[Journal entry for September 15, 2007]. Lee Reiser invited me to join him and a group of sea kayakers for an afternoon outing in Long Island Sound. We put in at a public launch at 1 PM on the bay side of Pelham Bay Park, in the Bronx, New York. The parking lot of the Park is enormous; today it is almost empty. A group of anglers are set up near the launch. Lee knows one of them, from a previous outing, I guess, and we exchange greetings. The launch puts us in a cove lined with marsh grass, and home to many birds, including snowy egret, gulls and cormorants. I paddle my sea kayak Hraun around the cove while the others ready their boats. Then Lee instructs Mary Rose, one of the novice kayakers, in a tee-rescue. I give another paddler, Lois, a quick lession on paddling technique, concentrating on hip rotation. Although the day is a bit chilly - September weather for sure - the water is still very warm, and getting wet is not a problem. After completing the rescue training, we head northward, and turn out from the cove into the channel between the park and Glen Island. We pass the site of the Canoe and Kayak venue of this year's Empire State Games. I fondly recall the three days that I spent there in July, and the Gold Medal that my partner, Chris Ramirez-Appuzo and I won in the 500 meter event. Several houseboats are anchored in the channel. One is listing badly; I imagine that the floor is pretty soggy, inside. The other is much better kept up, and raised well above water level. We paddle around the northern tip of Palham Bay Park, past glacially-smoothed outcrops of rock, a grey gneiss shot through with bright pink veins of granite. Several people are fishing here. We then paddle east, cutting across a rather strong west wind that had raised fairly strong chop. The day, which started rainy, is now stunning. The sky is bright blue wiuh long armadas of elongated white clouds. Many sailboats are cruising in the deeper waters to our east. We head first towards tiny Columbia Island, with its old concrete radio shack, now being converted to a mansion. Lee decides to take the rest of the group over to David's Island, where it is less windy, but encourages me to loop around Columbia Island and its neighbor, Pea Island. I sprint out around them. Pea has a nice beach on its east side, as well as several rock shoals on which numerous gulls and cormorants roost. I keep in contact with the rest of the group via marine radio and catch up with them (well, actually, they with me, for I am rather peppy today) at the northern end of David's Island, near a largish shoal. We pass a group of anglers in a large open-deck wooden boat. Two land fish - smallish, and silver, but I cannot make out the type - as I watch. We then cross a fairly wide channel and pull up onto the beach of Whortleberry Island (some maps call it Huckleberry Island, instead). The cover has interesting rock formations and a stunning view of the sound. I spend a few minutes roaming around taking pictures of the rocks (more grey gneiss and pink granite), some rather faint glacial scratches, the birds (more gulls and cormorants), the vegetation and the the view. A patch of asparagus is growing on the beach - certainly an odd place for what I think of as a domesticated vegetable! We sit on the beach for a half hour or so, enjoying the weather and eating some snacks. We then paddle back to the mainland, heading straight for the big lawn on Davenport Park. Being in a playful mood, I stow my paddle and use only my hands (still arriving first, or course). A wedding party is standing on the shore of the park as we arrive. A photographer is snapping photos. We then paddle back south, passing behind Glen Island into the channel there, which is lined with many pleasure boats and yachts. We pass under the Glenn Island draw bridge. Lee is amused by a large wooden schooner that is flying the Jolly Rogers. It matches the insignia on an old hat that he found on Whortleberry Island. We make no more stops, for the afternoon is waining, but rather paddle straight back to the boat launch in Pelham Bay Park, reaching it at about 6PM. About four and a half hours, overall. My 98th day of kaying of the year.