wildwahinepaddler

It was another really nice day today!  Not quite as calm as yesterday but still pretty nice.   I paddled down to the boat ramp and one of my paddling friends was already there so we chatted for a few minutes.  There were a bunch of people out in kayaks too.   I immediately spotted three turtles bobbing on the waters surface…..so I headed over to them.   Then two of the turtles disappeared and then four turtles appeared again!  We were surrounded by turtles!  Then two more turtles popped up!  On the way back we saw a whale splashing around and another turtle at Kam 3…… That made eleven turtles for the day!  Then the wind started to come up and the water got choppy so I headed back to Kam 1.  When I went for my swim I wanted to go visit the turtle haven…. But today the sand was kicked up down there and I don’t like swimming around the rocks with poor visibility! Maybe another day……..

What an absolutely perfect day!  Perfect conditions and lots of turtles!  The boat ramp was full of turtles and even the snorkel bost was there…….but I was having the turtle party right out of reach of their snorkelers!  Seven lovely turtles all to myself!  I was in turtle heaven!  The ocean stayed so glassy and calm the entire morning……. What a treat!  I paddled back and it was hard to come in since it was SO perfect.  I was eager to swim too because the water was super clear.  I’m not sure I’ve experienced such a perfect day in weeks!   Just as I took off for my swim…… A young female turtle was passing by so I swam with her all the way down to the reef.  She swam under me or to my right side the whole way!  Then something very unexpected happened…….. The turtle lead me to an amazing turtle haven out at the point, by the rocks!  She approached a large male turtle and they bumped snouts!  Then I realized it was the turtle BUMPY that I often interact with down at the boat ramp!   I may have imagined this….. But it seemed that he recognized me….. I’m not kidding.  He almost ran into me twice almost like he wanted to play.  It was turtle town for sure…. At least half a dozen turtles of varied size.  A small turtle swam right up to my face and let me rub its shell!   I was in awe of so many close encounters of turtles in such shallow water right by the rocks……. The turtles were munching on some seaweed on the rocks and they had some places to hide out there too.  Eventually I had to say good-bye to the turtles and swim back but I will be visiting the turtle haven again tomorrow!  Oh I hope tomorrow is just as perfect!

I knew it was nice earlier in the morning but I wasn’t sure for how long.  The wind has been crazy the last few days……. However this morning it was surprisingly calm.  At first I decided to watch the conditions….. Mainly the sea of white caps further out.  It was so nice in closer so I grabbed my board and headed on out.  I decided to stay close to home just in case the white caps moved in quickly.  It was so beautiful!  I was so happy to be out paddling!  I paddled through Kam 2 and then turned around and paddled north to Cove Park.  Not many people were out so I had the place to myself.  Only one turtle popped up while I was there and it didn’t hang around long.   Suddenly the wind whipped up from the south and east….. Gusting at times almost blowing my hat off!  I headed back to Kam 1 in choppy conditions.  I thought, oh boy, here we go!  It was so choppy and paddling against the wind was a chore.  I finally made it back and hauled my board up the beach fighting against the wind!   I was worried about getting my board safely onto my racks and that I might need to ask someone to help me….. But suddenly there was a short break in the wind and I went for it!  I was really glad to have my board securely up on my car.  By the time I went for my swim…… The pesky wind had backed off again and I had a great time!   I went down to the reef and saw Humu Humu fish, Unicorn fish, Yellow Tangs and Trumpet fish.  The water visibility was really good!  When I headed back and could hear the wind whistling in my snorkel…. It was blowing again.  Half way back a turtle appeared in front of me so I turned around to swim with it!  It was so good to see a turtle!  It swam under me and then to the side of me…… Then it came up for air and then headed back out to sea.  I turned around and swam back.  On land I had a visit from another kind of beach buddy…… A young Franklin Wren!  It was amazingly friendly which is unusual but I enjoyed it coming up and looking at me……. It was so cute!  The wind continued to play games and threatened to come in several more times until the white caps finally roared in for good…… I hope I get to go paddling tomorrow!

It’s been three days of crazy windy conditions!   It’s a bummer because other than the wind………the ocean is perfect.  No waves, no shore break, and the wster is super clear!  Well I went swimming anyway and what a great swim it was too!  I swam against the wind all the way down to Charley Young Beach and then turned around….then got a push back courtesy of the wind.   I couldn’t believe how clear the wster was!  I saw quite a few fish along the way too because they were hovering near the shoreline.  I also forgot how tranquil a windy beach is….. hardly any people and the wind actually cleans the sand as it gusts and blows it around.  All I could hear was rustling wind and the ocean …… It was heaven!

Wow!!!!  Two nice paddling days in a row!  The ocean is back to being perfect…… At least for now.  I’m going to try to enjoy as many of these days as possible!  I paddled in perfect conditions down to the boat ramp and ran into a paddling friend.  We chatted about how perfect it was and then a turtle popped up right behind her!  The turtle disappeared and then popped up again!  The snorkel boat arrived and we figured now there was little chance the turtles would come up.  We paddled towards Kam 3 and a turtle surfaced and then disappeared.  I paddled over to where we saw it and it swam under my board!  It stayed under me for awhile and then headed south.  I paddled along with the turtle but it didn’t seem to want to surface.  I turned around and headed north again when another turtle popped up and then dove down.  At least I saw three turtles today!  I paddled back in nice conditions and then went for a swim.  What a great swim too!  The water clarity is improving so hopefully tomorrow will even be better.   I did see more fish today down at the reef.  It was a very nice Valentines Day at the beach and out on the water!!!! ❤️

Well it was finally a nice paddling day!  I had to go down early and drop my beach stuff off because the road was going to be closed for the Whale Day Parade.  I walked back down just in time to see the last half of the parade.  It was better than I expected!  There were Roller Derby women skaters dressed in assorted colors……Girl Scouts tossing out candy from a float….. A woman on stilts dressed in rainbow attire and carrying a rainbow umbrella….. Decorated cars….. A giant whale being carried down the road….. a float full of “Mermaids” of every age and size….. And a marching band from one of the schools….. As soon as it passed I could get to the beach!  A wind had started to kick up by then so I didn’t want to waste any time getting out on my board.  It was just a beautiful day and the swell was gone!  I paddled down to Kam 3 and then didn’t trust the windy conditions so I turned around and paddled north to Charley Young beach and then back to Kam 1.  It was so good to just be out on the water!  My swim was nice too even though the visibility is still messed up from the recent swell activity.  I swam down to the reef but the water was still pretty cloudy.  I did manage to see some fish though.   I was almost back when a turtle showed up close to shore!  Of course I couldn’t resist swimming longer so I could swim with the turtle!  I swam with it almost down to Charley Young beach and since the water was even less clear in that direction…… the turtle almost ran into me TWICE!  It was great to swim again with the turtles!  I hope the water is clearer tomorrow and the wind cooperates for a nice paddling day on Valentines Day!