Thank you technology

Map of paddle area from Harbour Mille to Stone's Cove in Fortune Bay

Last Saturday Stan and I did an overnight kayak camping trip to Stone's Cove, a resettled community featured in Scott Walden's book "Places Lost".

The coast down to Stone's Cove is very exposed so the weather had to cooperate. Its best to be prepared if paddling is such areas even when the weather is predicted to be good.

Topographic and marine charts are available for planning the paddle but they don't tell the whole story. You get an idea of the topography by examining the contour lines and water depth from the marine chart. They don't however always give you a lot of information on take outs should the need arise.

Google Earth to the rescue. I was luck that there were high resolution satellite images available for the area. Failing that, there are air photos available at Government offices with lands responsibility.

Satellite image of Friar Beach and Lobster Cove area

On Google Earth I printed a high level shot of the map area above. Then I zoomed in to the highest resolution available for the area and marked in the beaches on the high level shot were we could take out if we had to.

While the topographic map implied an exposed coast with few take outs, the satellite image showed lots of beaches along the planned route.

Lobster Cove where we camped for the night is the cove at the top left.

Lunch beach at Friar Head

And, this is the actual beach which shows that the satellite shot didn't lie. Its the long stretch of beach at the bottom center of the satellite shot above.

We didn't have the need for an emergency take out but we had the information if the weather went south or for any other reason.