Monday 17th April Day 4 – Sea Kayaks at the Falls Of Lora
On BH Monday the predicted state of the Falls was green, i.e “suitable for an introductory moving water training or fun in sea kayaks and canoes”. Roger and I were on the water well before the official start time and found the conditions to be idea for breaking in/out and ferry-gliding across the estuary.
On the Northern side, there was a significant back-eddy downstream of the bridge which we soon found ourselves sharing with a solitary sea otter. Although we remained perfectly still, our boats were slowly drifting up towards the bridge thus constraining his freedom. After a couple of minutes, he disappeared for the final time but not before giving us a great demonstration of his swimming and diving abilities. First his head would disappear, then his back arched, and with a deft flick of the tail he was gone. A delightful spectacle.
As the ebb tide increased, I attempted to regain the sweet spot just upstream of the bridge but the speed of the water was now too great to make headway against. After a short excursion downstream, we returned to take lunch on a sunny bench overlooking the Falls. By this time, it was mid-flow but there weren’t any standing waves of the type that can be seen in Youtube videos. I would love to return to this place with a guide when conditions are more challenging.
