2019 - Post 16 - St. Philips to Portugal Cove

Hazen put together a quick little paddle for last Saturday (October 19)... It did my kayaking soul good when I seen that ten of us showed up on relatively short notice... 

I tried to get a picture of each participant...  here they are:

Pam

Laura

Madison

Brian

Cathy

Gary

 

Dave

Bobby

I thought I had everyone... but discovered I had not taken a picture of my good buddy Hazen.... This is the best I can do... 

Old Wobbly (a.k.a. Hazen) is between Cathy and Dave

It was a great little October paddle and everyone seemed to of had a great time...

2019 - Post 15 - Is this the last club paddle for the year?

There was a club paddle scheduled for Sept 7 in Aquaforte; which seems to generally be the last club paddle for the calendar year.  The wind was forecast to be up in the afternoon and so it was cancelled.

On Friday afternoon Hazen and I were doing a short hike and he mentioned that maybe we should do a club paddle out of St. Philips in the morning, before the wind came up.  Good idea, buddy... He started walking around with his phone looking for a signal... he sent out an email, but wasn't sure if it got out and so found a signal further down the path and call President Dave to see if he received it... Yep, message received.

Saturday morning eleven of us congregated in St. Philips for a planned 9:30 put-in, with plans to paddle up to Portugal Cove, and back by noonish.  

Some pics to share...

Although it wasn't a long paddle, when we got to Portugal Cove we took out on a beach for a little leg-stretch and chat before heading back to St. Philips.

After the paddle half of us stopped at Bobby's (on the way back into town) for some paddle talk, refreshments, and eats... 

I don't know why we don't do this paddle more often as a club paddle.  It's a short drive for most of us to and from, and can be done in less than three hours, and that's taking our time with a beach break...

Anyway, it was a great idea Hazen... keep 'em coming.

2019 - Post 14 - Cupcake Tripping

On the weekend past five of us decided to do a little overnight kayak trip to Great Colinet Island.  I checked my log-book and the last time I was there was November 25/26, 2017!! You can check out that overnight trip by clicking HERE.

We arrived at Admirals Beach at noonish and took our time packing up the kayaks...  Well, some people packed the gear while some fueled up with pizza...

It was foggy enough that we couldn't see Great Colinet Island from the put-in beach. It's not a long crossing (maybe 1.5 kilometres), but we chose a bearing that would take up more or less directly across from Admirals Cove. 

Clyde

Brian ans Sue

We had a bit of headwind and conditions as we paddled down to Mosquito Cove, where we got out for a little break and stretch, although, per my GPS, we had only paddled less than five kilometers at this point.

The sun was out and the fog was trying to dissipate.  We discussed our options.  We would have preferred to camp in Wild Cove, but with the southerly wind we weren't convinced a safe landing on the beach in Wild Cove would be possible.  The plan was to get in our kayaks and paddle maybe another kilometer to see what conditions were like the further south we went, and then would decide to either carry on or come back to Mosquito Cove for the night....

We got on the water, paddled a ways, and decided against Wild Cove...

Back in Mosquito Cove we made camp and relaxed for a while before supper.  Brian fried up some very tasty treats (can't recall what it was called) for everyone and Sue took the roll of waitress and brought them to us as we sat in our chairs... (if anyone local is reading this, do remember to invite this couple on all your camping trips...)

Sue, Brian, and Clyde

Alison

We walked down the beach a little ways and made our suppers near one of the cabins, protected from the bit of wind.

Next thing I knew, Alison thoughtfully produced a cupcake, complete with decoration and candle, for my upcoming birthday...

With our bellies full, and the pre-Bday celebration over, we gathered up a bit of wood that was lying around the beach and had a nice little evening fire.

Clyde

Alison had brought some Jiffy-pop popcorn, which became the source of entertainment in the attempted making of, but was of little satisfaction to the taste buds.... Shane is never around when his pop-corn making skills are required....

Alison

The morning was sunny and still.

Breakfast was oatmeal for everybody, and there were raspberries nearby, ripe for the picking for those inclined... 

The plan for the day was to paddle across to, and down into, Shoal Bay. 

A couple of anxiously waiting Nordkapps

Sue and Brian

Alison

In the bottom of Shoal Bay, Clyde, Alison, and I took out on the beach for a little stretch while Sue and Brian waited...

From the beach in Shoal Bay we followed the coast back around the headland and then back up to Admirals Beach...

Clyde's paddle tip....

Brian and Sue

Alison and Clyde

Great Colinet Island has always been a fun little trip for kayak overnighters.  There is camping to be had at Regina, Mosquito Cove, or Wild Cove, so you have options depending on the winds direction and the sea state.  

Thanks to Brian, Sue, Clyde, and Alison for making this another fun little trip...

2019 - Post 13 - Camping in Rantem Harbour

I had a hiking overnight trip in my mind for this weekend.  However, on Friday Clyde suggested  another kayak camping trip (second weekend in a row, see previous post)... "The weather is good for paddling," he had said.  

I contemplated passing in favour of the hike, but decided it was best to get in the paddling when the weather cooperates since August month is nearly gone!  He sent out an invite to a bunch of people but we only ended up with two more paddlers.  Four is a very good number for a little kayak trip.

We drove to Chance Cove for the put-in Saturday morning.

There was some swell along the way to Rantem Harbour, so paddling in very close to the shore to Rantem Harbour wasn't an option. 

Once inside the harbour we were protected from the bigger swells.

We made our way down to Rantem to have a look..

We carried on...

Off the headland going into Little Southern Harbour a whale was spotted and we sat for a while waiting and watching..

Further along the shore I was ahead and spotted a nice beach for a little snack and a stretch.

Still further along there were eagles to be seen above...

... and caplin to be seen below.  If my Grandfather was on this trip he would of cocked his head to one side and said, "Dean b'y, I tink der's millions of caplin down der..."  and then he would of lowered his voice and, nodding slowly, said "... an' praps der's t'ousands too..." as he tried to contemplate how many more thousands was than millions...

Somewhere around mid-afternoon we landed at our campsite.

Per usual, the first order was to put up tents...

... but I brought my hammock on this trip and my new set of summer quilts to try out.

After supper we pitched in and gathered up some firewood for the evening.

Clyde

Allison (The Lady of the Woods)

Ken

I awoke for the last time during the night just a little past 5 am, but stayed in the hammock, listening  to the morning.  I finally had to get out to pee and walked toward the beach to see if anyone was up....

I had the place to myself! I so love these mornings when I'm the first one out.  I walked down the beach, then up the hill, following a game trail.  It took me to a spot above our campsite... 

Where there were blueberries trying to get ready... 

And Partridge berries hanging around...

... trying to figure out where the blackberries went.

When I came back down I got my breakfast on the go.  I like watching water boil in the great outdoors almost as much as I like looking into fire..

I noticed Allison's kitchen area, her artistic nature evident...

Not long after I had eaten, my companions were up and getting their own breakfast. 

We left the beach camp at 9:30 am and paddled straight across the harbour.  I was hoping to be able to handrail the coast between Chance Cove and Rantem Harbour and poke in here and there on the way back this morning.  The wind had been forecast to be low, and it was,  but the swell had intensified since yesterday.  Six minutes and an hour later we were back at the slipway in Chance Cove.

Clyde and I did this trip last year and invited a bunch of people then too, but we had no takers!  This year we had two.  Perhaps they will spread the good word about how great a trip this is and next year we will have a couple more...

Back in town I dropped off Clyde, and I headed back to the house to deal with my wet gear...