August 5, 2019 – By the mere fact that I am writing this journal entry, you will know that I successfully paddled around Cape Flattery. And padde it I did with the help of new friend Vern.
I awoke at 5 am. No way I was going back to sleep so I got into shavasana pose, centered my breath and just floated for an hour. Then I got up, made coffee, and finished getting together all remaining paddling gear. Then I made breakfast/lunch, we loaded everything and everyone into Vern’s car (which already had both kayaks on top), and headed over to Neah Bay.
So some words about having local knowledge. My bestie, Con Lively, reached out to some of her friends to see if they wanted to paddle the cape with me. Her friend, Vern, said he’d done it before and would be glad to paddle it with me. My original plan was to put in east of the town of Neah Bay equidistant with the island at the end of the jetty that protects the bay. Vern has put in previously at a beach on the west end just outside the jetty, saving at least a couple of miles. Sweet!
And that is where we launched this morning. It was foggy at Hobuck Beach but not at Neah Bay. No wind. Yes! We paddled through the kelp forests and beds that own the real estate along the shore between Neah Bay and the cape. Sometimes I was more of a gondolier, levering my way through them while bobbing up and down in the growing swells.
There was fog and about a 10 knot head wind ahead as we rounded the point where we could see the cape and Tatoosh Island. Vern suggested we pop our boats around the cape to see what it looked like and, if the fog was thicker and/or the wind bigger, we might consider turning around and going back to Neah Bay.
When we got around the cape and, yay, the wind was calmer and the visibility was good enough to proceed. We then decided it was nice enough for us to continue to Hobuck Beach, and it was. It was a pleasant paddle. I am definitely coming back and doing it again and again and again.
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