I am happy to report that I paddled with a GROUP of people on my most recent trip! The sections that I have left in the upper Delaware Bay have always intimidated me. Tidal currents can be very strong, and the area is very remote, so I was on a mission to find other experienced paddlers to join me.

I recently attended a women’s sea kayaking course through Cross Currents Sea Kayaking. The instructors were awesome! If you ever have the chance to take a course with Paula Hubbard, Marilyn Cooper, or Sammantha Magsino, do it. I learned new techniques, refined some techniques, and learned how to connect with other paddlers like me. The whole course was a big boost of confidence.

Shortly after the course, I posted in the Chesapeake Paddler’s Association facebook group, looking for others to paddle with. Only two weeks later, and I found myself planning a 16.5-mile stretch in the Delaware Bay with four other kayakers, all who are more experienced than me. They evaluated charts and max flood times, and decided which direction to paddle and when to launch on our selected day (July 22).

With my busy mom schedule, and all of my busy mom friends, I’m used to it being VERY difficult to align schedules to do anything fun. But the stars really aligned on Saturday and I was thrilled that even the weather and air quality were shaping up to work out in our favor.

I met up with Mike, Samm, Adam, and Gail at the Port Mahon boat ramp at 7:30 on Saturday morning. I had met both Mike and Samm before, and I was excited to paddle with all of them. We unloaded our kayaks and gear, and then did the car shuffle to leave 3 cars at Collins Landing. We launched around slack tide and started our northward journey. The last forecast I looked at indicated that the winds would be 5-10 knots out of the NW, but it seemed like it was more of a northerly wind, closer to 10 knots. In other words, it was a little choppy and we were paddling directly against it. I appreciated Mike asking me shortly after we launched if I was okay with the conditions. I said I was fine because I was with them! If I had been paddling alone, I probably would have bailed in those conditions. Not because I couldn’t handle it, but just because I wouldn’t have felt safe paddling alone.

Because it was choppy, I opted not to take my phone out to take photos while we were paddling, but I’ll do my best at remembering and describing what we saw.

Aside from passing the tiny village of Woodland Beach, I think the entire 16.5-mile journey was along undeveloped shoreline. I don’t remember seeing a single structure. There did appear to be remnants of structures, like a pile of broken concrete slabs and another 50-yard wall made out of large concrete blocks, but that was seriously it. We saw a handful of eagles, a sting ray, and of course some horseshoe crabs, but wildlife seemed scarce as well. But it was beautiful. I always say the Delaware Bayshore is Delaware’s most underrated and under-appreciated region.

Another interesting thing to note about this trip was the occasional small, standing wave, or small sections of waves that were breaking differently. There are several creeks that feed into the bay, so our assumption was that there were some small shoals or sand bars just outside the mouth of the creeks that caused this. Between the headwind that was opposing the tide, and the shoals underneath, it kept things interesting. Samm even commented that the conditions were perfect for keeping things fun and interesting, but not too challenging – I agreed.

We stopped at two different beaches to stretch, eat lunch, and check out the charts that Samm and Mike had brought. I learned some navigation skills years ago when I worked on boats (you know, which actual maps and a compass), but I haven’t really used those skills while kayaking, so I enjoyed looking at their charts and figuring out our location. From now on, I plan on bringing a laminated chart with me when paddling new areas. I’ve become too reliant on my phone to navigate these days!

I’d say somewhere around the 14-15 mile mark, I was beat and ready to be done. I kept up with the rest of the crew, but I was really starting to feel it. My arms (and my neck… strange?) were getting sore. Also around the 14-15 mile mark, Mike asked me if I wanted to practice some rescues since I don’t get the chance to very often. While I so appreciated the offer, and practicing rescues is always a good thing, I declined the offer because I was wiped. Gail also chimed in and said she was ready to be done since she had a long drive home. Hopefully I’ll get another chance soon to practice rescues!

When we finally pulled into Collins Landing, I looked at Strava and saw that we had completed 16.6 miles. It did take us 6 hours, but that included some beach breaks and paddling against the wind the whole time!

Adding such a long stretch to my map later that night made me feel so accomplished! I had stressed about the upper Delaware Bay portions, but now I’m excited to go back and finish soon. Here’s the path we took:

Finally, I am so grateful to Mike, Samm, Adam, and Gail for making the trek out to the Delaware Bay and paddling with me. I hope to paddle with them again soon!