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Paddling the Bywater Bay, North of Hood Canal Bridge (2-18-2012) --- Class III & IV.  3.5 miles roundtrip.

I got capsized today.  It was an invaluable experience that I really needed.  Now, I have better understanding about my boat and my abilty to paddle (need to improve paddling skill a lot).  Weather was windy (20-30

kts) and forcasted cloudy.  The trip was cancelled to some people but I was yearning for some paddling.  Bob McBride and I decided to paddle the bay along the shore anyway.  Two more paddlers (Keith and Linda) showed up.  We launched our kayaks at the Shine Tidelands State Park around 1000.  The water was choppy with some set of waves and some white caps in some spots.  It was quite challenging to put on the spray skirt as the water was really choppy.

Bob and I mainly paddled along the shore.  Linda was drifted to the middle of the bay (not sure if it was intentional).  She managed to land on the shore safely.  I was the last one coming to the shore, and met with a set of bigger waves with strong wind.  I managed balancing my boat well until then. My boat turned toward trough and I could not paddle out of it (could not changed the boat heading).  One wave flipped me right over that I did not react to brace or lean my boat (my lack of paddling skill).  One more odd thing was that I did not even try to roll back, but conducted a wet exit.  It would have been a golden opportuntiy to roll since the boat was heading right way for the right side roll.

Well, I am getting more fun out of kayaking.  To paddle in a such condition (strong wind and waves),  I will need a low profile boat and need to improve my various paddling skills.

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