“Nautical Navigation"

A few weeks ago our club, KNL, held a navigation brush-up course I guess you would say. So like all courses there are essential components.

a) You need a nautical chart!

b) You don’t need an Iphone with a digital compass. : )

c) You most definitely need a Guinness 

Throw in some people eager to find out where they may be going on the water and how is the best way to get there. Knowledgeably of course. Guinness burp!

OH YES! You need and educator. Richard Alexander shown here sharing his knowledge of on water navigation. A nice instruction session and always something to take away.

There was some debate about using topo maps or nautical charts for navigation on the water. It only seems logical to me to use nautical charts but there is pros and perhaps some cons for one more than the other but I guess in the end whatever works for you under the circumstances may be your best option. For me it is nautical charts on the water and topos on the land. 

“Iceberg Alley"

It’s not just a saying. It is sometimes a reality. When it happens it is beauty, elegance on water, and purely nature’s canvas inaction. Such are the romance of Icebergs and when the Labrador current starts sending them our way we ready ourselves for the majesty of their beauty. These are a few that are being tracked by satellite in the waters off Newfoundland and Labrador. The alley appears to be cluttered at this point and less than a hundred km from the tip of the Avalon Peninsula after which when it reaches this point we will begin to document sightings in our area I am sure.

I didn’t think we would get them this year but I was wrong and happily so. With our Symposium at May’s long weekend  it could be just the opportunity for some exploration of them.

They do captivate and I find the fascination similar to that of staring in a campfire on a summer evening allowing your mind to drift and be mesmerized by the changing shapes of the flames from the hot embers burning and feeding the fiery dance. 

In april there was a huge chunk that calved off the Petermann Glacier in northern Greenland. It is said to be 4 times the size of New York’s Manhatten Island. A university of Delaware researcher says the sheet covers a hundred square miles. Now that is one hell of an ice cube! I don’t think these recent icebergs are part of that sheet as the floating monolithic island is still much further north. Not since 1962 has such a huge sheet broken off say canadian scientists and cracks are starting to form in the floating tongue of the huge sheet. I dare say that we may be treated to some huge displays of ice in the coming years if recent developments are any indication.

Tony and I in the past have spent a few hours of fun observing these up close. We all know or should know the risks involved. In recent years some adrenaline junkies have been boated out to actually climb them. We probably won’t be attempting that this year lol

Here is the link to http://www.icebergfinder.com/iceberg-map.aspx

“Like A Rock"

It sure is.

Sometimes they look like whales, sometimes they look menacing, and other times they are just stinky and slimy. We have lots of it here in Newfoundland and it is talked about often, ‘The Rock, for example which generally refers to the island itself is a disconnect from old continents like Africa. We have some of the oldest rock on earth in Newfoundland. Heaved up like an earthly gag reflex producing forth molten sputum right from the stomach of the planet’s core. You’d think after all these millions of years of exposure in some of the more hostile waters in the area there would be more sand on the Avalon….nope! We’re making it now. Come back in another couple million or so but enjoy the pleasures that rocks and their peculiar shapes and sizes has to offer and you will be treated to some other than benign wonders during your time on our waterways.

“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.

“Rounding Cape St. Francis"

Rounding capes seem to be significant. They are gnarly most times or at least their waters are. So I guess this makes for some interesting hydro dynamics. The environment always seems a bit different at capes than other parts of the coast.  Perhaps it's their gradual extension out into the oceans they sprawl in that cause huge flowing volumes of water to reactive ferociously as the weather changes and the sea states impart their energy.

Sean rounding Cape St. Francis in the fog. Fog certainly sets a mood for rounding a cape .

Dennis and Dean having rounded are further lulled into a tranquil paddle by the thickness and dampness of the fog banks embracing the coastline during the whole of our paddle.  

Clyde and Tony making haste as the glide through the waters.

Entering Biscayne Cove.

Just when we needed a bit of a reprieve the fog broke just enough to allow us to see what was once a slipway. This area is now retreat for summer cabin goers and the damage from many a storm over the last few years has taken a toll that is likely never to be repaired. Once a thriving fishing village like so many along this coast, now a remnant and reminder of the fragility as well as the ferocity of our waters and  vulnerability of the creatures living there.

Well, rounding a cape sure makes one hungry. The old wench house has seen better days no doubt. When I hiked out to this point last year all these things, the slip way, the wench house, the wharf were all well and intact. We’ve had some weather since then. Just enough shelter to prevent the sandwiches from getting soggy. lol What a paddle thus far!!

"Enhancing The Paddle"

You just know that if there is a dark hole in the side of a rock cliff, someone of the group, is going there. To me paddles should be like that. Not even should,  that is just the way it is when I get in the boat. As neat as it is prying through that dark opening yourself and not knowing for sure what may lay hidden in its recesses is watching someone else ease their way through being guided by their sense of curiosity, adventure and loathing for discovery.

Sean getting ready to enter the blackness. 

The other fun part of a unique discovery is sharing it with other members of the group. Did someone say it was raining?

Waterfalls!! Waterfalls are one of those naturally enticing phenomena  that will usually attract everyone. I love them. We all love them. It must be the roar of their cascading tortuous paths down the face of an edifice or perhaps the contrast of their whiteness against a darker background or maybe even their smell and wetness. Could be that feeling of cleansing you get when you glide under them, even if it is minus 2, and allow their force to overtake your senses and wash away the salty brash of your paddle strokes. Whatever it is to each of us, they seem to soothe in some fine way and break the monotony of a long distance paddle.

Where fresh water enters the ocean you feel yes there is water simply everywhere, beneath you, beside you and falling from the ski above.

A kayak wash. Gotta like it.

You get the odd sun break and enjoy the tranquility and colors that surround you as they burst through the leaden fog and release the stimuli make paddling close to shores edge so lulling and enjoyable at times.

When you release into the more open waters and enjoy your skills around shoaling or rock outcrops you begin to entertain your senses on your own level and enjoy the watery field as your craft is wielded to the tune of tides, waves, wind and current that come together and coalesce the enhancement of every stroke on your paddle today. Clyde enjoying the waters at Cape St. Francis.

Bauline to Pouch Cove Newfoundland

Fog and Such…….

On one of the northern sections of the Avalon Peninsula there is a range of rock hills with steep cliffs that plunge deep into the waters of Conception Bay. It amazes me the numbers of trees that mange to thrive right down to the waters edge. 

When paddling in weather other than say fog, it can get monotonous because there is little change in the scenery with scattered wildlife mostly Bald Eagles.

When however you do get to paddle with fog and rain the scenery changes dramatically, almost at every stroke.

As the fog decides where it shall roll it covers and uncovers like ebbing and flooding tides leaving behind or in its midst the changes of the surrounding environment that are nerve really altered just exposed to varying degrees depending on natures brush of fog strokes.

The rolling hills can dwarf a kayaker and the fog ever changing the landscape can make the paddle quite mystical and magical and every new headland approach, a waiting discovery to be had. It is hard during times like this, not to think on what ocean explorers must have felt when they once sailed through the fog, a fresh opening, only to discover some new piece of geography or hidden cover or even treacherous coastline.

Sometimes you may even get a momentary hint of blue sky or total breaking of the fog’s thickness. It sometimes during these breaks that Bald Eagles are seen soaring from treetop to treetop in the distance watching our seemingly stealthy approach but knowing full well that they saw us long before we would ever catch the first glimpse of  them.

But on really foggy days you know that total open exposure is a transient relief and the fog rolls back in to mask your way and to muffle and baffle the sounds of the sea but keep close to the surface the smells of the waters. For the denseness of the air is too thick to allow the water scents to dissipate too far from your senses and everyone comments on how well they love that smell …the smell, of the briny sea.

Sometimes just stopping to take in the surroundings is all one needs to be grounded or watered so to speak….and be whisked away in thought or imaginations of spent time and time yet to be delivered.

Outside Cripple Cove

I’m starting this trip post in the middle. WE did about a 20km paddle, depending on who’s GPS you reference, on Saturday from Bauline Newfoundland to Pouch Cove Newfoundland. It was a mix of one or two sun breaks, with mostly RDF, what we like to call here in Newfoundland rain, drizzle, fog.

These images were outside Cripple Cove just before rounding the cape at Cape St. Francis. There is obviously some shoaling here and this area is normally much more chaotic and turbulent as you would expect any shoal to be especially at a cape. Saturday had calm winds with little swell but still enough water activity to make this little spot an entertainment piece in itself. We pattered around here for about 30 mins or so and headed into Cripple Cove which is rarely accessible because it sits below the cliffs of the cape but was allowing entrance today.

Inside Cripple Cove looks quite innocuous so we glided around its perimeter savouring the rarity of these moments of invasion knowing very well that the rocks and shoals guarding the entrances and exits are volatile at most times and unforgiving sentinels.

Sean taking in the scenery at Cape St. Francis. I believe there is a light here but it was not on at this point although the fog was so thick it felt you were paddling in the dark at times. Right here the fog horn was quite intense and I felt rushed to move on to find relief from its decibels that were amplified more than muffled by the otherwise baffling fog.

“ Mentalling"

Well this may be a ‘stanism’ …….”mentalling” …. but because this is my blog I figure I can have my own ‘ism’s’. Well of course there is mentoring but in my context you need the mentoring to get the ‘mentalling’. When you paddle with those who have been before, you are very apt to get something out of the experience and more oft than not it is one of those wisdom gems that seem to make you wonder why the heck you hadn’t figured it out already. Courses do that too.

Someone once told me that river boating was for the younger crowd. Well my file footage bags to differ. Now I remember Des saying when we hit terra firma that it feels a bit more cramped in there, but lets face it, we never seem to stop growing. This is Des on the Terra Nova River in Newfoundland during one of our kayaking retreats. Appears as at home surfing here as he would on the ocean which I believe is his preference. Though I cannot speak for him.

Malcolm shown here with Des, his constant paddling partner, is one of those mentors whom can relieve some of those ‘mentalling' issues. Has on various occasions offered a few gems of advice that have enabled me to approach something differently and most likely and importantly more effectively or efficiently. Mostly to do with paddle strokes and combinations and when various ones are effective when used together. He may not remember or I may have received it at one of his presentations but my point is  that it has helped me around the mental struggle with a concept.

So we know as kayakers that skill development is ongoing like it is in most activities. Brian Smith seen here with MArk Dykeman taught me a very simple thing this day we were on the river at Terra Nova for a lesson and I was able to apply it to sea kayaking as well. It simply was to exert pressure on the thigh braces for good contact and then RELAX. You can’t imagine how significantly that simple piece of advice has changed my comfort level in river kayaking and sea kayaking conditions. It is very easy to tense up and try to control the boat all the time but sometimes it is good to let the boat do what its design was engineered for. Loose lips may sink ships but loose hips, I believe, keep them afloat. 

So now when I find myself getting way too tense in conditions, I loosen up and let the boat do some of the work if not all while allowing myself the ability to exercise further control when  I need to. Not only does this make for a comfortable paddle but it reduces injuries do to over exertion and tension. From me simply, paddle hard, paddle safe!

Oh yes did I mention there is an iceberg not to far from this spot on the ocean side. Well there may be more when we return here next month. I also mentioned in the last post that all our snow was gone. Well it returned overnight. I think a bunch of kayakers have to get together to exorcise winter.

“Yesteryear"

That is just a marker in time…’Yesteryear’! Nothing definitive or too descriptive but more a reference than anything else.  Just a spot you don’t necessarily have to assign too much metadata to. A good memory marker however.

I remember this photo from the NL 2008 kayaking retreat because Alison and I thought about going over to that berg and breaking off from the group. Ohh we were bad! We use to have huge discussions at our board meeting about people breaking off from organized paddles. I was notorious for this. My adventurist side always got the best of me and it was great paddling with Alison because I always had a partner in crime. There are probably more cons than pros when you do this and I don’t even want to discuss the merits of it here but I was more reminiscing about paddling near bergs, which we will not get to do again this year.....maybe I hear there is one in Bonavista a patient told me today.. 

This is Alison again as we haven’t seen her white kayak in some time now but hoping she will have some presence on the water this year as we bob along our coast. You got to like looking back at file footage. It always inspires me to get back on the water. It is still cool here in NL but all our snow is gone and we are looking so forward to our Kayaking Symposium in May and the good times to be had with it.

“Catching The Wave"

A bit of a different header image but he was looking so tired and kind-a-neat to pass up.

Last year we did very little surfing or at least I did very little surfing.  I fear we missed a lot of good waves. There is never a shortage here in Newfoundland. I think this year I’ll be able to convince a few of the gang, I’d dare say all of the gang, to embark on a couple surf sessions. Always fun, they are to me, and I always seem to learn something new.

So as I start to think and prepare, I’d like to imagine the wave for me.

Now there are many, many that know a hell of a lot more about waves than me, I’m thinking of our Malcolm here from our club, but I figure if we’re  going to play in waves we best do it safely.

One cannot underestimate the ferocity, the power and the energy a wave is all to willing to impart. We also know that when anything imparts energy on something else there is usually damage unless it is harnessed in some way.

Hmmmmm….I wonder where and when or exactly what our waves will be like. Well that new helmut might come in handy. If you need one, The Outfitters on Water Street has a 'Sweet' line down there.

“Where Are The Bergs?"

I’m not sure!

I’ve been checking our Iceberg finder  and can’t seem to pick any up. It may be early but usually there is some indication by now as to how they may be lining up for their trek down iceberg alley. In the distance we are looking at some berg bits. Remnants and break-aways from a much bigger berg. Paddling near the Dungeon Sea Cave in the apply named park a few years back in the month of May. We are approaching May and our Symposium and no bergs. Not that we need bergs to have a May or a Symposium but it wouldn’t hurt. Maligiaq Padilla will be a guest this year so maybe the bergs will follow him from Greenland. A lot to ask for I know but they are so beautiful when they do decide to come to our waters.