Wandering Kayak

Where your intentions go things flow. My intention for 2014 is to to see as many new landscapes as possible from my kayak while improving my skills to the point that I can do a short expedition this summer. Time to start pushing myself. We’ll see how I progress, and in the meantime I started the year with Mats Mats Bay, Port Ludlow.

While in Mats Mats Bay, the paddle is very protected and serene. There are a lot of pretty beach homes, moored boats and a couple of commercial fishing boats. The temperature was 46 degrees and with no wind and my drysuit on, it felt almost balmy.

Admiralty Inlet was pretty despite the gray skies. You can see Foul Weather Bluff which marks the end of the Kitsap Penninsula in the background (right) and on the left hand side you can Whidby Island.

I paddled a round trip of about three miles out to Klas (seen above) and Colvos Rocks as there was barely any wind on my way out. Klas Rock is about a 1/4 mile offshore and Colvos Rock is about 3/4 miles south of Klas. There were a lot of curious and friendly harbor seals at Colvos Rock (below) that kept their distance but surrounded my boat.

As a reminder of how quickly weather can change in this area, quite suddenly, a 3-4 mph northeasterly wind picked up and the water went from a reflective mirror to a very small chop. Since I haven’t done any paddling on Admiralty Inlet, but knew that winds and an incoming tide make paddling very tricky in the area, I paddled back into the wind to protected Mats Mats Bay. Whimpy but prudent I told myself.

The launch at Mats Mats Bay is rustic, however, on this winter day, I could pull my car right up to the ramp and put my kayak right in the water. Sure beats hauling it to the water! You can find Mats Mats Bay’s Facebook page here.

Driving home, there was a great view of Klas Rock where I had just paddled (below).

Great way to start the new year!