Theory of prudence

The picturesque village of Quidi Vidi






It was a rocking outside of the protected harbour






Heading back to the put-in to revise our plan

Today Stan and myself finally got some decent weather, decent in that the wind calmed down. We decided that Quidi Vidi might be an option and went to look. What looked calm in the inner harbour hid what lurked outside in the open ocean.

This is where the theory of prudence came in. The wind of the last few days had died but there was still lots of swell coming in from the open ocean. Open in the sense, next stop Ireland. Probably on a summer day with warmer water temps we would have gone but cold water and just the two of us, we decided against it. Our paddling colleague Malcolm Rowe had cautioned us to back off if in doubt. He would have been proud of our decision today.

We paddled back and forth in the confused waters that were reflecting off both sides of the entrance to the harbour for a while and headed back into the protected harbour.

No sweat, change of plan. We put the boats back on the vehicles and drove to Portugal Cove about 30 minutes away and got on the ferry to Bell Island. Those pictures follow.

We weren't foolish, there's no need for bravado between Stan and myself and, we had a great paddle anyway.

Tony :-)

Theory of prudence - off to Bell Island

So, Stan and myself cheated and got on the ferry to get over to Bell Island. A crossing was doable today but the ferry ride added to the "adventure". And, it gave us a chance to wolf down some lunch.

Theory of prudence - Bell Island pictures

A few pictures of Stan paddling along the massive cliffs of Bell Island

Theroy of navigation

A butterfly from the Insectarium display in the greenhouse at Bowring Park

What do butterflies have to do with navigation? The same as whales, birds and other creatures that migrate great distances to overwinter. I don't know which butterfly this is, it'll be a standin for the Monarch.

I watched a show called Nova last night about the annual migration of Monarch butterflies. Another one of nature's miracles.

They overwinter in Mexico in an area only 60 square miles. When the weather warms up they begin their flight north ending up in southern Canada. The first leg of the journey takes them to Texas gulfcoast where they mate and the adults die off. This second generation flies farther north and produce a third generation. They reach their summer habitat where fourth generation is born.

It is the fourth generation that makes the return migration to Mexico for the winter. Where previous generations live about a month, the fourth generation makes a 2,000 mile, two month journey and lives seven months until its time to start the journey north again.

The $64,000 question is, how can a fourth generation butterfly find its way back to the same place year after year? And, how come the fourth generation lives about nine months rather than a month? There is much to bewonder a person.

Tony :-)

Theory of time travel

A classic rock album from Deep Purple

According to Einstein's General theory of Relativity, both space and time are curved near massive bodies. The greater the mass of the body the greater the curvature of space-time near it. There's some speculation whether space curves back on itself, and therefore time also. If time does curve back on itself, would time travel be possible?

So far time travel is the stuff of science fiction. Its interesting stuff especially with things like string theory being developed. Imagine 11 different dimensions, boggles the mind. I think its sometimes difficult enough getting my bearings upside - down in a kayak.

I know I won't see time travel in my lifetime but I can still take trips back in time. I got out some old albums (yes, albums) last night and had a listen to Deep Purple's "In Rock". Its been a long time since I've listened to that one and it certainly did take me back. It was like meeting a long-lost friend again and isn't that a great feeling?

I can't go back in time physically but I can between my ears and I wondered what happenned and how did I land here.

Tony :-)

Theory of floccipaucinihilipilification

In Holyrood Bay, Newfound- land looking towards Kelly's Island (center), Little Bell Island (right) and Bell Island in the further distance

I'm told "floccipaucinihilipilification" is the longest word in the Oxford English Dictionary. I can't dispute that without leafing thru the entire thing and I'm not that desperate - yet. Its meaning is that the action of estimating is worthless.

Looking at Kelly's Island in the center, it doesn't look that far away and a tempting target for a crossing. In actual fact its close to 15 kms and a 2 hour crossing in these waters. But, if you didn't know the actual distance you could be tempted to have a go only to find out its much further than it looks. Not so bad on a day like this but it could be a disheartening exercise in heavy winds.

The ability to estimate distances is a good ability to have if you don't have charts with you. I practice it usually when I'm on the highway. I pick out a far landmark and estimate the distance, drive there and note the distance travelled on the odometer. Like anything, it takes practice.

Making an estimate is worthless without any basis for making an estimate, so practice. And, floccipaucinihilipilification is a mouthful!

Tony :-)

Theory of guts

Mount Everest in all her majesty (photo Dave Schell, a friend who recently trekked to Everest basecamp)

My blog entry today is inspired by Kayak Newfoundland and Labrdaor member T. A. Loeffler. T. A. is an outdoor educator at Memorial University of Newfoundland. I don't know T. A. personally but I've just finished reading her book "More than a Mountain, One Woman's Everest". Its a story of her climbing exploits and training for an Everest summit attempt.

T.A. didn't reach her goal on this attempt as she was felled by giardia that caused constant vomiting and sapped her of the strength necessary to reach the summit.

But that's probably not the story anyway, at least, that's not the story I took away. I don't think I'll ever complain about an inconvenience or hangnail again. I was totally blown away by the intense training program she followed and the tenacity with which she persued her goal. She vomitted for days, went down to lower altitude to recover, back to base camp and continued to vomit. All the while trying to hide that from her male climbing team members for fear they would percieve her as weak. Far from it.

Everyone has an "Everest" whether its a mountain or not. Whether its learning to roll your kayak, run a race at any distance or sometimes just dealing with a life's complications, the goals or problems must be faced and overcome. It depends how much we want it and how much intestinal fortitude we have at our disposal.

T.A.'s book is a good primer and very inspirational. She has a website www.taloeffler.com for anyone interested in her story.

Tony :-)