2016: Post 9 – Easter Sunday Paddle

Shane was anxious to get on the water today so he sent an email out.  No definite takers but I let him know it was a good possibility but I would decide in the morning.  Derek was in the same situation.  But this morning we both confirmed we were in and met Shane at the slipway in St. Philips.

There was some indecision as to what direction - to Portugal Cove or Topsail Beach.  Nobody had any preference... we all were just happy to be on the water on such a splendid Easter Sunday.  We finally decided to paddle toward Portugal and set off down the shore...

We did not paddle hard, there was no reason to, and it seemed that it took no time at all to discover ourselves  at Portugal Cove.  We sort of followed the shore around the cove and then decided we would just keep paddling up the shore a little way.  

Derek and I had been to Brocks Pond Falls before, but Shane had not, and so we decided that would be our destination.  

The fact that it was such a nice day with the wind low made the paddling easy and, again, it seemed it took no time and we were at the falls.  

We haven't had any rain lately and a lot of the snow has already melted away and so the falls were not overly spectacular this day.  Nonetheless, it was good to be there again; I consulted my log-book and the last time I had been there was March 28 of last year - a full year has passed!!

We hung around the falls for a little while and paddled back to Portugal Cove where we got out for a stretch and a snack before heading back to St. Philips.

It was such a relatively nice warm day that we didn't have to don jackets and gloves when we took off our drysuits and packed up our gear back at the cars... we agreed that today was our reward for all the cold days we've paddled over the last few months...

It was an absolutely splendid day on the water.

2016: Post 8 – St. Philips to Topsail Beach

A few days ago there was an email from The Austrian (Tobias) seeing if there was any interest in paddling on Good Friday.  The weather was calling for wind so we had to wait for a final decision later on Thursday.

The winds were to subside Friday afternoon so Tony suggested a run from St. Philips to Topsail Beach after lunch and he put the word out.  

Only Tobias, Tony and I committed to the paddle... everyone else was busy with Good Friday type stuff... C'mon people, how often to you get a chance to paddle on Good Friday, consequently turning it into Better Friday... or as Tony likes to call it, Best Friday.

Well anyway, here are a few pics I took along the way... 

It was a chilly afternoon, but the wind was low and we had a nice relaxing paddle.

[This was the first time I had paddled with Jenny since Feb 21st!!!  ...and the second time I've paddled with Tobias this year!!!]

2016: Post 7 – St. Philips

Three of us decided to take advantage of the bit of northwest wind yesterday morning.... so we went to St. Philips to do a little bit of play and practice...

I didn't take many pics but here's a few...

And here's a short video clip... 

It was just a couple hours of mucking about, but it was fun and entertaining.