This Sunday we had 10 kayakers and one van support person for the fifth Kent Island Practice Paddle (KIPP) which is organized and led by Marshall Woodruff. After last months KIPP drama I was surprised to see so many new faces. As it turns out ... the drama which was played out on the CPA listserve actually enticed a few people to join the KIPP paddles. Steven was one new person who joined and he said he came specifically for the drama. Well ... I think he enjoyed the paddle but unfortunately there weren't any kayakers throwing up or washed up on the shore. In fact, most of us were prepared to go the distance all the way from Hemingway's to Love Point, which would have been about 29 miles. The only thing that kept us from making the final leg of the paddle were some ominous storm clouds which chased us off the water at Kent Narrows.

We started the paddle at Hemingway's restaurant which is on the water right after you exit the Bay Bridge. We drove all the cars to the take-out at Love Point and Anne, our designated cabana girl, shuttled all the kayakers back to the put-in at Hemingways. After a short briefing session on the beach 10 kayakers launched around 9 am. Out of 10 kayaks we had 5 wing paddles in this group. No surfskis but Stephen paddled his ultra light, ultra fast custom wooden boat that I did not get to demo! Maybe next time.



Unfortunately my Garmin GPS ran out of juice right away so I don't have any speed data. My GPS runs on rechargeable lithium batteries which are very sensitive to heat. I guess the GPS sat in the sun too long before the launch because the lithium battery was dead before we even started.



Fortunately Dan had his GPS so he kept track of the speed. The only reason I mention speed at all is because on the last trip there was concern that some of the group was paddling too fast.

According to Dan we kept pace at around 4.3 to 5.0 mph. For the first half of the paddle we had the tide in our favor so that probably brought our speed up a little higher than normal. But by no means was this a "race pace."

The forecast for the day was for 1 to 2 foot waves and westerly winds which means we were hit by most of the heavy surf and waves for the first 10 miles of the paddle. Around mile 6 one paddler began to tire and she bailed out. We called Anne by cell phone and arranged a pickup.

The rest of us paddled on to Kent Point where we all beached on private property. It was a much needed break for everyone. By then the wind had died down and the sun was bearing down. Susan was sucking down gatoraid like crazy. And she was tired. So she bailed out and joined the cabana group. I'm sure she'll go into detail about her decision to bail so I'll leave that story for her report!


The remaining 8 paddlers set out for Parson's Island a little after noon. From Kent Point, Parson's Island is about an 8 mile open water crossing. There is no bail out point. But the group pretty much stayed together for most of the crossing. We got a little spread out as we neared the island but that was more because different people interpreted the direct line to Parson's a little differently. Stephen and I were paddling more to the north of Parson's and Dan and others were paddling more to the south but we all thought we were paddling straight to Parson's. We all got there. We had a short water break, patched up some cuts and scrapes, and headed out again for the next stop ... Kent Narrows.

The distance from Parson's to Kent Narrows is probably about 4 1/2 miles. About two miles from Parsons we stopped for a little rest ... which turned into a short nap. I know I was starting to feel a little tired. But I think it was more psychological than physical. Once we started paddling again I got my second wind and by the time we made it to Kent Narrows I was ready to go the final 5 miles to Love Point.

But the sky was dark. Susan heard reports of 30 mph winds and thunderstorms in DC which were supposedly headed our way. Thunderstorms are so hard to predict. The group debated and debated. We really wanted to make the final 5 mile paddle. But in the end common sense prevailed. The final 5 mile leg was about a mile off shore. If a thunderstorm had hit while we were on the water we would have had no place to go. And it could have been very dangerous.

So we only did about 23 1/2 miles. The final Kent Island Circumnavigation paddle is scheduled for late September. Based on how the group felt today I would guess at least some of the group will make it! Afterwards the group had dinner at Hemingway's.
-Susanita