"Canadian Coast Guard, St. John's Newfoundland"

Well what respect you have to have for the Coast Guard that monitor our coastlines and assist in rescues. I shot this vessel leaving St. John's harbour. I just completed my VHF course and now am legally able to operate one. During the course however we were taken on a tour of the Coast Guard command and rescue center which is housed above in the building the course was in. We were treated to a Mayday scenario and saw first hand the station implications and how it would unfold to CG personnel. I must say this was a very interesting tour. They are tracking boats wanting access to Canadian waters around the world not to mention local traffic and such. Monitors, radios, satellites communications, real time everything, weather reports, waiting transmissions and much more going on in such a calm organized fashion. A marine information junkie's dream come true. Well worth the course in itself.


I also learned today from another student of the course, about the extreme toxicity of the waters inside and outside the harbour of St. John's. Himself being involved with sampling, etc. He was asking me if I was afraid of the water. I responded that we practise for some conditions and mostly rely on our awareness of skill levels and kayaking experience to guide us and make appropriate decisions. Not what he was talking about. He was asking if i would be afraid to be in the toxic water. There is a bubble inside the harbour of St. John's where untreated waste has been bubbling for years. They have since built a treatment facility that is not in operation quite yet, so the flow continues unabated. Now this may sound ludicrous in this day and age but Victoria in Beautiful British Columbia had a very similar situation years ago which I think they fixed as well but I am not totally sure on that one. Joe, I will call him as I forget his real name, proceeded to tell me about this huge ball of mercury that exists off one of the Coves on the way to Cape Spear and other foul human waste as well which made me think more about what would be the effects of immersion for any length of time in those waters. Awaiting rescue from the coast guard and hypothermia may well be the last thing to worry about. AT any rate he definitely did not make light of the situation but I guess, even though I knew about the harmful harbour bubble, that somehow the dilution factor of the outside ocean would dissipate .........the toxins....none-da! Those are known toxic waters to most but we as a club rarely if ever make reference to the foul conditions that exist in that vicinity and really do we actually know how far that vicinity actually goes and is it a vicinity or a huge friggin' area? As boaters (kayakers 3 feet above the water) are there things we should know? I know there are things I like to know now. Well the hazards to navigation has just increased in this area for me and to think that so many whales and other fish swim out of there and that I was actually going to participate in the food fishery about less than a mile away yet I know people have. WOW!

"Pukta"

 Pukta the saftey Bear at kid's day on Long Pond.

"Redcliff Head"

I probably will never forget this name after today...."Redcliff Hd". Redcliff head is about 4 and a 1/4 nautical Miles from the entrance of St. John's harbor, due north. It was about 23-26 degrees when we put in at Quidi Vidi today a most spectacular weather day for paddling on the ocean. The four of us were delighted to be there and hopeful anticipation of finding whales today was thick with crisp strokes.

Low tide gave us ample opportunity for some rock hoping and some cliff hugging which along this stretch of coastline on most days fishermen say can be treacherous. Today though the kayaking gods were watching over us and particularly me. I believe I saw the largest whale of my life today, a Fin Whale, as we followed the sound of the blow we could see the monstrous shape glide effortlessly though the water as it slightly broached and dove again and it seemed like you were watching the body for minutes, that's how long it was but in reality it was merely seconds. Huge!! We saw another huge whale of some sort and were even speculating that it might have been a Blue Whale totally unbelievable paddling near these humongous creatures. We made Robin Hood Bay,Sugar loaf Head, Logy Bay(Saw Fin Whale here)the headed for Redcliff Head. As we neared you could see that there was an arch that cut through under Redcliff as you could see light shine through from the other side even from the substantial distance we were at now. Stopped for a cliff bar and some water as I was getting hot from the sun and our moderate pace. Enjoying every minute of it.

When we approached the arch and from the outside it sure looked innocuous enough and one of our group went on to investigate with me of course following fairly close behind. I could see waves coming from the other side but the entrance and exit looked passable and I believe they are under the right circumstances. As I shot a few pictures I realized that I was rising substantially about 1/4 of the way in which must have been about 15-20 yards.I could see that Alex ahead of me was well navigating thru but I could tell it wasn't a clear run. I didn't hear him either when he yelled not to follow. By this time I had just finished tucking the camera away when I saw this huge wave coming at me as I readied to brace I could feel myself being lifted up but the arch ceiling was high so I felt a bit of temporary relief. When that wave passed I felt my stern being lifted slightly and I began to surf in semi darkness and as I picked up speed employing a left stern rudder I could see uncovered rocks in the middle of the arch now exposed so I dug in with a firmer rudder and felt the boat respond and I altered left and was picking up speed even more and narrowly missed the rocks and was instantly gratified and felt good about my rudder when I looked behind and saw this huge wave right behind me and when I turned forward again I was headed straight for the right side of the arch wall now a little more than half way in through the arch under Redcliff Head. I hit the wall and as the wave beneath me started to rise it scrapped me against the wall of the arch tipping my boat to the left and then the wave dumped and over I went. By now Alex had made it through and may or may not have know at that point that I was in side the arch at this time. Slightly before the wave crashed the side of the arch had tipped me over. I felt water crashing all around me, rolled up then over again, I tried a pallata roll this time and the instant my head was above the water I saw a wave coming from the other direction my paddle separated and over again and now confused underwater I had to bail. As the waves passed and I had a brief lull I hung on to my boat my half paddle and tried quickly to assess my situation, which wasn't pretty in the half dark and try to see how the waves were coming ...no time they were just coming from both directions, I never even thought of a re enter and roll, only had half a blade at any rate, because of the waves coming constantly from both directions I didn't even have time to put my spare paddle together. I didn't want to loose it in the quick confusion and have nothing. Because it was still low tide I was able to get periodic footing on some of the rocks there but the ensuing waves would flush me off quickly, paddle float reentry would have just seen me slam more into the arch walls. The cockpit was totally full of water and wouldn't stay righted at this point. It was me in the water with my boat and I realised I had to kick my way towards the entrance in between brief lulls and hope that one of the surges would flush me out to more stable water. By now Alex and Neil were deciding what to do. I tried with all my strength to keep the kayak in the center of the arch and kick, kick, kick to the entrance. I was having some degree of success but tiring quickly as my semi-dry suit was now full with water. My legs felt like metal poles as I tried to direct my boat from the stern forward. In retrospect they may have even helped with the weight in them to keep me in a straighter line heading out.Neil Came in helped me in the boat but with only half a blade and now extremely tired and with cold hands and a cockpit full of water, another wave ...I went back over. Strangely enough at that moment we realised the safest place was out of the boat. Neil hooked on to the bow I went to the stern again and kicked with what energy I had left and we made it to the arch entrance under Redcliff head. I hiked above these cliffs last year and when I looked down I remember saying how steep they were and how rough the water must be down there, little did I think I would be swallowed by the damn think I was standing on at that time. So much for irony.

I got back in my boat with Neil's help of course. We first drained it using a T-rescue. I put the spare paddle together and paddled out towards further safety. The spray skirt had been difficult to attach with cold hands but I got it on , got further out and pumped out the boat some more then headed on our way somewhat shaken to say the least and whales still popping up in the distance.

We paddled to Torbay Point and when we neared the wind was just howling and I was still a little drained but as I paddled round the head after Alex we were lambasted by high winds and wind waves blowing southwesterly to the right beam as we headed into Outer Cove our take out. The winds were about25 knots and confused around us and as I heard Neil yell ,"paddle Stan" I dug in and never looked back until I hit the beach some twenty -thirty minutes later. I enjoyed the paddle in but I was dead, literally dead tired when I stepped out of my kayak .....laid on my back and looked up at the blue sky and felt the warm winds blow over my body. I helped the others land and we loaded up, Alex and I went for an iced cappuccino at Tim Horton's and then went on to kid's day to help out with some kayaking being done on the pond. I learned a lot, got a sore rib, broken pride because of failed rolls and such and because I had to put other people in a daring rescue situation. Neil is a kayaking instructor and I was lucky to have his skill to get me out. Alex retrieved my other half of my Ikelos paddle which flushed out and I still don't know how or why it came apart. However I suspect when I was trying a Pallata roll I might have grabbed the middle of the paddle and pushed on the button and released the paddle parts.I continue to be grateful.

"3 Man Tow"

 On our way to Shoal Point the waves were just too rough for one paddler. Alex spent all of his paddle in the company of the new member, truely a very unselfish person, and the greatest kayak ambassador on the Island.

"Cormorant"

The Motto of the 413 Squadron based out of Greenwood Nova Scotia is "We Watch The Waves" something I figure we as kayakers share with this group.
The Cormorant could be a kayakers best friend. These helicopters are amazing and they fly in just about any kind of weather. They have three Turbine engines that give the Search And Rescue machine a range of 1000km and a maximum lift off weight of up to 14,600kg. Based at 3 wings across Canada, the Cormorant fleet serves both the east and the west coast. Roughly 60% of the missions are marine SAR while the other 40% is land.

If you're looking at the under-belly of this thing you are probably in a situation you much rather not be in, if ya had a choice. Such was not my case as I left work on Friday afternoon and this SAR Helicopter was delivering a patient to the hospital. I'm sitting here tonight fiddling with my VHF and hoping I never have to use it to summon this sort of help but relieved knowing it is there. Getting ready to take the VHF course next week. In Canada you have to be licensed to operate one of these so I must take the course, good to have anyway. I shot the under-belly of the helicopter as it was lifting off the landing pad. You can really feel and hear the ripping raw power these things have.

"Stirrup Re-entry"

 
Although it looks like alot is going on in this picture, a stirrup re-entry is being executed by the Derek on the right in green. Mark during Friday evening's workshop, on assisted capsize re-entry, demonstarted his use of the webbing stirrup to KNL members to assist a bailed kayaker. His "no-tie knot" attached to the rescuer's deckline and held in place with one hand and then web loop thrown over the foredeck/combing of the rescuee's kayak for him to step in. One of the great successes with this "no-tie knot" is that it was so easy to adjust on the fly that paddlers of all leg lengths and shapes could easily be accommodated. We soon discovered as Mark pointed out that it is a more stable arrangement to have the webbing attached to the rescuers deck line and not to the decklines of the rescuee's boat, which we tried. Lelsie and Sue performed most of the capsizes and rescues and they tried a number of them, including the scoop, T-rescue, and so on but it was pretty much unanimous by workshop end that the most practical for many situations would be, the stirrup rescue with Mark's "no-tie knot" securing the stirrup.
Assisting in the rescue also was Dwayne holding on to Mark's boat and Tony, Des and Brian wanting a good angle on the securing technique.