2015: Post 13 – Tors Cove to La Manche

Gerard was looking for a paddle out of Tors Cove, so Clyde and I met the G-man this morning and headed to the put-in.  

It was quite foggy so we made a plan to hand-rail the shoreline down to La Manche.  We figured the fog would be burned off after lunch and maybe we would check out Great Island on the paddle back.  We poked our way down to La Manche, really taking our sweet time.  

There was no wind but a decent swell was running and it made for some fun paddling in places along the way.  I think it took us about two and a half hours to get there...

Some pics...

The put-in

This slot had been buried in snow but the water had tunneled
it out below making for an interesting feature to paddle through

If there's a rock Clyde is likely to paddle inside of it

Gerard

Heading into Bauline East

Arriving at La Manche

C'mon Gerard... pretend you're happy

After lunch we headed back along the shore.  I was on a bit of a time limit and so we decided to leave the islands for another day... perhaps we shouldn't have dallied so much on the way down to La Manche...  

We figured we might get in one or two more paddles this year so I'm sure we'll get back this way and will make it out to Great Island on another day.

2015: Post 12 – Trying out my new paddle

This morning Tony and I were able to do a short paddle so we met at St. Philips and paddled up to Topsail Beach.  My new paddle showed up yesterday and I naturally had to try it out this morning.  

I arrived at the slipway earlier than planned and so I got on the water and paddled around the cove trying to get the feel of the new paddle before we got underway.  Before long Tony showed up and we headed off to Topsail Beach.  

I didn't take many pictures.  It was a bit gnarly for a good ways up to Topsail Beach and I figured I would just concentrate on my paddle strokes.

Here's a few I did take...

Gearing up at the slipway

Almost at Topsail Beach

Getting back on the water after a little stretch

Tony taking the more bouncy path around this rock

The verdict on the Shuna paddle... I can't say I didn't like it.  In fact i did not mind it; it just felt awkward.  There were times today that I found myself wishing I had my Greenland paddle in my hands but I know that is just because I am so used to it.  However, there were other times, like in the shallower water around rocks, that I was glad to have it in my hands... 

I can't say I would want to use it on an all day touring type of paddle, but on a shorter paddle like today, when we are just kind of ticking along and doing a little playing along the shore, I can see myself using it more, even in the Nordkapp.  

I plan to use this paddle for my upcoming paddles so I can get use to it before the Karma RG shows up (hopefully before April is over).  Of course my Greenland paddle will sit on my front deck and I can always switch to it if I feel the need.

2015: Post 11 – A new paddle

I bought a new paddle… a Euro paddle, of all things.  What now!   What’s this?  Why has a die-hard Greenland paddle user and advocate of over five years bought a paddling shovel?  Well the real answer is that I bought another kayak… a plastic one.

Initially I was thinking on a Delphin, but soon decided a crossover kayak would be more to my liking… something shorter and maneuverable, something I could use for those shorter paddles when we aren't going anywhere in particular… something I won't mind banging against, or over, a rock or two... something plastic.

I began my on-line search and short-listed a few crossovers.  As I read reviews and investigated, my number one choice quickly became the Pyranha Fusion with the white-water outfitting.  Then I came across the Jackson Karma RG and started reading up on it. 

One of the reviews I found on the RG was by Bill Vonnegut and Lily Kelsey of Neptune’s Rangers... click here.   One line in particular tipped the scales away from the Fusion.  Mr. Vonnegut says of the Karma RG that it “seems like they took the small things that I did not like about my other boats and made them all go away, leaving the Karma with nothing left to change.”

Well, I am certainly not an expert on kayaks or their design, and I am definitely nowhere near being an expert kayaker, but the RG seemed to me like a fun kayak to have.  I found a very good deal on a new one from The Complete Paddler, placed my order at the end of January, and am anticipating its arrival toward the end of April. 

Initially I had a red one on my mind like above.. but when it came
time to place the order I chose a colour they call Wolverine - it's
a combination of blue, white, and yellow

Okay, so how about that Euro paddle…

Since ordering the RG I have been contemplating the motor.  I use my Greenland paddle for the bit of coastal playing and rock hoping that I do in my Nordkapp;  I have to… it is what I paddle with after all.  But I do not feel that the ‘skinny stick’ is the best choice of paddle for a shorter kayak, or especially in the shallower water closer to shore among the rocks.  I can’t count the number of times I have I bounced my GP off of a rock!

After more on-line reading and searching I finally decided on a paddle; a bent shaft Werner Shuna, a mid-sized blade toted as “the perfect paddle for the coastal play environment.”  I found a very good price on one from The Kayak Exchange and have put in the order for it.  However, it will arrive long before the RG shows up.  

I guess if I want to try out this new paddle before the RG arrives I will just have to ask Jenny if she minds me using the Euro blade for a paddle, or two…  Who knows, she just might like the variety... 

When I came home today I looked at my driveway and thought that perhaps instead of a new kayak and paddle I should have put the money toward new pavement... but then my next thought was that 'Charlie' just might be the one to have to take care of that...

2015: Post 10 – The same but different

The weather was supposed to be poor this morning (rain and freezing rain), but the winds were to be low.  We decided to go to St. Philips with no plan in place other than to meet at 10 am.

I arrived twenty minutes early but Clyde and Terry were already there.  Before long Tony and Neville showed up.

Terry had thoughts on his mind of a fibreglass kayak and so I let him take Jenny for a little spin while Neville and Tony finished getting ready...

We decided to head up to Portugal Cove, taking our time, poking our way along the shore...

At Portugal Cove we decided to take out for a little stretch and a snack...  

It was such a nice day so we decided to continue up to Brock's Pond Falls...

At the falls we hung around for a bit, had a few laughs, and then headed back to St. Philips....

Tony and I did this paddle last weekend with Gerard (see previous post).  Along the way we discussed how it was the same coastline but how it felt like a different paddle from last week... the temperature was warmer, there was no wind, the water was flat calm, and a lot of the ice and snow had melted away.  Today felt like our first spring paddle.

2015: Post 9 – Snowshoes, paddling, and damage to Jenny..

We had a good bit of snow last week, so when I came home from work yesterday (Friday) I decided it was time to dig out my shed. I walked along the side of the house sinking into the snow.  Seemed like it was a good time to finally try out the snowshoes I had given myself as a Christmas present...  I beat down a path to the shed and shoveled out the entrance, then walked around the backyard for a while.  The snowshoes worked well, keeping me afloat on the deep snow.

Faber Green Mountain snowshoes (or Elongated
Bear Paws if you prefer) with heavy duty lacing

Looking down on my shed

Okay, so now on to the paddling... 

Tony, Gerard and I meet for the second weekend in a row this morning.  Today we decided to paddle from St. Philips up to Brock's Pond Falls.  With the cold weather we've had we were hoping for interesting landscape features at the falls...

The snow allowed us to drag the kayaks
from the cars to the put-in

There was a bit of slob-ice
along the beach at St. Philips

I jokingly told Tony to try to knock this big icicle
off the cliffs so I could get a good picture... next thing I
knew he took a whack at it with his paddle and knocked
off the pointy tip!!!

The falls weren't as spectacular as I had hoped. All this
snow we had covered over whatever ice there may have been

Looking toward Bell Island

Back at Portugal Cove, after nearly three hours in the kayaks since
leaving St. Philips, we decided it was time for a break  

Tony

Gerard

At some point on the way up to the falls the water sucked out from under me and dropped me a bit hard down on a rock.  I said to Tony if he sees the back of my kayak sinking down we'll know why... Last week I sustained some damage around the skeg as well... Oh the horror!!

The damage from today

The damage from last week

Looks like I have a little bit of repair work to do when the weather warms up later in the spring...

2015: Post 8 – Ice Paddle

Gerard suggested a paddle in Tors Cove for today... maybe around the islands and on to Lamanche.  The last time I paddled with the G-man was back in October!!!

Its been cold the last few days and during the drive down this morning we could see the bays were caught over with a thin layer of ice.   I began to wonder what ice might be waiting for us at Tors Cove...

Standing on the beach we could see the ice around the islands.  We decided we would put in and see what the paddling would be like.  If nothing else, we would spend a couple hours in the immediate vicinity; time on the water is always well spent, even if you can't get very far.

We paddled around the outside of Fox Island...

And then headed over to Great Island...

The closer we got to Great Island the thicker the ice became, causing us to have to paddle harder to try to get through.  The ice became thick enough that we had to finally concede to "Uncle" and then turned our bows toward Ship Island where the ice thinned out as we paddled farther away from Great Island...

We skirted the southern end of Ship Island and made a bee-line to Pee Pee Island...

From Pee Pee we crossed over to the mainland, then over to Seal Cove....

Green ice hung peculiarly to the cliffs
on this St. Paddy's Day weekend

We paddled to Bauline East before heading back to Pee Pee Island and decided to paddle around it and then headed back over to Ship Island, where we go out for a lunch time snack...

I didn't take any more pictures after we got back on the water, but we decided to paddle around Ship Island, passing our lunch beach again.  From Ship Island we paddle back over to Fox Island and a circumnavigation of the little island before heading back to the cars.

Well we didn't paddle very far as the crow flies.  If you draw a straight line from the put-in to about the point where we turned away from Great Island, then to Bauline East, and back to the take-out it is only a triangle of seven or eight kilometers.  But with the weaving from island to island, and our circumnavigations of the three islands (Pee Pee, Fox and Ship) we covered a respectable distance of sixteen kilometers.

It was a fantastic way to spend a few hours on a chilly morning with good paddling buddies.