This was the second time this year I made it out on the water. It was so soon after my first time a couple of days earlier, I was not so sure that was where I wanted to be. Unlike that day, when the sun was out and the lake was calm, today it was drizzling and there was a moderate wind blowing. Should I take the Cadence and get some practice in handling my new camera under race-like conditions, i.e., getting wet, before next weekend's race, or enjoy the comfort and protection of the Escapade?
Debbie Natelson, who suggested we go out on this tour said she wanted to go about 10 miles. That distance can certainly be done in an Escapade in 3 hours. Unfortunately, the nearest boat ramp would extend the trip to at least 14 miles, and another hour. We would be out of time, and I'd be out of energy! Still, there might be a boat ramp right where we wanted to put in, though it did not appear in any maps or online databases I knew about.
What to do?
After much hemming and hawing I decided to bring the Cadence. There would be no worries about finding a ramp or keeping up with Deb in her rowing shell, and it would be good to practice before the race. So, at about 9 AM on Sunday I woke up my son to assist with moving the boat from the garage to the car top, and soon was heading down the road.
We decided to meet at the suggested water access point anyway, so that it could be considered for future outings.
It was a good thing I did not bring the Escapade. While this access point was pretty nice for hand carried boats, several bollards prevented any sort of trailered boats from using the concrete ramp into the water. In addition, there were no sanitary facilities nearby - an important consideration for someone about to embark on a 3 hour tour!
I called Deb on her cell phone. We decided to go with plan B and head for Medina Beach Park.
This is the same park used by the Sound Rowers for their Medina-Mercer Sausage Pull race. There is a small parking area, grassy lawn with picnic tables and barbecue grills, a reasonably protected beach and lavatories.
Just after I got my boat from the car top onto its dolly, Deb pulled up in her van. We proceeded to lug our boats and gear down to the beach and prepared for the excursion.
As luck would have it, the drizzle stopped. Perhaps this would be a good day after all!
I put on a pair of water shoes, rolled up my cycling tights, and prepared to launch the Cadence. It was about 11 AM.
One thing was certain: Lake Washington was darn cold! Wading into the water to lift the Cadence from the dolly nearly froze my feet and ankles. Oh, well. After pedaling a while they should warm up again - I hope!
After shoving off I took off the water shoes in order to put on my dry socks and cycling shoes. The southerly wind made this something of a chore as it pushed the boat on a path heading directly into some nearby docks and bulkheads. Ok, that can be solved by pedaling out a bit further into the lake. Still, with all the stuff I had sitting on the floor of the cockpit it was hard to find where I put the socks and shoes!
Just as we pulled away from shore a police patrol boat approached from the south. It seemed to hang out ready to assist us in case we ran into trouble, or maybe we fit the category of some unspecified terrorist threat since there was absolutely no one else out on the water today. Once we got under way, the patrol boat docked for a short time at the Medina pier, and then headed off into the distance.
I was wearing my big, cool hat to ward off the rain. Upon leaving the somewhat protected beach area I immediately regretted that decision. However, I also did not want to change back into the water shoes, hike back to the car and leave my hat there. I asked Deb to put it in one of the cargo compartments of the Cadence for me, as I still did not have everything under control in the cockpit, and thought it would be easier for her to stow it and secure the hatch latches.
She brought her boat alongside, and while I held onto the rigging she managed to perform the deed. Thanks, Deb!
This was the first time I had my new Minolta DiMAGE A-1 camera in its Ewa-Marine waterproof housing out on a boat trip. The combination makes for a rather formidable looking blob hanging from my neck by a relatively short piece of nylon webbing. Since the main purpose for which this camera was purchased was to take pictures during Sound Rowers races, I immediately started taking photos of the nearest human powered boat. There was only Deb and her boat, so I tried various angles, zooming in and out, and even tried some relatively short movies.
That got boring rather quickly, so most of the rest of the time was spent photographing the local wildlife, houses along the shore, etc.
Medina is one of those higher priced neighborhoods. Many of the waterfront properties had rather impressive designs and magnificent yards to with them. With respect to their coexistence with nature, particularly salmon, most of these properties were rather unfriendly. Seeing how various property owners handled the problems involved with providing salmon-friendly waterfront and still being able to access the water for human-oriented enjoyment was the main purpose Deb wanted to make this trip today.
We headed south to check out some properties Deb was told had made special efforts to accommodate fish.
As far as we could tell, most property that were fish friendly had gravel shorelines with native flora above the mean water level. The gravel tended to dissipate the wave energy, and grind into smaller pebbles and sand. The flora helped keep the numerous Canadian geese at bay, and reduced the quantity of their feces polluting the water. Well, that was the theory, anyway.
On the other hand, there were many examples of bad shoreline design. These were typically concrete bulkheads right in the water with grass lawns right up to the edge. Geese loved these places. In addition, the wave action scoured any gravel or sand at the base of the bulkhead away, creating lots of erosion as time went on.
We headed north, passing Medina Beach Park, and headed towards the 520 floating bridge. En route we encountered renditions of the Space Needle, a Washington State ferry, and the Statue of Liberty.
Traveling with the wind was a bit warmer, and I found it necessary to unzip my wind breaker and sweater.
It was pleasant just cruising along the shore. We were traveling about 6 mph, with a little assistance from the wind. The sun was starting to peek through the overcast skies, while towards the west there were definite patches of blue sky.
On the way to the Highway 520 floating bridge we passed the abode of Bill Gates, of Microsoft fame. The place seemed a little cramped to me.
Deb said that she thought she saw Mr. Gates leave one of the lower buildings with someone who looked like a security guard. They were probably spooked by a pair of waterborne suspicious characters that had just passed by.
Along this section of the lake the shoreline becomes very steep. Many properties had funicular elevators and/or extremely long staircases leading down to the shore. In several cases the only way to reach the houses that were built along the shore were via these methods of access. I would hate to try to move in or out of any of these places. It would probably require using a barge!
One of the most interesting residences we saw was nearly completely obscured by trees. We wondered at the choice made by the people who lived there to have their view so obscured, especially during the summer. Very interesting...
Passing under the 520 bridge was uneventful. The wind had pretty well died out and there was no wave action to speak of.
(44.5 MB movie)I took another movie (see above photo, takes a long time to load) showing the speed of passage one typically sees when pedaling at moderate cruising speed. Note that these movies are compatible with Apple's Quicktime player, which is available for free via download. The Ewa case seemed to muffle the sounds slightly, and the motion of my hand in the Ewa glove seems to make a popping sound similar to a static, but in general the combination appears to work fairly well.
It seemed like in no time at all we rounded Evergreen Point and entered Fairweather Bay. The sun had come out, the water was pretty calm and yes, we had fair weather.
We decided to head towards Morningside Park in the town of Yarrow Point. There we hoped to find some sanitary facilities as well as a chance to stretch our legs prior to the return journey.
The crossing to Hunts Point was rapid. Here was another example of a shorline that was not very friendly to fish, though it probably kept the yard from washing away.
The crossing to Yarrow Point was similarly uneventful. While Deb explored the shoreline at the tip of the point I went ahead to check out Morningside Park. It turns out that there really is no access to land via the waterfront at the park. The entire shoreline in Yarrow Bay around the park consists of marsh and wetlands. In addition, there were several vessels moored in the bay that seemed to have been left there for quite an extended period of time, at least by the look of them. The neighbors are probably not exactly happy about this!
Heading back to Yarrow Point I passed Deb. She decided to explore Yarrow Bay and the Morningside Park area. As I waited I took out some bags of chips and cookies that I had brought along. They were tasting pretty good about now. The time was about 1:20 PM.
Deb was taking a bit longer than I expected, so I decided to take a side trip over to Carillon Point. This is a fairly new office park, hotel, restaurant development and marina located at the south end of Kirkland, WA, and probably the nearest place available to the general boater to tie up. After snapping a few photos I headed back towards Yarrow Point, where I saw Deb heading after her excursion to Morningside.
Deb's energy was starting to flag. Her rowing was becoming a bit less fluid, but her spirits were still very high. Our speed ranged from 4 mph to 6 mph, but we were in no particular hurry to get back to Medina. I offered her my chips and cookies, but she decided to hold off until later.
As we approached Evergreen Point we noticed a pair of large black birds. They appeared to be nearly the size of eagles, but were not colored like any types with which we were familiar. Perhaps they were some sort of large raven. Anyway, I managed to get a rather poor picture of one above.
(movie)The weather started getting rough, and our tiny ships were getting tossed on this 3 hour tour.
Yes, the wind was picking up as we headed towards the 520 bridge. Waves were coming through the elevated section of the bridge and the ride was becoming a little more challenging. Hey - this would be a great time to take more movies! So I did.
Meanwhile, my GPS batteries died. No more would it track our progress.
I tried to take photos showing Deb's boat half out of the water, or half under, but between my boat's bouncing in the waves and her's, and the lack of regularity as to when the waves would hit seemed to conspire to prevent such photos from being taken. Even the movie I took did not catch her boat in the act. Sigh.
The water was definitely getting rougher. The clapotis from the south side of the 520 bridge floating section made the ride through the water quite exciting. Every so often I heard Deb exclaim as yet another dash of icy water hit her back. I was able to maintain my balance pretty well, and only a couple of waves managed to splash into the cockpit. Hmm, it looks like it is time to open the speed bailer!
(14.5MB movie)The wind and waves picked up a little more, and a little more water was entering the cockpit. The rough conditions were slowing Deb down, and her boat was taking on quit a bit of water.
Since I had the speed bailer open I needed to maintain a speed a bit faster than Deb was managing. Rather than drop her behind I decided to zigzag in front of her, which would keep me warm, relatively dry and in reasonably close proximity to her boat.
We were approximately a couple hundred yards from Medina Beach Park when Deb decided she had to go ashore and drain her boat. Apparently she didn't realize how close we were, but hey - it is better to be safe than sorry!
Meanwhile, I circled around out in the waves having a good time.
Just after Deb got her boat back into the water I realized I should have spent that time putting on the water shoes for the exit. Oh, well. There was no time like the present!
A few minutes alter, at about 2:30 PM, we were back at Medina Beach Park.
On rubbery legs I got out of the Cadence, pulled it mostly ashore and headed to the car for the dolly. My feet felt strange in the water shoes, almost as if they were partly numb from the cold water, or from pedaling with socks that were a bit too thick for the bike shoes. Perhaps it was a little of both, because once I put on some dry socks and old tennis shoes they felt a whole lot better!
After helping each other load boats onto our respective vehicles we went our separate ways.
Thank you, Deb, for suggesting this outing. I had a great time!
The complete set of photos I took during the tour can be found here.
The course I followed during the tour and some metrics can also be found there by clicking on the last picture above.