I went to the riverfront yesterday morning and paddled the surfski out on the Mississippi. There was no barge traffic nearby, so it was just some steady paddling. Maybe the most interesting thing was back at the dock, where some ducks I'd never seen before were hanging out. I was surprised at how close they let me get with my camera:
Today I paddled the surfski on the river again, and it was, quite simply, awesome. When I got to the mouth of the harbor there was a barge rig down below the old bridges, coming upstream. I paddled around a while until it reached the downtown Memphis area, and then headed for its wake. What followed was as good a surfing session as I've ever had on the Memphis riverfront. It was at least as good as this session in May of 2020, and maybe even better because while the conditions five years ago gave me nice extended rides, the conditions today challenged me to work each wave either to stay on it or to link onto another wave. I was in my relatively stable V10 Sport ski, and I was pushing that stability to its limit. A couple of times I thought for sure I was going over, but each time I executed a timely lean to stay upright.
Eventually the towboat left me behind and the waves petered out. It was shaping up into a very hot day, but at least I'd found a wet, fun way to spend part of it. I returned to the harbor for the two-kilometer paddle back to the dock under a blazing sun. I cooled off by practicing some remounts, and then back at the dock I took a cool hose bath and savored the endorphin rush from all the hard paddling I'd done.
It looks like we're in for some more oppressive heat between now and my departure for Arizona. Arizona will be hot too, of course, but at least out there it's a dry heat.
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