Top 10 paddles of 2011 - #1

Bread and Cheese

A three day, 93 km paddle around Long Island in Placentia Bay on the weekend of 25 - 27 June was the top paddle of the year. An obvious choice in my mind. A few shots and the Readers Digest version follows but links to the more detailed posts are provided.

Clyde, Dean, Hazen and I camped off the road Friday night just short of Arnolds Cove. Saturday morning early we drove to Arnolds Cove to make the 6 km crossing to Long Island. We kept Bread and Cheese Islands on our right as security.

At Long Island

An uneventful crossing saw us reach Long Island where we stopped for a short break before heading down the west side through the Inside Channel.

Port Royal

We reached Port Royal, an resettled community, after a 37 km paddle and set up camp for the night. After a beach fire and a few swallies we hit the sleeping bags for a good nights sleep.

Buffett Head

Sunday morning we left early to round Buffett Head at the bottom of Long Island. Not everyday looks as peaceful as this at the Head.

Harbour Buffett

Paddling up the east side now we entered Harbour Buffett, also a resettled community, that was a thriving fishing community in its heyday.

Up the west side

We got out at Harbour Buffett to stretch our legs. There are a few cabins there still and at one we were treated to a warm coffee and a friendly chat. They were amazed at our trip to that point given the size of our watercraft. After coffee we continued north to reach another resettled community for the night.

Quest for fire

Arriving at Haystack after a 34 km paddle we set up camp and a tarp just before it started to rain. After eating the rain slowed and we got another fire going on the beach.

Leaving in fog

We arose Monday morning to a thick fog in the cove. After reloading our kayaks we paddled north to the tip of Long Island before making the 6 km crossing to Arnolds Cove in a dense fog.

Single file

We had a bearing for Bordeaux Island at the entrance to Arnolds Cove and we each took turns leading a single file procession across the channel.

Unloading the gear

A short 21 km paddle saw us back at Arnolds Cove. We piled all our gear on a platform to sort and stow in the vehicles for the ride home. On the way we stopped at Megans for a feed of fresh fish and chips and a back-slapping chat about the fine trip we had just finished.

Well, that's it, those were my top paddles for 2011. A fantastic year of paddling to look back on and the prospect of more of the same for 2012.