The wind, the rain

Rain today adds punctuation to a cool and cloudy summer and while most have not enjoyed the season, it is and has been the best of canoe weather. I find the hot and sunny days on the water to be far more unpleasant than any other.

I start in the big lake with a big south wind and some somewhat big waves. Soon, out of the protection of the cove, I confront the occasional whitecap. The wind is at my back, but the waves are abeam and typical for this lake, choppy and random. I roll and toss, turn and twist, foot high waves, sometimes two feet high, and I use my paddle as a rudder almost as often as I use it for propulsion. I only have to paddle 3/4 of a mile to the calm of the bay. Once in awhile a wave slaps the side and a fountain of water bursts skyward, some of it landing in the canoe. I watch the bow as it plunges on the next wave, over and over sinking low, coming within an inch or two of dipping water. My camera stays secure in its case. This is too close to swimming. If I was in winter water, I would not be here.

The bay is calm, as usual. I see a few cormorants, the first in several months. I cut north, downwind across the bay, knowing that my return south will benefit from the west islands with many places to tuck in out of the wind.