2014 SUP Season Continues

Getting a little bored of posting about every outing, so unless I have something important to say I'm just going to share some photos of my adventures.

-TreeburnerCT

Week 4 - Wednesday

Since I didn't get out on the water at all Week 3 of the season I was itching for a ride, so Wednesday I left work at 3pm, went home to get all my stuff together then headed straight for Birdseye Dock.  I got there about 4:20, and after loading up my gear and connecting my speaker to my phone I paddled out into the river.  I was surprised by how few people were out there - it was one of the hottest days of the year so far, but I guess most people were still stuck at work.  I headed upstream while I could, as high tide was at 4:59 and soon after the water would come rushing back out of the river.

Paddling up the river, I saw a couple large water rats sitting along the shore together, one holding a small fish in its mouth.  I thought about stopping to try to take a picture, but they were not easily visible so I continued my upstream paddle.  I was trying to make it to the Washington Bridge before the current got too strong to continue.

I made it to the last marsh entrance closest to Rivercliff before the tide began to withdraw from the river at a meaningful speed.  It was also at this point I began to tire, so I knelt down and paddled faster but much more softly, allowing me to rest my arms while continuing to move forward.  After a few minutes kneeling my arms were rested well enough, so I stood back up and continued my paddle towards the bridge, slowly making progress towards my goal.

After finally making it to the bridge I paddled around one of the pilings and headed back downriver, enjoying the aid provided by the very fast outgoing tide.  I knelt down again, snapping some pictures of the Rivercliff Landing as I floated by with my music cranking.

The rest of the paddle back to Birdseye was uneventful, other than the fact that there wasn't a single moving boat in sight my whole way.  I snapped a picture of the empty river in both directions, but pictures don't do it justice so I only included one below.

I got back to Birdseye and sported a smile my whole ride home - getting out on the river sure beats staying at work!

-TreeburnerCT

Week 2

Surprised but excited that the water was already so warm, I was happy to head back out.  Unfortunately the weather forecast for the week did not look so great for Friday (my paid day off during the summer), and Saturday I would have to work our booth at Stratford Day.  Fortunately Wednesday was nice, so I took the day off as comp time for Saturday.

I got to Birdseye Dock around 1pm and it was beautiful.  I unloaded my board and walked down to the water, which was about two hours from high tide, so I didn't have to walk through the muck or duck crap to reach the water.  I stretched at the edge of the water then carried my board over before loading up on sunblock.  As I paddled out into the river I stood up and took my first look through the water, and was pleasantly surprised to find there wasn't a single jellyfish visible, red or otherwise.  After waiting for some boats to pass I headed across the river towards the marsh.  I tried to go in the first entrance upstream, but unfortunately winter and spring weather had dammed that path since last year.  I headed farther upstream, my music cranking from my waterproof speaker, and soon reached a more significant entrance to the marsh (although not the main channel through it).

I paddled into the marsh, sending ducks flying as I passed the first corner.  I stuck to a familiar path, taking left after left until I ended up in a nice calm pond in the center of the marsh.  I could see a few turtles checking me out from various spots across the calm water, poking their heads up above the surface of the water.  I paused the music and sparked up, enjoying the calm water and not having to paddle every few seconds to keep myself in position like my first paddle of the year.

After finishing I started paddling back out, again scaring some ducks who had settled in my path out.  After a few rights I saw some kayakers approaching in the distance.  They quickly neared, and I saw it was an older gentleman and his very cute daughter of probably 20 or so.  They asked me if they could get to the main channel of the marsh through this path, and while I advised them there was a path through one way or another, it had been a year since I had found it and their 14-foot kayaks were unlikely to be able to turn around at the dead ends in their attempts to find it.  I gave them directions to the pond I had used, knowing they could easily turn around there.    We departed company, and I turned my music back on as I continued my paddle back out to the river.

I headed back downstream, paddling up the middle channel of anchored boats from the Yacht Club.  I slowly approached Birdseye Dock, arriving just as the anchored boats began to turn with the changing tide.

Couldn't have asked for a nicer day on the water.  It would be nice if I could go out again Friday, but I wasn't getting my hopes up.
-----

Friday came with strong winds, making it too dangerous to go out on my SUP.  Saturday I did Stratford Day with our agency Access Independence (formerly Disability Resource Center of Fairfield County), and by 5pm when it ended I was wiped.  Fortunately Sunday brought nice weather, so I was able to go out again, launching at Birdseye around noon and heading upstream then into the main channel of the marsh.

Sunday's paddle was rather uneventful, other than having to head back to the dock to grab some bottled water from the food truck after my Camelbak bottle abandoned me overboard.  I didn't even see it go, so having only one bottle of water left I was forced to head back to the dock, fortunately only 10 minutes away at that point.

The only other thing worth mentioning is the very strong upstream current that made my paddle back from the marsh to Birdseye an arduous task.  I stopped at a small beach along the marsh briefly to change my music specifically for the hard paddle, throwing together a quick playlist of faster-paced music by Offspring, As I Lay Dying, Suicide Machines and NOFX.  That made my strenous paddle against the current a little easier, and I finally reached Birdseye after almost an hour of paddling (a paddle that takes like 15 minutes in calm water).

Unfortunately week 3 was a week of thunderstorms and strong wind, so tune in soon for updates on my week 4 paddles including pictures, which I will make sure to include from now on (per request)!

About Me (Responses to Readers' Questions)

I've gotten a few emails asking me different questions about myself, so I figured others may have some of the same questions so I'm going to answer them here.  Since I'm doing this as a narrative, just for reference some of the questions I've gotten are:

How old are you?

What do you do for a living?

What else do you do for fun?  Are you into any other sports?

What kind of car do you transport your board with?

My name is Joe, I'm 31 years old and from Stratford, CT.  I work at a nonprofit in Stratford that serves people with disabilities of all types and ages.  I've always loved the water; when I was younger we owned a boat which I loved to tube or kneeboard off the back of.  I've always loved swimming, fishing, and anything else having to do with the water, so last year when I had the opportunity to try my cousin's standup paddleboard it was love at first paddle!

I've always been the adventureous type - when I was younger I was an avid freestyle BMXer and snowboarder, as well as doing some skateboarding and inline skating.  As I got older I became more concerned about getting hurt, so a car replaced my bike and I started spending more time smoking weed and less time riding my bike or board.  Fortunately my first stint in college brought me up to Vermont, so while I got away from BMX I had snowboarding readily available (my campus had it's own ski-lift!)

After high school my original field of study was E-Commerce (internet business and web/graphic design) which I studied for two years at Vermont Technical College in Randolph Center, VT.  I didn't finish my degree, but instead came back to Connecticut and went through a period of working dead-end jobs and drug addiction.

Nov. 2, 2006 I got clean off heroin with the help of suboxone and marijuana, and have been clean since.  After working for three years in a newspaper factory, third shift, I went back to school at Housatonic Community College where I studied Human Services, with a plan to get into either substance abuse treatment or disabilities.

My second internship brought me to the Disability Resource Center, and after exhausting my 180 hours required as an intern I was offered a part-time position as Youth Transition Advocate.  That was fun, working with kids with intellectual disabilities on independent and pre-vocational skills, and my successful development of the program led to another position working with Social Security on a vocational program called Ticket to Work.

After half a year of those positions I was offered a promotion to Assistant to the Director, moving me to the administrative side of the agency.  After our Executive Director retired I was quickly promoted to Operations Director by our new Executive Director, effectively making me second-in-command at our agency.

In addition to my love of SUP I also have some other unique interests.  I have a pair of jumping stilts which I like to walk around my block on when it's not too hot.  I'm also a huge fan of target shooting, so weather permitting I like to spend a few minutes after dinner each night shooting targets in my backyard with my airgun.  I'm also a big fan of knife throwing, and also target shoot with a bow.  Other than those I also like hiking in Roosevelt or Sleeping Giant, I play a little golf, and enjoy swimming and playing volleyball.

The only question I haven't covered is about my car.  I drive a 2013 Toyota Camry Hybrid, and I carry my SUP with a soft rack since my car is a lease.  For anyone considering getting a hybrid I would highly recommend the Camry hybrid as it doesn't have the boring hatchback look that most hybrids do, and it's very quick for a four-cylinder so you can't go wrong.  The combination of the gas engine and electric motor make it great on gas mileage, and although hybrid technology is not at the point of being cost-efficient as far as savings on gas, by supporting the developing technology you are encouraging car companies to continue to develop the technology and help us overcome our dependence on fossil fuels.

Any other questions feel free to ask, and thanks for reading!

-TreeburnerCT

2014 Season Begins!

Hello all!  Sorry I disappeared at the end of last season, but when the weather got too cold there was nothing new to post so I moved onto other things.  However, with the long-awaited warm weather this SUP season has finally begun!

Sunday, June 1 was a beautiful day, so there was no way I was missing out on a day on the water.  I loaded my board on top of my car and my new Ke Nalu paddle (picked up a factory 2nd blade which saved me some good money) in my car and headed for Caswell Cove in Milford.  My last launch of last year was at Caswell, and it was a nice change of pace from launching at Birdseye.

When I got to Milford the marina was very busy, and there were two guys launching jetskis forcing me to wait a few minutes to launch.  After stretching, putting on some sunblock and connecting my waterproof speaker to my phone I hit the water.  I was slightly concerned because the wind was blowing constantly, but stepping into the water I was pleasantly surprised to find it a comfortable cool, probably around 65-70 degrees, not icy feeling at all.  As I headed out of the manmade cove some guys fishing from shore brought in a large bluefish.

I paddled out into the river, checking both ways before heading across and slightly upstream with the current, enjoying the added push provided by my upgraded paddle.  I reached the other side and headed around an island that divides the river, planning to head downstream against the current around the island then ride the current back to the cove.  Even though it was only 2 hours from high tide the current was strong, making my paddle more difficult than expected.  By the time I was a third of the way through the island I was winded and my arms were exhausted, but any time I tried to take a break I would lose all my progress as the tide brought me back upstream.  I focused on the music and the pleasant view rather than the burning in my arms, and after some painfully-slow progress I finally reached the tip of the island, which fortunately featured some small marsh channels that allowed me to rest for a few minutes and burn one, only having to paddle lightly every 30 seconds or so to keep myself from drifting backwards.

It was at this time I noticed all the red jellyfish!  I had seen a couple during my strenous paddle downstream which I found strange since they usually come with the warmer water, but in the slow-moving water of the marsh there were thousands of them!  I had to be careful not to scoop water onto my board for fear of bringing a red jelly into contact with my feet!  After burning one and having some water I headed out a channel on the other side, enjoying the easy ride with the current pushing me.  I gave my new paddle a bit of a speed test and really dug in as I crossed, hitting a new top speed for my board (not that that's saying much!)

I enjoyed my music as I cruised back to the cove, but turned it off as I paddled back into the cove past the fishermen, not wanting to scare the fish away.  I went all the way around the protected cove, checking out the egrets hanging out on a sunken log in the middle of the cove.  Finally I floated back to the ramp, easily taking my board out without even getting my suit wet.  Overall a great day and a great start to the 2014 season!

-TreeburnerCT

Aug. 23, 2013

This last weekend was beautiful.  Fridays I get to leave work at noon, so as soon as I got out I headed home to eat and then to Birdseye Dock with my SUP.  There were a lot of cars parked there, and I happened to run into a guy I know through work (no surprise, I work like 1 minute from the dock and lots of people go to Birdseye to eat lunch).

By the time I launched it was only about an hour from high tide, so I rode the current upstream a bit and popped into the marsh.  I am really loving cruising through the marsh between Stratford and Milford (also known as Duck Island according to Google Earth) - around each turn there's either seabirds, ducks, or a turtle popping his head out of the water checking me out.  The only bad thing about the marsh is the gnats and flies, which end up eating up my feet and legs regardless of if I wear bug spray or not.

After kneeling down to burn one, I paddled out of the marsh and upstream farther, heading across the main marsh-channel and the secondary, Milford-side channel.  I kept paddling, passing the docks on the Milford side, at which point I stopped to snap a picture just for the hell of it.  I cruised up to the Washington Bridge and turned around the pilon, now heading directly into the wind and current.  The wind was barely blowing so I had an easy paddle back downstream, and with the tide changing the current was almost non-existant.  There was some awkward cross-chop from the changing tide coming through the harbors, but my Ark handled it with ease even when a following wave caused the front of my board to dunk below the surface of the water, causing me to quickly get swamped but fortunately didn't put me in the drink.  Overall a great paddle and a very nice day!

Went out Saturday and Sunday but the weather got too cold and that was the end of the season.

-TreeburnerCT

Indian Wells

Saturday I went to my cousin Lindsey's house right on Indian Wells in Shelton.  She introduced me to SUP a few weeks prior, so now that I had my own we had arranged to go for a paddle together.  She also brought along a very hot (and unfortunately married) friend of hers who had never been on an SUP before, but had borrowed one of the neighbors' plastic SUP.  I got there around 10am, and after carrying my cousin's board to the dock and then my own, we launched into the lake, joining her friend who was already standing and paddling around (not bad for a beginner!)

So we head upstream towards the Stevenson Dam.  They estimated it's around 2 miles, which took us quite a while since we had a newbie with us.  At the start I had to point out that she was holding the paddle backwards, but once we got going she held her own.  As we cruised along I knelt down periodically to take pictures, including a picture of "The Beach With No Name" (unfortunately the sign is illegible in the picture, stupid zoom) and Indian Head Rock.  Every bend we came around my cousin was convinced would bring us within site of the dam, and eventually her friend began to question whether she would be able to make it all the way there AND back.

Very soon we did come around the final bend and saw the Stevenson Dam in the distance.  At this point we were paddling in only about 12 inches of water with smooth, rounded rocks dotting the bottom below us.  Rather than continuing up and actually trying to touch the dam, we decided to turn around.  You could see rocks sticking out of the water on the way up to the dam, so we were worried we would hit our fins on the rocks.  I snapped a picture then spun around, paddling to catch up to the girls.

Just as I caught up to them, BAM!  I hit something, which almost threw me off the front of my board head first!  I was paddling up the middle of the lake/river, but hadn't noticed the water getting shallower and shallower above the rocks.  When my fin hit it was a good thing I had my knees bent and my paddle in the water, otherwise I would have gone in the drink.

As we paddled back I snapped a few more pictures and chatted with my cousin's friend as my cousin sped off for the house to check on the baby.  After a while paddling, we finally reached the dock where the woman's husband was waiting with her kids.  I decided to continue down the lake, so I set up my wireless speaker to play music from my phone then headed off on a faster paddle.

Without the girls I could push much harder, and the dock was quickly just a dot in the distance.  As I paddled towards a bend in the river, I could see two police boats sitting right in the middle.  As I passed them I waved, and looking back I could see two jet skis speeding up behind me.  One of the jet skis calmly passed the police, but the other darted in and out of the skiing buoys, attracting their attention.  They quickly pulled him over as I paddled off into the distance.  Once I was a good way away from the cops I sparked a jibber and continued paddling along, listening to the music and enjoying the calm water.

I was almost to the park when I decided to turn around.  I sat on my board for a few minutes on the side of the river, having a cigarette and the last of my water.  As I paddled back I could see the jet skier still sitting on the police boat!  As I neared them they finally let him take off, which had to be 45 minutes or so in total.  I kept paddling along the Shelton-side of the lake, the seagrass sweeping the bottom of my board as I cruised just outside the boat docks.  I kept imaging my fin getting stuck in a loop of grass, throwing me forward, but really the grass isn't that strong and my fin is pretty sharp, so if there were any closed loops I just cut right through them.

When I got back to the house my cousin was shocked at how long I had been gone.  They were waiting for me to get back so they could go over to the neighbor's house for coffee, so we quickly said our goodbyes as I packed up my gear and headed for the car.  Overall a great day, and a nice change from my usual route on the Housatonic River.  It was also very nice paddling with someone else for a change, so hopefully eventually I can either find a girlfriend who's into SUP, or at least some friends who are!

Long paddle at Low Tide

Friday I worked from home in the morning (I'm working on a Certified Aging & Disability Specialist certification), so after I finished I could head straight out.  I loaded up my board around noon, and headed back to Birdseye Dock, my go-to launching spot.

When I got there I was shocked by how low the tide was.  As I unloaded my board and gear I noticed the tide was so low all the duck and goose poop was exposed at the bottom of the ramp.  Disgusting, but I had no choice but to walk through it to get my board into the water.  I strapped all my stuff to my board and launched, being careful to clean the bottom of my feet before putting them on the board.

Once on my feet I headed across the river.  After going out Wednesday night and being rejected by the wind, it was a pleasure paddling across.  Wednesday it was so windy I had to paddle on the same side the whole time, leaving me exhausted after only reaching the marsh after which I turned around and went back.  So on this day I easily made it across to the marsh and paddled upriver towards the entrance.

Upon reaching the entrance I was amazed at how low the tide was.  I slowly made my way up the main channel of the marsh, but quickly realized the water wasn't going to be deep enough to explore the smaller channels as I wanted (hell, they were 4 feet above my head at the moment!), so I decided to go back to the river and head down to the Washington Bridge.  On my way out I noticed something swimming along the edge of the marsh.  Initially I thought it was a turtle, but it was moving too fast and I could see a sleek body behind it.  "Must be a snake," I thought, and I spun around to paddle quietly after him.  If he saw me he paid me no attention as he continued to make his way up the edge of the marsh, slowly weaving in and out.  Occasionally ducking under the water only to reappear a few yards ahead.  As I continued to follow I realized it wasn't a snake - it looked like a ferret or a weasel!  After it turned around and headed back down the marsh, with me following the whole way, it finally came out of the water onto the beach and I realized what it was - a huge RAT!

Anyway, after the rat ducked into a hole in the marsh, I headed out into the river.  As I paddled towards the Washington Bridge a boat approached, slowing beside me.  "You okay?  Do you need a lift?" the driver of the boat asked.  I told him I was great, but he didn't seem to believe me.  "I can throw you a line and tow you back if you want" he again offered.  "No I'm great right here, couldn't be better!" I insisted.  I guess he got the point because he took off, his young daughter waving as they disappeared up river.  I had a few other boats full of people wave as I passed, many looking surprised to see a paddleboarder out in the middle of the river.

I got to the Washington Bridge, and as I passed underneath on the Milford side I could see kids hanging out up in the rafters.  I crossed into the harbor and snapped a few pictures, enjoying my new waterproof case for my Samsung Galaxy Note 2.  The case is a DiCAPac, which I highly recommend if you have an electronic device that needs protection from water.  It has very clear plastic windows, and seals just like a dry bag, with a ziploc type closure at the top, which rolls down and is secured with velcro, which is then secured by another velcro latch.  Highly recommended, and worked fine in conjunction with my screen protector.

I had a smoke and some water, then spun around and headed back up river.  I made my way back to the marsh, going in as far as I felt I comfortably could with the tide as low as it was.  I sparked a joint, but the current out of the marsh was quickly carrying me back to the river.  Rather than coasting out into the river I paddled towards the beach, and anchored myself with my feet.  I finished off my smoke then had a cigarette and some water before pushing off the beach.  I paddled further into the marsh, making my way a few hundred yards in before turning around and paddling back out.  I headed down river, making my way past the dock.  I passed a sailboat full of hot girls, waving as I passed, and finally slowly eased my way into Birdseye Dock.

Another great day on the water!  Was nice to know my DiCAPac lets my Note 2 take excellent photos still, and I can't wait for my waterproof bluetooth speaker to arrive!

Marsh Madness Part 2

After having so much fun in the marsh Saturday, I headed back out Sunday.  I launched from Birdseye Dock around noon, with the tide very low but coming in.  I paddled upstream towards the northern entrance to the marsh, but rather than going to the main channel I instead went up a smaller side channel with a decent flow of water almost directly across from Bonds Dock.

As I paddled up the channel it broke off into two; I took the left because it seemed to have more water flowing through it.  As I continued into the narrowing channel, I noticed something sticking out of the water ahead.  As I approached it ducked below the surface of the water, and as I coasted over I saw a turtle swimming beneath my board.  Knowing to look for them, I noticed turtles at almost every turn in the smaller channels, their heads peaking above the water to check me out then quickly fleeing as I neared.

After half an hour or so of cruising around channels of varying sizes, I decided I better start trying to make my way back out to the main channel or the river.  However try as I might I couldn't find my way out!  Every time I found a channel with some current I would follow it, expecting to find my way out but instead running into a dead end every time.  After about an hour in the marsh I was getting a little concerned, so I sat down and burned one, had a cigarette and some water, then again made my way forward.  And what do you know, right after I finished smoking the slow-moving channel I was resting in lead right into the main channel!

Once in the main channel I headed upstream, out of the marsh and into the river.  There was lots of boat traffic, but my Ark seems to handle wake and swells very well as only once did I even feel off balance, and that was only because a following wave caused the nose of my board to dip about 8 inches into the water, and even then I was able to maintain my balance with a sweeping brace.

I got down to the George Washington Bridge before turning around.  I headed back downstream as I started to feel winded from the wind and waves.  I alternated between kneeling and standing, making my way down the river as passing boats honked and waved.  I passed the main channel of the marsh and again entered where I originally had that day.  I paddled up the channel but took a right this time, which led me down a nice, lazy path that went by a large egret nest with the bird sitting on top.  I also saw more turtles, and two mother or father birds with a bunch of babies who were not happy with me passing by them.  I came to a fork, but taking a left quickly brought me to a dead end.  There was barely enough room for me to turn my 11 foot board around, but I managed, and headed down the other path, only to find it also lead to a dead end in short order.  Fortunately this one was easier to turn around in, so I slowly paddled my way back out to the river.

I headed back to the dock from there, and as I unstrapped my gear from my board a women in her car commented "Aww I was waiting to see you go out, I thought you were just leaving!" and then proceeded to lecture me about why I should carry a knife in case I'm attacked by a shark, because the Housatonic River is a perfect environment for bull sharks which can live in salt and fresh water!  I tried to explain to her that bull sharks and other dangerous sharks are not found in the Housatonic or even Long Island Sound for that matter.  There are some sand tigers in the Sound, but they feed primarily at night and aren't large enough to eat a person anyway, and while a Great White could technically find its way into the Sound, you'd have a better chance of winning the powerball jackpot than getting bit by a great white in Long Island Sound.

Looking forward to heading out into the marsh again, but after getting lost I decided to order a waterproof case for my phone (a Galaxy Note 2).  Since I was ordering that I figured I might as well get some water resistant headphones, and I also ordered a Pyle Waterproof Wireless Bluetooth stereo speaker.  Once I have the waterproof case I will finally be able to add pictures to my blog!  Tune in!

Marsh Madness, Part 1

Saturday I headed out around 11:30am and launched from Birdseye Dock.  This time I kept my t-shirt on, and was careful to put sunblock on my neck, face, ears and arms.  Having the rigging on the front of my board is great - I brought a frozen Vapur anti-bottle of water, my type 4 pfd, my inflatable lifejacket and my dry bag, which held my car key, cigarettes, lighter and sunblock.

It was low tide when I launched, so I headed across the river towards the marsh.  I paddled upstream a short ways to the main entrance to the marsh and made my way in.  There were not a lot of boats as people tend to avoid the marsh at low tide, but it's perfect for a paddleboard!  I paddled up the main channel a ways until I hit a spot where the wind was whipping through and I had to kneel down to cut down on the resistance.  I was about 1/3 of the way through the main channel when I took a left and headed into a smaller channel in the marsh where I could see very little current and protection from the wind behind the tall marsh grass.

As I slowly eased into the narrower channel, I was worried about bumping my fin on the bottom.  I sat down and had a cigarette and some water, then slowly made my way forward through the smaller channel on my knees so that I could clearly see if I was going to run aground.  After continuing for a ways the small channel broke off into two, and having been paddling through for 10 minutes or so I stood up, confident I wouldn't be hitting the marsh floor.  I took a right and continued forward a bit, with every bend bringing another set of shocked ducks bursting from the water!  Soon I spun around and headed back the way I came, concerned about getting lost (a justifiable concern, see Part 2!).

Before exiting the small channel I sat down again and burned one, then had a cigarette and some water and continued out towards the main channel.  I headed upstream a ways, then turned into another smaller channel that had a decent flow of water through it.  As I paddled through I could see fish splashing at the surface along the banks, and as I continued forward I again encountered a lot of shocked ducks.  I continued through the channel as it widened out, and started thinking about where this channel was going to come out.  I was heading downstream quickly and was approaching Milford when I finally saw the way out to the river.

Paddling out towards the River was quite a chore.  The current was pushing against me strongly, and the wind coming off Long Island Sound made standing and paddling a pointless endeavor, as any forward motion was defeated by the wind and current.  Kneeling down I paddled towards a beach at the entrance to the river, working hard to fight my way there as I passed two kayakers leasurely paddling in the opposite direction.  As I reached the beach I was relieved, as I needed some water desperately.  I drank most of the remainder of my water and sat for a few minutes, preparing for the remaining trip back to the dock.

As soon as I launched from the beach I was surprised by the size of the waves.  It didn't help that boat traffic was at it's max, with large vessels charging through the waves leaving big wakes for me to contend with.  Most of my way back to the dock was done kneeling as I can make a lot more headway in the wind and chop kneeling.  I actually like to almost sit but in a kneeling position, and use my core muscles as much as possible as I maintain a windmill-type motion with the paddle, six strokes per side.

When I finally got back to the dock I was spent but at the same time felt great.  It's a very freeing feeling being out in the open water, nothing but you and the board.  I did try fishing with my homemade trolling rig, but it's too awkward trying to let the line out while paddling or even drifting and trying not to have it tangle on my leash or end up on the bottom from going to slow.  Sometime soon I'm going to bring my regular fishing pole out with me in 2 pieces and just assemble it out there.  Can't wait to get out there again!