"Salvage, NL"

On a hike in Salvage, NL. Typical of the scenery in a NL outport community. My roof rack broke in the little village and A local had the right wrench for the repair. We had a great chat and turns out the old timer was just visiting his summer home...lucky for me.

"Sharing Waters"

 
Lots of lobster traps are set this time of year. My brother I know in Nova Scotia, where I am headin July 1st, is averaging about 1200-1500 pounds a day, everyday. This old timer here is heading to check on his pots set around Swale Island while Shannon passes by.

"The Group"

 
Getting organized on the water. Des was the sweep on this trip. Always great paddling with experience. From our retreat weekend.

"Paddle Group"

 Paddling in a group is many things. It is safety, camraderie, security, stability when you may need to raft up, company when ya want to chat and paddle, hospitable when you paddle with others you've only met on this trip, encouraging as you may seek confidence in paddling with others, opportunity to challenge yourself in situations you may not be able to when paddling alone, it can be exhilirating and educational if someone on the paddle knows the history of the area and the geography that can allow you to explore caves and coastlines or surf waves etc., and of course many more things and certainly rewarding in that you are left with a new experience no matter if you traversed the same waters before and memories of another kayak journey....no matter how small or big the trip.

"Screechin'-In"

Newfoundland Screech-In


Bryan Smith and Fergus Coffey are Screeched-in during a brief ceremony at the 2008 KNL kayaking retreat. It is always a great laugh to see this being done. Jim Price one of our club members and one of the better paddlers in NL performed the MCEE honors.

First time visitors to Newfoundland may be submitted to a “Screeching-In” ceremony which entitles them to become an honorary Newfoundlander. This is intended to be a fun time and the ceremony is usually thoroughly enjoyed by both the visitors and anyone who happens to be watching.

Accounts of Screeching-In ceremonies vary slightly depending on the personalities involved and the materials on hand but the idea is all pretty much the same.

A Newfoundlander is selected as Master of Ceremonies who is familiar with the history of Newfoundland and, preferably, capable of playing the accordion or guitar. The MC introduces the candidates to the Newfoundland tradition and some Newfoundland customs and songs, especially “I’se da Boy”. While this is going on the candidates are encouraged to eat some of our famous bologna and hard tack washed down with Screech and coke. Meanwhile, the MC might poke a little fun at the candidate for their ignorance of Newfoundland customs and traditions or even their accent.

The candidates then, in turn:

---dons a sou’wester and dances a little jig as instructed by the MC
---downs a shot of Screech (unmixed) after repeating “thru the teeth and over the gums, look out stomach, here she comes"
---recites “Long may your big jib draw me ol’ cocky!”
---kisses a raw cod fish (now-a-days we like to emphasize the reduction in cod stocks by getting the candidates to chew the head of a "capelin" or kiss the butt of a stuffed Puffin. Fergus and Bryan got the capelin.)

The MC then asks if the candidate is a Newfoundlander to which the correct reply is, “dee’d I is me ole trout and long may yore big jib draw”. When answered correctly and after a sprinkling of salt water the candidate is tapped on both shoulders with an oar from a fishing boat and declared an Honourary Newfoundlander.

Once the ceremony is over each candidate is given a copy of the Royal Order of Screechers certificate which declares that he/she is enrolled in the Order.

"Terra Nova River"

The NL kayak club is very fortunate to be able to host whitewater and sea kayaking events simultaneously at their retreat as both waters are within very easy reach of the designated camp site and retreat base. There is always tremendous paddles either on the sea or various rivers around that area of NL. The Terra Nova empties in an area known as Glovertown, which in itself is an extremely scenic community as are all the communities in the Terra Nova Park area. This geography also allows for the whitewater and sea kayaking members to socialize together and share their skills and beer.lol It truly is a great time and as can be seen in the pictures that follow you can enjoy the energy of both venues WW and sea kayaking, as I like to do. Last year we had Greg Stamer and Freya Hoffmeister as guests and this year we had Bryan Smith who is making a movie in NL in the Twilingate area, lots of icebergs up there, and Fergus Coffey who I did not meet but also was a guest at our retreat this year.

The interesting thing is, is that they had to fly to St. John's twice only to be unable to land due to fog. Finally they landed in Deer Lake at 12 midnight on the eve of the retreat and drove 5 hours in fog to their destination to hold clinics at 10 the next morning......and they did. It seems so true in kayaking that the best layed plans always seem to encounter a hiccup.

"Good-To-Go"

Part of the briefing for the ensuing whitewater instruction was that smiles are essential and that was easy. These whitewater instructors Bryan Smith and Mark Dykeman ensured that the outing was thrilling and educational. Felt quite privileged to be paddling in the company of such talented whitewater instructors. The trip was a blast. The old mill in ruins in the background provided a colorful backdrop and psych for our run.

"The Group"

The white water group at The Ruins on the lower Terra Nova river during our Kayak Newfoundland Retreat for the May long weekend. Needless to say again everyone was stoked to paddle with Bryan Smith and Mark Dykeman of our club.

"The Ruins"

Our set up site for our WW day. We gather at a place called the Ruins because of course of the old mill that now sits in ruin at the edge of the river. Our Sunday white water day proved to be very exciting and educational and extremely fun.

"River Prep"

Stretching for a river run or instruction or both is totally essential. Our heart rates were up already as we had about a 100 meter hike with our boats to the put-in site on the Terra Nova. We were all anxious to launch.

"River Left"

Lunch on river left.

"Took-A-Look"

Always good to take a peek at the put-in to make sure everyone has capable access.....so we did after the stretching.

"Bryan Smith"

Bryan going over some hand signals for the group. Our Mark Dykeman shared some of the local WW signals as well. I just wish I would have taken shots of Bryan and Mark instucting so one could visually see their talents but I was so into paddling that pictures took a back burner. I felt like a sieve soaking up any WW wisdom they were willing to share and needless to say their was lots.

"Andrew"

Andrew is certainly on of our better WW kayakers. His skills for river playing are a joy to watch. Andrew likes to set up on a wave then throw his paddle to shore. Cart-wheel, cut, carve and spin on waves are just a few of his WW talents. I believe Andrew grew up near this river and knows all its nuances. This river the lower Terra Nova is an instructors dream. I am not sure that one could be designed as good as nature has etched this part of the river. In about 1.5 to 3 km this river provides the blueprint for perfect waters for teaching entry level whitewater paddling skills. Beautiful eddies, little drops, surfing waves, etc. are all withinn properly spaced distances that actually allow for progression of skills, it's amazing really! Near a place called The Ruins during kayak retreat 2008.

"River Parking"

I was always told that eddies can sort of be considered the "parking lots" of rivers, places to take breaks or to hold until the next line on the river is evaluated. Some of the river runners from the club sharing an eddy with Bryan Smith and others waiting for instruction.

"The Crossing"

 
There is nothing like paddling camraderie. Well I suppose there is but to me there is not. There are always good people to meet and share moments and paddling stories in general or even talk about well......life. Herb is a kindred soul I feel and it is always great to paddle with him and his wife. Herb is in the middle of a crossing and he is engrossed in his paddle and his thoughts oblivious to me taking a picture right beside him. Why I paddle too!

"In Two"

 
There are two houses here. In the following picture it looks like there is one and the land the houses are on just looks like a simple headland or point. We learned on our seakayking trip on Saturday a very rudimentary lesson in kayak navagation that had little to do with maps or GPS's and very much to do with observation. That is observation of the point you are leaving from and that means looking behind you from where you just left because more times than not it looks different upon return but if you looked behind you a few times or as well took a reverse compass bearing you would know where to paddle exactly to upon your return.

This and the next picture sort of enforces this notion. This picture sees two houses and no coves. The next picture sees one house and what looks to be meandering waterways. Just something to keep in mind next time you launch. Wouldn't hurt to remember a prominent landmark either but the compass bearing helps should you return and get trapped in fog. Features on a map or in this case in a picture can appear very different from the seat of a kayak when out there paddling.

"Salvage"

 
The little Island in this picture use to have 17 houses on it during the fishing days of NL. Situated in Bonavista Bay these little communities are now still fishing but in a much scaled down version. This community now fishes lobster and crab. Very lucrative for those with a license but for those fisherman without just a touch of animosity. We drove here after our retreat weekend. My roof rack broke in this area and luckily not on the transcanada. With the help of an older local resident I was able to make repairs. I needed an allen wrench so the oldtimer goes down to his shed on the water a locates a wrench for me to finish the job. It took me about 45-50 minutes by the time I unloaded everything and reloaded again. This is the kindness you find in all the outports of NL. We had great conversation.

"Double Or Nothin'"

 The high seas were not safe this day as the team duo made their presence known on the waters. The boat was a great resting spot though when I needed to relax the sometimes achy back. Next time Robert their may be two. lol

"Homeward Bound"

 
After a long paddle it was good to be heading home to shore and for a nice big supper we had planned for that evening.There was a very mild undulating swell which was kind of hypnotic in that I could have been lulled to sleep as the warm sun shone down and the muscles began to tighten after a 5-6 hr actual paddling time. I really could have just layed back and just drifted.....drifted in my kayak and drifted to sleep in my mind. Drifting is good!