Kayaking Mason Creek

We woke around 3:30 am after hearing several great horned owls in the trees across the canal. We got back to sleep and didn’t get up until nearly 7 am.

We all walked the dogs around the neighborhood, then Mark and I baited the pin fish trap with a mixture of mackerel and oats. We put the trap in the canal behind the house.

Cindy & Mark loading on Mason Creek

We loaded the kayaks on the pickup and drove to the public launch on Mason Creek. We were on the water from around 11:15 until about 2:30. Since we had never hauled the kayaks before, we had to experiment with how to arrange the two tandem kayaks on the pickup. Mark has a rack that attaches to the hitch and gives an additional 4 feet of support. We strapped the kayaks in the front and rear with one on top of the other which seemed to be a good arrangement. We saw several boats of people fishing and most reported success catching lady fish and sea trout as well as a few other saltwater gamefish. The Whittingtons' kayaks were very stable and comfortable. It was a perfect day for paddling in the estuaries. We saw several large fish as well as schools of smaller fish in the clear water of Mason Creek and the estuaries. We paddled up the canal behind their house on Standish Drive but not near the house so the dogs wouldn’t hear us and try to follow.

Mark & Cindy kayaking on Mason Creek

We went along one of the islands as far as we could get in the low water of low tide but had to turn around and go around the island clockwise. By the time we made it to the low water area, the tide had come in enough for us to get through without a portage. However, we were going against a strong current and had to paddle hard to get through the narrow gap. When we returned to the Mason Creek launch ramp, we had gone about 6 miles. We were tired but enjoyed the day immensely and looked forward to another kayaking trip.

Mary piloting the kayak on Mason Creek

Dinner was an excellent selection of leftovers with rigatoni with sauce and Italian sausage or butter and cheese, pork loin and broccoli. Everyone had a good meal.

We took the dogs for a short evening walk then came in to watch a few episodes of The Dectorists on Acorn, then turned in at 10 pm.