Painting a fence

5 km crossing

What does painting a fence have to do with kayaking? Plenty. Especially crossings.

Painting a fence is a repetitive, a time consuming, tedious process. One board at a time ... edges then the face. Looking down the length of the fence I wonder when I'll reach the last board.

I found open water crossings are a bit like that at first. If the focus is on getting to the other side the focus becomes getting there. Its no longer about the paddle strokes. Its always a question, am I getting closer?

No end in sight

In a foggy crossing however the destination is out of sight. Then it becomes a process of just paddling in the moment and trust the compass. When the land at destination looms out of the fog its a surprise because there no fixation on a specific target.

The point is, just paint (paddle) and keep painting (paddling) and the destination will be reached. Its about the journey, not the destination ... and isn't that what life is all about?

Gambled and lost

A good day in the boat

This weekend I gambled and lost.

Saturday was a beautiful day for a paddle. Sunday was going to be wet and somewhat windy.

Chores called. I've been ignoring (to paddle) them for too long and now they've caught up with me. I opted to continue painting the fence and have a short paddle on Sunday.

Sunday the weather had a surprise for me. Wet yes but windy - gusts to 100 kms. I stayed on shore. I regretted not being able to paddle ... I may have a problem ... is there a Paddlers Anonymous?

Rewarded

Tony in Placentia Bay (Hazen photo)

Some days I really, really look forward to getting in my boat, like yesterday. A busy day, as they all have been recently, made the prospect of paddling very appealing.

The day started in the winery when I put on a batch of blueberry wine. Its been a pressing issue because I have to clear out some of the berries in the freezer for this year's crop.

Good weather finally broke with the arrival of summer on July 1. That, for me, means painting. I particularly dislike painting. I motivated myself with the thought, OK, I'll do this but I'm rewarding myself with an evening of kayak practice, the in-water kind. It felt so refreshing to discard the oppressive heat of the day and feel the cool salt water on my face. All with a clear conscience too as I had paid my dues.

A seat repair

Full metal bracket

Last week when we camped off the highway near Arnolds Cove I cracked the seat completely off where it attached to the kayak on the left side. I use a bicycle cable lock to secure the kayak to the roof rack, not because I don't trust people, but because I'd rather not give them the opportunity to steal it. As I "forced" the cable along inside the hull the seat came apart. I'll not repeat what I said.

When I got home I epoxied the broken piece in place and cut a piece of sheet metal to form into a brace to strengthen the repair. I drilled holes for pop rivets before clamping in pace and putting in the rivets.

And riveted in place

I used pop rivets to secure the piece I made up for the repair. I spray painted after riviting to protect the rivets from salt water corrosion.

The other side was also cracked

In doing the repair I knew I had to make to the left side of the seat, I noticed the right side was also cracked. I felt bit better seeing this because I knew it wasn't my forcing the cable through that caused the break on the left. Good thing I caught this so I could do a repair while I had the seat loose.

There must be too much stress at these points for the plastic to last. Maybe if the seat were thicker here it would stand up better?

You'll also notice I drilled a 3/4 inch hole in the seat to allow the cable lock to pass through unobstructed.

A little support

A little support I hope goes a long way. I expoxied a piece of plastic over the top and underneath on both sides to add a bit more strength.

I guess these things can be expected given the amount of use I get out of my boat.

You have a Valley boat (?), you might want to check your seat for cracks.

Bellevue Beach club paddle

Off you go!

Saturday Kayak Newfoundland and Labrador club paddle in Bellevue Beach was on the calendar. We met at 10:00 to prepare for a 10:30 put-in. The first order of business was to get everyone safely on the water off of a dumping beach. Co-trip leader Tony did a great job.

A pod of kayaks

As the last were being launched we huddled up before heading towards Chance Cove.

Looking for action

There was a gentle swell running into the bay that provided interest where the water got shallow and around stacks. Alex checks it out.

Steering wide

Most of the group steered wide and stayed in open water.

Leading

Tony took the lead but even the leader has to stop to take pictures and enjoy the scenery.

Rough stuff

Alex seeking our the rougher stuff again.

The tail end

Co-trip leader Paul was the sweep and never let anyone get behind him, except me to take a picture. It wasn't lonely at the back though as Sean keeps Paul company.

What's in here?

Gary peeps into a cave. The paddle didn't feature many caves but lots of eagles and a few seastacks and rocks to paddle around.

Stopped for lunch

Stopped for lunch in the brilliant sunshine. Lunch is a chance to catch up on news with club members we may not paddle with regularly.

Caplin

Caplin were rolling in on the beach on the surf and some of the group collected a meal of the small fish for supper. Caplin are not only eaten by two legged mammals but also codfish and whales. This resource I'm afraid is being over exploited and it tells on the size of the caplin. The stress on the species is evident as they are much smaller than they should be.

Chance Cove

After lunch we headed up the coast and into Chance Cove. Group speed slowed a bit as the wind picked up.

Hunkered down

Stopped on the water for a short break in the shelter of Chance Cove harbour.

Return leg

Leaving Chance Cove to return to Bellevue Beach the wind was behind us. That made things a little easier.

Interesting geology

Herb enjoyed the the action to be found close to the cliffs along the shore, includng the interesting geology. Maybe not the geology but it was interesting. Not sure what the red band of material is but it sure stands out against the grey. Herb had a few encounters with large waves that he excitedly explained in detail.

Colin visiting

Colin and his son were visiting from Central Newfoundland. I hope they enjoyed the scenery on the Avalon but they also have great paddling at home.

Surf landing

Back at the Beach at Bellevue the last thing was to get everyone off the water safely. The gentle swell rolling into the bay made for a dumping surf which is always a challenge. Its something I need to practice because, though I made a safe landing, it wasn't very elegant.

Thanks Tony and Paul for organizing a very enjoyable paddle and also to the other 16 club members who showed up to share the day.

The foggy road home

Slipway

We awoke Monday to a typical Placentia Bay morning this time of year ... foggy. The chit chat at breakfast was navigating back over the 6+ kms open water from Long Island Point to Bordeaux Island at the entrance to Arnolds Cove.

Breakfast done and convinced we were OK, we loaded the boats ready to head back. I found three pieces of siding that meant I could just push the loaded kayak and not have to carry it to the water.

Leaving Haystack

The north side of the harbour was barely visible as we left.

Relection

Even in fog the land was reflected in soft shadows.

Adios beach

We stopped on the other side of what I've called "Welcome Beach" to finalize plans for the blind crossing. The beach here is no more than about 30 meters wide and two days previously we rested just on the other slope in brilliant sunshine. I'll name this "Adios Beach" as it was our last touch on Long Island.

Single file

We set a bearing of 60 degrees with Hazen in the lead. We went single file with each of us responsible for keeping visual contact with the person in front. I suggested Hazen lead with the hope of slowing Dean down because pouring it on he could paddle himself out of sight with his Greenland paddle.

Someone suggested we each take turns leading for the experience and it tuned out to be an excellent suggestion.

Land ho!

We trusted the compass and after about 50 minutes Bordeaux Island loomed to port.

End of the road

Four or five kms and we saw the houses of Arnolds Cove appear out of the fog. We were almost back.

Unloading

It was unbelievable seeing how much gear we had stuffed into our kayaks. Somehow its not that obvious in the loading but to see it unloaded in one place was impressive.

Lunch is served

We were starved and took advantage of Megans Restaurant on the highway to have a feed of fish and chips. Arnolds Cove is a fishing community so we expected the fish to be fresh, and it was. It also was a nice end to the trip as it gave us a chance to reflect together on a fine weekend. We had circumnavigated Long Island in 2 and a half days for a total of 90 kms, depending on whose GPS it was.

Excellent trip guys, thanks!

On to Haystack

Leaving Harbour Buffett

After a short stop in Harbour Buffett and a chat (fresh hot coffee in hand) with the Wareham party who were weekending there, we departed for Hay Cove where we planned to stop for lunch.

Quest for the sea

As chance would have it, I ran into Paul D in Harbour Buffett. Paul is my wife's cousin but I knew Paul many years before Sherry when we were both geology students at MUN. Paul's mother Aunt Hilda is from Hay Cove about 5 kms from Harbour Buffett. A number of years ago the History Channel got into the reality TV scene with a show called "Quest for the Sea". They staged it in Hay Cove on Aunt Hilda's land and the set passed to Paul. He told us to to help ourselves as the door was open. We could stay for the night or just have lunch. We opted for lunch.

Splitting table

The show "Quest for the Sea" was based on the struggles for survival in an outport setting by a fishing family. It was quaint, made for TV, touched some of the bases but lacked a certain amount of realism. Here for example is the "splittin" table where codfish is gutted, the head removed and salted. That's normally done on a stage, not on the open beach.

Five star restaurant

We carted our stuff up from the beach and had a first class dining experience complete with fine table linen!

Going though

The boats loaded up again, we carried on northwards towards Haystack where we intended to camp for the night.

Hole in the wall

A freestanding chunk of rock called Shag Roost in Northeast Cove caught our attention because of the hole through to the other side. I found it interesting for the geology. Finely bedded siltstones and sandstones on either side of the hole were displaced by a large, undifferentiated rock that hosted the hole. Two thin beds of sandstone on the right terminated at the contact and could be seen again towards the left.

Haystack

I wasn't sure what I'd see when I got to Haystack. In some way I thought I'd see sizeable fields where hay was grown. Not so. Haystack was named after a haystack shaped rock outside the harbour.

Haystack was settled in 1845 and resettled for the most part in 1960 - two residents hung on until 1966. The largest the population grew to was 79 in 1891. As a side note, my Math 101 prof in my first year of University, Mr. Halfyard was from Haystack. Growing up in a small and somewhat isolated community obviously did not preclude a good education.

There's a Haystack reunion site with historical background and some neat old (and new) pictures if interested.

Gimme shelter

Rain was in the forecast and in the air so one of the first things we did was hang a tarp in the trees near our campsite. It did rain for a while but we were comfortable cooking under our shelter.

Home sweet home

We had a great campsite at Haystack protected from the wind behind a small stand of trees.

Fire on the beach

The rain let up after a short while and while it continued to drizzle on and off we had a great roaring fire going. We stood around the fire talking while we finished off the last of the refreshments. Before long we were snug in our beds anticipating the open water crossing back to Arnolds Cove, back to civilization and the end of our trip in Placentia Bay.