Went kayaking with a Meetup group last night. Our plan was to ride the incoming tide up Cherry creek and then turn around in the lake that is at the end of the creek and ride the tide back out.
Things didn't go as planned...
There is a very low bridge with a strong tide current that you need to lay back in your kayak to fit under and the couple that was in a tandem kayak capsized going under the bridge. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal but one of them wasn't wearing proper foot wear and got cut very badly on the oyster bed that is under the bridge. We all docked in someone's back yard so that the couple could take a cab to the hospital to get stitched up.
But the fun didn't stop there...
The group didn't want to wait until the tide changed and decided to turn around and fight the tide going back under the low bridge while someone towed the tandem kayak back to the launch area. I tried to talk them out of it since I've paddled this creek before and knew what a bad idea this was but got out voted.
When I emerged from under the bridge I was blocked by the kayak in tow that had turned sideways, got caught in the current and capsized. I had proper foot gear on, use a paddle leash and always have everything secured so it wasn't a big deal and just got back in my kayak. One other person got suck sideways and when another paddler went back to help them he lost his expensive paddle.
Christy and I drove back to the creek and used our spotlight to look for the paddle hoping that it had ended up in one of the two lakes at the end of the creek but trying to see a black paddle at night on a dark night was just about impossible and by this time the tide was now going back out so the paddle is probably somewhere in the ocean by now.
Didn't get home until after midnight so I'll be drinking a lot of coffee today.
I rated this Meetup Disastrous.
Now for something completely different,