Outer West Passage

We paddle the Outer West Passage all of the time. However, only once a year is it TM's official Outer West Passage paddle. It is his third paddle in the annual progression that starts with the Narrow River paddle in early June and ends with the Pier 5 to Castle Hill paddle in early August. The outer west passage is a great way to work into paddling in open ocean conditions because it offers a wide range of conditions in a reasonable day paddle distance. You get the rocky coasts along Jamestown and Bonnet Bluffs. You get the open ocean swells crossing from Beavertail to Whale Rock. You get some protected paddling closer to the Bay Campus.
Seeing as this paddle was the first 9am launch of the season, H and I made sure to set the alarm early. We also hustled to make sure were on the road for 7am. That would give us plenty of time to stop for my coffee and H's constitutional break. Surprisingly, everything went according to plan and we arrived at Bay Campus 30 minutes before launch.
TM and RR were there with three new paddlers. There were also a few other familiar faces. However, we were surprised to find a number of the regulars missing.
It turns out that they had forgotten about the time switch until this morning. Sure enough, cars started rolling in minutes before 9am. CC, RB, BH, and CMc scrambled to get on the water while the rest of us waited. It was an odd feeling to be a waiter. I'm usually the cause of the waiting.
We got on the water shortly after 9am and found it to be eerily calm. There was hardly any wind. The swells were little bumps on the water. There was not even enough swell to make playing in the rocks fun.
Even on a calm day the Outer West Passage is not to be taken lightly. The crossing from Beavertail to Whale Rock is long and is at the very mouth of the Bay. If there are going to be swells, that's where they will be. The swells were taking a holiday, but there was still a little action at Whale Rock.
The paddle back to Bay Campus was equally uneventful.
It was a nice day to be on the water and relax. Sometimes it is nice to have an easy day!!