Brian with the obelisk of Bell IslandThis is on my list of top 10 paddles of 2009 because it was a circumnavigation. Its something I've wanted to do in while. Regatta Day, August 5, was a day do it. Regatta Day is a civic holiday that only happens when conditions are right to hold North America's oldest continuous sporting (fixed seat rowing) event.
Brian, Dean, Derrick and myself took the ferry over and completed the 26 km circumnavigation in a not-to-shabby time of 4 hours.
It was one of those memorable Zen days and another good reason to put it on the list.
Paddling down the east side of Bell Island The rocks of Bell Island slope gently towards the east so the sea bottom gets shallow near the shore. A very slight swell can rear up in a hurry all along this coast. On this day we had pretty benign conditions. Picking your day to this paddle is imperative.
Approaching the "Bell" of Bell Island Bell Island gets its name from the "Bell" which is located on the southeast corner of Bell Island. The scale is very noticeable from a distance.
Dean and Derrick leaving our lunch break beach You can see here that the sedimentary beds of Bell Island have hardly been disturbed by continental collisions and ruptures since the Ordovician period (488 - 443 million years ago).
On the west side returning to the ferry terminal Da byes were really stepping on the gas and stopping to take pictures made sure I was playing catch-up a good bit of the time. The conditions were ideal for generating some speed.
Nice post TONY. Bell Island is always a treat to paddle around. We'll have to aim for different Isands to circumnavigate this New Year.
ReplyDeleteStan
Yes Stan, Great Colinet Island is one we could do and maybe overnight. And there are a few choices in Placentia Bay too. A new year approaches and we'll get working on some new memories.
ReplyDeleteTony :-)