I love paddling at Low Tide. A lot of the shoreline is exposed and if you are as curious as I am then you like to explore what is revealed once the tides have subsided. It is also a chance to meander around rocks visible and submerged and practice those nifty little turns that get you in and out of certain spots on a dime.......or not! I don't like the sound of rock on fiberglass but I'm over that now for the most part. I'm more on the other side of that thinking now. Soon got to get mine in for nick, lots of nicks repair.
The other thing I like about low tide is the smell. A low pressure tends to release all those odors hidden in amongst all that shoreline glitter. But wait now, you gotta be careful, like all things, all that glitters is not necessarily gold. Though I visited many of the communities along the Twillingate, Fogo and New World Island coastlines on this trip, I noticed, many still have raw sewage pumping directly into their waters and in sheltered areas there is no escape. Tidal action can only do so much when the tidal differences are small. Storms help move the literal and figurative "sh&%" along but they too are limited in their action of renewal and recycling on sheltered areas like coves. Areas surrounded by many islands where fetches are small and even wind waves can't flush things out so to speak. Still I love low tide.
Sometimes when I'm out I like to see how well the GPS marking line up with the actual navigational aids on the water. Sometimes I'm amazed how close like this one, and other times they are not even on the GPS.
Other times I just have questions like, "can I salvage a pot that has been sitting on a rock for what looks like eons?' without fear of the fisheries dudes roughing me up? " MAybe it is best to just leave them there at anyrate and let them decay naturally into the surrounding beauty like they were perhaps supposed to do anyway. Why would I want one? Well that is simple. Because!
Once again I am Canadian. Proud to be and ever so happy to be able to share it with others. If you never have been to Canada you will always be astounded by our beauty from coast to coast. I am always amazed when I go some where new how much land and water there is around us. I hope we keep it as clean as we can for all to share and respect all the creatures big and small we share it with and to that end, I hope you paddle hard and paddle safe.
