Our paddle today turned out to be a bit different, make that a lot different, than originally planned yet we five paddlers still got in a lovely paddle on a perfectly beautiful day. Thank goodness Bill Billings and Bruce Julian started their paddle from the Portsmouth side of the Elizabeth River. This not only saved each a $5 toll but also required them to paddle an extra mile up river before meeting up with Steve Lantz, Wayne Matchett and me at the originally planned launching site under the Jordan Bridge. When the three of us left our protected launching site to meet the two B’s it only took a few seconds after reaching the river to realize the 22+ mph wind gusts coming down the river from Waterside could give me/us second thoughts about attempting the upriver paddle. At first we did not see the B’s and yet when we did, it was clear the terribly strong winds and the very choppy waters were making their upriver paddle an extremely slow one.Once we gathered, they really were not interested in continuing their battle against the winds, we three certainly didn’t want to start into such a battle and yet I was thrown for a loop because I had no alternative to offer. If we went down river with the wind, we’d still have to fight it on our return trip, etc, etc. Even going downwind for any distance with nothing but chop to battle to keep from going sideways wasn’t appealing.That was when the B’s came to the rescue. They had passed, or already were aware, of a few waterways running into the river which we could explore. What a great suggestion and huge relief since none of us wanted to stop paddling. Plus, even better, the entrances of those streams were less than maybe a quarter of a mile from where we were then. Of course, the river being the busy heavily traveled commercial corridor it is, even on that short paddle, we had to deal with, i.e., quickly get out of the way, of a huge tug, pulling an even larger grain cargo barge, that suddenly appeared from a blind corner and was moving into our path. But once that challenge was successfully met, the streams were a perfectly delightful detour. They made our day!! Not only were the streams lovely, interesting, and quiet but Mother Nature, even tho we didn’t like her winds, continued to smile down on us with perfect temperatures, lots of sun shine, and still waters while we paddled past or under bridges, interstates, trains, and many birds, to include two eagles, one adult and one in training. All told, not only did those streams keep us on the water, they permitted three of us to get in a 6+ mile paddle while the two B’s probably got in closer to 9 considering their more distance put-in.Another huge take-away from yesterday’s paddle is the positive thought that the original paddle will be done again soon on another day and, hopefully, in beautiful weather like yesterday’s, sans its high winds.
Sandra Canepa
View Bill's photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/4GArokKcByvvgu1ZA
Pictures of an 11 mile paddle into the back creeks of Portsmouth with Bruce and Bill.
It was a very hot day and windy but we saw lots of birds and spent time exploring the Churchland Bridge construction.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/uAVAxXtirenp5xkg9