Bull Island - November 2026

There’s nothing quite like heading back out to Bull Island.

Gusto and Helpdesk made the return trip this year. On paper, the weather looked ideal, but the water told a slightly different story on the way out. A front had pushed through overnight, and we caught the lingering tail end of it. Usually, you get calm water in the morning and take your chances with the wind picking up in the afternoon, but today had it backward. We took a steady headwind the entire way out, churning up a modest chop with a few whitecaps scattered here and there. Nothing treacherous, just enough to make you earn every paddle stroke. 

To keep things interesting, Gusto started having skeg issues.  The cross winds pushed us right and while my kayak didn't have much issue Gusto's did. We decided to head to the ferry dock and tried pulling up to see if we could check the skeg. That idea was short-lived—scrambling up onto a high dock from a kayak is an awkward chore, and dropping back down into the cockpit without taking an accidental swim is even worse. After a couple of clumsy attempts, we called it off. Rather than risk dumping gear, we decided to tough it out and keep moving toward the island.

The call paid off. As the morning wore on, the wind began laying down and the chop smoothed out into an easy roll. We pulled up onto a quiet stretch of hard-packed sand, dragged the boats above the tide line, and finally sat down to enjoy a well-earned lunch.

The trip out was 6.9 miles with the detour to the dock.  But even then it just took about 2 hours to make the journey

I took my little Neo drone this trip and captured a little footage.   The wind wasn't too bad but the little guy was fighting it from time to time. I forgot the phone I have connected to it so we were only able to use the options on the drone for follow and circle etc.   I couldn't really fly it the way I wanted but hey, we will be back and I'll be more prepared.  I'm going to buy a case for it so I can keep it all together. 

Here is the route we took back.  It was a little shorter and we had never done this one before.  It returned us via Anderson Creek.  

 

Entering Anderson Creek

As you come up from the south and make that left-hand turn into Anderson Creek, the current will likely be ripping if the tide is still flooding.

1. Watch the Corners: The points where these creeks intersect are hot spots for hidden oyster bars that project out into the water. Give the marsh points a wide berth as you make your turn.
2. Hug the South Bank: Once inside the mouth of Anderson Creek, stick closer to the southern bank (on your left) where the firmer shell bottom creates a slightly more predictable channel line.

It was a great trip as always and being in a Kayak really helped with some of the shallow waters. 

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