“Homeward Bound"

With the rewards of a stellar time spent on the water with good friends it is time to head home to our take out in Pouch Cove. Just around the bend really from Biscayne Cove.

Gerard passing a rock island in Biscayne Cove.

Gerard in a droplet warp.

A small inlet that allowed for a small break and mini exploration.

This is actually in the backyard of someone up on the cliff there.

There are a couple of slipways in Pouch Cove and they both are fairly steep. Lucky to have a slipway at all really. When the waters are rough and the winds from the east, gaining access to them can be tricky because of the crashing waves. Today was quite uneventful ands though we did not choose this slipway it is a very scenic one on nice days. I was here last weekend taking pictures on shore.

Our proper slipway in site it is time to prepare for docking as we line up to wait in queue. 

As with most launches and landings there is always help available if needed. This was a real slippery slipway. Hence the name I guess. lol

Having unloaded our boats and returned in body and not yet spirit, we have boats loaded and memories etched for recall for the satiated drive home regardless of the still clinging fog.

"Railing - Past Half Moon Brook"

Peter Noel one of Newfoundlands' sea kayakers', yatchsmen, and navigators' and god knows what else, said this year at a kayaking navigation presentation that we as kayakers are often "land railers". He may have said hand railers but you probably get my point. We hug the coast line when we paddle more often than we probably do major sea/ocean crossings. We may rail from island to island with small crossings but we still have to be cognizant of navigation skills and basic seamanship to be adequately prepared for the water and for our water trips. Another prominent paddler in our community Malcolm Rowe is quite learned in the aspects and distinctions between navigational skills and seamanship, they are different but comlplimentary you realize this when you paddle with paddlers who possess this skill set. Neil whom I paddleed with on this outing, always has map on deck and I know he knows, exactly where we are at all times. Utilising these skills all the time makes for a successful navigator.

I enjoy this aspect of kayaking but I employ it more on longer outings. This year though I want to employ it more on our shorter paddles. I want the practise. I like the basic dead reckoning type of tripping that we do as well as piloting and using natural and man made ranges. All of which can be done while in a kayak and sometimes maybe even unnoticed to yourself at the time that you are employing some form of navigation.

Isabelle and Neil are paddling along an exposed bit of the Avalon just past Half Moon Brook I believe. If I had of been navigating like Neil was during this trip I would have remembered for sure.

"Black Head North"

Neil rounding Black Head on a recent paddle from Flatrock to Pouch Cove on the Avalon Peninsula of NL. With the westerly winds bearing down we made it into Pouch Cove with a compulsory stop at Shoe Cove where the current coming out of there made it feel like you were on a water treadmill. Beautiful day on the water with seabirds all about.

"Near Seals Cove"

Floating in the frothy brine of clapotis. The winds were about 15kns today gusting to 20. Seas were 1.5-2 metres that created some interesting wave action from the westerly winds. If you hugged the shoreline though there was less fetch to feel the full brunt of the westerlies until we headed directly straight up Pouch Cove on the last leg of the journey. When we docked and carried the boats up near the post office and looked down on the water you could not appreciate the conditions you just came out of. I often wonder what people think when they see us coming in a cove. "Oh the waters are so calm for those kayakers out there". Little do they know. lol

"Pouch Cove Take-Out"

Always interesting taking out in Pouch Cove. The waves from the east can roll over the rock ledge in the middle right of the image and give you a bit of a sideways push to the rocks on the left just before the slipway. Timing of course is everything and Neil and Isabelle were timed right on even though a wave is rolling menacingly close to that rock ledge.

"We Got The Falls"

Isabelle darts out of the falls after feeling the freshness and cold of it's vertical drop. At one of the Coves we visited today. I did not waypoint our stops on myGPS so I am not sure at which cove all the shots from today were taken. If you happen to get a nice day you will enjoy all of them from Flatrock to Pouch Cove and all coves and all gulches in between.

I am doing a self portrait of "waterfalling" in Newfoundland.

"Bound"

 

Isabelle is Iceberg Bound. This Iceberg sits just outside Pouch Cove harbour.

"Pouch Cove Iceberg, Newfoundland"

Being around Icebergs is just simply magical. Risk is inherent, but so is driving a vehicle with 60 liters of a highly combustible fuel at 100km /hr. Tell me where you'd rather be?

"Huge Rock Alleys"

 

Paddling around pillars and towers of stone today was very humbling. The crust of the earth, so solid, so hard but its visible geological scars revealing tales of ions ago when rigidity was more fluid and as earth stretched its' continental arms it heaved and piled formations that we witness today. Tony here is dwarfed by a Rocky Alley.

"Shoe Cove"

 

Well you might have heard the expression "If the shoe fits, wear it!". We were certainly paying credence to that line today and if this paddle were a shoe I can say with certainty that it fit extremely well today. There were many "wows" on this trip. Caves, monstrous cliffs, waterfalls, rock gardens, quaint beaches, scenic coves and today an iceberg. It was good to be alive today! Tony, Isabell and Neil during the last stop of our days' paddle.

"Pouch Cove to Bauline, Newfoundland"

 The blue Chart data from an excellent paddle today.

"Pouch Cove, Newfoundland"

 Tony and I were off for another adventure today. We decided to put-in at Pouch Cove and paddle to Bauline on the opposite side of the Avalon Peninsula today rounding Cape St. Francis in the process. It was very confused waters from Pouch all the way to Cape St. Francis but once we rounded the cape we were treated to some fine paddling into a light head wind that soon picked up intensity with gusts and persistent rain. Just the right conditions for an excellent day on the water. About an 18km paddle. I always like to do something on remembrance day to challenge myself, a bit of an offering of sorts and my way of remembering those who fell and those who did not. When I was a scout I used to lay a wreath for my grandfather but as I got older I settled for the privacy of my own way and my own thoughts.

"Beating The Surf"

 We had timed when the surf came pounding in at our put-in spot today in Pouch Cove. They came in a pattern of fours huge crashes and the a lull of about 30 seconds, then four more crashes of thunderous surf. It was manageable and we got out unimpeded by the potential for catching a rogue crasher. A neat little seal launch off the dock sent you flying into the opening of the cove.

"Bicayan Cove Approach"

 Just before you hit Cape St. Francis there is Biscayan Bay which was homesteaded years ago during the fishery I believe but now is an area for small "huts" and little cottages that enjoy the isolation of being tucked away from the mainstream of community life and the solace that comes with walks along the rugged coastline that is most of the landscape on the Avalon Peninsula.

"Cape ST. Francis Light, Newfoundland"

 Tony setting a line of site for rounding the cape. We stopped to take a few shots but there was lots of confused seas to say the least. I usually hike here on Remembrance Day for some reason. I like the exercise of climbing round the hills and smelling the salt water. I'd go down by the shore and cook up some lunch in an old rickety shack weathered on the shore there. Today, this year it was rounding Cape St. Francis in my kayak. AN excellent paddle it was. Excellent company again with Tony of course. We invited others but there was no takers today, so off we went.

"Cripple Cove"

 Just after rounding Cape St. Francis you come upon Cripple Cove, I guess getting ensnared in here can perhaps do that to a boat. Just off this little reef though the rebound waves gave ya a good push to send you on the rest of the way around Cripple Cove Point.

"Fresh Water Falls"

 Tony took a little dip under here. I passed for just the picture.

"Focused"

 Sometime when you paddle you get into a zone, I guess most times this is the norm. When you paddle with someone often you know or learn how to read them. For instance you know when they are in their zone, their cadence, their kayaking space, this is what makes paddling with others also fun is to have the solitude of the paddle when you want it and the camaraderie of the paddle when little chats and over the wind yearns are essential when enjoying the paddling company of others.

"Headland Bound"

 One headland after another as we make our way to Bauline. Tony mentioned that the hills descending to the ocean below reminded him of New Zealand. Paddling the western side of the Avalon Peninsula was calm for the most part today but the winds did pick up with intermittent but persistent gusts that kept you vigilant lest your paddle be wretched from your grip. The rain was not too heavy but was more soothing than bothersome. It was starting to get cool however when we hit Bauline. It is nice to be able to hug so closely to the shore as the rebound waves will push you along and seeing how we were in the lea of the land it was a nice cruising pace.

"Fishing Island, Bauline, Newfoundland"

 Just a little Island as you approach Bauline from the north. Loaded with seagulls that disspated in the sky once they became aware of our arrival. The sun was actually trying to poke it's head out for the first time, little more than an attempt.