Season Opener

Despite having paddled through the winter, TM's Narrow River paddle feels like the first paddle of the season. It is the gate to more frequent, and more adventurous, paddles. The Narrow River paddle itself is pretty tame as paddles go. The standard route is to launch from Pollock Street boat ramp and paddle up the river to the girl scout camp.
It is a protected and reasonably short route, but it offers plenty to see. The houses along the river are well-kept and reasonable. The birds are numerous and varied. Occasionally you can spot sunning turtles. According to BH the largest living snapping turtle lives in the stream that feeds the river.
Todays paddle was going to be an easy start to the season, but not level 2 easy. The sun was shining, but the wind was gusting. During the paddle briefing, TM made it clear that despite the protected nature of the route and the short distance, he was ramping the level up to a 3 because of the wind.
The wind was blowing down the river, so the first half of the paddle would be a fight. If conditions held, which as PB pointed out they never do, the trip back would be a cake walk. Regardless I was glad to have my stick. Windy conditions are much better when you don't have to push a sail into the wind on every stroke. Also, the wind cannot get a good hold on the stick to pull it out of my hands during a powerful gust.
We took our time meandering up the river and stopped a few times to practice strokes. TM handed out a number of good pointers on turning and maintaining a good forward pace in the wind. He also spent a lot of time ogling BR's new kayak.
At lunch we did some rescue/rolling practice. The water was still chilly, but it was a comfortable chill. You could roll without suffering from an ice headache. TM, PB, and I did more than a few rolls. I was happy to discover that I rediscovered my ability to roll on both sides of the kayak. BR did a roll thanks to a strong recovery. BH also rolled.
BH's first roll attempt offered a lesson in how not to spot a roll. After BH missed his first attempt, TM moved in and put the Aqilla's bow up on BH's pintail. Unfortunately, BH was making a second attempt at a roll.... So after missing the 2nd attempt, BH put his hands up and banged on the hull of his kayak. TM at this point was out of position and could not get the bow of his kayak to BH's hands. BR was sitting too far off BH's other side and not moving fast enough to close the distance before BH pulled the plug. When BH did pull the plug both TM and BR were on top of him.
The ride home was, despite PB's pessimism, a breeze. The wind died down and the current was running in our favor. I got a chance to talk to the new owner of the Devil Boat. It seems the new owner has exorcised the devil and is really enjoying paddling it. He is much more appropriately sized for it. Hopefully, we will see more of it as the season progresses into full swing.
For a season opener it was a great paddle. There was enough wind to make it a good work out without the danger. The weather was nice enough so that we could enjoy sitting out chatting after the paddle. If this is a harbinger of things to come I think the season will be splendid.