had been on a circuit from Whidby Island to Poulsbo and then back to Whidbey Island via Port Townsend. Quite a mission. We had a chat while we waited for the last of the cars to leave the ferry and I walked after the racing cycle babes and on to Tom, waiting patiently in his car.

I jumped into Toms' car and we were talking about the herons when one of the gorgeous cycling babes came over and cordially invited us to a Margarita party at there place. Now that was mighty tempting hospitality. But the party was at the South end of Whidby Island and I had wanted to go to Deception Pass at the North end ... and ... well what would Mrs Notman say? So reluctantly we politely declined their fine invitation and headed North toward deception pass.

On the way we stopped off at the Coupville museum to look at some native indian cedar canoes. Apparently the week before the museum had featured a Native indian display, but it had just recently been replaced by a world war II display instead. Still there was plenty of interesting things to be seen.

'The 'righteous brothers' having only just avoided the allure of the Whidbey sirens margarita party invitation, were treated to the perfect Deception Pass evening paddle. It was a breathless calm evening and the scenary was pretty impressive from kayak level. Since we had caught the turn of the tide, I boldly paddled a circuit through Canoe Pass, rounded the island and came back through Deception Pass. "Been there and done that". But since it was slack tide it was cheating really, as mid tide the water moves through Deception Pass like a river rapid and would test the best of kayakers, equalling the torrents around French Pass between D'Urville Island and the mainland back home in New Zealand.

Back on shore, after one of the most relaxing paddles I have ever had, I set up camp at the WWT site at Bowman Bay. Having arrived by car it was cheating a little bit, but being a weekend, all the regular campsites were taken up. Besides I did have a kayak and given just a little more time, I could have would have paddled there.

Deception Pass WWT camp site

Rolling class.

The perfect evening clouded over and it started to rain and then blow. I woke early the next morning and checked out the conditions. Any chance of going snorkelling were lost with the sea churned up and quite dirty, Kayaking for the day was looking marginal. Further down the beach I was impressed to see some fishermen were preparing to launch their skiff at the launching ramp. They were either naive newbies or serious salty sea dogs: the type that would eat fish and spirits and were going fishing and damn the weather conditions.

I watched proceedings with great interest, because if they could launch their boat in the large dumping shore break it was going to be a very slick affair.

But the boat looked like it was brand new and the motor was pretty shiney too. Their launching went badly right from the start and was never going to happen. Proceedings might have made the funniest home videos if it wasn't for the half launched new boat getting its hull ground to bits on the boat ramp. The new motor was being slammed by great bucket fulls of choppy sea water pounding over the transom. The boat had swamped by the stern with the first dumping wave.

I considered running down the beach and helping them to launch the boat, but thought better of it. If I came running down the beach they might shoot me [I was still wary imagining that all Americans carried guns and were prepared to use them on strangers]. Also, I imagined that tempers would be frayed and the fishermen would not be very happy. If I did manage to launch them, they would be out of the proverbial fire and into the frying pan in an open boat on a choppy and hostile sea and almost certainly out of their skill depth.

So, like a cad, I just watched as things went from bad to worse with the winch cable snapping under the load of a half swamped boat sitting on the boat ramp when they tried to drag the whole rig up the beach. A tragic and very hard lesson for newbies to learn: Don't go out when it is rough and Don't launch on a dumping on shore break.

There was not much more to do other than go back to my tent and read the news paper and ponder how I might make it back to Salisbury Park under my own steam if Tom didn't come back. The outer Whidbey Island route was the most direct and easiest. But the inside Whidbey Island route would be the greatest of challenges with tides and mudflats. One thing for sure, if you timed the tide right you would get a serious boost through Deception Pass and probably well beyond.

Tom turned up at about midday just after the rough weather miraculously abated and the seas dropped off to a warm and calm afternoon. Tom said he had to go home last night to look after his dog ... I reckoned that maybe he had secretly sneaked off to a serious Margarita party somewhere down the south end of Whidbey Island. But if Tom had made the margarita party, he was in pretty good condition when he turned up for his rolling lesson.

To cut a long story short, I mostly talked about rolling to Tom for 5 minutes, did a demonstration roll using Shawns kayak. Then I walked Tom through a roll guiding his blade a couple of times coaching a few refinements to his technique as he did the exercises ... then I let Tom roll solo. Tom rolled up three times on his right, then 3 times on the left = you can do it buddy.

That was something of a record roll teaching for me. But I think while I will take all the glory, Tom is a an accomplished athelete and he confessed to having spent some time as a rolling pupil of Henry Romer. Although Tom hadn't made the breakthrough with Henry, he obviously got a very good grounding and had done everything but roll at their last session.

With the rolling lesson out of the way, there was nothing to do but to go for a paddle. We headed north along the coast and we enjoyed more great scenary with bald eagles, interesting kelp and interesting coves with starfish of the most intense colours.

There were quite a few fishing boats outside of us and Tom asked if we should turn back or go a bit further. Since the day and conditions were sensational, I was happy to paddle further.

Things turn ugly on Puget Sound

Then in the blink of an eye and maybe with the change of the tide, the wind picked up generating an awkward chop. This was compounded by the waves bouncing off the rock faces of the cliffs on shore and things were stirred up by the moderate currents on the outside. The fishing boats all disappeared and as we turned and paddled back for Bowman Bay the conditions progressively deteriorated. We had pretty much gone from a flat calm to being in the middle of a maelstrom and facing a head wind slog for home all within the matter of minutes. This is the dark side of Puget Sound and we were experiencing it in dramatic fashion.

I was comfortable enough in Shawns Guillemot (those Nick Schade Guillemot designs are all class and have a thoroughbred performance) but Tom was making hard work of it in his brand new skin on frame kayak. Tom was paddling his kayak for only the second time ever and wasn't yet comfortable with it. I suggested that we move off shore to get out of the 'clapotis' (waves that were rebounding from off the cliffs). But there was no respite out wide either, there the wind against chop made the nearshore clapotis look like the calm spot.

Tom was handling the conditions heroically enough till he capsized. That was an ooops moment, we were a long way from shore and the shore was fairly hostile (more or less vertical cliff). But before my very eyes,Tom used his new found skills and rolled back up. I was suitably impressed because he no longer needed rescuing, resolving what could have been an immediate life threatening problem. Secondly, to roll in the shelter of a bay when you are prepared for it is quite different to doing it in the hostile conditions that we had suddenly found ourselves in and this time for real.

Tom had passed the ultimate rolling test. Rolling in 'combat' conditions when you weren't expecting it = the guy was a legend and already an accomplished roller.

Tom soldiered on but capsized a second time, rolling up yet again. Definately good skills, but putting them to too much more of a test was unreasonable. The conditions and Toms plight, should he capsize again and not roll up was getting unnerving for me. Especially since we had about 2 nautical miles of maelstrom to get through before we could get to any shelter. My plan was to land in the only cove with a bit of a beach and swop Tom into the more stable Guillemot and paddle the skin on frame myself. We accomplished this with minimum fuss except that I had to seal launch the skin on frame from the rocks (on a bed of kelp), because the breaking nearshore chop made it very difficult for me to get into Toms skin on frame kayak with out swamping.

Toms skin on frame boat was made for somebody smaller and lighter than me and there wasn't alot of free board. But my tuilik (spray deck) was keeping the hull water tight and the boat was handling the conditions well despite the lack of freeboard that I was used to. So we pounded our way back to Bowman bay without any further dramas - except I miss-timed a wave and managed to dip my bow under a piece of kelp which stopped the boat dead.

So there I was in the middle of a raging sea with my kayak trapped in the seamonster tentacle-like grasp of a sturdy piece of kelp. I never got to see a giant octopus, but I imagined that this is what it would feel like. Fortunately for me, It wasn't a problem to back off and free my foredeck and carry on my way.

Back on shore at Bowman Bay it was relief all round. It was most impressive how quickly conditions had deteriorated from placid calm to maelstrom. With the cold Puget Sound waters and a hostile shore, I could see the need for having your kayaking skill levels at a very high level. And man oh man it was so handy having Tom with a cool head and the skills to roll up. Getting him back into his skin on frame kayak after a capsize in those conditions would have had both of us pretty tired and vulnerable.

the '50 50 50 rule' and dressing for immersion

Back at Port Townsend (a few days before), there was a kayak guide with a group of kayak clients on the beach preparing to go for a paddle on the Sound. I listened in to guides briefing and he mentioned the '50 50 50 rule'. My ears pricked up because I had never heard of that one before. The rule went something like in 50 degree (farenheit) water you have about a 50% chance of swimming 50 feet. The cold Puget Sound waters can be that debilitating. Getting back into your kayak is your best chance of survival. Stick together and we can help you back into your kayak if you capsize ....

This is a far cry from New Zealand. Except maybe in the height of winter, when our water does get down to 10 C, most of the time our sea water is 16 C and upwards. At those temperatures, us Kiwis can afford to be a bit casual about how and when we get back into our kayaks.

Another back up for your survival in any conditions is to dress for immersion. That is to wear enough equipment to be able to survive in the cold waters for a comfortable period while you are rescued/rescue yourself. I found that a 3mm steamer wet suit and my tuilik were tolerably comfortable for rolling in Puget Sound waters and that set up had kept me comfortable for the 4 hour epic adventure with Tom. The down side of dressing for immersion is that you get hot on a sunny day. With this in mind, at SSTIKS I had gone out for the paddle strokes class in a tee shirt and tuilik - not expecting to get wet. While we were bobbing around in the middle of the sound listening to Pavia and Dubside talking I had an oopsie moment and capsized. Not a problem, I rolled back up straight away. But my dousing in the cold waters left me shivering cold by the end of the paddle strokes class and it took some time after that to warm back up.

So, there is considerable merit in dressing for the worst case scenario when you are paddling. If you get too hot, it is easy enough to do a quick roll to cool off and keep your skills up to speed.

I can certainly see the necessity of upskilling to be a fluent kayak roller especially in the Puget Sound area. And indeed anywhere else. Rolling a kayak is not a difficult task to learn, especially if you have somebody to coach you. Take up the challenge if you can't roll already. If the skill doesn't save your life, it will make paddling much easier for next time you capsize. For a start you won't have to swim to shore, bail your kayak out and get back in.

Dinner at the Deception Pass Diner

Back safely on shore we met up with Warren Williamson who had been gracefully paddling the rough water like an albatross soars across the Southern Oceans. Warren had a giant utility vehicle with an even bigger roof rack. It was the biggest roof rack that I had ever seen and could carry countless kayaks at once or with a bit of plywood, could probably function as a helicopter pad. I was impressed.

Since I was there and Deception Pass would have been running wild with the weather and tide at the time, I was cordially invited to go for a paddle with Warren. Man, what an amazing opportunity to paddle the wild water with a local guru guide and in hindsight I kick myself for not seizing the moment and going for it. But I reasoned that the four hour adventure paddle with Tom had been hard work and I wouldn't have been at my best. if it all turned to custard and I somehow managed to loose Shawns kayak - well, that would at least be a hanging offence. Maybe if I had my own kayak I would have 'gone for it'. Maybe next time.

The other option was for Tom to take me to a little road side diner immediately north of Deception Pass to have some tea and reflect on an eventful day. That seemed like a good idea to me and we went to the diner after looking at Deception Pass from one of the look outs. Deception Pass was raging and paddling there, even with Warrens guidance, would have been extreme excitement to say the least. At the diner, Tom and I had a few beers to wash down the most delightful food. It was cheap and good quality, especially considering that the diner was pretty much miles for anywhere. The menu was comprehensive and eventually I was torn between carbo-loading on the lasagne or the 'halibut and fries'. I chose the lasagne and just managed to munch my way through the very generous helping. I noticed a mother and daughter at a nearby table attempting to eat the 'halibut and fries' but there was so much food piled on their plates that no show of eating their portions. The meal at the diner was a pleasant way to end a pretty exciting day: Tom had learned to roll, then roll in 'combat' conditions, then we had that vigorous upwind paddle home and finished off with a good 'nosh up' with a few beers. You would have to be happy with that.

It actually did get better than that. Back at camp that evening the park ranger came over to my tent and gave me a rebate on my camp fees. Either I had miss-calculated the amount and paid too much or the parks computer system had recognised that I had simultaneously paid for Fort Flagler and Bowman Bay at one stage. Or I had put in the wrong bills since I still wasn't used to using American Dollars. Since the camp fees were pretty minimal in the first place the rebate was a nice gesture. It is not too often you get any money back when you make a mistake.