This blog had long been relegated to the category of missing and, perhaps, forgotten. After looking at the pictures, I decided it might be worth giving the whole thing a new look. With that in mind, here goes...

Barbie and I have decided that Hammond Bay, with the very nice Charlaine Boat Ramp, is one our favorite places for a quick paddle. There certainly is plenty to see and do, with the quaint Shack Island across from the boat ramp and swimming at the beach by the ramp or in Piper's Lagoon.

Pipers Lagoon Park, Nanaimo

Pipers Lagoon Park is the best, most dramatic and exotic oceanside park in Nanaimo. Imagine a lagoon the size of a couple of football fields, with a narrow, straight dyke cutting it off from the surf, which has created a marvellous pebbly beach with a great deal of mermaid's tears (a beautiful product of beach glass). Then it gets rocky; there is some neat but short rock-climbing for those who desire it, and one larger hill covered in arbutus and Garry Oak, eagles and scared rabbits, driftwood and views of the Strait.

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Hammond Bay, Piper's Lagoon, and Shack Island: 05-07-30

Hammond Bay, Nanaimo

After launching at the Charlaine Boat Ramp at Hammond Bay, Barbie and I head for the point at Shack Island. There's a significant breeze blowing right into Hammond Bay, and the waves make launching just a bit more difficult (and wet) than we'd like. In the distance, across the Salish Sea, the snow-capped mountains of the Coastal Mountains on the British Columbia mainland.

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With a few more paddling sessions under our belts, we surely would have made for Departure Bay. Today, however, the wind encouraged us to nose back into Hammond Bay for some relaxing paddling.