Goodwin Islands 9/9/25

We had planned to paddle the Goodwin Islands today but Mother Nature had other ideas!  Gusty winds created some respectable waves that would have made paddling a chore.  So, as we've done before, we opted to spend our time exploring Back Creek instead. Arriving at Back Creek Park this morning  were Ellis, Marti. Gayle, John, Bill, Kevin, Catherine, Dan, Ed, and me, Phyllis.  The weather was fairly mild prompting some to don rain pants and jackets.  But, we soon warmed up as we started paddling.  We first headed out towards the opening of Back Creek only going as far as the first (last?) channel marker.  This is where the wave action started to salsa and we turned around to head back up the creek.  The wind was at our backs and this made for very pleasant paddling.  Bill even set up his kayak sail and was able to cruise for a bit!

We were able to paddle pretty far up the creek-the tide and wind direction helped with this.  We enjoyed the twists and turns through the marsh grasses.  There were even some opportunities to "shortcut the switchbacks"!  Plenty of birds for us to see-heron, bald eagles, kingfishers.  Some surprised at our presence there.

We paddled about 2 hours, 5 miles or so before returning to the dock.  After loading up our boats we drove over to the old tennis courts (now pickle ball courts) where we ate our lunches at some picnic tables by the water.  We also viewed the new kayak launch.  It looked like a great launching spot though the parking is not as convenient as our regular launch area.

After lunch and some great conversation, we drove to the Dairy Queen where we enjoyed a traditional Tuesday Group activity-eating ice cream!  Another triumphant day for the Tuesday Group!~~~Phyllis

Thanks to Bill Billings for chronicling our adventures with his photos!  It wouldn't be the Tuesday Group without Bill!

The extremely high gust from the northeast prevented us from venturing out into Chesapeake Bay to circumnavigate the Goodwin Islands. The wind did give me a chance to sail my kayak for a while. Catherine even got some pictures of me sailing!

Nature did provide us another fun opportunity. The wind  backed up Back Creek and along with the high tide we were able to paddle way up the marsh. In fact, I was able to paddle directly across some sections of the marsh while others paddled in circles in the creek.

The new pickleball picnic tables were a great venue for lunch.

After paddling only 4.12 miles we had enough energy to go to DQ for ice cream! Thanks Phyllis for a day of outdoor fun!

Bill

View Bill'sphotos:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/KHUqMepJvw5foXDn6