Day 5
NorthWest Cape to ClubHouse Beach
14 miles


While the winds are light in the moring, we know they we build from the east so we head to LAke INgrham. The tide is still moving out as we head into the cut to gain entrance to the Lake. The first few miles of the Lake are beautiful with LOTS of birds feeding. As we move inland, the low tide revelas a mostly drained lake with mud surronding us and a narrow channel that is passable for boast. The Lake is about 6 miles long.




As we get to the east end, the winds pick up and the tide starts to flow in. We make it back into the Gulf and immediately hit the wind and waves, agin crashing into us. This time I am ready for it and the wind is a bit less strong than yesterday. We head about a mile or two east and eventually find a nice beach to land and set up camp. The beaches here are different than directly on Cape Sable. The beaches are in small pockets, with mangroves delineating each end. Also, inland from the narrow strip of beach is a strange dried up lake bed that had a rather mushy feel as you walk on it.




Again, about 2 hours after we make camp, our Michigan friends arrive and camp about 1/2 mile to our west. They had a harder time and hit stronger winds and bad tides as they crossed Lake Ingraham. We enjoyed our last night camping along the Gulf. We knew that we would get an early start the next day since the entire paddle is exposed in the gulf and headed due east into the wind.



Next Day