There was some wind when I got to Chestermere Lake on Tuesday evening (the 20th). I briefly thought about ditching and going back home, but there were lots of other craft on the water so I figured I might as well give it a shot.
Chestermere, AB, 2024-08-20
Chestermere, AB, 2024-08-20
I am defnitely getting my setup nicely fine-tuned. I can have my board out and inflated in about fifteen minutes. It’s a larger board so it’s not a fast process. I attach my seat, foot rest, keys, etc., while it is inflating. You can see that my car key fob goes into a waterproof pouch that attaches to the back of my board. I can also tuck it inside the handle for extra security. It is not getting wet or going anywhere if my board flips.
Lake, Chestermere, AB, 2024-08-20
Chestermere, AB, 2024-08-20
Also visible are my water gloves and water shoes that I don while the board is inflating. The gloves help me keep my grip on my kayak paddle. I’m having some problems with involuntary hand movements and will occasionally drop it. The grippy gloves help keep it slipping out of my fingers. The grip on the kayak paddle is also to guide hand placement and the tether you see crossing my leg at top left keeps my paddle from disappearing on me if I drop it, especially in a current.
I started wearing water shoes after burning my feet on a beach in British Columbia. I have yet to get that post up so I can’t link to it, but the memory of the first degree burns is still very real. There is also the fact that people fish in these lakes and lose fish hooks all over the place. I would prefer not to have one stuck in my foot, which is the other reason for the shoes.
The ankle tether that runs from my ankle cuff to the front of the paddle board keeps me from getting separated from said board if I flip it or fall off. That would suck because it has my car keys attached. I haven’t ditched yet this year and I hope I didn’t just jinx myself by saying that.
Finally, you can see the footrest that attaches to my seat. It makes paddling easier with something to push against. The footrest had pretty black caps to keep the straps from slipping off, but they fell off on the first outing. I hacked it with duct tape and all I could find was hot pink. I have no idea why we have pink duct tape in our home. Arf.
The evening turned into a personal best with 7.03 km travelled in two hours. I originally struck out for the south side of the lake, but realized I had the wind at my back and that getting back to the dock on the north side might be an issue, so I made my way back. I rescued a couple of folks in dinghys on the way as they managed to get stuck in the reeds. The wind blew them in and they couldn’t get back out with their tiny, useless paddles. I used my rope to pull them to shore. The one was a bit ridiculous because the guy could have just jumped out and waded to shore as the water would have maybe come to his chest. He didn’t and he had two small kids crying in his boat. Some people…
Chestermere, AB, 2024-08-20
Chestermere, AB, 2024-08-20
I headed north up the east side of the lake after my first failed attempt to head south and it was a lot of work. I was paddling hard, but crawled along with the wind pushing against me. The water smoothed out when I reached the northeast corner of the lake where the wind was blocked, but then I found out where all of the bugs where. I didn’t stay there long.
AB, 2024-08-20
AB, 2024-08-20
I paddled around the jutty with the stone benches at the north end of the lake and headed up the northwest branch towards the weir. Mostly calm water with lots more bugs. This is where the lake ends and a weir transforms the placid water into a stream for the area irrigation canals again. It is obviously dangerous to get too close to it, so I turned around when I reached the warning markers.
After this I just paddled up and down the west shore of the lake, not wanting to get too far away from the dock in case I ran out of oomph. I could tell from how my chest was feeling and the tiredness in my limbs that I was pushing my cardiac limits in this outing.
Chestermere, AB, 2024-08-20
Chestermere, AB, 2024-08-20
I was running out of light at about the same time my arms were running out of energy, and this was at the two hour mark of entering the water. It was a shame to quit because it was a beautiful night other than the wind, but when you’re done, you’re done.
It was a fantastic outing and I was thankful to end the day on such a great note.
The camera used was my OM System (Olympus!) Tough TG-7 that not only takes pictures, but also keeps a GPS track for me. I am fond of it other than hating the new name for the old company. They should have stayed with Olympus. Asshats.
