2012: Post 29 - Night Club Paddle

For some time now Alex McGruer has lead a KNL night club paddle out of Avondale.  The last three years Tony Roestenberg has organized a second yearly venture into paddling in the darkness.  I missed Alex's night paddle this year, but did not miss Tony's Harvest Moon Paddle...

Last night 15 club members in 13 kayaks (we had two doubles) showed up for a moonlight paddle from St. Philips to Topsail Beach... It's difficult to get good pics in the dark but here's a few to share...

Ron gearing up

Julie

Gary

Tony

Sean and Cheryl

Alex

Brian and Sue

Always nice to have a fire on the beach...

Sean and Cheryl purchased a new double kayak just a little while ago.  While coming back from Topsail Beach I noticed Cheryl had stopped paddling and was letting Sean do all the work... I pulled alongside and joked that Sean only bought the double so that Cheryl could be his 'spare paddle holder'... All in jest, guys...

Sean's spare paddle holder...

Hazen

Thanks to everyone who showed up; it was a great night and lots of fun.  Also, see Tony's blog entry on last nights paddle...

2012: Post 28 - Bell Island, the long way...

During my second summer of paddling I paddled around Bell Island with Brian, Tony, and Derrick.   I remember that paddle well... I was a paddling newbie then and was not efficient in my forward stroke, nor my paddling skills in general.  But they invited me and I went... We took the ferry over, paddled around the island, and then took the ferry back.  It's the day I sometimes jokingly refer to as "the day they tried to kill me..."   

For a while we have talked about paddling around Bell Island again.  But instead of taking the ferry over and back, we would do it by leaving St. Philips, paddle over, do a complete circumnavigation, and then back to St. Philips.  Tony, Brian, Hazen, and I met yesterday morning in St. Philips to paddle around Bell island, the long way...

Pictures to share...

Brian checking out Bell Island 

The island from St. Philips

The conditions allowed us to do the crossing in under 40 minutes

We took out on a beach at Dominion Pier for a few minutes and decided on a clockwise circumnavigation of the island...

The view just past The Beach

Hazen was left high and dry while trying to get
through a cave/tunnel at Eastern Head

Tony has a geology degree and must find
this a very interesting paddle to do

Hazen and Brian

Tony

Caves

The other three guys must have stopped to chat or something because I found myself a little ahead of them by the time I reached the caves in the above picture.  I contemplated getting out of my kayak but the rocks looked slippery.  So I continued past them and when I came around a little stack there was a tunnel in the face of the cliff.  The other guys were back a way so I decided to get out and check it out... 




The tunnel was built complete with protection from falling rocks...



View from the tunnel entrance 

I walked about halfway through the tunnel to the point where the wooden supports/roof stopped.  There was an opening at the other end.  I was thinking that without the wooden structure in place to prevent rocks from falling from the tunnel roof maybe it would not be wise to continue through... so I turned and went back...



The light at the end of the tunnel...

The guys were still not in view; they had stopped at the caves where Tony had gotten out for a look.  I got back on the water and paddled further to have a look at the other end of the tunnel.  At the other end there were a bunch of people in hard hats and safety vests on the beach.  They must have been very interested in the something because I paddled by them, turned on my camera, took a couple pictures of them, and floated there for a couple minutes until the the other guys came along.  Not once did they look in my direction... When Tony seen them he headed right for the beach, got out and had a chat to them... they were geology students on a field trip...

Students so engrossed in their findings that they
did not notice a guy in a yellow kayak paddling by... 

We paddled onward and then finally The Bell of Bell Island was in site...lunch was close at hand...

Tony and The Bell

Lunch beach just past The Bell

We had the wind on our beam as we paddled across the western end of Bell island...

Brian and Hazen

Tony

 

When we arrived at Dominion Pier we took out on the same beach we had taken out on earlier in the morning.  Our circumnavigation of the island was complete... We rested for a while and then made the crossing back to St. Philips.

Thanks guys for another great paddling adventure.

2012: Post 27 - A Foggy paddle in Bay Bulls

Gerard put an open invitation on the paddling newsgroup to see if there was enough interest to do a paddle out of Bay Bulls today.  Counting Gerard, there were just six of us that met for the put-in.  It was foggy, almost no wind, and a bit of swell that made for a little bit of paddling fun...

Some pics to share....

Heading up the South side of Bay Bulls...

Julie

Ron and Clyde

 ... and then there were caves to explore....

Lesley and Julie

Gerard in a bit of a tight spot

Julie

People coming and going...

... and of course we had to take-out for a lunch break...

Ron giving Lesley a hand on the landing

Getting ready to get back on the water

... and then there were more caves...

Ron and Julie

Everyone backed into a corner of this cave...

When we arrived at Bear Cove, in Witless Bay, Ron decided he would paddle solo onward to the community of  Witless Bay where he lives; the water was calm in the bay and he felt comfortable paddling the couple of kilometers on his own.  The rest of us, now a pod of five paddlers, all using Greenland paddles I must add, turned and retraced our path back to Bay Bulls...

Lesley (foreground) and Julie (background) finding some headland swell...

Clyde and Gerard, both paddling Nordkapp LV's

Julie and Lesley

...and then, five hours later, we were suddenly back where we started...

Julie

Lesley

Clyde

 ... and of course the guy who started this paddle in motion...
  

Gerard

Thanks Gerard, for suggesting this paddle and opening it up to everyone.  It is these types of paddles that allow paddlers to try new things, like different kayaks and Greenland paddles, and to have some fun in a bit of active water under the gaze of others who are ready to help out if the need should arise.  And thanks to Julie, Ron, Lesley, and Clyde as well for a really fun, fun, kayaking day... 

 

2012: Post 26 - Cape Spear

I have only been to Cape once before... You have to pick your day when you do this paddle.  But the weatherman promised a good day so Tony, Clyde, Hazen and I met at Quidi Vidi for a 9:30 am put-in...

We hand-railed the shore, stopping in Freshwater Bay where a salmon jumped for us near the little river emptying out of Freshwater Bay Pond.  We contined along the shore and took out in Deadman's Bay for an early lunch.... Then back in the boats, crossing Blackhead Bay and Cape Bay to Cape Spear.

While mulling around at the Cape, Des, Linda, and Gerard showed up.  They had put in at Petty Harbour and were doing a one-way paddle to Quidi Vidi. 

From the Cape we made a bee-line back to the entrance of Quidi Vidi.

Pics from the day....

Hazen seal launching off the slipway

Hazen and Clyde crossing the entrance of St. John's Harbour

Tony paddling through what I believe is called 'The Chest"

A 'behind-the-back' shot of Hazen and Clyde

Hazen and Tony heading for Spriggs Point

Lunch in Deadman's Bay...
"C'mon Hazen, were ready to go!"

"Clyde, how you gonna get that new FG kayak of yours off this beach"?
"Well Hazen, I'm gonna wait to see how Tony does it...."

"Do it like this Clyde...."

"No, I'm just gonna seal launch... no point wasting a perfectly good keel strip!!"

And at the Cape....

Clyde

Hazen



Linda and Tony



Des
(Hazen, Gerard, and Clyde behind)

 

Gerard

...back at Quidi Vidi, safe and sound... 

Tony paddling past the stages

Clyde and Hazen back on the slipway

It was a great day with sunshine and enough wind to make it a fun day on the water.  Thanks guys for another great paddle.