Bagging my first iceberg of 2016

We arrived after our crossing of Bay Bulls at Baboul Rocks were we encountered our first iceberg of the year.  The swell out of the north had pushed us swiftly across.  At Baboul Rocks it piled into the headland causing this berg to rise and fall in the swell.

These weren't big bergs and weren't grounded but were held captive ...

... among the rocks.

There were various bits and chunks of ice floating in the water that made loud banging noises whenever we ran into them.  I looked around for a piece that was just the right size.  Clyde came along side and held me steady while I managed to get the slippery customer into my cockpit.

Back in Bay Bulls harbour Andrew and I checked out this cave under the west dipping rocks.

Continuing along the south shore we came upon another small floater.  Its one piece joined under water where the water is turned indigo blue.

We paddled around it a bit scoping it out before making our way to ...

... the big berg we passed earlier in the day.

This one, while not massive, was big enough to be grounded.  Again, we paddled around it and just marveled at the colours.  Icebergs from afar look white but up close the air bubbles trapped in the ice cause it to emit various hues of blue.

This shot of Hazen summarizes the day.  In the distance near the far shore floats the semi-submersible drill rig West Hercules which we visited almost four hours earlier.

We eventually began to make our way back to the take out.  There we met two young kayakers who were out for a near shore paddle.  After introductions, Justin and Ashley, joined our group of seven (Andrew, Cathy, Clyde, Dave, Gary, Hazen and myself) at a nearby coffee shop for a bite to eat and hot drinks.

Meanwhile ...

... later that evening pieces of the bergy bit I picked up ended up floating in a drop of rum.

It took 10,000 years for me to get the ice, oh I don't know, 5 years for Fidel to age the rum, a few hours for friend Lou to fly it up from Cuba and minutes for me to savour capping off a fantastic day on the water.