Sticking it to the duck in Wild Cove

It was the first day of summer and we were off for our first overnight kayak camp trip of the year.  Cyde, Dean, Brian and I drove to Amirals Beach in St. Mary's Bay to make the short crossing to Great Colinet Island where we would camp.

We left St. John's in drizzle and overcast skies and the further we drove the nicer the weather got.  At the put-in it was breezy but sunny with cloudy periods or vice versa depending on perspetive.  We were in luck.

We discussed plans for the day and decided to paddle down the west side of the island and camp in Wild Cove at the south end of the island.  The breeze kicked up small wind waves in Colinet Passage for our short crossing.

A short while later we were rounding Bluff Head ...

... and headed south through Regina Cove, Back Cove and the west side with a 10 - 15 knot wind whipping up wind waves.

The wind persisted but we had the south end in sight.

It was gnarly as we went along the exposed south coast of the island but once we got around South Point we had the wind and waves at our backs for the short two kilometer paddle to the beach in Wild Cove.  Its probably aptly named for with a southerly wind the fetch is basically limitless all the way from the West Indies and South America.

Dean put up his new tarp "Big Yellow", started a fire while I went for a short hike where had a good view looking back at our home for the night.  When I got back to camp ...

... the duck had been given some harsh treatment and suspended over the fire to begin the roasting process.  It took some time for the duck to thaw before the sharpened stick could be forced through and then to Dean's satisfaction, on the second spearing.

At 5:20 Hazen showed up after leaving later due to other commitments but arrived in time for ...

... a swally under "big Yellow" before he took care of carving and portioning out the roasted duck.

The duck was roasted over a small stick fire so as not to burn it but once it came off we piled the wood on.  I don't recall who said it was a good idea to contain the fire with the large rocks but as it got darker and I innocently and slowly added more wood, the fire reached ...

... its truly intended magnificence.

Dean and Hazen saw the last bits of wood consumed by the flames before hitting the hay near 1:00 am.  The end of a fabulous day where we had paid our dues and were rewarded.