2017: Post 13 – Whales are still around

Last evening Shane, Ron, and I floated with the whales in Witless Bay.  

On the paddle along the shore to meet up with Ron, we encountered an eagle...

Some pics and a video of some of the whales....

... and a shot of Ron and Shane...

When Shane and I arrived back near the take-out we patiently waited for the scattered wave to try to catch a surf...

It was a fun couple of hours.

2017: Post 12 – Cancelled Club Paddle and a Kayak Sail

Shane had planned a club paddle in Cape Broyle for yesterday, however the weather did not cooperate so he postponed the event until another nicer day.  A few of us decided we would head down to Cape Broyle for a paddle anyway...  no leader, no waivers, no sweeps, no problem.

It was relatively calm in the bottom of the bay but as we paddled further out we were exposed to more wind and wave.  Shane made a good call on holding off the club paddle... it was damp and chilly and he would of had to keep paddlers in the relative shelter of the bay close to the put-in... people would not have enjoyed that too much as the interesting parts of Cape Broyle are further out....

Anyway, here's a few pics...

I had researched kayak sails a few years ago and had narrowed my choices down to Flat Earth Sails or Falcon Sails.... I had just purchased my Nordkapp at the time and my thought was to possibly buy a sail and mount it on my Sirocco... but then I sold my Sirocco and couldn't bring myself to put holes in North Cape Jenny...

I was pleased when I had heard that Eugene had bought a sail last fall and looked forward to getting a look at it.  He bought a Flat Earth Sail but hasn't used it much.  When we got back to the bottom of the bay, where there was less wind and chop, he put the sail up and let the wind help carry him along...

I think once he gets used to using the sail he will have a lot of fun with it...

2017: Post 11 – My second camping trip

A couple year's ago a few of us paddled the lower Gander River... pick here for that blog entry.  After that trip some of us decided we would do the Northwest Gander River (often called the Upper Gander) in the future...  soooo....

On June 9 five of us drove out to the Bay d'Espoir Highway for a put-in on the Northwest Gander River.  Clyde, Cathy, and I stayed with the kayaks and gear while Hazen and Gary did the car shuttle to leave a vehicle at the take-out.  In hind-sight we should have taken a third car and just dropped it off on the way, saving us the car Shuttle on Friday... No matter though, I am sure by now those of us who stayed with the gear and those who drove have forgotten about the length of time it took...

While waiting for the guys to return we packed all the kayaks so the boys would not have to deal with it when they returned.

Clyde

Cathy taking it easy

It was right around 5:30 pm when we got on the water....

Clyde sitting in a little eddy, waiting for the guys to catch up

We paddled for a couple hours and found a great campsite.

Cathy loves camping....

By the time we had set up camp and relaxed a little, darkness was on us and supper was made with headlamps strapped on... 

It began raining after our camp was set up and we didn't bother with a campfire.  We had a long day since leaving town early in the morning and we didn't stay up late.

The next morning we took our time with breakfast and breaking camp.  It was after 9 am when we took to the water.

Gary

I was having a rough day and so I didn't take many pics during the day's paddle.. but here's a little video clip of Clyde and Hazen...

We found a camp site about 5:30 pm and settled in to camp life - get into dry clothes, set up tents, have supper, collect firewood... 

Hazen brought some Jiffy-pop but it didn't go so well... looking at the charred remains of what was to be a snack around the campfire I was really missing Neville and Shane on this trip.  If you don't know the reason for missing these guys read this blog entry - pick here.

I don't remember what time we went to sleep but it wasn't very late and so we were up early.

 I don't think it was much past 7 am when we got on the water.  A short two hour-ish paddle put us at the take-out at Gander Lake.

Clyde, Hazen, and I drove back to get Gary's car, leaving Cathy and Gary to look after the gear and do a little paddling in the area.  By the time we got back, dealt with a little mishap, and got on the road it was time to get an early supper at the closest Irving where we reminisced about the fun we had over the weekend...  

It was fun.  We had some laughs and have a few stories to tell around future campfires... but the stories and laughter will really only mean something to those of us who did the trip, those who didn't come along will just have to pretend they didn't miss another good trip...

2017: Post 10 – My first camping trip for the year

On the weekend of June 3rd and 4th a few of us spent some time at the Ruins in Terra Nova River.  We paddled Sat afternoon, camped for the night, and then paddled again on Sunday morning.... 

A couple pics of the guys...

Clyde

Brian and Shane

The walk back to the cars from the take-out

Our campfire for the evening

A few video's of the guys taking turns surfing on a little wave...

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I've had a Scarp1 Tarptent for several years now and have been very happy with it.  So when I decided to get a new backpacking tent earlier this year I went back to Tarptent and decided on the Notch.  I brought it to use for the first time on this  particular paddling trip.

My new  Notch

After I set up the tent I went around it tightening things up and heard a "rrrrrip."  The corner of the inner nest had torn!!  I think if the tent was another brand I may have been pissed about it, but I knew that somehow, in some way, Henry Shires (the owner of Tarptent) would take care of me.

On Monday afternoon last week, after the trip, I e-mailed Tarptent and this was the response from Henry Shires... 

"That’s not good. I’ve never seen a tear like that on a Notch corner but maybe the fabric was just too perforated. In any event, I’m sending you another one.  When it arrives would you please post the one back (regular mail) and we’ll reimburse you for the cost."

From the time I initially e-mailed Tarptent on Monday afternoon to when I received a notification that the package was in the U.S. mail, slightly more than two and a half hours had passed!!!  The package showed up at the end of last week. 

Why did I order another Tarptent product when I went looking for a backpacking tent?  The answer is because I have enjoyed my Scarp1 and found it to be a very good product.  Why will I buy another Tarptent product in the future if I buy another tent.  The answer is that I know the Notch will be equally enjoyed as has been the Scarp1, and will prove to be another great product, but now I have also experienced first-hand the customer service that Henry Shires provides to his customers, and how he stands behind his products.

2017: Post 9 – Iceberg

Hazen proposed we meet at St. Philips and go check out the iceberg near Kelley's Island.  So we congregated at the suggested time but Hazen didn't show up.  We figured he was running late so we just took our time and paddled to the berg and figured he would catch up.  

A few pics of the iceberg...

While we were hanging around Hazen finally showed up; he was just running a little late.  We hung around the berg a little while longer and then took our time and headed back.

2017: Post 8 – More fun in our short boats

On Saturday past some of us spent the day at the Ruins (see previous post).  We had a lot of fun.  At last night's Wednesday evening practice, Shane, Brian and I got back in our short boats for some more fun at St. Philips...

Some pics and video clips to share...

We all enjoy doing a little rock-hopping in our long kayaks, but in these short boats the maneuverability just makes the experience so much more fun...