Day 23: River Jordan
From Tom:
We repair Nelson’s boat overnight. Dragging it in and out of the water wore through the gel coat and glass of the keel at the bow. Yesterday it leaked through there, filling the front compartment. We repair with some JB weld marine, an epoxy. The repair holds through the day.
As we are paddling, I realize my intended schedule would have us camping on Discovery Island, a marine park, just outside of Victoria, on the weekend. Could this fill up? Should I make a reservation? Probably.
I bring up the question of schedule, again, at our first break. David has several reasons to get home earlier. Work, for one. And, most importantly, an ill cat. A beloved companion of his. David enjoys longer days, covering ground. Me, not so much. So, we split up.
David heads out by himself. His target is a beach just west of Victoria, 28nm day. (Inreach shows he made it there by 7:00) He will likely be home by Thursday. His cat is very ill, so hold them in your thoughts, please.
Colin says he is on vacation, having fun, and happy to go slow. Nelson has more urgency to get home, but decides to stick with the slow party. We paddle close to shore all day. It’s largely rock shelf with occasional caves and infrequent beaches. We see two black bears, walking the rock shelf, looking for breakfast. Later, river otters frolicking. A long late lunch break gives the sun a chance to dry my paddling clothing a little bit.
We arrive at the River Jordan campground mid-afternoon, having covered 16nm. Plenty of time for camp chores. The wind and sun dry the laundry at Colin and I did yesterday evening. We both now have two dry pairs of paddling layers, and one of them is freshly clean.
Our schedule has a layover in Sooke, and on Discovery Island, getting us to Anacortes on Sunday afternoon.
sorry so few photos. Colin takes more photos. Maybe he will follow up with a few.
From Colin:
Some photos....
Pre-departure from Providence Cove.
Godspeed, David!
Somewhere along the route.
