My new boat!

Well, after 10 years of wanting a kayak I was finally able to get one! I went down to Duluth this week and picked up a Wilderness Systems Tsunami 165. I could barely contain my excitement as I drove back from Duluth with the kayak on top of the car. This evening I went for my first paddle in the new boat.



It was a sublime evening on the bay, perfect for trying out the boat and getting a feel for it. I was just going to goof around right in front of the house with it, but it was so nice I decided to actually "circumnavigate" the bay with it. The first thing I noticed was how much easier it glides through the water compared to my canoe. I played around for a little while in front of the house, practicing turning and getting used to the feel and balance of the boat. Then I headed over to the Hat Point Marina and paddled up to the Isle Royale ferry "Wenonah", which looks positively gargantuan from the seat of a kayak! Next, I headed for Pete's Island. After only about 10 minutes of paddling, I was at the island (I thought it would take longer to get there!). I landed and got out for a minute to stretch my legs (not used to the sitting position yet!).



For the next leg of my "trial paddle", I went from Pete's Island to "The Pines", a picnic area on the east side of Grand Portage National Monument. As I crossed the bay there was a gentle swell rolling into the bay and every now and then one of the swells would give me a little push, causing my speed to increase. As the boat rose and fell on the backs of these swells, it was a wonderful feeling. It felt like I could feel the lake breathing. I can tell I'm going to love this sport! This wasn't my first time kayaking, but it had been awhile so the sensations all felt new again. After reaching the pines, I turned and followed the shoreline back to my house. This part of the bay is very shallow and almost entirely sand bottom. It was fun gliding along and watching the ripples in the sand as they passed beneath the boat. When I got back to my place, my brother was sitting there waiting for me. He had seen me paddling and wanted to give the boat a quick try. I pulled up parallel to shore and in my haste to climb out, promptly tipped over on the lakeside of the boat and got completely wet. Oh, well! I also got to try out my new bilge pump :-) I can't wait until the next outing!