Monday, April 19, 2010

A Kayak Trip?

Debbie and I have been talking about a kayak for weeks.  Every since we moved in October we have access to the lake near our house.  Being the way I am I spent quite a lot of time stalking message boards, manufacturer web sites, local outfitter shops and the like to determine what type of kayak suited us best.  We settled on a Wilderness Systems Pamlico 135T.  And as luck would have it Pirate Queen Paddling in Beaufort and Atlantic Beach rented the very one we are interested in.

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http://www.piratequeenpaddling.com/
Tom met us at 10:00 in Beaufort with the kayak, PFD’s and paddles. He furnished a map of the area and gave us a run down on the kayak, gear and assisted with the proper adjustment of the PFD’s.

It was a bit cool and windy but Tom said the wind would be slowing and it would warm to the mid 60’s.
Trip Map

We have a hand held GPS and carried it along to track our speed and location.
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With our small pocket camera, GPS and drybag we were in good shape.  A few bottles of water and some cereal bars would ward off hunger at least until we could get to El’s Drive Inn!

DSC01573 We leave the launch site and head under the Gallants Channel bridge on the way to the Beaufort water front and on to Carrot Island.


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Nearing one of the many shallow creeks on Carrot Island
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You can get really close to wildlife from a kayak.
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We were within a 25 feet of feeding bottle nosed dolphin in the channel.  You could clearly hear them breathe.

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I really need some sun on these legs.
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A high point on Carrot Island
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Peaceful and a view as well.
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After a couple of stops along Carrot Island we decided to stretch our legs on the Beaufort water front.
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A convenient access point near the post office allows you to walk the water front.

DSC01582 I was concerned about a rudder for the kayak, seems to me to track quite well without it.  I also discovered that the 13.5 foot length will work well in the bed of our Dodge Ram.  The kayak easily converts to a single and handles very well.  At least as far as this beginner is concerned.
We made it back to the launch point by 1:15 in order to have the kayak picked up at 2:00.  There were some muscles worked out that the gym didn’t know about and we were a bit tired.  We traveled just over four miles and thoroughly enjoyed every minute.  Enough so that after we had lunch at El’s we went the the Atlantic Station (just west of Atlantic Beach) store and ordered a bright yellow kayak.
 

Parting Shots
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