Paddle Log #21: Pearl Harbor

Deja vu.  Back where it all started.  Almost three years ago, my eldest son and I went kayaking together for the first time here at the Rainbow Marina on Pearl Harbor.

For exercise, I've been running almost every morning since I arrived here three weeks ago, but I have been taking Sundays off to do something different like the Makapu'u Ridge and Olomana hikes that I wrote about last week. 

This week I wanted to get out on the water.  I had originally intended to do a longer paddling excursion out of Kailua, but I had too much studying to do and a 3 hour test to take.  So this afternoon I just took a quick break, went down to the Rainbow Marina, and checked out a kayak to get some exercise and enjoy some time on the water. 

It was partly cloudy out, which was nice to give me some shade.  It was also pretty windy - 12 to 14 mph winds according to Intellicast.  That stirred up some chop on the water.  Of course, the marina is at the windward side of the harbor, so you have no choice but to go downwind first and then fight your way back against the wind coming back.  You can see it on my Garmin where my average speed was about 4.0 mph as I paddled down wind.  Then when I turned around and started paddling back, you see my average speed dropped to about 3.2 mph. 

It was a good workout paddling into the wind.  After I paddled back into the lee of McGrew Point, I just loitered in the basin there enjoying the sound of the waves lapping against the hull, watching the water and the feeling the wind. 

It was a short excursion, but it was a much needed break from studying.

Stats for the paddle log:

• Date: 23 January 2011
• Time In: 2:23 p.m.
  
• Time Out: 3:46 p.m.
  
• Elapsed:  1 hours 23 minutes
• Moving Time (GPS):  1 hrs 5 minutes 
• Stopped Time (GPS):  18 minutes
• Mileage (GPS): 3.6 miles
  
• Sea State: 1
• Winds: 12-14 mph NE (Intellicast)
• Air Temp:  79F
• Water Temp: Not sure.  Warm.  Bathwater.
• Current:  None.
• Gauge Height:  Not sure.  Seemed about average.
• Avg Speed (GPS):  3.3 mph
  
• Max Speed by (GPS):  5.3 mph
• Rapids?  None. 
• Hazards?  None.
  
• Kit: Wilderness rental kayak (unknown model). Flop hat, NRS paddling gloves, short sleeve shirt, swim trunks, water shoes.
• Configuration: Single seat.  Only me this time.
• Route:  Put-in at Rainbow Marina.  Examined the chart at the boat house and determined where the restricted areas were.  Paddled to the red buoy north of Ford Island that marked the edge of the restricted area.  Harbor security got nervous about me and sent a boat out to make sure I wasn't going to go past the red buoy.  I told them I knew the boundary and that I would not cross it.  Turned around at the red buoy and paddled back into the wind.  Did an extra lap in the basin next to the PACFLT boathouse.

• Other comments (such as wildlife spotted): A couple of local birds that I have not yet identified.