Warmer spring temps + sun + wind = fun at Seattle's Golden Gardens. Usually I see kiteboarding going on up north at Richmond Beach,  but its popularity must be heading south!
   ~Paul & Amber   ETC

   {No} Well, kinda. We'll call it the last paddle of Autumn. It usually takes me a few weeks to accept that my paddling-in-a-t-shirt days are behind me and it's time to break out the xtratuf boots, dry-suit, neoprene gloves, crazy Canadian mountie fluffy hat and head out on the winter water. The good news? It's not crowded out there. The bad news? It's dark at 4:15 so it might be weekends only. Here's some pics from the final days. The final days of t-shirt kayaking in the Northwest…until March at least!
                                                         ~Paul, Vic, Keith      ETC

   Looking to paddle in the saltwater? Never tried it before? A great practice run in Seattle, weather/tide/current dependent, is from Shilshole Marina to the green buoy just off Golden Gardens beach. It's a great way to paddle with light current, especially if you are new to checking the tides and stuff. When you get to the buoy you'll be able to see the water passing by it in one direction or the other (ebb or flow) - proving your tide research actually works! 
   We use a combo of US charts West Coast and Tide Graph for currents and mapping (iPhone apps), and weather underground for weather - make sure to click on marine forecast. Don't have a smart-phone? There are plenty of online resources to check the weather/tides/current before paddling in currents. Be safe!

   Off you go from the public boat ramp on the north side of Shilshole marina, just south of Golden Gardens beach park.

   Above - current at the green buoy! Below - A look back towards the beach and marina from the buoy.

   Boom. Done.
       ~Paul   ETC

   September in Seattle has been amazingly dry and warm...to celebrate the big yellow shiny thing in the sky, we got some club members together and took our Innova kayak fleet around the Shilshole Marina breakwater here in Seattle, WA. It turned out to be one pretty scene after another...
   ~Paul, Amber, Keith, Vic, Greg   ETC