Although I really needed to get some more miles on the bike, I was in the mood for paddling. And after 14 miles of Lake Drummond, I was also ready for something a bit less “glassy”. I decided to head down to the Outer Banks so I pulled out my copy of Pam Malec’s “Guide To Sea Kayaking In North Carolina” for some ideas. The Collington Island area (just west of Kill Devil Hillls) looked interesting so I loaded up my gear, grabbed a cup of coffee and headed off.

I arrived at the launch site about 9AM. A nice parking area with a short path to the water. I headed northeast, paddling between Little Collington Island and Bum Point Island, coming around to the northern point of Sloop Island. Heading southwest toward the northern end of Big Collington Island, there was a bit of chop and wind – but not too bad. The wind was out of the southeast, so the turn toward Rhodoms Point brought slightly bigger swells (1 to 2 feet). Just north of Rhodoms Point there’s a nice little beach area where I stopped for lunch.

Rounding Rhodoms Point, I began heading directly into the wind. If I’d been paying a bit more attention to the weather forecast, I would probably have either done this loop in a clockwise direction or maybe just stayed to the east and circled Little Collington Island. Oh well – it was definitely a workout. Finally reaching the southern tip of Collington Island, I coasted up what I believe is called “Collington Cut” back to the launch site for a total of 8.8 miles.

I have to agree with Pam Malec that this is a very “paddler friendly” area. Lots of route options, diverse conditions, and pretty nice scenery. I highly recommend it.

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