We were supposed to be a group of five, but two of the guys couldn't make it this morning. So Gary, Tony, and I met before 10 am, geared up, paddled out the marina, and pointed our bows into the bit of southwest wind and rain that there was, and headed toward Topsail Beach.
The plan was to paddle up to, maybe beyond Topsail Beach unless the higher winds forecasted came up and then we would just turn back and ride the following sea back.
There was rock hopping on the way. Tony and I were in our fibreglass kayaks so there were some places Gary had all to himself...
And then our three-kayak parade got rained on... but there were no complaints, only smiles...
We reached Topsail Beach the wind still had not increased but it was still raining a little so we had a snack under the gazebo where it was dry...
We discussed paddling over to little Bell Island, then over to Bell Island. Instead we decided we would just paddle up the shore to Manuals...
The water from Manuals River flows into a pond (called Bubble Pond) and then into the ocean at Manuals Head. When we reached Manuals Head, Tony told us that the pond behind the beach (hidden from our view) was the first place he had tried his first kayak. It was a bit windy that day and he could hardly turn the kayak and, at the time, wondered if he had made a mistake in buying it... If you follow my blog, or you know Tony, you'll know he has no regrets now in his purchase back then.
I asked if it was worth carrying our kayak over the beach to paddle up the pond. He said it was and we made quick work of it...
... and had a great little pond kayaking excursion, adding just 2.5 kilometres to the day...
From the pictures above I hope you'll agree it was worth it to paddle up the pond. We carried our kayaks back across the beach to the salt water and we headed back to St. Philips, passing some divers at Lower Horse Cove on the way...
I find I often take fewer pictures on the return leg of a paddle, or sometimes stop taking pictures altogether. So I intentionally took a couple pics of the guys before we got back to St. Philips...
Well, today is only August 4th and this is already my third paddle this month. On Thursday past we had calm conditions and our practice session turned into a paddle to Topsail Beach and back. And on Friday evening past we had our annual club night paddle out of Avondale, but and I had forgot to take my camera!
Next weekend there is another club camping trip planned. I'll have to make sure I have my camera for that one...
Nice pic of Gary on the rocks. Good to see someone other than you or me trying to get through :)
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