The picturesque village of Quidi Vidi
It was a rocking outside of the protected harbour
Heading back to the put-in to revise our plan
Today Stan and myself finally got some decent weather, decent in that the wind calmed down. We decided that Quidi Vidi might be an option and went to look. What looked calm in the inner harbour hid what lurked outside in the open ocean.
This is where the theory of prudence came in. The wind of the last few days had died but there was still lots of swell coming in from the open ocean. Open in the sense, next stop Ireland. Probably on a summer day with warmer water temps we would have gone but cold water and just the two of us, we decided against it. Our paddling colleague Malcolm Rowe had cautioned us to back off if in doubt. He would have been proud of our decision today.
We paddled back and forth in the confused waters that were reflecting off both sides of the entrance to the harbour for a while and headed back into the protected harbour.
No sweat, change of plan. We put the boats back on the vehicles and drove to Portugal Cove about 30 minutes away and got on the ferry to Bell Island. Those pictures follow.
We weren't foolish, there's no need for bravado between Stan and myself and, we had a great paddle anyway.
Tony :-)
Sweet shots Tony and sweet paddle with ya buddy. I hope February gets better. :( lol
ReplyDeleteStan
January wasn't bad. Hopefully the groundhog will have good news tomorrow for the rest of the winter! We'll paddle anyway when we can.
ReplyDeleteTony :-)
You two are inspirational. My only paddling this time of year is in mid-20s water with a bathing suit (pool practise). I need to harden up. After all, the year consists primarily of this type of paddling. So, consider me a partner in your next venture. Alison
ReplyDeleteThanks Alison, I don't see it as a big deal. I've (and Stan) kept paddling thru the fall and winter as its gotten colder and just feel by doing that, I've aclimatized. We're not foolhardy and won't paddle when we might in warmer times. Definately drop you a line when the opportunity comes around again.
ReplyDeleteTony ;-)