2014: Post 12 – A berg in Bay Bulls

Clyde had a few hours to spare this morning and sent out an e-mail to see if anyone was interested in a short paddle in Bay Bulls.  Only Gary and I answered the call.

I checked the Icefinder website and it was showing a berg near North Head but when we arrived in Bay Bulls it was actually on the other side off of South Head... I guess it must have moved since the last time it was entered on the site.  As we rounded the head there was a much smaller iceberg (called a 'bergy bit') against the shore and there were smaller bergy bits and little pieces of ice floating in the water.  It was evident the smaller berg and the pieces had come off of the larger iceberg... a good sign that the weather is finally warming up around here, and also a sign that these bergs are becoming unstable as they melt in the warmer weather.

I took lots of pics other than of the icebergs but figured I would just post some shots of the bergs as it was the primary focus for the morning, and there will be lots of non-ice berg pics later in the season when they have all gone from our shores....

My pics to share...

The iceberg in the distance

...getting closer

Gary

Clyde with the smaller berg near the shore

... getting closer

The iceberg looked interesting from this side...

... but not so much from this side.

Gary

Clyde

The smaller berg

An inside view of the smaller berg

Heading back toward the iceberg...

We paddled across the bay to the north side and followed the shore up to a little beach past Bread and Cheese Point where we took out for a lunch.  Clyde and Gary had a rougher landing in the surf but I lucked out as things calmed down for me to land (or maybe I was just a little more patient).  While we were enjoying the sun and having lunch some larger swells came in and so I shot a bit of video....

We all agreed it was a great day for Gary's very first paddle of this year... 

2014: Post 11 – Ice ice, baby...

Today we paddled in Conception Bay to check out an iceberg.  But first we paddled down the shore past the electricity generating station at Indian Pond...

...and then we crossed over to Harbour Main Point, and then just around the point we took out for an early lunch.

Hazen decided he would seal-launch when we got back on the water...

I told him to enjoy such things in his plastic kayak now because when he gets his new fibreglass kayak in a few weeks he won't be doing that stuff anymore.  He said he intends to treat the fibreglass the same as his plastic!  We will see. 

We carried on up to Salmon Cove Point, checking out this cave along the way...

...and a couple of us waited patiently for a chance to run the slot between waves... 

From there we crossed over to the reason we were here today... 

As we turned our bows away from the berg to head
for the cars I  thought I heard Hazen singing....

Yo, man,  let's get out of here!
Word to you mother!
Ice ice baby, too cold...

If you think the pictures of the berg are interesting then you should have seen it from the seat of a kayak... quite fascinating...

Be sure to check out tony's pics of the today's paddle... click here.

2014: Post 10 – My new camera

Yesterday we paddled out of Colliers.  It was an excellent day but I was not able to take any pics... my camera died the week before during our paddle at Cape Broyle (see previous post).  I found myself looking at many things thinking "... now that would make a good pic..."  But Tony took lots of pics and you can see them on his blog entry of the day... click here.

Anyway, after Cape Broyle I spent some time on the internet looking at camera's and finally settled on the Olympus TG-850.  I ordered it from Olympus Canada on Tuesday April 22, and it shipped on Thursday April 24.  I received it today (Monday April 28)... That was fast!  I checked my Visa statement on-line and still have not been billed for it.  Maybe they forgot!

My old one was an Olympus Tough 3000 and I admit that I used it pretty hard for the three years I had it.  It was on all my kayak paddles (except when I forgot to bring it a few times), and was on all my camping trips, and a few Thursday evening practices as well.  I even took it on a few job-sites with me too.  Every picture on this blog prier to this entry was taken with it, and many, many more that I did not post.  I did not baby the camera but did not intentional abuse it either.  There were a few times I found it dangling on my tether, bouncing against the side of my kayak as I paddled away trying to figure out what that funny sound was that I was hearing...  I did make it a point to rinse it with fresh water after each paddle.

Anyway, here is the very first picture that I thought would be a good one to take with my new camera... it is a picture of my old one...

Olympus
Stylus Tough
3000
Rest in Peace

I hope my new one serves me as well as my old one. 

2014: Post 9 – Breaking stuff in Cape Broyle

I've heard people say that Cape Broyle is a paddling destination equal to anywhere.  I do not know if that is true, but it is a great spot...  Brian suggested Cape Broyle as he had not been there in two or three years. I later checked my log and the last time I had been there was in spring of 2012... once in April and a couple weeks later in May.

So yesterday six of us headed down to Cape Broyle for a few hours on the brine.  The winds were pleasurable and the swell was benign.  The air was still quite chilly though and I decided to wear my middle-of-the-winter-clothing under my drysuit.

I did not take many pictures... my camera broke !!!  Well, actually it just kind of stopped working.  It had been doing funny stuff for a while now and at home later that evening I checked it out and there was water inside; not sure if the seal failed or if I may have bumped it and loosened the door...  

Anyway, here are the pics I took before my camera decided to retire...


Clyde getting ready at the government slipway...

The falls at Horse Chops River is always a fun spot to check out... 

My camera wouldn't turn on after the pic above... but later I tried it and got one more pic out of it....

 

Along the way our paddling buddy Clyde broke his Greenland paddle!  He had been paddling with it like it was a new-found religion for the last two years.  He paddled into a slot and it looked like one end of the paddle was planted onto the rocks below (the water was shallow) and when he took a stroke he snapped it off.  As soon as it snapped my heart was filled will jubilation... for now Clyde had joined the Broken GP Club.  He quickly found his balance and continued to paddle through with one of the broken pieces.  I paddled in behind him and retrieved the piece floating in the water... no GP's get left behind...

When I came along side Clyde he was putting together his Euro bladed paddle that has been serving as his spare.  I told him he could use my spare GP but he declined, and we all carried on.  After a short while Clyde called out to me to come over and asked if he could use my spare GP after all.  He had become accustomed to the GP and I think the Euro just did not feel 'right' in his hands any more; I get the same sensation when I use a Euro paddle as well.

When we stopped for lunch Tony took a pic of Clyde and his broken Greenland paddle and sent it to us, so I have decided to include it (even though the same pic will likely end up on the others guys blogs). Notice the big smile...

If you don't break a paddle now and then
you just aren't trying hard enough!

It was a glorious day despite the camera and paddle fatalities.  Thanks Tony, Brian, Sue, Ron, and Clyde for sharing another memorable day on the water.

(Be sure to check out Tony's blog entry on the day...)

2014: Post 8 – Now this is spring paddling...

This morning seven of us meet to do a one-way paddle from Conception to Colliers...  A few of us did part of this paddle (up to Collier's Point) back in early December... see 2013: Post 57 - Avondale.  Unlike the day in December, the waters today were calm which allowed us to get into the nooks along the shoreline.

Anyway, here are some pics...

Getting ready at the slipway in Conception

Hazen was the first to get on the water

Neville with the rest of the kayak pod in pursuit

Derrick and Tony

When water falls off the cliffs
you just gotta rinse off the bow...

Tony

Derrick and Hazen

Tony took the crew on a little
'geological walk' at Bacon Cove

Brian and Hazen

Derrick and Neville

Just around Collier's Point there is
a nice little spot for a lunch take-out

Neville

Brian

Tony

Sue

At the take-out in Colliers we had to walk our
kayaks a little way due to the shallow water 

A local dog quickly befriended us (I think
mostly because Derrick gave her treats)

The kayaks had to be carried a  little way
to the cars due to the low tide

The pics pretty much show the kind of day we had.  What else is there to say other than thanks to Brian, Sue, Derrick, Hazen, Neville, and Tony for another great paddle.