2011: Post 32 – This years club night paddle

The first summer that I bought my kayak I read on the KNL Calendar of Events that there was a scheduled night paddle in August.  I remember thinking to myself “why in the hell would anybody want to paddle around in the dark?”  Well I went on that night paddle and found out why people do it… I don’t believe I have missed any of the club’s August night paddles since.

Last night (Friday 12^th) nine of us met at the wharf in Avondale for a scheduled put-in at 8 pm.  Myself and Hazen decided to drive out a little early to get a little water time before everyone showed up.  We were geared up just as people started to arrive and we got on the water while the others got ready.

Hazen ready to go just as Alex and Cecilia arrive (about 7:30 pm)

Hazen and I got in a couple kilometers wating for the others...

With glow-sticks attached to our sterns so we can keep track of each other in the darkness, eight of us floated on the water, waiting for our leader, Alex.  But I think it was about 8:30 pm before we got under way...

We took the usual route for this trip. We paddled up the east side of the shore, and then crossed over to Ballyhack point.  From there we paddled back down the shore a little way and then crossed over to the west side of Conception Harbour to have a look at the shipwrecks that are there.  We floated around shining flashlights into the darkness of the water below so we could see the submerged wreckage just below the surface.  From there we crossed back over and then paddled into Middle Arm.  There was a lady on one of the boats there that was very excited about seeing us.  She told us how amazing it was to see all the kayaks with the glow-sticks floating around in the dark…

We then paddled north along the shore, came around Ballyhack Point, and pulled up on the little beach there for our usual rest spot.  Alex got a little fire going and some of the participants roasted marshmallows. We sat around, talked, had a few laughs, had a snack, and wondered why more people did not join us.   Then we got back into our kayaks and paddled the short distance back to Avondale….

A nice little fire on the beach...

 

It was a near perfect night for the paddle.  The wind was non-existent for most of the paddle, except for a little breeze blowing into our faces as we paddled back to the wharf in Avondale. The sky was overcast so we could not see the stars and the full moon.  So we had to make do with being amazed at the bioluminescence in the water; which was spectacular in certain places along our route.  If you have not experienced bioluminescence in a kayak before, that alone is worth the trip.

Here are a few of the guys I regularly paddle with that came on the night paddle... it was fun to paddle with you guys in the dark...

Hazen

Tobias

Sean

This is not a long trip in terms of distance – generally about ten kilometers on the water.  From the time we leave the wharf in Avondale, paddle the route, listen to Alex tell a few stories, have some laughs, have a fire on the beach, and then get back to Avondale, four or five hours will pass by.  Add another couple hours getting your gear ready and loaded on the car, drive out to Avondale, unload it, get on the water, and then do it all in reverse order to get back home… 

Well, it does seem like a lot of effort.  But the purpose of this trip is not to see how far you can travel in your kayak or to see sheer cliffs and eagles or whales… there are other days for those types of paddles.  The Avondale night trip is a social paddle.  It is about experiencing paddling in the dark in sheltered conditions (often for those who have never paddled in the dark before), looking at shipwrecks by dark of night, having a fire on the beach, and sharing a few laughs with fellow paddlers.  It is about experiencing kayaking in a way that cannot be experienced during a paddle by day...

Thanks to all who showed up and thanks to Alex for leading this paddle every year.