2 boats, 2 people, 2 totally different styles and experiences!! To the Cape we go in the morning and off down the coast as far as My Father and Mother (Star of the Sea) permit!! Onward!! I said that to myself the night before we headed out together. After already having covered the East Coast of the Olympic Peninsula (Hood Canal) last year, I would eventually have my sights on the Washington Coast; I just didn’t know when I would cover it.
I met Freya on Facebook initially in March by offering her anything I could do to help her prepare for her journey. It turns out it’s the simple things she needed, such as driving her to Snap Dragon and Hilleberg the Tentmaker. She went on to give her talks in the Pacific Northwest, which I was able to attend the one in Seattle. I did not get the chance to see her leave at the end of March, but we did mention the possibility of paddling together at some point. I was just too busy with work at the time and I had figured I missed my chance. My wife and I would always read her daily posts with excitement as we were just in awe of what she was undertaking (her third continent). As the summer went on I was able to go to Eugene for the Half Marathon, go to Walla Walla to compete in the Onion Man Olympic Distance Triathlon, and compete in Ski to Sea paddle portion of the race. In July, I ran the hardest legs of the Northwest 24 hour Ragnar Relay and then would head down to Hood River to take part in the Gorge Downwind Championships in my surf ski. The races in May and July were some of the most physically demanding events I have ever been in and I thought I was ready for a break. It was right after we got back from Hood River; Freya messaged me on Facebook out of the blue and asked if we could pick her up from the airport. She was flying back from Anchorage after finishing up her portion of the northern route. She was eager to start heading south this time with her remaining paddle days that she had left on the calendar. We picked her up and offered to host her for a night at our house. It was during dinner she asked if I wanted to go paddling with her, and knowing she would be heading towards the Washington coast, I said yes!! We briefly talked about my comfort zones with the surf, and I stated 2 meters (6-7ft) would be the extreme edge of my comfort zone. I had really never even been in 6+ ft. in my sea kayak. Surf Ski of course, but surf skis and sea kayaks I have learned are 2 different worlds. She mentioned that I would have to do exactly what she said when she said it, and that she was not an instructor but could teach me some things (this is her liability disclaimer). We agreed based on the 2 meter criteria and we would leave after my Wife and I were back from our Oregon Coast Camping trip. Over the course of the next week I followed her posts once again, this time with more intensity, knowing I would be potentially joining her. I spent a lot of sleepless nights on our camping trip talking myself in and out of the trip. Looking at the waters along the coast of Oregon, the waves were not even breaking 3ft. I said I can handle that…later that would come back to bit me in the ass. However, as I was 2 days from the agreed date when I would join her, she messaged me over her satellite messenger and asked if I was still in. I looked at the forecast and it was 2 meters almost all week. Even better was the fact that we would be paddling Cape Flattery our first day together and it was looking to be minimal swell (1 meter). I was excited but still giving myself some lethal gut checks. Whom am I to be joining this world class paddler all the way down the coast, where I had actually no coastal paddling experience in a sea kayak. I have had plenty of surf in my sea kayaks, but not extended days on end of paddling the open ocean. It would turn out that this is Freya’s strong suit, and I would have a lot to learn from her over the course of the next week.
